Aflac and Office Depot Announce New Relationship to Reach Business Customers Through Roush Fenway Racing and NASCAR Sponsorships
November 02 2007 - 9:15AM
PR Newswire (US)
Aflac Racing to sponsor Carl Edwards for eight NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series races in 2008 COLUMBUS, Ga. and DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Nov. 2
/PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) and Office Depot
(NYSE:ODP) today announced a new business relationship within the
sport of NASCAR that will help both companies reach new customers,
engage the loyal NASCAR fan base and leverage opportunities to grow
their businesses. Building on its successful entry into NASCAR in
2007, Aflac will serve as the primary sponsor of Carl Edwards and
the No. 99 Ford Fusion for eight races. In addition, Aflac will be
onboard the Office Depot No. 99 Ford Fusion as an associate sponsor
for all other races during the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
Office Depot first entered NASCAR in 2005 as the "official office
products partner of NASCAR," the primary sponsor of Carl Edwards
and the No. 99 car, and an official sponsor of Roush Fenway Racing.
Aflac entered the sport in 2007 as the "official supplemental
insurance partner of NASCAR" and a sponsor of eight total NASCAR
Nextel Cup and Busch Series races with four Roush Fenway Racing
drivers. The Aflac duck was on the hood of Greg Biffle's No. 16
Aflac Ford when he won his first NEXTEL Cup race in 2007 at the
Life Lock 400 at Kansas Speedway. "We're eager to build on the
success of our 2007 Aflac Racing program," said Paul S. Amos II,
president, Aflac; COO, U.S. Operations. "As anticipated, our entry
into the sport has presented us with many opportunities to forge
business to business relationships -- such as this one with Office
Depot -- that benefit both companies." "Office Depot and Aflac
share similar objectives for what both companies want to achieve
with our sponsorships in this sport," said Chuck Rubin, president,
North American Retail for Office Depot. "In fact, one of the
primary reasons we got into NASCAR was for the strong
business-to-business opportunities this sport provides for a
sponsor. Working with Aflac is a great example of how you can grow
a sponsorship and make it stronger by leveraging the right
relationships." At the core of the affiliation are Edwards and the
No. 99 Ford Fusion from Roush Fenway Racing. Aflac will be Edwards'
primary sponsor for the following 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
races: * March 9, Atlanta Motor Speedway * April 6, Texas Motor
Speedway * April 12, Phoenix International Raceway * June 8, Pocono
Speedway * July 5, Daytona International Speedway * July 27,
Indianapolis Motor Speedway * Aug. 31, California Speedway * Oct.
11, Lowe's Motor Speedway "We are looking forward to growing our
Aflac Racing program in 2008," said Amos. "This sponsorship will
allow us to expand our marketing efforts and increase the brand
recognition of Aflac Racing amongst our core customers and NASCAR
fans." "I'm very excited to have the support of Office Depot and
Aflac, two of the best sponsors out there," said Edwards, driver of
the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion. More information can be
found at http://www.aflacracing.com/,
http://mediarelations.officedepot.com/ and
http://www.roushfenway.com/. About Aflac For more than 50 years,
Aflac products have given policyholders the opportunity to direct
cash where it is needed most when a life-interrupting medical event
causes financial challenges. Aflac is the number one provider of
guaranteed-renewable insurance in the United States and the number
one insurance company in terms of individual insurance policies in
force in Japan. Our insurance products provide protection to more
than 40 million people worldwide. Aflac has been included in
Fortune magazine's listing of America's Most Admired Companies for
seven consecutive years and in Fortune magazine's list of the 100
Best Companies to Work For in America for nine consecutive years.
Aflac has also been recognized three times by both Fortune
magazine's listing of the Top 50 Employers for Minorities and
Working Mother magazine's listing of the 100 Best Companies for
Working Mothers. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed
on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out
more about Aflac, visit aflac.com. About Office Depot Office Depot
provides more office products and services to more customers in
more countries than any other company. Incorporated in 1986 and
headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., Office Depot has annual sales
of over $15.4 billion and employs approximately 52,000 associates
around the world. Currently, the company sells to customers
directly or through affiliates in 43 countries. Office Depot is a
leader in every distribution channel -- from retail stores and
contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. As of June 30, 2007,
Office Depot had 1,186 retail stores in North America and another
369 stores, either company-owned, licensed or franchised, in other
parts of the world. Office Depot serves a wide range of customers
through a dedicated sales force, telephone account managers, direct
mail offerings and multiple Web sites. With $4.7 billion in online
sales during the last 12 months, the company is also one of the
world's largest e-commerce retailers. Office Depot's common stock
is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and
is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information
can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com/. About
Roush Fenway Racing Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR's largest team
operating 14 motorsports teams, five in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup with
drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and
David Ragan; five in the Busch Series with Kenseth, Biffle,
Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Todd Kluever, Michel Jourdain Jr. and
Danny O'Quinn Jr.; and three in the Craftsman Truck Series with
Edwards, Peter Shepherd, Travis Kvapil, Erik Darnell and T.J. Bell;
and one in the ARCA/REMAX Series with Colin Braun and Darnell. For
more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto
http://www.roushfenway.com/. For sponsorship inquiries please
contact Robin Johnson at 704-720-4645. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO ) Media
Contact: Tim Turner Aflac Incorporated 706-243-5594 Mindy Kramer
Office Depot 561-438-4276 LeAnne Howell Roush Fenway Racing
704-720-4832
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Aflac Incorporated CONTACT:
Tim Turner of Aflac Incorporated , +1-706-243-5594, ; Mindy Kramer
of Office Depot, +1-561-438-4276, ; LeAnne Howell of Roush Fenway
Racing, +1-704-720-4832, Web site: http://www.aflac.com/
http://mediarelations.officedepot.com/ http://www.roushfenway.com/
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