Brand marketing and NASCAR: Johnson's success pays huge dividends for Lowe's

What exactly has five-time Sprint Cup winner Jimmie Johnson delivered in his sponsor partnership with Lowe's?  Apparently, a lot, reports this NASCAR.com story. Until now, I haven't been able to find too many good stories about sponsorships and brand impact. It's really worth a read if you are a brand marketing fan. I'm not a huge JJ fan (go #22 KuBu!), but I can appreciate what they've been able to accomplish in such a short period of time, race-wise and business-wise.

"This week, Johnson begins his run at a sixth consecutive Sprint Cup championship. His success has given Lowe's more than a mere winner. He also has provided a high profile and consistent marketing platform that allowed the company to build a database of more than 1 million fans, amass more than $130 million in media exposure in only four years and run a series of signature promotions that helped Lowe's launch its own line of tools and evolve from a regional retailer to a national chain"
Johnson's success pays huge dividends for Lowe's - NASCAR.com

 

 

Sunset at Plum Island, MA

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Just another amazing sunset at Plum Island, MA, right where the Merrimack River meets the ocean. If you like beaches and surfcasting, this is the place for you. Stop by Surfland Bait and Tackle and see Kay - she'll make sure you've got the right advice and bait to land the big one. Check out the Surfland Fishing Report - stripers and flounder are hitting hard now, so get out there. Remember - fish the tides and you can't go wrong.  Good luck and happy beaching!

Three Big Boxes?

Yes, this year, we're going big and actually moved up to planting *three* square-foot garden boxes. Whoa! We've got everything we could get our hands on, including zucchini, chard, bok choy, three varieties of tomatoes, broccoli, squash, watermelon, cucumbers and a boatload of flowers. Soaker hoses have been placed over the cover mulch, we're fertilized and ready for more of that hot, sunny weather. Bring it on!  Remember - share your planting with a kid and grow something together.

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Wow, Just Wow...

That's what Tom Jensen of the Speed Channel said and I can't top that: Sunday was one of, if not the, greatest days of racing ever. Did you catch any of the Grand Prix of Monaco, the Indy 500, or the Coca Cola 600?

Having seen the Indy as a kid, I've always got a warm spot in my heart for the Brickyard. Like everyone else, I was shocked and disappointed to see 23-year-old rookie JR Hildebrand hit the wall on the last lap before his impending victory. So close! I hope he returns to give it another shot next year.

Later, at the Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte, NASCAR did not disappoint in hosting a long, but super race. I follow drivers Kurt Busch #22 and Joey Logano #20, but in the final laps I was on my feet shouting for fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., who appeared to be in position to snap his Sprint Cup winless streak running since 2008. But in the final lap, Jr. just ran out of gas! How shocking is that? Again, so close. On the bright side, Kurt Busch landed a fourth place finish and Joey Logano came in third. You know I'm happy about that!

Do I think Jr's winning position in this race was a fluke? No way. I think he has been getting closer and closer to achieving that elusive victory. His own words illustrate that no-excuses, positive, team-minded focus that will indeed get him across the finish line:

"I'm disappointed we didn't win. I know all our fans are disappointed to come so close. But if we'd have won that race, it'd have been a gift. We were a top-five car but never put ourselves in the lead. We ran good tonight. I'm proud of my guys and how the car unloaded. I'm proud of how we worked all night long. We've been around for a long time, we'll get plenty. Don't worry about that."

I look forward to seeing that win happen. But for now, I'm off to watch the Grand Prix highlights...

Garden '11: Earlier is better

Spring gardening results this year have been excellent so far. My daughter and I started our planting a lot earlier than usual. Mid-April, we decided to plant our crops and flowers in self-watering window boxes, instead of directly in the ground. The boxes have stayed on a protected greenhouse-like porch with a lot of sun. 

050811_garden

I usually get caught up in the excitement of Spring and gardening in New England, totally disregarding the final frost dates in the almanac - and paying the price for it. Fortunately, the window box option has prevented us from getting burned again.

I'm happy to report that so far, we've had two harvests of lettuce, and the beans and broccoli are looking really good. I think we will transplant our crops out of the window boxes and into our square-foot-garden boxes very soon.

Remember, if you are thinking about gardening, share some quality time with a kid and get planting together.