Best Buy, Inc., announced today it has entered a new affiliation with Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
The nation’s leading electronics retailer will serve as the primary sponsor of driver Elliott Sadler and the No. 19 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge Avenger in 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events in 2008, including the 50th running of the “Great American Race, ” the Daytona 500.
“At Best Buy, we’re all about bringing consumers the complete product and service experiences, and that’s what we feel we’ve found with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, “ said Barry Judge, senior vice president, Marketing, Best Buy. “With Gillett Evernham Motorsports, not only do we have the focus on performance, but we also have a charismatic fan favorite and proven winner in our driver, Elliott Sadler. We’re confident this new relationship will generate excitement and enthusiasm among our employees, as well as our customers. ”
”This sponsorship is a natural fit, ” said Gillett Evernham Motorsports co-owner, Ray Evernham. “Gillett Evernham Motorsports is known for bringing technology and innovation to its race program, just as Best Buy is recognized for bringing the newest technology in entertainment to its customers. ”
“At Gillett Evernham Motorsports, we always look to align ourselves with companies at the forefront of their respective industries, ” said George N. Gillett, Jr., co-owner of Gillett Evernham Motorsports. “We’re honored to have such a prominent brand supporting our racing program, along with our other outstanding partners. ”
Since 2000, Gillett Evernham Motorsports has posted 13 wins, 24 poles, 67 top-five and 130 top-10 finishes in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition.
Driver Elliott Sadler is also no stranger to Victory Lane, with three Sprint Cup wins, 55 top-10 finishes and seven pole positions to his credit.
“Best Buy is a brand I’ve believed in and supported for years, so to represent them is honestly a dream come true, ” said Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 19 Dodge Avenger. “I love all kinds of music and movies, and I’ve always been a ‘gadget guy. ’ My house, car, boat and even my motor home are all tricked out with stereos, speakers, gaming systems, GPS, flat screens, DVD players, you name it. The employees at the Mooresville (N. C.) Best Buy store already know me by name, but they’ll be seeing even more of me now. ”
To announce the partnership, Best Buy and Gillett Evernham Motorsports held a press conference on Friday morning, Nov. 9, at Phoenix International Raceway, which featured a unique twist on the traditional sponsorship announcement. Instead of representatives just speaking about the new partnership, the relationship was announced through a special video piece that aired on flat-screen TV’s placed in front of the media center stage.
Produced by Best Buy’s internal Yellow Tag production team and filmed last week at the Mooresville, N.C., Best Buy store, the humorous clip features Sadler, Evernham and local Best Buy employees, known as “Blue Shirts. ”
“Best Buy is all about having fun, so we wanted to do something a little different than just sitting on a stage and talking about next year, ” said Brad Morrill, senior motorsports manager, Best Buy. “This video reveals the new relationship, but does it in a humorous way that really showcases the personalities of Elliott (Sadler), Ray (Evernham) and Best Buy. There are a lot of sponsorship announcements this time of year, so we wanted to give ours a different look and highlight some of the technology Best Buy is known for.
“The other great benefit is that Best Buy will use this piece to generate awareness and excitement among Best Buy’s 130,000-plus employees, as well as millions of race fans. We believe this is one of the first times, if not the first, a company has announced its motorsports sponsorship across multiple distribution channels to so many different publics. ”
As the press conference got underway, a link to the video was emailed to members of the motorsports media, allowing them to view the spot directly from their computer screens.
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