• August 7, 2012

NASCAR has added three executives to key roles on its brand, consumer and series marketing team. The race sanctioning organization has been working to boost the sport's appeal to youth, Gen Y and Hispanic fans. Greg Downey has been named senior director brand and consumer marketing; David Zane will join as director, brand marketing; and Joseph Machin will assume the role of director, multicultural marketing.

Downey, who will report to Kim Brink, managing director of brand marketing, was group director of entertainment marketing at Coca-Cola where he oversaw the company’s North America entertainment marketing efforts including branded integrations, celebrity endorsements and gaming strategies. He was also among the brand’s leaders for asset activation, media negotiations, brand building and advertising. He was also vice president of branded entertainment at NBC Universal and director of entertainment properties at United States Olympic Committee. 

Zane, who will report to Downey and manage the brand marketing team, joins NASCAR from ESPN, where he was an associate director of sports marketing. He led the development and implementation of marketing strategies to attract viewership for ESPN’s motorsports (NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA) and golf properties across all of the media company’s platforms. 

Machin, also reporting to Downey, will assume the newly developed role of director of multicultural marketing in which he will oversee NASCAR’s marketing efforts to key multicultural segments with a focus on reaching potential Hispanic fans. Machin advised brands such as KFC Foods, Telefonica Movistar Latin America, Terra Networks, Bank of America Home Loans, Nissan North America and Chevrolet on their multicultural marketing efforts.