The SpongeBob SquarePants 400 will take place at Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, on May 9.
Nickelodeon is transforming Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan., into Bikini Bottom by signing on as the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on May 9, now dubbed the SpongeBob SquarePants 400.
“Hopefully the idea of a race with the name SpongeBob SquarePants in it attracts the casual or novice fan that maybe wouldn’t make this an appointment viewing experience,” said Anthony DiCosmo, VP of Sports Marketing for Nickelodeon. “Hopefully this is something, using SpongeBob and the things we’re going to be doing along with it, that will make it a little fun in a different kind of way from a typical race.”
The SpongeBob SquarePants 400 is timed to promote The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and the show’s upcoming new season. Though the sponsorship amount was not disclosed, Kansas Speedway President Pat Warren said both parties reached an agreement last year and have been waiting to announce the event. The ways in which Bikini Bottom graphics will be incorporated at the track are still being explored but could include a crash wall, an 8-acre grass area used for sponsor logos, a grass berm across the backstretch and appearances by Nickelodeon characters.
Warren is also excited for the chance to attract younger fans and families to the event. Already, Kansas Speedway offers discounted tickets to children 12 and younger, and this sponsorship will help expand that potential.
“Our business model is very family friendly,” said Warren, “in the sense that we have discounted kids tickets, you can park for free at our venue and you can bring in your own food and drink. So, really once you buy the ticket, you don’t have to spend another dollar, if you don’t want to, to have a full day of event experience. That’s different than other places you go where everything you want to do has an additional cost.”
Nickelodeon and NASCAR have teamed up in the past, with Nickelodeon participating in the Bank of America 500 week in 2012 and NASCAR including drivers like Danica Patrick and Jeff Gordon in Nickelodeon programming.
“This whole project is kind of the 2.0 iteration of our overall partnership with NASCAR,” said DiCosmo. “On a smaller scale we’ve done some activations at other races, not quite at the level of buying the naming rights but saying, let’s kind of dip our toe in the water of cup races and see how our properties could come to life through this sport.”
Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, will be transformed into Bikini Bottom.
Last year, Nickelodeon brought the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Xfinity Series as sponsors of the prerace events. The fan zone area included a DJ, interactive pieces and appearances by the Turtles themselves.
“What was cool to see was how a couple of generations have grown up with the Turtles,” said Greg Walter, VP of Partnership Development at Speedway Motorsports Inc. “You saw parents there with their kids and even millennials wanted to have their pictures taken with the Turtles. I mean, they were bigger rock stars than some of the drivers.”
NASCAR’s cross-generational audience lines up well with Nickelodeon’s own audience base and its goal of bringing characters like SpongeBob SquarePants to new fans.
“Part of the point is how can we reinvent the property and continue to bring it to new places,” said DiCosmo. “and I think that’s one of the reasons why NASCAR made sense. Our properties have a cross-generational appeal, and I think that’s what NASCAR is. It’s one of those sports that becomes a legacy experience where families and kids are going to show up and spend the day at the track or watching the race at home. I think that’s where the commonality is.”
Not only are these fans diverse, but they’re also some of the most brand loyal sports fans out there. Walter said NASCAR fans embrace the commercialism of the sport because they understand that’s what makes it all possible.
“NASCAR fans are incredibly brand loyal, also, ironically, high brand switchers,” said Warren. “If Jeff Gordon switched from Pepsi to Coke, his fans are seven times more likely than the average consumer to switch what they drink from Pepsi to Coke. Nickelodeon, I’m sure, sees the same thing and that’s data that they have, so they know that our fans are going to reward them by watching SpongeBob and watching their network. That’s why NASCAR makes a great partner for so many brands.”
Sponsors at NASCAR events enjoy a particular level of exposure and interaction that DiCosmo said is hard to find in other sports. That uniqueness adds to Nickelodeon's interest in teaming up with NASCAR to reach new audiences and keep their programming relevant.
“It’s a different opportunity than working with some of the other leagues, not in a better way or worse way, just in a different way,” said DiCosmo. “The way that they activate around sponsors, the access that you get when you’re at a race, you’re in pit row, you’re by the garages, you’re talking to the drivers literally right up to the moment when they hop in their car. That kind of experience, really no other sport offers it.”
Beyond attracting the family crowd and new first-time NASCAR fans, Warren said that most people have been supportive of the name and excited for the things Nickelodeon will be bringing to the race.
“I’m sure there will be some people against it,” said Warren, "but I don’t think it’s so much an age thing. We’ve heard a little bit of it, if you look on Facebook and places like that, of what I call 'traditionalists' who are upset and they think it’s not an appropriate race title. But fundamentally we’re a business and we sell our race entitlement, and when we can develop a relationship with a great partner like Nickelodeon and the business terms make sense for us, there’s no reason not to do it.”
Interviewed for this story: Greg Walter, (704) 454-6422; Anthony DiCosmo, (212) 846-7491; Pat Warren, (913) 328-3315