NASCAR: How a sponsor is taking full advantage of a wreck
By Asher Fair
Casper’s Ice Cream is taking full advantage of a wreck involving their NASCAR driver, J.J. Yeley, at Texas Motor Speedway last year in a unique way.
It’s not too often that a NASCAR sponsor can take full advantage of one of their wrecked race cars, especially when it’s one of the smaller and more underfunded teams that aren’t expected to run well and don’t generate much attention to begin with.
But that isn’t the case for ice cream brand Casper’s.
In his first race driving a FatBoy paint scheme for Rick Ware Racing at Texas Motor Speedway in late October, J.J. Yeley was involved in an early wreck, a wreck that made him the only driver who didn’t have to wait out the three-day rain delay to return to the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Fort Worth, Texas to run the rest of the 334-lap event.
Casper’s turned that wreck into a unique marketing opportunity.
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They saw a rapid increase in social traffic, engagement and direct sales following the wreck, and Twitter blew up discussing the brand. In fact, several user posted photos of them purchasing products, with many mentioning the race and the crash.
It was the perfect storm of traditional marketing tactics laying the groundwork for modern tools to take over. While sponsoring someone at a sporting event is nothing new, companies today spend the bulk of their marketing money on new and trendy platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. But after almost a century in business, Casper’s knows what works and who their target consumers are — families.
As a result of the publicity stemming from this incident, they are giving away three car pieces from that wreck, all of which are signed by Yeley.
1) This J.J. Yeley-driven Rick Ware Racing car may have wrecked, but that turned into a winning strategy for legendary ice cream brand Casper. They saw a rapid increase in social traffic, engagement and direct sales following the wreck, and you can win one of these three pieces! pic.twitter.com/60D7Btqvk7
— Beyond the Flag (@Beyond_The_Flag) February 2, 2021
“We’ve been thrilled to feel the energy and excitement surrounding how much America loves both NASCAR and FatBoy Ice Cream!” said Keith Lawes, EVP and Corp Secretary at Casper’s Ice Cream, Inc. “We’re grateful for the chance to give back to our fans with these FatBoy car pieces signed by J.J. Yeley. We’re looking forward to even more chances to interact with NASCAR and FatBoy fans alike as we hit the track in 2021!”
Be sure to follow along with the giveaway on FatBoy’s Instagram feed. Winners are slated to be announced on Monday, February 15.
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FatBoy returned to Yeley’s #27 Chevrolet for the 2020 season finale at Phoenix Raceway, and he finished in a respectable 30th place in that event. He does not have any Cup Series plans lined up for the 2021 season.