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Tuesday, February 20
Earnhardt savvy in racing and business
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With his seven Winston Cup titles, Dale
Earnhardt was the man to beat -- on the marketing track as well as
the race track.
From Coca-Cola and General Motors to much smaller regional
firms, sponsors knew the appeal of "The Intimidator" was fuel for
sales of anything from fried chicken to tires.
|  | | Dale Earnhardt's marketing prowess will be missed as much as his exploits on the track. |
With Earnhardt's death, those same sponsors are moving quickly
to pull ads and revamp promotional campaigns.
Veteran motorsports marketing executive Tom Cotter estimated
Earnhardt's name was worth at least $20 million a year in
sponsorships.
"Every sponsor has a crisis plan on file that they hope they
never have to open," said Cotter, the chairman of SFX/Cotter
Group, a Harrisburg motorsports marketing firm. "Right now, they
are canceling ads, stopping print runs and destroying promotional
materials."
Cotter has some experience in the unfortunate task of dealing
with the death of a popular racer. In 1994, his agency was handling
the marketing for Country Time Lemonade, which sponsored Neil
Bonnett's race team.
Bonnett, one of Earnhardt's closest friends, was killed on Feb.
11, 1994, during a practice run for the Daytona 500.
"Country Time had just launched a huge national promotion,"
Cotter said. "They came to me said I should do what needs to be
done. They said money was no object. Those were the most special
words a client could tell an agency."
With the company's blessing, Cotter went ahead with the campaign
and donated the proceeds to charity. It was a big success and it
became a case study in crisis management, he said.
Earnhardt was one of 11 racers used in Coke ads that began
running before the Daytona 500. His picture appeared on vending
machines around the country. Now Coke executives are going to have
to decide what to do with the campaign.
At Coke Consolidated's Charlotte headquarters, TV ads featuring
Earnhardt were pulled.
"Not taking away from any of the other (drivers), but Dale
Earnhardt was bigger than life, no question about it. He's the
star," Lauren Steele, a Coke Consolidated spokeswoman who twice
handed Earnhardt the Coca-Cola 600 trophy, told The Charlotte
Observer.
Earnhardt's connections in the business world ran deep, from his
race teams, a Chevrolet car dealership and his work with R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco -- which sponsors the Winston Cup Series -- to Bass
Pro Shops Outdoor World.
Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World was running a promotion offering
customers the chance to win NASCAR tickets and meet Earnhardt.
Company spokesman Larry Whiteley said the in-store messages have
been changed and advertisements pulled.
Whiteley said Earnhardt was a perfect fit for the company's
sportsman image.
"He loved the outdoors, he hunted and fished," Whiteley said.
"And his fans were our kind of customers."
Earnhardt also was part-owner of a minor league baseball team,
the Class A Kannapolis Intimidators.
"Frankly, I don't think his effect can be measured," Cotter
said.
Earnhardt's appeal to working-class consumers was his
personality, which was gritty and genuine.
"Think about a young, arrogant kid quitting high school in a
North Carolina mill town," Cotter said. "It's a formula for
failure. He was destined to live his life out in a trailer home and
work as a laborer."
"Then flash forward 25 years later," Cotter said. "When he
dies, the president calls his family to offer his condolences and
the whole country goes into mourning."
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