Marketing Report

By Krissy Bowe

Such a busy summer it has been. I’ve absolutely loved hearing about all the events that ABATE regions hosted and had booths at. Thank you all for giving your time and spreading our message.

This month I thought I would share some information on an event that lots of us teamed up on so that ABATE had a presence. Randy at Parti Animal Cycles was kind enough to invite ABATE to be part of a bike show event that he has run for a number of years. This year Randy was moving it from its original location by his shop to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters property. Thank you to both businesses for putting this event on and inviting us to be part of it.

Gary Krueger worked with Randy to get everything set for the bike show. I worked with them on the marketing pieces in advance. The day of the event 2J had lots of members and officers there helping to direct bike parking, run registration, and sell products. Gary kept everything bike show in order, Jen & Keith from 2A sold more ABATE products and represented the MRF & ABATE. I ran the ABATE booth. The set-ups were great, and I even had a poster about my FREE TATTOOS. It wasn’t much work to do but it gave me opportunities to talk to people for at least 30 seconds. It’s all about having fun at these events. When you smile at people and make them smile, you are approachable. Now you have a chance. I spent the day offering my free tattoos and bragging about how consistent my artwork was and that I was so good they didn’t even hurt. As the day went on people were coming up and asking for tattoos because they got some from another booth and they heard I could put them on. I promise you, the moment I put that wet rag on their arm, I was talking about ABATE. Now I had their attention.

At the end of the day, between Jen, Keith, and I we had generated 3 on the spot memberships and lots who were thinking about it. The bike show made ABATE some money and we considered the day a success.

I share all this because before the event Gary and I had talked and agreed what our goals were for our volunteer effort at the event. We wanted to make a little money for ABATE, get a few new members, and get to spread the message. It was our 1st year of involvement, so we didn’t know what to expect. We just made our simple goals and when we were making decisions, those goals led to the decisions. If you decide to run an event or have a booth at an event, I encourage you to be prepared. Think of what your goal is and what you might need to do to reach it. Going in with a plan leads to success and a feeling of accomplishment after you hit your goal. Give it a whirl.

If you need anything from marketing, please reach out via events@abatewis.org or give me a call at 920-858-7189.

Ride Safely,

Krissy

ABATE of WI Marketing Director