Forget the stereotypes: Country music fans buy a whole lot more than pickup trucks and fried chicken — and they may not even live in the country.
Savvy brands have figured this out, and they make sure they’re where such music fans can be found. This June 132,000 of those loyal listeners flocked to Nashville for the 32nd annual Country Music Association (CMA) Music Festival, fomerly know as Fan Fair.
“Research shows that country fans are very brand loyal to their favorite artists and the products that artists are endorsing,” says Rick Murray, senior director of strategic marketing for CMA. “A lot of the partners that we look at are using the festival to reach out to their existing consumer base and also to give out samples to new consumers.”
Essentially a promotional event for the CMA, the festival features more than 346 country music artists and celebrities, over 70 hours of concerts, four days of autograph signing and family activities. Event partners hope to translate fan enthusiasm into brand loyalty.
Brand presence was hot at this year’s four-day event. Almost every venue was emblazoned with a brand name from the Wrangler Fan Fair Exhibit Hall with celebrity autograph signings to the Bush’s Baked Beans Family Zone with activities for kids and their parents.
Bush’s Baked Beans was the title sponsor for the Family Zone, which provided activities such as games, storytelling and entertainment. Jay Bush and his dog Duke, spokesduo for the baked beans brand, hosted a cookout offering the first 500 attendees free lunch.
Jay and Duke also touted the Bush’s Baked Beans’ online fan search at the Family Zone. Fans can write (in 50 words or less) how far they would go for Bush’s Baked Beans. The grand-prize winner will win $5,000 and a Labor Day cookout at home for 25 friends hosted by Jay and Duke. The contest wraps up this month.
According to Bush’s research, 60% of country music fans are baked beans fans; it therefore makes sense for the brand to partner with CMA Music Festival. This research is based on all users of pre-recorded country music audio, tapes, CDs and country concert attendees over the past 12 months.
Home cleaning product manufacturer Greased Lightning began its involvement with CMA Music Festival four years ago with a significantly smaller presence than they have today. The company now sponsors the Riverfront Park Stages, which are co-sponsored by American Airlines. The Riverfront featured country hit-makers, rising stars, seasoned veterans, bluegrass artists and surprise guests.
“Last year was our first time as a key sponsor,” says Helmut Baker, Greased Lightning VP. “We brought 25,000 sample bags full of product and gave out all 25,000 bags. We do over 300 events a year and this is our largest.”
The company also featured celebrities at their exhibit hall booth, such as Pat Simpson, a home-improvement expert who has three shows on HGTV. Fans tend to associate celebrities with the product they are endorsing.
“Having a celebrity involved helps. After all, people don’t tend to get too excited over a household cleaner, but we had a line at our booth for autographs,” Baker says.
Best known for outfitting cowboys and cowgirls alike, Wrangler sponsored the Fan Fair Exhibit Hall, a long-running tradition of the Festival. The Nashville Convention Center features 200 exhibitor booths and country artists are on hand throughout the day signing autographs. This year, more than 37,000 visitors came to the Convention Center to interact with their favorite artists.
“This is the third year that we have been involved and it is our second year as the exclusive jean of the CMA Music Festival and title sponsor of the Exhibit Hall,” points out Edyie Brooks-Bryant, marketing manager for Wrangler. “Our booth space has grown from 10’×20′ in Year 1 to 20’×50′ in Year 3.”
The Wrangler booth had 14 celebrities signing autographs in addition to a store selling Wrangler wares. Country artists such as Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins were on hand to meet and greet the fans. This year, Wrangler saw a 42% increase over 2003 in booth sales.
“This year, we ran a poster promotion with a purchase. Customers buying either a George Strait shirt or a George Strait jean received a free George Strait poster,” Brooks-Bryant says. “We also gave away premium items such as bandanas and hat stickers. The real focus is the retail promotion from the booth.”
Stars and lightning off-stage
Music celebrities aren’t the only draw. Stars of the TV dramas Days of Our Lives and Passions were also on hand to sign autographs at the Convention Center by way of a partnership between NBC Daytime and the CMA. Twelve soap stars including Lindsay Korman, Alison Sweeney and Bryan Datillo signed autographs, introduced performers at the Greased Lightning Riverfront Park Stages and The Coliseum and made guest appearances.
“NBC came to us four years ago and said they’d like to get involved with Fan Fair. We said that they could have some of their actors in the Exhibit Hall and we also wanted to have Fan Fair written into Days of Our Lives to build promotions around it,” Murray says.
This year country group Lonestar performed their hit song T.G.I.F. on Days of Our Lives as they helped to integrate the CMA brand onto the hit soap.
To promote the soap stars’ appearance at the Festival, CMA and NBC teamed up with After MidNite with Blair Garner, a nightly syndicated country music radio program, for a contest. NBC Daytime actors visited the program to talk about the Festival and their shows’ upcoming plot lines. One listener won a trip for two to Nashville for the Festival and a Days of Our Lives walk-on role.
The Sports Zone was a new addition to CMA Music Festival this year and featured mobile marketing displays by Camping World; a Coca-Cola Game Trailer with Xbox, Playstation 2 and Nintendo GameCube systems; Fisher’s ATV World; Ford; Greased Lightning; the National Women’s Football League Assn. and more.
“A lot of partners come in through mobile marketing; once they’re involved, they come back and do something more,” Murray says.
For the first time Toyota participated in the festival with its NASCAR Tundra Interactive Garage. Fans were able to take a seat behind the wheel of a race truck; try their hand at pit stop refueling; raise a vehicle with a hydraulic jack; and examine the tools used by race team mechanics.
“We were really looking forward to this event because it represented a departure for us from the traditional type of motor sports event that we take the display to,” says Greg Gollands, national motor sports merchandising manager for Toyota Motor Sales USA. “The weather was a disappointment, no one could do anything about that, but some damage was done to the display.”
Heavy thunderstorms rolled into Nashville during the Sunday portion of the Festival. Gollands says he is not ready to rule out a mobile marketing appearance at CMA Music Festival next year, however Toyota Motor Sales has yet to make a decision.
“A lot of things can happen in terms of events and date changes,” he says. “I would say that just because we had bad weather once it wouldn’t necessarily deter us from coming back again.”
Mobile marketers in the Family Zone included eBay, Lawry’s, Advil, Sharpie and others who braved the storms to get products into attendees’ hands. EBay added CMA Music Festival as a stop on its summer mobile tour that is hitting 30 to 40 markets across the country. A Camp eBay vacation cabin was set up in the Family Zone and visitors could enter the cabin for a beginner-level tutorial on how to buy and sell on eBay.
The cabin featured computers and eBay representatives that provided instruction and handed out CD-ROMs featuring more information on how to buy and sell on the online auction site. Those interacting with the event also received an instant win decoder game piece that awards five grand-prizes of $10,000 and other smaller prizes. Ignition, New York City, handles the tour and Marden-Kane, Manhasset, NY, administers the sweeps.
Lawry’s brought some home cooking to the festival with its third annual Lawry’s Live! Tour, an interactive cooking show that gives event-goers the chance to discover grilling trends. Lawry’s Live! National Cooking Caravan is hitting 15 fairs and festivals across the country this summer showcasing its marinades, spice blends and steak sauce. Attendees also received a free gift bag with recipe books and coupons.
The CMA Music Festival will roll out next year with even more events and brand partnerships. “We are planning on rolling a 10-city mobile tour into mall parking lots with a Wal-Mart or Target,” Murray says. “We are negotiating a deal right now that will bring new artists into a store’s parking lot with free concerts. We will also bring along partners with pop-up tents that will sample to consumers. IT’s all about promoting the festival.”
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