Joe Gibbs Racing working with JTG Daugherty owner's agency to sell sponsorship
BY ADAM STERN
5.19.2022
Joe Gibbs Racing has hired JTG Daugherty Racing Owner Tad Geschickter’s marketing agency to help sell sponsorship, a unique if not unprecedented arrangement that will see a Chevy-aligned NASCAR team owner help find revenue for Toyota’s flagship program. Geschickter launched Brand Activation Maximizer, or BAM, in '18, and it has worked with entities like Minor League Baseball, Kroger and a host of CPG brands since. Kroger also has a major, full-season sponsorship deal with JTG, a one-car team in the NASCAR Cup Series co-owned by the Geschickter family and Brad Daugherty. Geschickter, who has a background in retail marketing after a longtime stint at Procter & Gamble, has known the Gibbs family for years coincidentally. He and the late J.D. Gibbs both attended William & Mary. However, this is the first time that Geschickter has helped another NASCAR team sell sponsorship, and he told SBJ that JGR is the only team he would likely do it for because of that past history. JTG is also sold out of inventory since Kroger takes up the full season, which likely also made Geschickter more open to the arrangement.
JGR is searching for a full-season sponsor -- or collection of sponsors -- to replace M&M’s chocolate, which is departing after ’22
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TRYING TO REPLACE M&M'S: The deal is notable in part because it comes as JGR is searching for a full-season sponsor -- or collection of sponsors -- to replace M&M’s chocolate, which is departing its No. 18 car and organization after ’22. M&M’s has been a sponsor in NASCAR for more than 30 years and won multiple championships along the way, and it feels that now is the time to shift its marketing spend to other initiatives. That has left Gibbs with a huge hole to fill for next year -- $20-25M in annual sponsorship revenue that will need to be replaced to the extent possible. JGR is said to be in advanced discussions with a major technology company for a one-year deal for the No. 18 car for next year, according to sources, but an agreement is yet to be announced, and JGR President Dave Alpern told SBJ that the relationship with BAM will extend beyond filling the No. 18 inventory.
RARE MOVE IN THE GARAGE: JGR hiring BAM is also notable just because of how rare if not unprecedented it is for one NASCAR team owner to sell for another team, particularly one that has no common ownership or shared manufacturer. Geschickter has been spotted on the JGR campus multiple times in recent weeks, as he is going there for meetings. JGR also has an in-house sales team that is also still working to sell sponsorships, in addition to the team receiving aid from BAM. Alpern: “I don’t think there’s anyone in the garage that understands sponsorship and activation better than Tad -- he's got a PHD in that background so he knows how to speak the language of sponsorship and this isn’t just about slapping a logo somewhere, this is about building integrated marketing programs.” Alpern said that JGR has “a lot of irons in the fire” as it works to land a replacement for M&M’s.
