Office Depot's NASCAR strategy
Office Depot has been getting a lot of mileage from its sponsorship of the Carl Edwards’ No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion.
The Delray Beach company has devised a series of promotional programs to reward businesses, individual customers and employees. This week, for example, Edwards, who is featured in two NASCAR-themed Harlequin romance novels visited company headquarters with Harlequin author Nancy Warren to autograph the books and meet employees.
Earlier this year, the company awarded its annual “Official Small Business of NASCAR, courtesy of Office Depot” prize to Kentuckiana Engineering Company, Inc. of Louisville, KY. The prize comes with a spot for the company's name on Edwards’ car during one race and a year's supply of business cards and stationery with the “Small Business of NASCAR” title.
And this fall, the company ran a promotion to win a Roush Stage 3 Mustang.
Diann LaGrange of Aurora, Colo., won the prize for entering the company’s loyalty rewards program's Worklife Rewards Sweepstakes. Edwards and Roush Fenway Racing co-owner Jack Roush awarded her the one-of-a-kind performance car at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday morning. Edwards, the winner of this year’s NASCAR Busch Series title, gave LaGrange a spin around the track in the car that features his No. 99 logo stitched into the upholstery and a special paint scheme with his and Roush’s signatures.
“Office Depot is always looking to do things for the fans, and I have really enjoyed being a part of these programs. This is one of the coolest programs yet,” Edwards said in a statement before taking LaGrange for her ride. “I’d love to be able to keep this car for myself, but I am really excited to get on the track with Diann and show her what this Roush Stage 3 Mustang can do.”
LaGrange also gets to watch Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup finale, the Ford 400, from a suite.
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.
