Coca-Cola honored by NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.— Coca-Cola was honored on Thursday with the 2013 NASCAR Marketing Achievement Award at the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon, which was held in the Encore Ballroom at Wynn Las Vegas. This makes Coca-Cola a three-time recipient of the award.



Coca-Cola, using an immersive integrated marketing strategy, engaged fans, customers and employees across nearly every facet of NASCAR, including promotions, public relations, online, social media and retail.



“Over the course of our 15-year relationship, Coca-Cola has become one of the most recognized brands in our sport,” Jim O'Connell, NASCAR chief sales officer, said. “Once again, Coca-Cola raised the bar by creating innovative activation and an integrated marketing approach to engage with millions of NASCAR fans, embodying the spirit of the award.”



This year, Coca-Cola released a series of brand spots called “Coca-Cola Racing Family Road Trip,” which featured NASCAR stars Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. The four-part series premiered during the Daytona 500.

“The Coca-Cola partnership with NASCAR is rich in history and passionately multifaceted. We’re honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award from such a valuable partner,” Sharon Byers, senior vice president, sports and entertainment marketing for Coca-Cola North America Group, said. “From our Coca-Cola Racing Family members to decades of supporting local, regional and national activation, together our properties talk to a broad scope of fans. In 2013, the NASCAR partnership extended across 19 tracks, 13 current and alumni drivers, two entitlement races, activation with 36 national retail partners in [more than] 250,000 retail locations, 2.8 million My Coke Rewards entries in NASCAR-themed sweepstakes and nearly 12,000 participants in our Coca-Cola Family Track Walks.”