Home Depot convinced 18-year-old can be its NASCAR face
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – The Home Depot has spent the last 10 years sponsoring Tony Stewart, who became a public face of the company thanks to an array of advertising and marketing pitches. So when Stewart opted to leave Joe Gibbs Racing effective at the end of the season, the company had to decide if it wanted any face in the sport.
It opted to remain, and remain with JGR with an 18-year-old driver named Joey Logano.
“We looked at all of our options,” said Home Depot Chief Marketing Officer Frank Bifulco Jr. “We landed on the one that we think is best for our brand, our business, our customers and our associates.”
When former Chariman Bob Nardelli, a longtime Stewart supporter, left the company in January 2007, there were questions concerning whether the home improvement store chain would remain committed to NASCAR under its new leadership. And with the company’s net 2008 earnings coming in at 40 percent less than in the first half of 2007, that speculation continued.
“Any time a function like marketing wants to spend money against an association and property, whether it’s other sports or NASCAR, you need to have the right rationale,” Bifulco said. “In our case, we can show why this makes sense for The Home Depot. … We fell very good about our participation in the sport.
“We think it helps us better connect with our customers, and we know it inspires and excites our associates.”
Bifulco said The Home Depot didn’t take part in the negotiations when JGR attempted to re-sign Stewart. The two-time Cup series champion had a contract that ended in 2009, but he will be released a season early.
Bifulco also said the involvement of rivals Lowe’s and Menards in the sport did not play a major role in the company's decision to remain part of NASCAR.
“We always take into consideration competitive factors, but that wasn’t an overwhelming consideration,” Bifulco said. “We were trying to do what we felt was best for our brand and business and customers. That’s what drove our decision, also based on the success we’ve had in this sport.
“Was it a consideration that our competitors were in the sport? Yeah, but not a controlling one or driving one by any stretch of the imagination.”
And it decided to remain with an 18-year-old driver who might not exactly be the prototypical Home Depot customer.
“As the awareness builds and he’s competitive, you’ll take the fan that has a propensity to want to follow The Home Depot and shop in our stores. We’re convinced the loyalty will be there and will grow over time,” Bifulco said. “We totally acknowledge that when you look at the NASCAR fan base, that point of consumer passion is the driver.
“They certainly acknowledge the race team, but at the same time, they really connect with the driver. Tony has his followings without a doubt, but at the same time, we’re totally convinced and excited about what Joey represents, and we feel he is going to appeal to a broad swath of our customer base 18 to 54. We don’t see any downside to that.”
Bifulco said the company discussed internally the impact of having such a young driver, but it also wanted JGR to choose the driver.
“I don’t like the notion of Joey as ‘the kid,’ ” Bifulco said. “I think what we see in Joey is a mature young man, who has the values, the work ethic, and the competence. … If you look at what Joey’s done already behind the wheel of a car, it gives us comfort going forward.”
The Home Depot still has another decision to make. Its sponsorship of NASCAR ends this year. Bifulco would give no hints on whether the company would continue that sponsorship but did say the money committed to Logano and JGR will not significantly impact whether it also re-signs with NASCAR.
“We’ll be looking at all of that, and we’re not ready to make any announcements,” Bifulco said. “We’ll put it against everything else that we do, not within NASCAR as much as all the other things we try to do in the marketplace.”
