CART begins
Hispanic marketing initiatives
by Mark
Cipolloni
July 16, 2002
INDIANAPOLIS (July 16, 2002) -
Responding not only to the recent influx of drivers and teams
from Mexico that are having success in the CART FedEx
Championship Series, but also to the businesses and huge
crowds that surround the CART events in Mexico, Championship
Auto Racing Teams announced its Hispanic Marketing Initiatives
over the weekend in Cleveland.
The series revealed its plan to teams, sponsors and
manufacturers on Sunday, laying out a three-pronged approach
that is meant to help existing teams and partners within the
Hispanic community as well as to attract new companies to
CART.
"Since the arrival of Adrian Fernandez in our series way back
in the Indy Lights, he has led the charge of the
Spanish-speaking people from Mexico and the U.S. to our
series," CART CEO and President Christopher R. Pook said. "The
intensity of the interest of the Hispanic community in our
series has grown and has become a powerful economic force that
we have to address."
CART is creating a Hispanic Marketing Initiative for both
Mexican- and U.S.-based companies, with marketing executives
from companies that focus on the Hispanic market giving input
to CART on how to capitalize on the growing interest. CART
will schedule and moderate the groups, helping the companies
organize promotional efforts within the series. The initiative
is designed to aid not only companies that are heavily
involved in the Hispanic sector, but also those that would
like to expand their reach into Hispanic markets both in and
out of the United States.
"As a team enjoying primary sponsorship from Grupo Herdez and
supported by some of Mexico's leading companies such as Corona
Extra, Del Valle, Vitro and Televisa, we welcome CART's
initiative in recognizing the importance of Mexico in the
world market," said Herdez Competition Business Director Kevin
Lee. "CART is being proactive in supporting teams and their
sponsors. Herdez Competition looks forward to playing a role
in this latest initiative that highlights that the Hispanic
population is the fastest growing segment in virtually every
market in which we compete."
Pook also announced the formation of a new CART Hispanic News
Bureau, which will reproduce all of CART's news releases for
the Spanish-speaking community. The new bureau will also
target the major Hispanic newspapers of North America as well
as the mainstream sports media outlets of Mexico.
CART will also focus some of its energies towards its Spanish
language television broadcasts as it looks to increase its
live presence in the Hispanic markets. The series already
receives Spanish-language coverage from TV Azteca in Mexico
and is working on a plan to release all of its VNR highlight
tapes in both English and Spanish. The CART FedEx Championship
Series currently runs two of its races in Mexico, the season
opener in Monterrey and the inaugural Mexico Gran Premio 2002
in Mexico City on November 17.
"I think it is a very good idea to cover the Hispanic market,
and a very good opportunity for CART and for all of the
sponsors," said Quaker State Mexico Special Projects Director
Arturo Romero. "American corporations are looking at the
Hispanic market. A lot of companies -- big corporations and
small corporations -- make commercials in Spanish. I like the
idea to invite Hispanic journalists to attend the races, and
to have the website and press releases in both English and
Spanish. With this, we are on the way to increasing the
visibility of this series."
Three Mexican drivers currently compete in the CART FedEx
Championship Series, all with primary sponsorship from
Hispanic companies including Adrian Fernandez (#51
Tecate/Quaker State/Telmex Honda/Lola/Bridgestone), Michel
Jourdain Jr. (#9 Gigante Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and
Mario Dominguez (#55 Herdez Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone).
Drivers such as Rodolfo Lavin, Luis Diaz and Waldemar Coronas
are among those that are trying to get to the Champ Car ranks
this season by competing in the CART Toyota Atlantic Series.
"It is a great opportunity to expand our series into the
Hispanic market, which has been forgotten for quite awhile,"
said owner/driver Fernandez. "We have a lot of fans here in
America and I think we have a great team of Mexican drivers
that can attract some new fans and reclaim fans that have been
left behind. It is good that we are taking care of them.".
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