Why Promote on Race Cars?
27 December 1999
www.WorldBestBuy.com Investor Fact Sheet - NASCAR & INDY Racing Sponsorships; Why Promote an Internet Super-Sales Site Like WorldBestBuy.com on Race Cars?
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 27 http://www.WorldBestBuy.com, owned and
operated by parent company, International Brands, Inc.
(OTC Bulletin Board: INBRE) announced today further details regarding the
company's NASCAR sponsorship campaign. WorldBestBuy.com joins the ranks of
companies seeking brand recognition and loyalty through sports marketing in
proven categories such as NASCAR AND INDY Racing.
A survey conducted by Joyce Julius and Associates for Financial World put
it very clearly: "An analysis of over 1,000 sporting events showed that eight
of the ten best promotional values in their field are racing events." As
Julius concluded, "corporate sponsors get their biggest bang for the buck
through auto racing."
Why focus these promotional initiatives on the NASCAR Winston Cup and
Busch series and the Indianapolis 500?
-- Raw Numbers: NASCAR total live attendance for 1998 was over
9,000,000. Television ratings were up for the eighth year in a row, with a
total viewership of over 350 million. CBS' NASCAR ratings were up 20 percent
over 1997.
-- Comparative Numbers: On average, ABC and ESPN NASCAR event ratings
exceeded those of their college football and baseball ratings. Winston Cup
races currently average a 6.8 rating on broadcast networks and a 5.1 rating on
cable stations. Respectively, that's over 7,000,000 and 6,000,000 households
for each of the 33 Winston Cup races the WorldBestBuy.com #11 car driven by
Brett Bodine will appear in.
-- Demographics: According to a Performance Research study, over
40 percent of the television audience for NASCAR events is female, a major
target group for Internet sales sites. Forty-three percent of the total
NASCAR TV audience earns over $50,000 a year. Almost 40 percent are college
graduates.
-- Fan loyalty: According to research published in the Boston Globe and
other newspapers, NASCAR fans "almost always" or "frequently" purchase from
sponsors as opposed to non-sponsors 72 percent of the time. IndyCar fans
prefer dealing with sponsors 68 percent of the time. Is this good? Draw your
own conclusions: Fan preferences for sponsors products or services in other
major sports are golf, 47 percent; National Football League, 36 percent;
tennis, 52 percent; National Basketball Association, 38 percent; Major League
Baseball, 38 percent; World Cup Soccer, 15 percent.
-- Beyond Race Day Impact: Over 60 hours of broadcast and cable network
coverage will be devoted just to NASCAR's season opening Winston Cup and Busch
series races in February 2000. In addition to the actual races, daily
coverage of practice and flag-to-flag qualifying coverage will be broadcast
both live and via tape delay. Exposure of the WorldBestBuy.com logo and Web
address is guaranteed on qualifying and race days and virtually assured on any
day the car takes to the track for practice. Coverage of NASCAR on such daily
and weekly national programs as RPM Tonight, Speed World, and NASCAR This Week
will keep the WorldBestBuy.com logo before the public on a continuing basis
throughout the nine-month racing season.
-- An Audience of Over 20,000,000: The Indy 500, the largest single-day
sporting event in the world with over 400,000 live spectators and a worldwide
TV audience in the tens of millions offers unmatched promotional
opportunities. Every day in May that the track is open the ESPN networks will
air two hours of live coverage and a 30-minute evening roundup of the day's
events. Barring an accident or mechanical failure, Indy cars practice every
day, usually singly or in very small groups, ensuring that the
WorldBestBuy.com logo will be on national TV at least once during every
broadcast. Even if the car is damaged or unable to practice on a given day,
the odds are excellent the logo will still get on the screen; much of the ESPN
coverage focuses on in-garage shots of cars that have blown engines or hit the
wall.
-- Three Minutes in the Spotlight: During qualifying weekend alone, the
ABC network and ESPN will provide about 12 hours of continuous coverage from
the Brickyard. Since the Indy 500 qualifying format calls for each car to
make a four-lap solo run around the world-famous 2.5-mile oval, network
cameras will be following -- in closeup -- the WorldBestBuy.com car for about
three minutes of uninterrupted national network air time.
-- Perfect Timing: In 1995, a schism between the owner of the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway's IRL racing series and the car owners of
Championship Auto Racing Teams resulted in CART -- with the most famous
open-wheel drivers in America, included past 500 winners Al Unser, Jr. and
Michael Andretti -- boycotting the 500. For almost five years, this civil war
has been the hottest, most viciously debated topic in motorsports, with
passions boiling over on both sides. This year, for the first time, CART
drivers will be returning to the Speedway, setting the stage for a true grudge
race between CART and the IRL, ensuring what will almost certainly be the
highest TV ratings in the race's history.
-- A Free Ride: The Indy 500 program will cost http://www.WorldBestBuy.com
nothing until the WBBC car qualifies for event. Making the show ensures
WorldBestBuy.com exposure on the ABC network telecast of the race beginning
with the introductory shots of the individual cars on the starting grid and
whenever the cameras focus in on the part of the track where the WBBC car is
running. This could easily equal dozens of exposures to an estimated
26,000,000 million viewers during the approximately 3.5 hour telecast.
Failing to qualify means WBBC will gain the benefit of dozens of network
exposures throughout the month of May at no cost.
-- Constant Reinforcement: The NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch series have
the longest season in professional sports. Beginning right before the spring
buying period at the end of February and continuing well into the Christmas
shopping season in the third week of November, the 33 Winston Cup races and
20 Busch series races being supported by WBBC will give NASCAR fans an almost
weekly reminder to shop http://www.WorldBestBuy.com.
-- Diverse Audiences: Since NASCAR runs both daytime and night races,
WorldBestBuy.com will be gaining exposure among both weekend afternoon and
prime time TV viewers.
-- Web Exposure: Both the Winston Cup races and the Indianapolis 500
will be Webcast live on both television sport sites and http://www.nascar.com and
http://www.indy500.com.
Conclusion: NASCAR racing is the fastest growing professional sport --
bar none -- in the United States. The Indianapolis 500, for over 80 years the
unchallenged Greatest Spectacle in Worldwide Racing, is historically an outlet
for corporate America to showcase their best and brightest products. The
continued sponsorship of Indy cars by such major Web presences as Yahoo!,
Mall.com and others has already established it as one of the foremost venues
for e-commerce companies to boldly raise their flags. The entry of
http://www.WorldBestBuy.com into these programs is an extremely potent,
cost-effective means to further brand the site into the consciousness of the
American public.
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to the safe harbors created by these
sections. These forward-looking statements include statements related to
potential prospects of the company. Actual results may differ materially due
to a number of risks. This press release provides general information and
should not be construed as an offer to sell securities. This report is for
informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice or as
meeting the investment needs of any particular investor or designed to be the
basis of any investment decision.