Posted on 11/13/2008 3:35:40 PM PST by SandRat
11/13/2008 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Air Force officials announced Nov. 12 that it will begin a new NASCAR partnership with Gillett Evernham Motorsports when it sponsors the No. 10 car driven by Reed Sorenson for the 2009 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. The Air Force's advertising agency, GSD&M Idea City, organized the sponsorship and will roll out a multimedia advertising campaign to support the partnership in early 2009.
The Air Force is both a primary and associate sponsor for the No. 10 car driven by Reed Sorenson, a 22-year-old three-time winner in the Nationwide Series. As a primary sponsor, the car will feature the Air Force paint scheme in four of 38 NASCAR races this season.
For the 2009 season, the Air Force is changing their marketing strategy to rebalance their sponsorship and activation programs to increase public awareness about the Air Force and to attract more recruits.
"Advertising and marketing that goes beyond the race track will help us connect with fans and emphasize the speed, power, precision and team work that is common to both NASCAR and the Air Force," said Col. Timothy Hanson, Air Force Recruiting Service Strategic Communications director.
The Air Force has had a long-standing relationship with Wood Brothers Racing and the No. 21 car.
"They are perhaps the most respected team in NASCAR and they have been strong supporters of the Air Force," Colonel Hanson said. "While our sponsorship has changed we will always value the services they have provided us."
The colonel added that he is excited about this new venture and confident that Gillett Evernham Motorsports and driver Reed Sorenson will provide new opportunities for the Air Force to achieve their sponsorship goals and inspire young Americans to consider the Air Force as a great career choice.
NASCAR teams are having an extremely difficult time securing sponsorships, due to the economy. I’m sure this team is relieved.
Be interesting to see how this flies.
There isn’t much of anything that comes from the car makers in NASCAR these days anyway. It’s mostly just sponsorship and stickers at this point. Even the bodies are identical.
ping
I hated the whole identical car idea but get sick of the constant tweaking to equalize the different makers.
NASCAR is sponsoring the Air Force? Are we going to see B-2 bombers with NASCAR logos painted all over them? ;)
Too bad they didn’t stay with the Wood Brothers 21 car.
Will they be providing the engines?
Nope just some $$$$$$
Darn.
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