This question has been on my mind a lot in the last few weeks. I’m a Nascar fan, and my favorite driver is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior’s fan base is massive and at every race all that could be seen in the stands was this massive ocean of red, as Junior drove the red Budweiser #8 car. This season however, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is driving the green and white Amp #88 car and the reaction has just been incredible.

As Speed Week came to a close with the running of the Daytona 500, more and more green and white could be seen in the stands, while almost no red was visible, and those that were sporting the red Budweiser gear where chearing on the new #9 Budweiser driver of Kasey Kahne. So it seems that as loved as Junior was in the red #8, everyone is ready and willing to lay the past to rest and move into the future cheering on the green and white #88.

Along with the change of teams and sponsors comes a major marketing push showing Junior in the white and green promoting his new sponsor. Have a look at this terrific commercial:

So how exactly does Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Nascar relate to us?  Well, they don’t exactly.. other than to show that it is entirely possible to rebrand a business with limited loss of business.  Now granted Junior’s sponsors and Nascar (which has changed from Nascar Winston Cup to Nascar Nextel Cup to Nascar Sprint Cup) have the big bucks to do the mega marketing schemes, but for us, all it really takes is some ingenuity.  Think through your new marketing plan and how you plan on getting the word out about your new brand.

In Amp’s case, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the constant factor – he’s the one thing that is familiar to Nascar fans worldwide.  Think about something that you currently have that you can throw a spin on and use in your new marketing campaigns.  If it’s appropriate for your business, making it enjoyable – funny even – may be the key, just like in the commercial above.  There’s no reason why you too can’t produce your own video commercial as part of your marketing plan and even though it may not be seen on TV, you can still get worldwide attention through press releases and submissions to video sites like YouTube and Google.

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