M3 Management, a One-Stop Motorsports Marketing Resource, Launches at Brickyard 400
31 July 2000
M3 Management, a One-Stop Motorsports Marketing Resource, Launches at Brickyard 400
INDIANAPOLIS - M3 Management, a unique motorsports marketing and management
group providing strategic counsel to drivers, teams and corporate sponsors,
announced its formation today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, host of this
weekend's Brickyard 400 NASCAR event.
With more than 40 years of combined motorsports experience, M3
Management's executive team assists clients in all areas of marketing,
including advertising, public relations, consumer and trade promotion,
merchandising and licensing, sales incentives, new product development and
hospitality, as well as bringing together drivers, teams and sponsors.
M3 Management has offices in three key motorsports hubs to better serve
clients -- Indianapolis, Daytona Beach and its headquarters in Costa Mesa,
California. Initial M3 clients cover the full spectrum of racing, including
eight time AMA Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath, PacWest Indy Lights driver
Tony Renna, Indy Racing League team Panther Racing, Mo Nunn Racing CART team,
Saleen/Allen Racing in SCCA, Grand Am and American Le Mans Series and British
American Racing in Formula 1. Corporate clients include No Fear and Spy
Optics.
M3 was created when motorsports marketing veteran Mark Coughlin combined
his southern California-based company, Sportsmark, with longtime racing
marketer Michael Del Ninno's Florida-based Del Management Group. Coughlin
becomes the president of M3, with Del Ninno serving as managing director
-- east and senior vice president. Filling out the executive management team
are motorsports experts Philip Baker, vice president and Chris Schwartz,
director.
"Michael and I knew each other well when we both worked for Valvoline, so
we knew combining our expertise was the right thing to do," says Coughlin.
"It's created a synergy and cross-pollination of experience that will heavily
benefit our client base."
The name M3 represents the company's three key elements -- Motorsports,
Marketing and Management. "Our goal is to utilize our combined motorsports
expertise to develop strategies and programs for drivers, teams and sponsors
and build strategic partnerships with various agencies to implement them and
create measurable results," says Coughlin.
"Motorsports is an extremely competitive arena with as much competition
off the track as on the track," adds Del Ninno. "M3's goal is to ensure the
continued growth of the sport by making sure that the right drivers, teams and
sponsors are put together for mutual benefit. Chemistry is very important in
motorsports and we're very focused on making sure all our clients have an
enjoyable and rewarding motorsports experience."
For both beginning and experienced drivers, M3 offers total career
planning, including a full array of services ranging from teaching young
drivers how to present themselves to sponsors, to maximizing the "star power"
of veteran drivers. "Instead of instructing a driver, M3 partners with the
driver to understand their individual needs and goals," says Coughlin. "We
then customize a personally tailored plan allowing the driver to focus more on
racing, while we handle the rest."
From a team standpoint, M3 services include helping put together driver
and/or corporate sponsorship packages. M3 works with the team's goals and
budgetary requirements and custom tailors programs in order to promote the
team's success and exposure to the media and potential sponsors.
M3 Management also works directly with potential corporate sponsors to
help maximize the return on motorsports marketing budgets. "Some companies
have never utilized motorsports as a major component of their marketing mix
and require help building strategies as well as evaluating opportunities and
benefits," says Coughlin.
"Others may have been involved for years and want to make sure they stay
involved in racing in the most efficient manner," he adds. M3 assesses each
client's needs and develops programs to provide the maximum amount of
motorsports exposure within the corporate budget structure. This includes
evaluating and arranging driver, team, track and sanctioning body sponsorship
opportunities.
"M3's approach and philosophy is more about strategically pro-acting than
simply reacting to market opportunities," says Del Ninno. "The result is
greater marketability for both the driver, team and sponsor client."
The M3 Management Team
Mark Coughlin, President -- Coughlin brings more than 15 years experience
to the motorsports arena, launching the Barber Saab series in 1985, and
working with Valvoline from 1988 through 1998 -- where he ended up as the
director of global sports marketing, responsible for more than $200 million in
sponsorship and marketing related activity in all forms of racing during his
tenure. After Valvoline, Coughlin worked as an executive vice president at
Campbell & Company, where he was a chief motorsports marketing strategist.
Prior to M3, Coughlin served as president and founder of Sportsmark
Consulting. Coughlin has worked with some of the world's top drivers,
including A.J. Foyt, Bobby Rahal, Al Unser, Jr., Danny Sullivan, Mark Martin,
Steve Kinser, Robby Gordon, Jeff Gordon and Gil de Ferran.
Michael Del Ninno, Managing Director -- East and Senior Vice President
-- Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, Del Ninno spearheads M3's NASCAR efforts.
Del Ninno worked for Valvoline for more than 15 years, starting as a sales
representative and working his way up to a corporate marketing strategist. In
this role, he contributed to the rise of Valvoline's market position from
fourth to second by combining effective usage of consumer promotion, category
and product portfolio management, trade marketing and consumer research. Most
recently Del Ninno was an executive vice president at NASCAR powerhouse Roush
Racing, where he developed an aggressive business plan focusing on product
licensing, merchandise distribution, event management, promotion development
and internet strategy. At Roush, he successfully collaborated on business
development efforts resulting in more than $50 million in sponsorship. Most
recently, Del Ninno was president of the Del Management Group.
Philip Baker, Vice President -- Originally from Great Britain, Baker
joined Nissan Motorsports Europe in 1988 as commercial manager, coordinating
marketing programs and sponsorships. He moved to Ford Racing in 1993,
managing Ford's efforts in the British Touring Car program, Formula 1 and the
FIA World Rally Championship. With the Ford World Rally team, Baker was
responsible for more than $45 million in sponsorship agreements. Baker has
worked with some of the finest European drivers in the world, including
Formula 1 pilots Johnny Herbert, Rubens Barrichello and Jos Verstappen; Kelvin
Burt, Will Hoy and Steve Robertson in British Touring Car and Tommy Makinen,
Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz and Juha Kankkunen in FIA World Rally.
Chris Schwartz, Director -- Based in Indianapolis, Schwartz is responsible
for NASCAR initiatives. He has more than six years in the motorsports
industry, including five years at Valvoline where he managed sponsorships in
the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Grand National
Series. Most recently Schwartz worked for Conseco, its NASCAR official status
sponsorship, as well as Conseco's primary sponsorship with A.J. Foyt Racing.
M3 Management is a wholly owned subsidiary of Performance Marketing-Global
(PMG), a Costa Mesa, CA-based automotive marketing network currently comprised
of Campbell & Co. of Dearborn, MI, Campbell Europe of London, England, and
Pacific Communications Group of Torrance, CA. John Barr, former president of
Valvoline and most recently president and COO of Quaker State Corporation is
president and CEO of Performance Marketing-Global, providing valuable
resources, experience, and expertise to M3 Management.