Posted by Todd Buckton on Wed, Sep 08, 2010
Maybe it was when you were in elementary school, like it was for me: the Colonial Bread Bakery tour in second grade. I can still smell the warm tang of the thousands of loaves as they came out of the oven. It was a sensory experience that is permanently imprinted on my brain.
I can think of any factory tour I’ve been on and those same literal experiences come flooding back: tasting hot Cap’n Crunch right from the cooker, beginning a lifelong relationship that endures to this day. Seeing workers as they slowly and expertly assembled Porsches while each car moved forward at a pace designed to allow time for excellence to occur. Standing in a chilled smoking room surrounded by thousands of pounds of hickory-flavored bacon. Watching mixers the size of my living room slowly and hypnotically mix Hershey’s chocolate.
These visceral experiences have the power to connect on many levels, which is why they are so effective. If you can’t take your prospects to your factory, take the factory to them. Give them an experiential event that will stay with them.
Experiences like these have lasting effects on viewers. They can also have lasting effects on your prospects and customers. How are your prospects and customers experiencing your product or service? How would you like them to do so?
Posted by Todd Buckton on Fri, Sep 03, 2010
As part of a continuing media relations campaign, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) needed to develop an outreach program targeted to people of all ages. This program would be designed to enhance a visitor’s perception of the many positive outcomes that space exploration has provided the American people - and the rest of the world - over the past half century. Part of this outreach was designated to include a mobile tour component intended to be a major attractor and key to the overall positive attitudes that NASA wanted to achieve.
Working closely with NASA on content delivery, vehicle design, fabrication and tour planning, Promotional Management Group brought the NASA “Benefits of Space” to life in an highly entertaining and interactive experiential environment. As part of the unique experience, visitors learned how space exploration has provided many advantages to the population while furthering the search of the skies. From cordless tools and Velcro to GPS systems and water purification systems, the convenience that space exploration has provided humanity is limitless. The customized 53’ trailer told this story in a way that appealed greatly to all ages. Aided by state-of-the-art audio-visual technology and highly detailed graphics, this environment compelled visitors to enter and understand more about the science behind the splendor of space travel.
While putting over 150,000 miles on the odometer, the display has played - and continues to play - host to over 35,000 students, workers and families, enjoying favorable responses all along the way. The complexities of the space-themed mobile display were myriad, but the talented Promotional Management staff was able to solve each while continuing to exhibit to overflow audiences. “I don’t know what I would have done without (PMG).” said one satisfied NASA Director.
Posted by Todd Buckton on Fri, Aug 27, 2010
The best mobile tour becomes an experience. It provides the participant with a rich, sensory brew that helps to cement that particular experience in the mind of the viewer.
Frito Lay took a mobile greenhouse into six large cities this summer with six of the many farmers who grow the potatoes that make Lay's Potato Chips.
By doing an excellent job of providing a local and human element to what could be considered a homogenous global product, Frito Lay used the farmers to place a face on the production of their product. That, coupled with the mobile environment full of live plants and black, loamy soil gave this tour everything it needed to be a successful experiential tour.
Here at Road Blog, we know how important experiences are for our clients. Well-designed traveling brand experiences are the "secret sauce" that make mobile tours so successful and allows us to provide our clients with rapid, positive ROI.
Frito Lay asked their audiences to leave the world they know for a short time and become immersed in another environment. One where the men and women tend to the fields and nurture the food that we eat on a daily basis. That immersion quickly invaded the senses of the participant and created a positive experience that the company was intending.
How would you portray your brand if you could put it on a tour and take it across the country?
Posted by Todd Buckton on Wed, Aug 25, 2010
53' Double Drop Trailer ready for customization
40' Class "A" Motorhome
Many times we get asked: "Can I use a Class A motorhome for my mobile tour?" And of course, the answer is a definitive...maybe.
Class “A” motorhomes have many advantages over a 53' mobile environment. Since they are self-contained, they are smaller and more nimble; they can park in many places a larger tour might not fit. They can be highly customized and offer surprisingly roomy interior enlargement with slides. They can be less expensive, especially in the short run to operate. And, most importantly it seems, a commercial driver’s license is not necessary to operate a motorhome.
But there are myriad reasons why a 53’ custom environment can be a better fit for your needs.
A 53’ tractor-trailer combination is designed and built for long-haul running. It’s nothing for a 53’ mobile tour to cross from coast to coast over a several day period. If a breakdown occurs, a replacement tractor can be easily introduced; motorhomes with internalized engine and drivetrains are out of action. And those same mechanical components take up valuable selling space onboard the tour. Not so with the 53’ custom transport. All space in the customized transport is devoted to enhancing your brand. Even components like HVAC and restroom facilities are built to withstand more use and strain. A 53’ custom transport with the right AC can sit in the Mojave desert and keep it’s occupants icy cold. The cost to run a 53’ tour in the long run are typically less when all factors of upkeep, maintenance and operation are accounted for. Yes, a professional driver is needed. But isn’t that what your tour and your brand deserves?
So, depending on the application, a Class “A” motorhome might make perfect sense. Used within a short radius, local application like a bookmobile or blood donation vehicle, these can be ideal. If ingress/egress is not an issue - especially ADA compliance - and numbers of visitors is not critical, this can be a perfect solution.
Yes, we do get asked: "Can I use a Class "A" motorhome for my mobile tour?"
But we also often get asked: “Can I retire my Class “A” motorhome and upgrade to a tour that will be less headaches for me?”
To determine which application is right for you, download the PMG eBook below for more information on the best way to Drive Your Brand Experience.
Posted by Todd Buckton on Mon, Aug 23, 2010
Today's View from the Cab highlights what some of the PMG mobile tour drivers have been doing on their summer vacations. After helping our clients Drive Their Brand Experience in the best ways possible, these guys need to get the batteries recharged.
First we hear from Driver Tom who's checking in from the Kentucky State Fair. The State Fair is a wonderful tradition in the USA, featuring the best each state has to offer in agriculture, commerce, livestock, entertainment and...fried food. Here at RoadBlog we've been to many State Fairs and we've eaten everything from deep fried cauliflower to deep fried Twinkies. But the Kentucky State Fair has something we've never, ever seen: Donut Burgers.
That's right. A fresh - never frozen - juicy burger, fresh off the grill with all the trimmings, and instead of a bun? Oh yeah, slap that puppy between two donuts. In any other venue a donut burger would be looked upon with shock, wonder, perhaps even disgust. At a State Fair? It's downright brilliant. Thanks to Driver Tom for sharing this bit of Americana, even though we never heard if he actually tried a donut burger.
Our next stop on the PMG Drivers summer vacation tour takes us to Tennessee, where driver Dave has just landed a lunker catfish and sent us a photo. He wouldn't tell us where the fishing hole is, just that it's in Tennessee. He also wouldn't tell us what he caught it on, so the catfish in Tennessee are probably safe from many of us...but not from Dave.
What did you do this summer to get away from it all?
Posted by Todd Buckton on Fri, Aug 13, 2010
If you could have complete control of your next mobile tour, how much more effective could you be? How much time could you free up for other tasks? If you had all pertinent information for multiple events at your fingertips including venues, attendee invitations versus RSVP’s, food and beverage counts and confirmations, contact info for the company sales rep as well as the tour staff, that would make your life much easier, wouldn’t it?
The Promotional Management Group Event Management System (EMS™) does that and more for you. Every PMG tour comes equipped with access to a proprietary online system that acts as a dashboard for your entire tour. Each stop is updated in real-time with our logistics department giving you the information you need, when you need it, from any web browser. You can also grant access in varying levels to sales reps, superiors and guests so information does not get bottlenecked through one user.
Complete guest management from invites to post-event surveys can be accessed with this system.
One of the reasons that clients stay with Promotional Management Group long-term is that we give them the tools they need to keep apprised of tour status. The PMG Event Management System (EMS™) gives you complete control over your tour.
We think you’ll find that the EMS™ is the perfect tool to keep you informed and in touch with your coworkers, your customers and your brand.
Posted by Todd Buckton on Fri, May 07, 2010
Today's View From The Cab comes to us from Leonard, Promotional Management Group driver and all around guru of things that sport wheels.
Leonard had recently been in Topeka, Kansas where he wrote: "Bad Weather! Got into the hospital just seconds before a big hail storm hit. Tornado warnings all around. What a day!". The truck was safe and sound, the client's delicate robotic surgical equipment was safe and it was just another successful healthcare mobile marketing event for PMG, home of the best drivers in the business.
But with crazy weather and another great stop under his belt, Leonard moved on to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. Hot Springs Village has an interesting distinction: it's the largest gated community in the United States. With over 26,000 heavily wooded acres - which works out to just over 39 square miles - and about 8500 residents, it has full-time security staff at all entrances for complete peace of mind. 9 golf courses, 11 recreation lakes, 10 clay tennis courts, the sheer size boggles the mind. And you have to know somebody to get in.
Here's a shot of the truck Leonard took while he was there doing an event:
And another shot around a particularly sweet bend in the road:
Thanks to Leonard for another view of our great United States of America as we go from one end to the other helping our clients Drive The Brand Experience.
Posted by Todd Buckton on Fri, Mar 12, 2010
Interior, Double slide 53' transport for IT outsourcing provider
Here's where it gets fun: Take a plain white transport shell and turn it into a perfect environment to make your product or service stand out from the pack. Let the creatives at it and you'll see that truly your imagination is all that stands between your product and a custom space made to sell your product.
Interior, double slide 53' custom transport for country music entertainer tour
Exterior, Double slide 53' transport for athletic hall of fame
Interior, Double slide 53' transport for manned space travel
Exterior, Double slide 53' transport with attached inflatable dome to seat 100+ for political campaign
Interior, Double slide 53' transport for IT outsourcing provider
As you can see, if it can be imagined, it can be incorporated into a custom mobile environment. But it can also be produced and that's where the professionals come in: taking the designer's vision and bringing it to life. And that is not a job for the faint-hearted. Once these custom transports are built, they need to travel hundreds of thousands of miles each year, bringing your product directly to the people who want to buy. Like a rock concert, these environments get set up and struck scores of times over a 12 month period. So they have to be designed, built and run with longevity and durability in mind.
Here is an example of a mobile classroom that served to train both sales reps and to market to surgeons as well:
This execution has been particularly effective to introduce this revolutionary product into an anticipatory market.
Here is an example of another demo lab that teaches cardiac catheter techniques to surgical staff easily and effectively:
How about an aviation solution that creates the interior of a business-class jet for presale to the buying audience. This mobile environment traveled hundreds of thousands of miles and sold scores of these aircraft providing pre-sale interest and income before manufacture:
Finally, here's a retail environment that attracted tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts. They became willing brand advocates while they took test rides leading to sales and bought cool brand swag.
So there you have it. With the right vehicle for your product or service, customized to attract your target audience, bringing it to them can sell more product for you. That's how PMG helps you Drive Your Brand Experience.
Posted by Todd Buckton on Tue, Feb 23, 2010
Today's View from the Cab is from PMG Master Driver Dave who just finished a trip from California to Denver for the next leg of a mobile tour for a valued healthcare client. The photos he took are just west of the Vail pass. Dave said he just missed a huge storm that dumped lots of snow on Denver and the local ski areas.
Not only are these beautiful photos but they are a perfect way to show why mobile tours are a great way to get your product in front of people who want to buy. Multiple large scale gatherings like trade shows continue to fade in importance in the minds of decision makers. Decisions like increased travel costs, better online communication technology, inconvenience to attendees and a general desire to stay closer to home looms large with your core audience. That's why mobile tours are such a great way to break through the clutter. Take your product to where the decision makers are and make it easy for them to be bowled over by your incredible product. Make it easy for them to experience your product and you make it easy for them to buy your product.
Dave left Denver and is now in beautiful Minot, ND showcasing our client's product to prospects and customers who don't have to go far to be impressed by their offering. And at less than 100 miles to the Canadian border, the weather is lots worse in Minot than it is in Denver this time of year, but our client has made it easy for their prospects to experience an excellent product. We battled the elements. We brought it to them. Another great reason to use mobile tours to Drive The Brand Experience.
All photos by PMG Driver Dave Christenson
Posted by Todd Buckton on Fri, Feb 12, 2010
We've looked at the types of vehicles that are available for your mobile tour, now let's look at how these can transform into unique marketing spaces.
If we say that "you are only limited to your imagination" when it comes to customization, you might think that's an overused, hackneyed phrase. But when it comes to mobile event marketing, it's completely true. Once the transport is safely parked at the venue of your choice near your prospects and customers, that's when the fun begins. Set up for a transport can be anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days and these transports can become anything. Here's how they might start:
53' Single Slide Transport
This is referred to as a "single slide" transport. It's indicated as having stairs at the front and the rear of the slide out, but that choice is all yours. The doors can be put on the opposite side, the front, back, wherever it's right for the specific application. The slide allows the transport to get down the road and then opens up onsite to become a roomy, luxurious selling environment. Here's an example of a single slide:
A variation of this transport is the double slide:
53' Double Slide Transport
This transport will allow you to more than double the floor space of a straight 53' transport and give your product or service more than ample room to adequately market your product in a singular environment.
Another variation is a stage area instead of a slide. This makes the 53' transport a natural for live presentations to large audiences.
53' Single Slide/Single Stage Transport
Here's a couple of variations of that same stage concept. One is a retail operation:
This application allowed the manufacturer to sell high-margin accessories while showcasing their latest product offerings.
Here's another variation of the same type of transport. This time, the side opens up to reveal the full-size business jet fuselage. This display was used to presell a new business jet that was being developed and built. Incredibly effective, highly targeted and amazing ROI.
Now we have an idea of what is possible with custom transports. As we said up front, if you can imagine it you can have it. And just to prove our point, we'll leave you with a custom transport built in Australia that turns into...well you just have to see it to believe it. Brilliant. Expect to see the same concept soon here in the states.
Incredible perspective views of custom transports by Derrick Johnson
Sweet Australian Mobile Pub by Truckmania
All other cool photos by Promotional Management Group
