http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsvWDR8jUU0
US insurance outfit Nationwide’s latest campaign leveraging its NASCAR sponsorship purports to reveal star driver and brand ambassador Danica Patrick’s phone number.
Unsurprisingly, any consumer who actually calls her phone simply gets a greeting message recorded by the driver asking for suggestions on how she can get her own back on Earnhardt and encouraging them to visit Nations website at www.JoinTheNation.com.
The initiative promoting the insurer’s ‘Vanishing Deductible’ (No Claims Bonus) offer is spearheaded by a TV spot featuring both Patrick and fellow NASCAR superstar driver Dale Earnhardt Jr and aims to drive viewers to sign up online (incentivised by a $100-off offer).
Patrick, the most successful woman in the US open-wheel racing history, teams up with NASCAR’s most celebrated driver Earnhardt Jr in a spot that uses ‘pit-signs’ to showcase the company’s messages, drive them to Nationwide channels and reveal Patrick’s telephone number.
In addition to the TV spot, the initiative is also supported by online by a campaign website and a seeded behind-the-scenes film running on the company website and on YouTube.
The online ‘Join the Nation’ initiative aims to engage existing customers and target consumers alike through social platforms. Users are challenged to ‘Ask the Nation’ questions and listen to members real replies. This crowd-sourced Q&A is an attempt to boost online engagement through a genuinely useful service.
The spot debuted on ESPN during the Daytona Nationwide race and then rolled out nationally to a broader network audience.
This campaign followed the driving pair’s first TVC ‘Go Long’. Shot on location at Charlotte Motor Speedway, it features Danica encourages Earnhardt Jr to “Go Long” and tells him to “Keep Going” until he vanishes from the picture, all the while explaining the benefits of Nationwide’s new Vanishing Deductible plan.
As Danica rambles on, the commercial concludes with Earnhardt Jr driving away from the track, sharing the fact that something else has been vanishing besides his presence on pit road – Patrick’s ride home.
This ad series is the first time the two drivers have appeared together since a 2006 Jay-Z video for his ‘Show Me What You Got’ track which was shot in Monaco.
Comment:
Nationwide is the title sponsor of NASCAR’s so called ‘minor league circuit – the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The league is designed as a proving ground for drivers looking to step up to the top level NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit. Nationwide Series races are usually held at the same venue and on the day prior to the Sprint Cup race – with fans encouraged to attend both events.
Up until 2006/7, the series was sponsored by brewing giant Anheuser-Busch and called the Busch Series. The Nationwide deal was announced in October 2007 and began in the 2008 season.
Nationwide has been leveraging its NASCAR rights in its advertising campaigns since 2008 and adding Patrick to its roster of driver brand ambassadors provides the insurer with a nationally known face not only for her racing achievement, but also for her other promotional work such as her stint as the brand face of internet hosting site Go Daddy.
Revealing her purported phone number in a TV ad has added an interactive, multi-platform element to what is essentially a fairly standard TV-led campaign.
Both Patrick, who drives the No 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Impala for JR Motorsports, and Earnhardt Jr are Nationwide customers.
Dale Junior added his appreciation to Nationwide Insurance, not just from a business perspective as sponsor of the Nationwide Series, but also on a personal level. ‘One of the best things that I can do is align myself with companies and brands that I actively use,’ Earnhardt says. ‘This is a partnership that is as genuine as they come.’
Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsvWDR8jUU0&feature=player_embedded
Behind The Scenes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N59ik9xRNg
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