The Scoop
HOW BRANDON REICHENBERGER OBTAINED CAMPING WORLD SPONSORSHIP THROUGH TWITTER
Posted on: Sunday June 20, 2021
Persistence paid off for Appleton, Wisconsin’s Brandon Reichenberger this spring. The third-generation racer obtained sponsorship from Camping World using his Twitter account and staying persistent.
Brandon Reichenberger is living proof that sometimes persistence really does pay off.
The 27-year-old late model racer from Appleton, Wisconsin was able to land advertising for his racing program through Camping World. The story of how the deal materialized all began with a tweet back in February, 2021.
Earlier this year Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis announced via Twitter he was reaching out to assist cash-strapped NASCAR truck teams by offering sponsorship to those individual teams for the March race.
“I talked it over with my wife and I decided to reach out and see if he’d be willing to sponsors Reichenberger Racing in 2021 and our short track program,” said Reichenberger, who is a technical education teacher and girl’s basketball coach at Appleton North High School. “I figured the worst thing that could happen would happen was that he could either say no or just ignore me.”
Through his Twitter account Reichenberger began a dialogue with Lemonis himself about the possibility of sponsoring his race team. “The challenge I had was that (Camping World) didn’t really know much about what we did at the short track level,” Reichenberger admitted. “Before I reached out, I did a lot of homework on Camping World and on Marcus Lemonis himself.”
Reichenberger didn’t get deterred when he didn’t get an immediate response initially. “I stayed persistent with staying in touch with him and after I read up and learned more about him and the company, I discovered that was part of (Lemonis’) strategy was ‘who wanted it more,’ Reichenberger explained.
After some weeks went by Reichenberger began dealing with the company’s marketing department and the media director of Camping World. Reichenberger learned a lot by following several drivers at NASCAR’s various levels through Twitter. “I saw a lot of guys were teaming up with graphic designers and throwing mockup logos on their cars and asking ‘hey, wouldn’t this look good on our car,” Reichenberger explained.
Reichenberger reached out to a college student at Eau Claire in March to design a few ‘mock ups’ of what the late model he would drive weekly on Thursday nights at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, Wisconsin and the super late model his dad Mike Reichenberger would drive part time at paved ovals in Wisconsin and Norway, Michigan. “He put together three or four different mockups of what the cars and trailer would look like,” Reichenberger said. “We had Camping World on there and some of their brands as well.”
One issue that Reichenberger was quick to request in the frequent negotiations back and forth with Camping World was permission to carry some of the long time sponsors he’d had on his short track program. “They approved one of the paint schemes and let us include three of our local businesses on there,” Reichenberger said. “That part was important to us and they were good about letting us keep them on. Remember oftentimes in NASCAR there may only be one major sponsor on a car for a race.”
Throughout the entire process a rough draft of a contract was sent back and forth between Reichenberger and Camping World. “I guess both of us were making sure our collective ‘I’s’ were dotted and our ‘T’s’ were crossed,” Reichenberger explained. “We both wanted all of the verbiage to be 100 percent where it needed to be. So, we went through everything with a fine tooth comb. We wanted to make sure our race schedule was correct for both cars. It just took some time to get it done.”
Having a strong presence on social media is a must these days for any racer who wishes to take good care of their marketing partners. “It’s such a big deal and I provide team updates on Twitter usually five or six days a week,” Reichenberger explained. “You have to do it. I also created a Brandon Reichenberger Fan Zone page on Facebook and have an Instagram account where we help get exposure out too.”
The ‘Brandon Reichenberger Fan Zone’ Facebook page is one of a handful of social media platforms Reichenberger uses to give Camping World the biggest bang for their buck.
At North high school Reichenberger teaches Tech Ed, Engineering and CNC classes. He’s also taught principles of engineering, graphic arts and screen printing. Reichenberger puts that graphic arts background to good use by designing race day flyers with the Camping World logo and colors splashed all over his multiple social media platforms.
Reichenberger uses his Twitter account aggressively, sending out tweets nearly daily to promote Camping World and the other sponsors in his racing program.
Reichenberger’s wife Mary often posts race day videos and helps to manage the fan page. “We provide updates from the track,” Reichenberger said. “You’ve always got to keep everything you post on social media positive. I mean if you want to obtain and keep a sponsor like this you can’t ever bash a track or a series. Your posts should always be positive, even the stuff you’ve had on there from the past. That is a very important thing everyone should know. You’ve got to stay upbeat and present yourself in a positive light when you are representing any company.”
While details of his deal with Camping World weren’t revealed, Reichenberger said Camping World ‘helped out’ with many racing related expenses on the team. “They sent us some stuff and honestly we just want to keep growing with Camping World,” Reichenbeger said. “I mean this is a pretty big deal to get a company of their size and stature to get involved at the short track level of stock car racing.”
What advice does this third-generation racer have for other drivers who are searching for marketing partners for their respective race teams? “Don’t ever give up,” Reichenberger said. “You might get 99 ‘no’s’ before you get that one ‘yes’ and you cannot get yourself down. Stay positive, stay persistent and do as much homework and research on the company you’re submitting something to. And it may take two or three weeks before someone gets back to you. That’s all part of the game.”
On the track Reichenberger finished 4th in the WIR’s ‘Thursday Night Thunder’ late model point standings in 2020 and is looking to improve upon that point finish in ’21.