Knights Inn Boosts Brand Visibility With NASCAR Sponsorship

PARSIPPANY, NJ— Knights Inn has unveiled a new marketing tactic that will help boost the brand’s national visibility with the aim of increasing the chain’s loyal customer base. The hotel chain will sponsor driver Kerry Earnhardt for the entire 2003 NASCAR Busch Series and in select NASCAR Winston Cup Series races in 2003. As an associate sponsor, Knights Inn will have its logo featured on the #12 Chevrolet Monte Carlo of FitzBradshaw Racing that Earnhardt will drive in the Busch Series and on the #83 Chevy in the Winston Cup Series. “This partnership provides the Knights Inn brand with tremendous visibility in a sport that has millions of loyal fans and spectators,” said Knights Inn President Anthony Falor. This is not the first sponsorship for the brand, however. Last year Knights backed NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Mike Bliss in what Falor called a “very successful” partnership that resulted in considerable incremental revenue for the chain. So they decided to up the ante this year. How does Knights Inn know for sure what kind of revenue the partnership generated? “The proof is in the pudding,” Falor said, noting the chain gave special rate codes for the promotions it ran in conjunction with NASCAR and tracked those bookings over the course of the year. A “Rev It Up” Sweepstakes which also ran last year that tied in with NASCAR saw 100,000 entries in a 60-day period, proving the relationship had far reach. Knights Inn plans to do a similar sweepstakes this year. Indianapolis-based Just Marketing facilitated the partnership and will manage the program on behalf of Knights Inn. Just Marketing has served as the Knights Inn motor sports agency since 2000. While Falor noted that there are “significant costs involved” in such a partnership, he also said that the benefits are well worth it. “It promotes national exposure and increased awareness among target consumer markets,” he explained. In addition to sponsoring the cars, Knights Inn will provide lodging to Earnhardt and his crew while on the road. Some properties in close proximity to the raceways where Earnhardt races may even benefit from local appearances by the sport celebrity for autograph sessions, he said. In addition, Knights Inn plans on doing some cross promoting with Super Cuts, a co-sponsor of the car (with a similar consumer base to the hotel chain), “ and possibly some others,” said Falor