Target Leads All 2008 Indy Racing League Indycar Series 

Team Sponsors in Television Exposure

         ANN ARBOR, MI, November 19, 2008 – Target, the primary sponsor of 2008 Indy Racing League Indycar Series Champion Scott Dixon and teammate Dan Wheldon, secured $16 million of exposure value during race broadcasts this past season, more than twice the amount of the next most successful team sponsor, Motorola.

       According to research conducted by Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc. — which specializes in measuring sponsorships across all forms of media — Target’s name and/or logo was monitored for four hours, 31 minutes, five seconds (4:31:05), while the retail brand was also referenced verbally on 166 occasions during 2008 race telecasts appearing on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic.  One way Joyce Julius determines exposure value is by comparing the in-broadcast time and audio mentions garnered to the estimated cost of a commercial spot during the telecasts.

       In-broadcast exposure accrued during ABC’s broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 last May, which incidentally was won by Dixon, accounted for 40.1% ($6.4 million) of Target’s finally tally.  On average, the Series’ top-10 exposure earning team sponsors secured 53.2% of the year’s TV exposure from the Indy 500 coverage.

       In comparison, Motorola, one of the main brands backing Danica Patrick, collected $6.9 million throughout 2008, with nearly 70% of its season-ending amount having originated from the Indianapolis 500 telecast.

Top Team Related Brand Exposure Results:

Rank / Brand

Exposure Time

Verbal Mentions

Exposure Value

% From             Indy 500

 

1)   Target

  4:31:05

166

$16,055,725

40.1%

2)   Motorola

  1:30:56

9

6,922,865

69.5%

3)   7-Eleven

  1:16:29

36

4,736,105

46.1%

4)   GoDaddy.com

    0:49:37

0

4,735,120

77.4%

5)   McDonald's

  1:08:48

35

4,633,720

43.4%

6)   XM Sat. Radio

    0:51:32

0

4,423,530

76.2%

7)   Ethanol

  1:01:38

22

3,728,860

36.6%

8)   Mobil 1

  1:01:26

0

3,072,435

32.3%

9)   AirTran

    0:27:17

0

2,945,510

78.9%

10) Delphi

    0:33:35

31

2,907,015

56.6%

     

About Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc.:

         Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc. is the sports and entertainment industry leader in accurate measurement and evaluation of sponsorships and promotional programs.  Joyce Julius’ fully customizable, third party research is highlighted by in-broadcast television exposure monitoring, full media impact measurements, and fan/consumer perception analyses.

         The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based firm—which monitors more than 2,500 nationally televised sports and special event programs annually—has been measuring the impact of corporate sponsorships across all forms of media since 1985.  These forms of media include national and regional event television broadcasts, television highlight and news programming, event radio, print media, Internet articles, along with exposure stemming from promotions and advertising, as well as event on-site elements.

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