Corporate Sponsor Testimonials
EXPANDING THE BRAND...
- Joe Antonini, former CEO Kmart
- Frank Miller
Frank Miller spent over 40 years on the strategic communications side with Texaco, helping manage all of the brands relationships in sports, but especially in auto racing, the life blood of the company’s brand activation platform.
When you ask the Texan which team was best to deal with and helped deliver above and beyond for the company, his answer is simple…Newman/Haas Racing. “When you look at any racing platform, you have to see what will sell your product and how your company can benefit from the spend above all the other options,” he said. “In looking back, there was no better partner for Texaco as a brand than Newman/Haas Racing. From ownership down to the drivers and the staff at the track, they always went above and beyond to deliver and took the time to understand what it was that we needed to be successful. That was very rare then and it remains a rare and admirable quality today.”
The relationship between Newman/Haas Racing and the Texaco star went well beyond the conventional sponsor/property arrangement. It extended into work with government affairs, charity partnerships, cause marketing and brand development in addition to the traditional on-site media and hospitality events and promotions with dealers. “They never said no, and in over 30 years working with Carl Haas and his team I cannot think of one time where the person we needed to engage did not leave the experience impressed, not just with the drivers, but in the way Texaco was able to work with everyone to deliver above and beyond what was expected,” he added.
The productivity of the relationship started at the top, in owners Paul Newman and Carl Haas, and their philosophy of taking care of their partners extended down through the organization. It is that sense of family and commitment that Miller believes remains with the team, and continues to make the team a strong asset into the future. “Paul is gone that is true, but the name lives on, and in that name I believe is the continued positive spirit and understanding of what it takes to be successful as a brand,” he added. “There was never a driver, or a crew member or a representative who did not put our needs before theirs, and I do not think that will change. Yes it is important to have those larger than life figures in the cars, and in our time Mario and Michael Andretti were important, but what was more important was that our needs were addressed and addressed beyond the letter of the contract, and there is no reason to believe that won’t continue with whomever they work.”
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