"Sherwin-Williams has worldwide brand recognition, so that kind of company being tied to NASCAR is certainly good for Cleveland, too," said David Gilbert, president and chief executive of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Paint maker Sherwin-Williams Co. begins its designation Wednesday as the first "Official Paint of NASCAR."
The 147-year-old Cleveland paint manufacturer and retailer will be welcomed into the "family of official sponsors" at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday for having significantly increased its support of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Inc., which it has sponsored at smaller levels since 2000.
Terms of the two-year agreement were not released.
Christopher Connor, Sherwin-Williams' chairman and chief executive, said that with 34 of the 42 NASCAR racing teams using Sherwin-Williams automotive paint and protective coatings, this was the logical next step.
"Teaming up with NASCAR is similar to our teaming up with HGTV," said spokesman Mike Conway. "Another positive channel to grow our brand and drive more customers to our 3,500-plus paint stores," including 200 Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes stores that serve body and collision shops.
Not only will the Sherwin-Williams name and logo be splashed across race tracks and on the cars themselves over the 10-month racing season, but the company will also be the title sponsor of the Fastest Lap Award in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
David Gilbert, president and chief executive of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, a nonprofit that attracts and manages sporting events in the Greater Cleveland area, expects the designation to raise Cleveland's profile as well.
"From a Cleveland perspective, a lot of our major companies are manufacturers and business-to-business companies, and there aren't as many companies that are high-profile consumer goods brands," he said.
"Sherwin-Williams has worldwide brand recognition, so that kind of company being tied to NASCAR is certainly good for Cleveland, too."
Denny Young, founding partner and president of The Elevation Group, a Cleveland-based event management, motor sports marketing, music production and corporate sponsorship consulting company, agreed.
"When the city's being promoted as a great place to live and work, having the community be associated with a great companies of note like Sherwin-Williams can be a real influencer," he said.
Although he was not involved in the Sherwin-Williams/NASCAR deal, he said that a partnership between professional motor sports and a Fortune 500 architectural and automotive paint company makes perfect sense.
In supporting NASCAR, Sherwin-Williams joins other Ohio companies including Nationwide Insurance, NASCAR's "Official Auto, Home and Life Insurance"; Goodyear, the "Official Tire" of NASCAR; and Lincoln Electric, a NASCAR "Performance Partner."
Sherwin-Williams' rivals like Lowe's and Home Depot have been major NASCAR sponsors for years, because they understand NASCAR's tremendous appeal to the painters, contractors and do-it-yourselfers among its customers, he said.
The NASCAR association gives Sherwin-Williams the chance to forge additional business-to-business relationships with more than 60 other Official NASCAR Partners.
For example, Sherwin-Williams might say to UPS, NASCAR's Official Logistics Provider, that it wants to take advantage of its shipping business in exchange for being able to paint UPS's facilities and delivery trucks, he said.
"Joining dozens of other blue-chip brands with official status, the company has a rich history in NASCAR and understands how to use our brands to drive its business," said Jim O'Connell, NASCAR's chief sales officer, in a statement.
And those kinds of deals could raise paint sales, increase the number of new products and help the company's business grow, Young said.
In a 2012 Fan Engagement study that NASCAR commissioned, nearly half of fans said that seeing a company identified as an "Official Sponsor of NASCAR" made them more likely to consider buying its merchandise or services.
"If you're a guy who's having your car repainted, Sherwin-Williams wants you to ask for their paint," Young said.
"They want you to think: 'If Sherwin-Williams paint is good enough for the greatest racers in the world, it's good enough for me.'"
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