Keep Your Advertising on Track

What do nails and race cars have in common? For one thing, they’re both lovingly polished to a high gloss by their owners. For another, they’ve both developed a devoted following among the female portion of the population. According to a recent article in The York Sunday News, women’s infatuation with the sport of auto racing is growing rapidly; 40% of NASCAR’s 5.5 million fans are female, up from just 25% 15 years ago. With that in mind consider a new advertising vehicle: Sponsor a race car. Shari Finger, owner of Finger’s Nail Studios in W. Dundee,III., did it and it worked. She explains: “Last year, I was approached by one of my nail technicians, Jean Kinser; about sponsoring her race car. She happens to be a four-time SCCA National Champion. I thought, ‘If it works for those big NASCAR sponsors like STP, Skoal, and Tide, why couldn’t it work for nails?”’ A race car parked in front of the shop is quite an eye-catcher, says Finger “We’ve received a great response from men and women locally and at the national level, “she says.