The Sharpie Marker is one of those rare products where everyone uses it, but consumers don’t always know the brand. The Sanford Corporation hired Paragon to create a marketing platform that would prominently feature the Sharpie brand at a live event, in a television broadcast and have an engaging onsite presence. In essence, they wanted an event that would allow them to interact with consumers, enhance trade relationships and build overall awareness.

Paragon recommended the entitlement of a NASCAR race, "The Night Race at Bristol", the most popular race in the NASCAR circuit. The Sharpie 500 marketing platform was built to allow the brand numerous opportunities to touch and interact with NASCAR fans throughout the week. Multiple opportunities were created to connect Sharpie to the fan experience in fun and innovative ways at the race. To maximize its position as the title sponsor of the Sharpie 500, a corresponding media buy was made with Turner Sports.

The results of this platform have been nothing short of sensational. Since the first year of this entitlement, Sharpie sales have increased a minimum of 15% per annum. Key trade partners such as Office Depot, Office Max, Wal-Mart and numerous other retailers have participated in customized promotions targeting their consumers. Consumer promotions were activated in over 7,000 retail locations. On the television side, Sharpie’s positioning in the broadcast and at the track resulted in the most exposure for a NASCAR title sponsor in the history of TNT-NBC NASCAR broadcasts.