July 11, 2008
By Rebecca Gladden
Most NASCAR fans can easily recite a list of three-letter racing acronyms: MPH (miles per hours), RPM (revolutions per minute), DNQ (did not qualify), DNF (did not finish), and many more.
But if you don't follow the business side of the sport on a regular basis, you may not be familiar with one of the most vital three-letter acronyms in all of NASCAR:
ROI, or Return On Investment, is a broad term that refers to the benefits a company realizes as a result of its capital investments.
In racing, sponsorship deals depend on the sports' ROI - actual or perceived. But NASCAR is not immune to the current climate of economic pessimism. Every day seems to bring breaking news of another team closing up shop and another sponsor leaving the sport.
Still, Todd Davis, Co-Founder and CEO of LifeLock (yes, the guy who gives out his real social security number) is thrilled with NASCAR's ROI, despite the overall economic downturn.
"The medium in which you can deliver a message is so unique compared to anything else that's out there," Davis told me. "When LifeLock entered the stage where we were building our brand, we wanted to reach the masses and really wanted people to hear our message and take the time to look at who we are and what we do. It was very evident to us that NASCAR was a great sports sponsorship mechanism to do that. While we still do our traditional print, television and radio, from the sports side you see that, by far, the majority of our investment is in motorsports, and especially in NASCAR."
LifeLock has signed on as the title sponsor of two Sprint Cup races this season - last month's LifeLock 400 in Michigan, won by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and tomorrow's LifeLock.com 400 in Chicago, where Davis will be the honorary starter. LifeLock has multi-year deals at both tracks.
CEO Davis, who previously ran a company that managed motorsports sponsorships for other corporate clients, values NASCAR fans' passion for the sport and loyalty to its sponsors. But beyond that, he sees NASCAR sponsorship as an unparalleled opportunity for business-to-business networking.
"We all want to see a return on investment, so it opens up the opportunity for partnering and discussions of relationships. In our business, even though we are a direct-to-consumer offer, we also have large employers who buy it for their employee base. We have large corporate partners that are also in NASCAR, like Office Depot, Carl Edwards' primary sponsor. They're also looking for business partnerships that help them justify their ROI, so it helps us accelerate some business partnering. We go to the other companies that are involved, whether it's with that particular speedway or with race teams, and we've gotten some great business partnerships that have come out of a mutual involvement in NASCAR."
In addition to sponsoring two races this year with and more in the future, LifeLock is involved as a team sponsor, primarily with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports. "For eight races we are the primary sponsor for Patrick Carpentier, and an associate sponsor for him the rest of the time. For two races this year, we are the co-primary for Kasey Kahne."
With silly season now in full swing and a number of teams searching for new sponsors, I asked Davis whether he would pursue a full-time primary driver sponsorship for 2009. "We're always looking at those opportunities, but it would be driven more by the business relationships and the other businesses that are involved in it. We're not actively searching for an opportunity to be the primary sponsor on a car. We're using the races as our cornerstone and being the title sponsor of an event. But we'll be opportunistic. As the right business partnerships crop up, we welcome the opportunity to evaluate those and take a percentage of any type of business partnership and allocate it toward a race team. We have those kinds of relationships, and we will continue to develop those. As we continue to grow, there's a good chance that the LifeLock family will continue to grow."
Davis notes that a number of GEM employees, including Carpentier and Kahne, have signed up for the LifeLock service that provides proactive identity theft protection and comes with a $1 million service guarantee. "What we really see is that a lot of these guys, especially with their travel, have known about LifeLock. They support the fact that we're supporting the sport."
The company recently introduced several value-added services including WalletLock, which helps members notify agencies and obtain replacement cards if a wallet is lost or stolen, and eRecon, which monitors members' email addresses, social security numbers, account numbers and driver's license numbers online for potential misuse. "That's exactly why we're involved in motorsports," said Davis. "It gives us a chance to get our whole message out, versus what you can do in a 30-second television commercial."
On the LifeLock website, a section devoted to NASCAR is currently soliciting fan votes in four categories for an upcoming television special entitled "NASCAR's Greatest Identities," scheduled to air on ABC in September:
1. Which open-wheel racer do you think has the brightest future in NASCAR?
Patrick Carpentier
Dario Franchitti
Sam Hornish, Jr.
Juan Pablo Montoya
2. What do you think is the most memorable "Stolen Victory" in NASCAR history?
Dale Earnhardt - Bristol (1999)
David Pearson - Daytona 500 (1976)
Brian Vickers - Talladega (2006)
Richard Petty - Daytona 500 (1979)
3. Which driver do you think has NASCAR's Greatest Identity?
Richard Petty
Dale Earnhardt
Junior Johnson
Jeff Gordon
4. Which of these four individuals does the most off the track to "guarantee their good name?"
Ray Evernham
Dale Jarrett
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Kyle Petty
To vote in the poll, visit www.LifeLock.com and click on the LifeLock Racing logo.
Davis notes that the TV show voting is just one of many unique promotions the company has planned specifically for NASCAR fans. "We want people to know that we really are fans as well. This allows us the opportunity to connect with NASCAR fans, versus just some signage at a racetrack. We are proud and honored to be associated with this great sport. It's such a privilege."
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