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Case Study: Sunoco

Challenge

As part of its long-standing NASCAR partnership, Sunoco was contractually required to promote its sponsorship through dedicated media during NASCAR-sanctioned events on national broadcast partners—including Fox, FS1, NBC, and NBC Sports Network. While no specific annual dollar commitment was mandated, Sunoco was expected to make good-faith efforts to maintain consistent annual spending levels with NASCAR TV partners.

Within those parameters, Sunoco aimed to maximize the visibility and value of its “Official Fuel of NASCAR” designation—driving brand relevance and engagement across on-track, on-car, and on-air platforms. The challenge was to do so efficiently, optimizing spend while still meeting contractual obligations and achieving meaningful brand impact.

Sunoco sponsorships on NASCAR

PROCESS

MayoSeitz Media strategically negotiated an enhanced year-over-year on-air presence that placed Sunoco at the center of race-day excitement with a flat budget. This included premium integrations such as checkered flag exposure, winners’ circle moments, and over ten in-race fuel mentions per event.

To strengthen brand visibility, dedicated Sunoco-branded signage and fuel can visuals were secured for every race—ensuring consistent exposure during key broadcast moments that mattered most to fans.

APPROACH

Our strategy prioritized efficiency, innovation, and precision targeting—delivering more impact per dollar than competitors with far larger budgets.
  • Focus on Core Markets: Concentrated media investment on races within Sunoco’s highest-density store regions—including Daytona, Homestead, Dover, New Hampshire, Pocono, Charlotte, and Michigan. Nielsen data confirmed increased viewership in these DMAs when races occurred in-market, demonstrating the power of localized engagement.
  • Maintain Signature Integrations: Sustained key in-race features such as Sunoco Race Off Pit Road and Fueling Victories to reinforce category ownership and authenticity.
  • Expand Cross-Channel Presence: Integrated Sunoco Fuel branding into pre-race and race-day podcasts and audio content, surrounding fans wherever they tuned in.
  • Reallocate for Efficiency: Reduced overall spend while maintaining visibility, securing 38 in-broadcast commercial units and reinvesting savings toward innovative, audience-driven initiatives.
  • Drive Performance: Continued to evolve NASCAR activation to support key business objectives and move the brand further down the marketing funnel.

RESULTS

Despite being outspent by nearly all other NASCAR partners, Sunoco’s smart, strategic approach drove exceptional outcomes:

  • $1.7M in annual on-air media value across NBC and Fox entities (3rd-party measured).
  • 300K app downloads in 30 days via a successful race-weekend geo-fencing and rewards program.
  • NASCAR Marketing Achievement Award recipient, demonstrating that strategic negotiation, efficient media allocation, and creative integration can outperform larger budgets.
$1.7M

annual on-air
media value

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