USPS and other "gov't" sponsorships

Eric Struckhoff

This story refers to the Army's sponsorship of NASCAR only. There are
also two U.S. Army NHRA programs: a top-fuel dragster and a pro stock
motorcycle. Readers with more time might find better references to
Armed Forces expenditures for sports sponsorships.

http://triad.bizjournals.com/triad/.../17/story2.html

Cheers,

Eric

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Military targets NASCAR to boost recruits

Bill King
The Business Journal

From the Feb. 14 print edition

CHARLOTTE — Weeks before the U.S. Army began to deploy the resources
of a sweeping, $16 million stock car racing sponsorship, the
three-star general charged with recruiting more than 73,000 new troops
this year already had his first story of googly-eyed NASCAR fandom.
....

Army brass believes it can generate 80,000 recruiting leads from the
program this year. It expects to turn about 1,200 of them into
soldiers, a better rate of return than the Army gets from most of its
pitches.

It is not alone.

NASCAR opens its season in Daytona Beach, Fla., this week with five
branches of the U.S. armed forces — Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and
National Guard — as team sponsors. The Army's presence will include a
league sponsorship, a touring interactive area and a blitz of TV
support.

Together, the armed forces will spend about $28 million in the sport
this year. All have similar goals: raising awareness, generating
recruiting leads and retaining those already in uniform.

The resources allocated to achieve those goals are substantial. The
service branches will spend about $600 million on advertising this
year, with much of it paying for time during network sporting events
and other programming that draws young male viewers.
....

* The Air Force will put about $2.25 million into an associate
sponsorship with a Winston Cup team. That will buy placement on the
rear corners of a car driven by popular veteran Ricky Rudd throughout
the 38-week season, along with a primary position for three races.

* The Marine Corps will spend about $2.25 million as primary
sponsor of a team in the Busch Series, where it has found fertile
recruiting ground since 1999.

* The Navy will spend about $1.5 million as a primary sponsor of a
Roush Racing team in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck series. Its sponsorship
differs slightly from the others in that it is funded mostly from a
retention budget, rather than a recruiting budget.

* The Army National Guard will sponsor a Winston Cup entry,
putting its colors on a car driven by Todd Bodine. The Guard would not
discuss its spending, but industry insiders estimated it was one of
the lower team deals in Winston Cup, likely worth $5 million to $6
million for the season.