by Kristin Swartzlander | Oct 25, 2013 | Media and Public Relations, Motorsports Marketing for Tracks, Teams and Businesses, Racing Social Media
Over the summer, Carl and I decided to make our way to the Craig Campbell concert at the Indiana County Fair for obvious food and entertainment-related reasons. I mean, who doesn’t love gawking at how redneck teenagers act right before they drop a pulled pork sandwich all over their own (white) shirt? Hypothetically speaking. (Also, see my screenshot of what popped up when I searched for Indiana County State Fair on my iPhone at right. Just for fun.) Partway through the concert, while the drunken teenagers were making a mosh pit, it hit me how different this set was than the first time we saw him play at a Hard Rock Café. Here, in front of thousands of people, he played mostly upbeat songs. He didn’t take a break in the middle of the set. There were no long pauses between songs. And when his radio hits came on, he did something that I’ve seen at every large-venue concert – he turned the mic around and had the audience sing the chorus. And then it hit me. He wouldn’t do that unless he felt 100% sure that they knew the words. He knew his audience and what they came there for. He wouldn’t have done that unless he knew they knew they’d sing it back. How awkward would it have been if it was just* crickets*? The crowd would have deflated. Instead, he knew what song would resonate with them and gave them the opportunity to feel like they were on stage with them by belting it out. He validated them. When he played at the Hard Rock, there were...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Sep 5, 2013 | Motorsports Marketing for Tracks, Teams and Businesses, Racing Sponsorship
It’s disheartening but appropriate that when I started the work week in Pennsylvania the temperature was about 10 degrees cooler than over Labor Day weekend, when it still seemed like summer. My calendar isn’t the only one saying it’s nearly fall. Although I don’t head back to the same kind of office I used to, September brings out the same kind of joy and panic I experienced in my ad agency days. It’s a month full of both reflection on past accomplishments and shortfalls, and opportunities for new growth. Why? The month of September is often when companies start setting budgets for the next year. Seems crazy, right? But it takes a freaking long time for companies to review the last year’s marketing objectives, decide what worked and what didn’t, and roughly hash out what the company plans to do in the future. All of that weighs in on the projected budget. For many companies, September marks the beginning of the end of the year. At this point, you’ve got two months before the holidays hit and employees begin a downward, tryptophan-induced spiral of elf-yourself videos during conference calls, snooze-button-influenced outfits (and attitudes) and vacation days. You’ve got to get to workin’ in while the work is still good. Plus, with media deadlines set months in advance, the media buy calendars are already being turned to December or January. Since you buy ad space in chunks, sometimes guaranteeing a minimum ad spend for the entire year, September is the time that you need start finding a clear vision for the next calendar year. If you’re not already connecting the...
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