Ahhh...And the fun continues.... 
First of all, kudos to Gregg and Erica for having the integrity that they do when it so lacks almost every where in the offices of the NHRA, oooops...did I say that? I meant professional sports....lol
Anyway, here is the lowdown on a few items that I have seen posted today...
1.) It is true...AB is out of NASCAR, but ONLY in the Busch Series....You see, the Dale, JR. program is a HUGE profit center for AB...They recieve an even share of a 3-way split in all of the licensing fees associated with ANY and ALL merchandise that is sold with their logo on it...Die-Casts, T-Shirts, Trinkets, etc...The $20,000,000+ that they spend annually on that sponsorship comes back to them dressed up like a nickel at the end of the year when you look at the revenues that they generate from this merchandise. Its like turing a profit on the dollars spent, and the sponsorship, in effect, is free advertising...Follow me..?
2.) KB and the Monster Energy drink deal...Here is the story...If Gregg is still lurking, I think he can share some thoughts on this as well...Gregg, Erica, and Revive COULD in fact become a Primary Team Sponsor in the NHRA because the ONLY sponsors that CANNOT come in are the ones that DIRECTLY compete with Powerade, like Gatorade or Vitamin Water...The others (energy drinks) like Red Bull, Rockstar, Revive, etc....can come in because the rules state that they are ALLOWED to...Its just the NHRA's position that they will not be supported. All this means is that they cannot but banners at the track, sampling programs, sponsor certain categories or events, etc...And lets all think about this for a second....Do you need to buy these activations from the NHRA anyway? If you are concentrated on only sampling to the 2,000,000 people who attend the races, according to the NHRA (which is ALSO B.S...! just ask them why they WON'T verify that...its quite simple...BECAUSE THEY CAN'T!!!)...sorry....ah'em...ok...back to what I was saying..If you only concentrate on marketing to the atendees of the events, then you cannot justify the expenditure of the sponsorship anyways...The general rule of thumb, is that for every dollar that a company invests into the sponsorship itself, they should spend an additional $1.50-$2.00 activating and promoting it....You CANNOT do that effectively in the NHRA alone..You need to call ESPN and buy spots during the broadcasts (which they CAN do....ever seen the Gatorade spots during the shows..?), you need to have parties with media and celebs there to greet your fans. How about sweepstakes with your retailers, etc...you get the idea....and so does Monster....THAT, my friends, is a PERFECT example of a company that has "Gorilla Marketing" down to a science...Notice that you have NEVER seen a Monster Energy Drink commercial before this year....And they STILL did over $600 Million last year...The point is, THEY do not NEED the NHRA....So when the NHRA told them that they would not be supported, they didn't care because they probably would NOT have made an investment with the NHRA as a sanctioning body anyhow...Does that clear it up..?
I hope so cause all this talking, I need a drink of water...OUT!
