Poultry company Pinty’s Delicious Foods has signed a sponsorship agreement with NASCAR Canada making it the racing entity’s official “wingman” for the next three years.
The Burlington, Ont.–based Pinty’s makes a variety of frozen food products, including chicken wings, fillets and nuggets.
“This is a new and interesting deal for us, and a good fit,” said Richard Coughlin, director of sponsorship for NASCAR Canada in Toronto. “Our fan base is quite large and has an expectation of restaurant-quality food [within] the home viewing experience.” Pinty’s products are a natural fit with NASCAR’s primary audience of males 25-54, he said.
As part of the deal, the company will present the Pinty’s Official Wingman Award after each of the 12 races in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. The award is presented to the crew chief of the team with the best result through qualifying and the race itself.
Pinty’s will also have a trackside presence throughout the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series that could include sampling and couponing, said Coughlin. It will also sponsor the “NASCAR Race Report” on TSN’s flagship news program Sportscentre every Friday during NASCAR season, and have standard commercial inventory during NASCAR telecasts on the sports broadcaster. Pinty’s will also be able to use the NASCAR mark on its packaging.
The sponsorship will feature an annual contest around the wingman concept that will have social media tie-ins and both broadcast and online support from TSN.
The timing of the sponsorship deal coincides with a new chicken wing brand being introduced by Pinty’s Aug. 1, said Coughlin.
This year NASCAR Canada has revamped up its existing sponsorship deals with Dodge and Toyota. Coughlin said the brand is set to reveal some new sponsorships for the 2013 season.
NASCAR Canada currently has 20 marketing partnerships in place, said Coughlin, 15 of which are currently active in market. The organization is eager to add a partner in the QSR category, said Coughlin.
