NASCAR events are massive, drawing in millions of viewers and even more passionate fans at the track. But what makes the NASCAR world stand out is its crowded market of brewery sponsorships. Brimming with established players in this space, sometimes it’s difficult for a newer brewery like Michael Waltrip Brewing to get noticed. So, how can you elbow your way into the NASCAR market, given that your brand is relatively behind the existing giants?
In the upcoming EssentiallySports Think Tank podcast episode, our host, Trey Holder, sat down with the CMO of Michael Waltrip Brewing, John Andrews, to find out a possible strategy for penetrating the busy NASCAR market. Their discussion on certain loopholes and other strategies might open up a new route for NASCAR marketers to implement.
John Andrews, a seasoned innovator with a career defined by adaptability, collaboration, and a keen eye for value, has transformed several Fortune 500 companies. Having already delivered innovative solutions to empower businesses, Andrews has brought his nearly three decades of experience to Michael Waltrip Brewing. Serving as Chief Marketing Officer, Andrews is trying to position Michael Waltrip as a strong brewery sponsor in a crowded NASCAR market. So, given Andrews’ work, Holder had an interesting question for Waltrip’s CMO.
“Are there other ways to partner with the tracks or with NASCAR as an upstart challenge or brand when clearly they have large sponsors already, how do you navigate that well?” Holder asked. Andrews, who already knows how to constantly improve while adapting in today’s fast-paced world, spilled his immaculate strategy. “You’ve got a distributor system, so we don’t sell directly to any location. It all goes through a distributor, so typically those tracks are serviced by one of the large distributors,” Andrews explained.
One of those instances came last month. Michael Waltrip Brewing Company announced an exciting partnership with DET Distributing Company of Nashville to supply Michael Waltrip Beers to Music City. This DET serves as a key distributor in the Molson Coors Beverage Company Network. So, this collaboration was huge for MWBco, whose beers will now be shelved in bars throughout Nashville. But distributor marketing strategies aren’t the only thing Andrews specializes in—his revolutionary work with MWBco.
Michael Waltrip Brewing extends support to smaller tracks
Beyond the hustle and bustle of top NASCAR events, which usually pull big sponsorship deals. Those smaller tracks are sometimes left behind to fend for themselves. So, Michael Waltrip Brewing, whose on-track sponsorship initiative is designed to expand the brand’s appeal, has rolled out support for smaller tracks. “Our strategy we really want to support the smaller tracks. So we’ve got beer gardens. We start our first beer garden at Volusia International Speedway, which is a dirt track near Daytona,” Andrews revealed.
As per Andrews, this strategy turned out to be a massive success for Michael Waltrip Beers. Those Daytona fans who wanted to catch the big races later at Volusia had a blast in Michael Waltrip’s beer garden. Andrews also went on to say that he continued with a similar integration in the Clarksville Speedway. Now, those wondering how his strategy of sponsoring the smaller tracks worked. Andrews also shared his thoughts on what led him to choose this risky route.
“These local speedways, this is Friday night lights in a lot of towns. So, it’s a culture that people you know is inexpensive entertainment for my family. It’s a competitive sport. It’s fun to watch and gives us a way again to just focus on that core persona,” Andrews mused. Once Michael Waltrip builds up an identity for itself among those local communities. Andrews believes it makes them look “for our beer then when they go to their grocery store during the week.”
With those strategies, Andrews helps Michael Waltrip Beers position itself as a strong sponsor in the NASCAR world. There’s a long way to go before Michael Waltrip Brewing can match the status of Anheuser-Busch or Molson Coors. But with John Andrew’s marketing expertise, they might just be the fastest-growing brewing sponsors in a thriving NASCAR world.
Our Essentially Sports Think Tank podcast specializes in offering valuable insights from industry experts. For more such interviews, stay tuned as we bring more leaders on our podcast. This is EssentiallySports Think Tank—Where Sports Meets Smart Content.
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