House-Autry Mills is the latest company to join the sponsorship portfolio of Front Row Motorsports. House-Autry has been ‘the choice of Southern cooks since 1812’ and is celebrating its 200th anniversary through a sponsorship program with Front Row Motorsports.
The maker of breaders, mixes and sauces will appear as the primary sponsor of David Gilliland’s No. 38 Ford in the Labor Day weekend event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This will mark the company’s first foray into NASCAR.
“We’re very happy to be a part of Front Row Motorsports,” said House-Autry President, Craig Hagood. “I’m confident that David Gilliland will be a great ambassador for our brand. He is not only a talented racecar driver, but a great, all-around guy.
“When we were looking for a team and a driver to pair up with, we looked for a driver that had a strong family connection. David grew up in a racing family, served as a crew chief to his father, won a NASCAR Nationwide Series race with what was primarily a family-run team, and is now very involved in the racing career of his son Todd.”
Front Row Motorsports’ Chief Marketing Officer, Robin Johnson points to the recent sponsorship with House-Autry as yet another example of his team finding success in the marketplace.
“House-Autry is another great new partner for our team,” said Johnson “We’re growing our business at Front Row Motorsports and we’re targeting companies that want to grow their businesses and brands through NASCAR,”
Johnson also points to a rebounding economy, diligent prospecting and a compelling value proposition as key factors contributing to the success his marketing team has found this season.
“Unfortunately, the predominant story right now is that teams are struggling to find sponsorship,” continued Johnson. “On the contrary, our story is that, with the addition of House-Autry, we have brought nine new primary sponsors on-board this season, five of which are multi-race partners. I believe that is a story worth telling.
“Our packages are priced at a level where a company can justify the investment. To write a check of a half-million dollars or more to sponsor a racecar for one race is a big commitment. For some companies, that works and they can afford to do it. For a lot of other companies – the ones we’ve found success in prospecting, that just doesn’t make fiscal sense.
“I also think we package our sponsorships a lot differently than other teams. We offer a lot of in-house support from our marketing staff, which allows us to be more efficient and provide greater value to our partners. Our partners understand that being on a racecar is not going to move product and sell services by itself. The racecar and the partnership with our team are tools; very valuable tools. We have a team that teaches our partners how to use those tools to accomplish their objectives, and we have marketable drivers that are willing to go out of their way to ensure our sponsors are happy.”
Hagood admits that being able to see the success story Front Row Motorsports in writing was key to his company feeling comfortable with their investment.
“They showed us what they were able to do for McCall Farms, a company very similar to ours, at Darlington and how that partnership had grown from a one-race sponsorship to a seven race program,” said Hagood. “We asked them to put together a similar package for us in Atlanta. It was important for us to see Front Row’s experience at leveraging their NASCAR assets in the retail space. Being able to see their success stories and hear that their programs were working directly from their current partners went a long way towards building our confidence that NASCAR could work for us.”
More information on House-Autry’s sponsorship program will be available in the coming weeks.
FRM PR
