After winning two Australian V8 Supercars Championships, Marcos Ambrose decided to pursue an American NASCAR career.
NASCAR is the sporting world’s leader in terms of corporate involvement, fan engagement and media awareness.
BAM Media had a two-fold remit from Ambrose: Build a profile for him in the highly competitive American market and to maintain his position as one of the leading sports people in Australia.
A side objective to the program was to leverage Australian fans into watching Ambrose compete via television coverage of NASCAR events.
The program was operated from Australia with strategic support from BAM North America.
A significant portion of the program was to create a media outreach program for Ambrose in the US market – which also leveraged his US based sponsors.
The objective of the BAM Media-developed program was to position Marcos as an accomplished Championship racer, an accessible personality and a ‘nice guy’ of the sport.
Although forced to start his career in the ‘minor leagues’ of NASCAR – Ambrose’s rise was meteoric. Quickly, his profile grew within the US market – so much so that he was ranked as the 12th most popular driver among the loyal NASCAR fanbase in 2009.
Ambrose, with his easy-going demeanour and the solid media program built for him by BAM Media quickly moved through the NASCAR minor ranks before successfully making his Sprint Cup (premier division) debut.
The bespoke program that BAM Media developed saw Ambrose’s profile and the profile of NASCAR rise significantly in Australia.
The telecasts for the NASCAR Nationwide Series races became one of the highest rating motorsports in the country and were a key part of the launch strategy for Network Ten’s ONE HD high-definition platform.
Leveraging from the support generated for Ambrose, BAM Tours was launched and many Australian fans had the opportunity to travel to the US and receive unprecedented access to both Ambrose and the NASCAR racing events in which he competed.
Aside from being Australian – an oddity in fiercely patriotic NASCAR circles in itself – BAM Media’s program focused on Ambrose’s outside interests – including goldpanning – which continues to generate a great deal of media interest.
Since establishing himself within the NASCAR Sprint Cup, he is considered to be one of the leading stars in the sport.
RESULT:
Major media coverage in both USA and Australia; regular coverage in major publications such as USA Today; focus on Marcos during NASCAR telecasts as a ‘featured driver’ due to his strong Australian following; a significant increase in awareness among Australians of NASCAR.
“The BAM Group’s understanding of the US market – especially in my first season – was invaluable,” Ambrose commented. “The value (of the BAM Group) increased as I progressed towards a NASCAR Sprint Cup career. It is a 24/7 organisation that continually creates terrific ideas to keep those they represent competitive in the marketplace.”