Aflac won't likely sell off as many Sprint Cup races as originally planned
Aflac will likely be the primary sponsor of Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 99 Ford driven by Carl Edwards for more NASCAR Sprint Cup races this year than originally announced.
When Aflac announced it would become the primary sponsor in 2009, a company official had indicated that it hoped to keep only 20-25 races as the primary sponsor and sell off the remaining 11-16. That was back in May when the contract, reportedly a three-year deal with Roush Fenway worth $26 million a year, was inked.
The economy has changed since then, as has Edwards’ stature as he challenged for last year’s Sprint Cup title and won a series-high nine races. Aflac currently has sold off four races – three to Subway and one to Claritin – and a company executive says it won’t sell off additional races unless the potential sponsor fits with Aflac’s business model.
“Our strategy is right now we feel like we have the hottest driver in NASCAR,” Keith Farley, Aflac’s corporate sponsorship manager, said last week at Daytona. “We feel like since originally working with him last May and working on the contract, his value has gone up. Our strategy is to make sure we do what’s right for the Aflac brand and for Carl.
“We might sell to other sponsors. We’ve turned other sponsors down that want to be on the car because we want to make sure it makes business sense for us, not just from a branding standpoint.”
As a supplemental insurance company, Aflac wants only partners that can increase its insurance business.
“When we look at a company like Subway that has 30,000 franchises, that is the perfect example of small business owners,” Farley said. “Does that make good sense for Aflac, to sell these products to employees to be involved with? Yes. It’s got to fit there because that’s the main reason we’re in the sport.”
