NHL's Outdoor Game Heats Up

 

2009 Title Sponsor Bridgestone Draws Media Coverage 

Before, During and After New Year's Day Extravaganza

By all measurements, the 2009 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic – the NHL’s second consecutive New Year’s Day outdoor game – was a success.  Set against the backdrop of Chicago’s historic Wrigley Field, and with the largest U.S. viewing audience to watch a regular-season hockey game in 34 years tuning in, the frozen spectacle proved to be a media coverage magnet for the event’s title sponsor, Bridgestone.

Joyce Julius & Associates monitored the exposure Bridgestone received in the weeks leading up to and following the Winter Classic, analyzing print publications and some 4,000 Internet sites for references of the tire brand in conjunction with sponsorship of the game.  Additionally, all mentions of Bridgestone on U.S. television prior to the puck being dropped at Wrigley Field, as well as all of the visual and verbal in-broadcast exposure reaped during NBC’s and CBC’s live game telecasts was measured.

By the time the last of the hearty souls departed the venerable old ballpark on New Year’s Day, the media splash made by the Bridgestone sponsorship had reached $6,738,000 of exposure value – a figure derived by comparing the amount of media attention garnered by the brand to the cost of achieving similar results via traditional advertising means.  

In terms of print media coverage, Bridgestone was mentioned as the sponsor of the Winter Classic in 53 articles appearing in North American publications, from December 15, 2008, through January 4, 2009.  When considering the readership for each article and the cost to reach each reader, Bridge- stone totaled $198,750 of exposure value.

In comparison, 90 articles referencing the tire brand on the Internet obtained an exposure value of $54,000 when considering the number of unique visitors to each web site in question compared to the cost to reach those individuals.

Local affiliate television news broadcasts in such diverse locations as Sacramento, CA and Reno, NV, as well as cable networks CNBC and Versus, were sources of exposure for Bridgestone leading up to the big event, and in highlights following the game.  Altogether, the title sponsor was mentioned during 31 different television programs, leading to another $1,217,210 of exposure value.

Not surprisingly, NBC’s game telecast allowed Bridgestone plenty of opportunity to place its logo in strategic and camera-friendly locations.  A total of seven visual sources (Brought to You By and Captain’s Review graphics, dasher boards signs, Event Title graphics, home plate and scoreboard signs, as well as a branded television monitor) delivered 26 minutes, 38 seconds of clear, in-focus exposure time, while Bridgestone was also mentioned by the NBC crew on 21 occasions.  When comparing the in-broadcast exposure to the estimated cost of a commercial during the telecast, Bridgestone was credited with $4,619,090, or 69% of its total exposure value.

Finally, the Canadian English-language telecast on CBC, which featured fewer network graphics than its U.S. counterpart, enabled Bridgestone to collect an additional $648,670 of exposure value from 17:23 and 17 verbal references.

NBC Coverage:

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CBC Coverage:

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*Note:  Joyce Julius’ Recognition Grade Methodology scores each individual second of clear and in-focus exposure based on the following factors:  A) Size of the identity within the particular camera angle  B)  The amount of brand “clutter” surrounding the logo  C) Screen position of the logo  D) The integration/activation level during the particular segment (when applicable).  

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Johnson is The Top Driver for His Sponsor Brands Too

Jimmie Johnson's NASCAR dominance this past season did not end on the racetrack, as the three-time Cup Series Champion earned a combined total of $510,161,750 of in-broadcast television exposure, the most of any driver, for his sponsors during race telecasts in 2008.

A total of 62 brands appearing on locations such as Johnson's car, uniform and support crew's uniforms appeared clear and in-focus for a total of 59 hours, 28 minutes, 39 seconds (59:28:39) during television cover- age of NASCAR's premier series. Additionally, the sponsors were mentioned by Johnson, his crew, or the announcers 316 times. Ex- posure value is calculated by comparing the on-screen time and mentions to the estimated cost of a commercial spot during each respective race telecast throughout the season.

Johnson’s top sponsor, Lowe’s, garnered nearly $200 million of exposure value, or 39% of the total in-broadcast exposure associated with Johnson, to lead all team sponsors in 2008. Johnson also clocked in with the highest exposure contribution to a carmaker, as Chevrolet collected nearly eight hours of on-screen time and $67.8 million of exposure value from its association with the three-time champion.

Carl Edwards mirrored his runner up status in the points championship by collecting the second-most exposure for his sponsors, as 76 brands monitored with Edwards amassed 58:50:51, 311 mentions and nearly $496 million.  One area Edwards did manage to surpass his rival Johnson was in exposure captured during the Chase for the Sprint Cup.  During telecasts of the final 10 races, Edwards' sponsors laid claim to $225 million of exposure, compared to $201 million resulting from the Johnson effort.

2008 Top Television Exposure-Producing NASCAR Sprint Cup Drivers:

Driver	Total Brands	Exposure Time	Verbal Mentions	Exposure Value	% of Value From Chase
1)   J. Johnson	62	59:28:39	316	$510,161,750	39.5%
2)   C. Edwards	76	58:50:51	311	495,908,515	45.4%
3)   D. Earnhardt Jr.	53	44:40:48	99	416,960,760	25.8%
4)   J. Gordon	84	36:57:53	125	352,832,880	28.5%
5)   Ky. Busch	85	36:58:43	291	340,918,000	17.6%
6)   M. Kenseth	63	26:37:17	45	245,898,820	33.2%
7)   T. Stewart	56	23:35:23	123	227,125,660	23.9%
8)   G. Biffle	56	22:32:52	108	204,083,535	38.6%
9)   K. Harvick	57	23:23:43	64	199,881,010	29.0%
10) K. Kahne	57	22:07:30	112	193,612,065	13.3%

2008 Top Television Exposure-Producing NASCAR Nationwide Series Drivers:

*Mark Martin, Landon Cassill, Adrian Fernandez, Brett Rowe, Jimmie Johnson, Burney Lamar

**Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers, James Buescher, Michel Jourdain, Jacques Villeneuve

2008 Top Television Exposure-Producing NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Drivers:

 

Note:  Total Brands refers to the number of unique sponsoring entities monitored in association with each respective driver.  Exposure received by brands monitored in association with more than one driver is credited to the driver/crew from whom the identity originated.   

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Inaugural Season of Lumber Liquidators’ Title Sponsorship of the Professional Bowlers Association Tour Rolling Along

Halfway through the first of a three-year deal as title sponsor of the PBA Tour, hardwood flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators is quickly establishing itself as a mainstay in the sport.

Along with serving as the Title and Official Flooring Sponsor of the PBA, Lumber Liquidators is also sponsoring six of the sport’s top bowlers—Patrick Allen, Tommy Jones, Rhino Page, Parker Bohn III, Michael Fagan and Brian Kretzer.

“As the nation's largest independent retailer of hardwood flooring, the sponsorship is a natural and relevant fit for Lumber Liquidators,”  said company founder Tom Sullivan in a published statement at the signing of the deal.  “We're excited about this partnership, the expansion of our sponsorship platforms and the increased brand visibility within the sport."

The following chart details the in-broadcast exposure garnered by Lumber Liquidators during ESPN’s coverage of the season-opening PBA World Championship last October in Wichita, Kansas.  

ESPN Coverage:

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*Note:  Joyce Julius’ Recognition Grade Methodology scores each individual second of clear and in-focus exposure based on the following factors:  A) Size of the identity within the particular camera angle  B)  The amount of brand “clutter” surrounding the logo  C) Screen position of the logo  D) The integration/activation level during the particular segment (when applicable).  

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Case Study:  The Seven Days of Sonoma 

A one-week comparison of media exposure generated 

by Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick

The Background:  Joyce Julius & Associates measured and compared the exposure popular Indycar drivers Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick garnered during the seven-day period surrounding the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County, held last August at Infineon Raceway.  Castroneves' week included a team transporter fire in Wyoming en route to the races, a pole position qualifying effort and eventual victory on Sunday.  Patrick’s off-track highlight included a TMZ report of an earlier traffic violation resulting in driving school, while race weekend saw her qualify ninth and finish the race in fifth place.

The Challenge:  For the study, all media exposure collected by Motorola as a direct result of its sponsorship of Patrick, as well as all instances of Team Penske exposure stemming from Castroneves were tabulated and valued.  Exposure categories included print media, Internet news, event radio, local affiliate television news, national highlight television programs and the national television event broadcast.

The Methods:

Print Media—Castroneves    Thanks to extensive national coverage of the car hauler fire and Castroneves’ win, Team Penske was referenced in text or photos in 209 print articles.  Those articles (more than 1/3 originating in the Mid-West), garnered some 46.7 million impressions and an exposure value of $690,000.

Print Media—Patrick    A rather uneventful week by Patrick’s standards led to just 3 print articles, producing some 1.6 million impressions and $23,205 of exposure value for Motorola.

Internet News—Castroneves    More than $165,000 of exposure value came Team Penske’s way as a result of 512 Internet news articles referencing Castroneves and his team.  Altogether, 11.1 million impressions were secured from online media, with 15% of the articles originating from web sites featuring more than 1 million unique visitors per month.

Internet News—Patrick    Several Internet media outlets picked up the story of Patrick’s earlier traffic violation, leading to exposure for Motorola.  Altogether, 44 articles yielded 2.3 million impressions and $35,236.

Event Radio—Castroneves   Team Penske in association with Castroneves was mentioned 12 times during the IMS Radio Network coverage of the Sonoma event.  From 600,000 impressions, an exposure value of $9,300 was realized.

Event Radio—Patrick    Patrick’s fifth-place race finish resulted in four mentions on the IMS Radio Network for Motorola, good for 200,000 impressions and $3,092 of exposure value.

Television—Castroneves      The combination of local affiliate TV news across the country, national highlight shows and ESPN2’s coverage of the Sonoma race led to 24 minutes, 37 seconds of total on-screen time for Team Penske.  Additionally, Team Penske was mentioned verbally 34 times, helping to bring about a total exposure value of $323,471, or 27% of the entity’s entire exposure for the week.

Television—Patrick      Despite a fifth-place finish at Sonoma, Patrick still enjoyed highlight coverage on several of the local television stations across the country, leading to 1:33 and $12,959 for Motorola.  When combining the local affiliate exposure with national highlight programs and the live race telecast, Motorola reaped 3:20 and $38,824.

The Final Results:   A perfect storm of events (mainstream media coverage during the middle of the week, Castroneves’ capturing the pole position, winning the race and climbing the fence in celebration) all helped to propel Team Penske to nearly $1.2 million of exposure value during the seven-day period monitored for the study. 

In contrast, Patrick had a rather uneventful week in Sonoma and the exposure results for Motorola reflected the lack of activity surrounding the driver.  With nearly even contributions from print media, Internet news, in-broadcast television exposure, Motorola completed the week with $100,358 of exposure value, or less than 10% of Team Penske’s final tally.  

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Motorsports Packages to Feature Online Access to Joyce Julius Findings

An online portal to Joyce Julius’ in-broadcast exposure database is now available to all Sponsors Report subscribers.  Along with digital access to each issue of our traditional, four page Sponsors Report, subscribers will now have 24/7 access to the industry’s most detailed and customizable television exposure findings.  Whether looking for a quick year-to-date exposure total, a deep-dive source analysis, or a complete driver/vehicle detailing, Joyce Julius’ user-friendly online system takes our decades of research experience to a new level.

Password protected 24/7 access

View top-line or detailed results

Adjust the ad rate calculations

Save findings to your desktop

Archived Sponsors Report issues

No additional software required

To learn more about our Online Motorsports Packages, please contact a Joyce Julius Sales Representative:

 

 

 

 

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A Second Look is a newsletter published by Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc., updating recent developments, trends and happenings in the areas of sports, special events and entertainment marketing.  All information contained in this newsletter is available for journalistic use, with all rights reserved. Copyright ©2009 Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc.

www.joycejulius.com                                                                                  Ph:  734.971.1900