Monday, October 25, 2010

ILLINOIS CORN FARMERS WENT TO THE RACES WITH KENNY WALLACE

With Danika Patrick there, the famous opening line was tweaked a bit, but the resulting roar was just as satisfying…”Drivers! Start your engines!”
That’s all it took to turn this girl into NASCAR’s newest fan. That’s right, add me to the other 75 million Americans the racing giant counts as its constituency.
I was already a Kenny Wallace fan. Sure, I’m a “Johnny come lately” as they say, but I recently met the man who represents the heart of racing to many. He’s one of NASCAR’s most beloved drivers. To me, he’s a genuine guy with a genuine interest in the things that make America great. We have that in common. That, you see, is why I took to him immediately. He saw in me a common love of laughing and (sometimes) ornery behavior.
It was an opportunity made it heaven. Since I count myself as one of farming’s biggest agvocates, my work with Illinois corn farmers was going to be extra special and even more heartfelt than usual this time. We were going to reach an entirely new audience, with a (pardon the pun) entirely new vehicle for that message.
And this (see the picture below), my friends, is that vehicle. But despite how absolutely fantastic it is, the car isn’t what our partnership with Kenny Wallace racing was about.
nascar kenny wallace IL corn farmers
The promotional partnership struck between the Illinois Corn Marketing Board (called Illinois Corn Farmers outside of farm circles) and Kenny Wallace Racing was about the people. In this case, those people include Kenny Wallace, NASCAR and Kenny’s fans (see the people waiting for his autograph?), and Illinois corn farmers.
nascar wallace IL farmers ethanol

And as it happens, the corn gods evidently smiled upon us. Because the day after we announced our partnership, NASCAR publicly announced their intention to move the entire NASCAR series of races to E15 starting in the 2011 season.
Illinois Corn Farmers…NASCAR…fans…Kenny Wallace…ethanol! That’s Good Clean Fun and Good Clean Fuel!

Now, not only can Kenny talk about the family corn farmers of Illinois and ethanol, but he can talk about it in the venue of NASCAR and racing. He did just that at this NASCAR press conference the day before the race at Gateway.

Kenny talked about corn farmers, their crop, and corn ethanol in all his television and radio appearances. He filled his twitter feed and facebook pages with great information about all of you corn farmers. And people responded in the positive.
So did our partnership yield a nicely painted up, sharp looking, eye catching car? You bet. Did we have signage at the track, viewed by the 30,000 people in attendance and the millions on television? Of course. Did we get one-on-one conversations with people visiting the track? More than we could count. Did we get a car that ran in the Top 10 most of the race and finished in the Top 15? Oh ya. How about media coverage? ESPN, Speed TV, AP, local news…yup, they were all there.

But the best thing we got out of this partnership was a new spokesperson and advocate.

You see, what all the research we’ve undertaken here recently at IL Corn has indicated is that despite the issues, it’s the people that matter. You can dispute someone’s facts, but you can’t dispute their feelings. That is a lesson that we in agriculture need to take close to our heart. People carry messages. And we have some of the best people in the world, right here in our midst.
So yes, I’m a new fan of Kenny Wallace.

I’m a new fan of NASCAR.

And I’m a fan of Illinois Corn Farmers.

We reached countless people over the weekend with Kenny Wallace. As a checkoff contributor you can feel proud of that.
Illinois Corn Farmers are in the driver’s seat. Where will you take the opportunity to have a conversation?


nascar ethanol wallace
Tricia Braid
ICGA/ICMB Communications Director





If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:
Kenny Wallace Announcement
Family Farmers are the Face of Agriculture
EPA Approves e15 for 2007 Model Years and Newer

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for backing Kenny. He's a great person to have as your spokesman!Hope you get to do more with Kenny in the future. He would be great for your cause.
    Thanks,
    Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am a fan of Kenny's and a fan of Nascar, and now a new fan of you! I am following you on GFC now!
    www.theknitwitbyshair.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kenny is a great spokesperson, positive and matter of fact. I look forward to him supporting our growers. Now, how do we get one of those shirts?????

    ReplyDelete
  4. And you will be continuing to sponsor Kenny Wallace right?

    If your aim was to make more people aware of your product and mission to increase Ethanol use, then you are having success...Kenny has been doing a great job putting Ethanol on peoples radar.
    I for one never gave it a second thought before Kenny brought it to my attention over the last week or so.
    Imagine the positive publicity he could bring to your organization with a long term sponsorship commitment...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I truly hope you continue to sponsor Kenny. With his platforms on SPEED and his status as a veteran NASCAR driver and a dirt team/track owner, he has the ability to reach hundreds of thousands of people with your message. Kenny may be the best thing to happen to ethanol in years.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I want to thank you for sponsoring Kenny Wallace and thank you for the hard work you do as farmers. I hope you well be able to sponsor Kenny in the future.

    Thank you again and God Bless

    ReplyDelete
  7. Finally a sponsor in NASCAR with the ability to raise social awareness and reduce our dependence on foreign oil... And let's not forget how delicious the product is!!!!! Looking forward to a long prosperous relationship between the corn growers and Kenny Wallace!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. wow i really never thought about Ethanol like this before,i am a huge Kenny wallace and Rusty Wallace fan and respect them greatly,,You couldnt have picked a greater family or bigger mouth then Kenny Wallace,Hope you guys do a long term sponser with Kenny Wallace,and I trust what they say,so if they want me to use Ethanol then maby i will have to use it,,thanks for your new friendship in nascar and i allsway support the farmers way to go guys,ja from new jersey

    ReplyDelete