The Sopranos NASCAR Sponsorship

Grand Central Marketing developed a Sopranos NASCAR sponsorship and promotional program to drive viewership to the show's season premiere. The Agency worked with Richard Childress Racing to make The Sopranos the primary sponsor on the 07 Chevrolet in the NASCAR race held in Las Vegas on March 12, 2006—the same day as the premiere. The promotional program also included logoed uniforms and helmets for the driver and race team, as well as "associate sponsorships" for some of the show's fictional businesses, including the Bada Bing Club and Satriale's Pork Store.

Several weeks prior to the race, GCM coordinated a press unveiling of the car with driver Clint Bowyer and Sopranos cast members. The photo op held on the set of The Sopranos drew the attention of entertainment and auto-racing media alike, with video of the car unveiling appearing everywhere from CNN to Speed Channel to a podcast on VOD Cars and an AP wire photo running in newspapers around the country ("NASCAR, TV Show a Perfect Match" was the headline in one Florida newspaper). The story was also picked up by USA Today, the New York Daily News and ESPN2.

In addition to publicity valued at $750,000, 10.3 million television viewers and 180,000 fans trackside, GCM developed co-promotions with HBO and associate-sponsor DirecTV, as well as with Jack Daniel's, the No. 07 car's usual sponsor, at a party at the Palms with Stuff magazine. The Agency also created an ESPN radio promotion in Las Vegas to promote the car by giving out Sopranos premiums in the days leading up to the race. At the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fans were able to play a customized "Sopranos" Whack-a-Mole game (with a baseball bat replacing the usual mallet), pose with the 07 Sopranos show car, and take home complimentary "hero cards" featuring Clint Bowyer with the Sopranos car.