The New York Times

October 15, 2006

Exposure seen as an enticement rivaling victory

BYLINE: By VIV BERNSTEIN

Auto racing is perhaps the most advertiser-friendly sport in the United States, and no series has capitalized on that connection more successfully than Nascar. Race teams run on sponsorship dollars, and the competition among advertisers is sometimes just as intense as the battles on the track.

But for sponsors, the winner is not necessarily the driver who takes the checkered flag. The drivers for DuPont, Home Depot and DeWalt power tools might have won Nascar season titles, but Budweiser holds the advertising crown.

Budweiser, the company that sponsors Nascar's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has received more camera time over the years than any other advertiser, according to Joyce Julius and Associates Inc., of Ann Arbor, Mich., which tracks media exposure for sponsors during sports and entertainment events. Eric Wright, a spokesman for Joyce Julius, said Budweiser had won the unofficial Nascar advertising title every year since 2000.

Earnhardt has never won the Winston Cup, or its successor, the Nextel Cup, unlike Jeff Gordon (Dupont), Tony Stewart (Home Depot) and Matt Kenseth (DeWalt). But in 2005, the latest year-end report available, Budweiser garnered the equivalent of $149 million worth of exposure time.

A Joyce Julius formula calculates the value of sponsor mentions and on-camera appearances by multiplying the amount of exposure time by the cost of a 30-second advertisement shown during a broadcast. Budweiser came out on top despite Earnhardt's struggles last season; he won one race and did not make the 10-car field for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Jimmie Johnson (Lowe's), who finished fifth in the points race, was second in exposure time with $140 million. Home Depot, the sponsor of Stewart, the 2005 Nextel Cup champion, finished third with $125 million.

Meanwhile, the National Guard, which sponsored Greg Biffle, the 2005 Cup runner-up, totaled just $46 million. The National Guard finished 15th among team sponsors and was far behind companies like NAPA, which sponsored Michael Waltrip.

Waltrip finished 25th in the points standings and did not win a race, but NAPA was fourth in exposure at $105 million. NAPA even topped Dupont, whose driver, Gordon, won the Daytona 500 and three other races in 2005. Dupont had $84.6 million in exposure.

''Budweiser, NAPA, Home Depot, Lowe's -- those kinds of sponsors tend to find the camera more, that has a little bit of something to do with it,'' Biffle said when asked about the disparity.

He said his association with Subway, which sponsored several races for his No. 16 Ford, more than doubled his 2005 Joyce Julius total to about $100 million. Some of that was not earned by Biffle's performances. Subway earned exposure time for sponsoring the Subway 500 last season.

The same could be said of Lowe's and Johnson in 2005. Lowe's total was inflated by mentions of Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Many companies also pay for advertising during races that goes toward their exposure numbers. Budweiser, for one, pays for its logo to be displayed during broadcasts when the running order of the race is shown in a scroll atop the screen. Joyce Julius equated that to $54 million in exposure.

Companies often pay for in-car camera shots that include sponsor logos, and Joyce Julius, using its formula, equated Budweiser's in-camera exposure to be worth another $9.8 million. Budweiser has also bought commercial time during broadcasts, which is not included in the Joyce Julius numbers...