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Tips on how to market the Studebaker brand at car shows

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  • #1

    Tips on how to market the Studebaker brand at car shows

    Hi all,
    I will be attending my first car show in October (http://www.rockvillemd.gov/index.aspx?nid=667) and have been asked to represent my region of SDC for the show. My question is what is the best way to educate the general public about Studebaker? Any ideas on hand outs or other materials would be greatly appreciated. Also, the car show will feature a people's choice award and we'll be going up against Ferraris and other exotics. Have you used any tactics in the past that have been popular in swinging the public over to Studebaker. Looking forward to having fun with this, so all ideas welcome. Thank you!
    1956 Studebaker President Classic

    Member of the Studebaker Drivers Club

    Member of the Antique Automobile Club of America, Sugarloaf Mountain Region Historian

    Mt. Airy, Maryland

    http://instagram.com/theorphanpresident/

    www.saturdaythe14th.wordpress.com (Blog)

    Tags: marketing, maryland, rockville, sdc
  • #2
    What I do is give out copies of Turning Wheels. I have several hundred extra from members contributions.
    Jack White
    Charlotte,NC
    North Carolina Studebaker Drivers Club

    Comment

    • #3
      Your Region President or Zone Director can request handouts, flyers, posters and banners to promote the marque and the club from Tom Curtis. If they do not already have them at this date, ask them to get on the stick or try to contact Tom yourself. I believe there is usually an ad in Turning Wheels regarding this material. You will also want spare copies of TW and your chapter publication, with applications to both, for those interested. Turning Wheels is a true eye opener, substantially more impressive than the AACA publication.
      I usually hide a cassette player constantly playing in the car with music of the appropriate period for the model. It's not big drama but usually attracts a few additional looks.
      Brad Johnson,
      SDC since 1975, ASC since 1990
      Pine Grove Mills, Pa.
      '33 Rockne 10, '51 Commander Starlight. '53 Commander Starlight
      '56 Sky Hawk in process

      Comment

      • #4
        Stay around the car for a lot of the show, be pleasant and smile. Answer questions calmly and in short sentences. Don't act like a question is stupid or below you. Return questions about the other folks experiences and cars.

        If you are there and a parent tells the little ones to not touch the car, tell them it's not important and offer the little ones a opportunity to set in the car.

        Lastly, I made a window sticker for the Avanti that gives about 12 lines of facts about the cars high points and history.

        If you don't win anything, and that ain't important, you will leave with new friends and a great feeling about the interactions with the other owners.

        Remember that the 289 is not a Ford motor as Studebaker had it's own foundry but just some folks way of starting a conversation with what they thought was a fact. It's not a stupid question, just someone's way of breaking the ice. Treat it as such.

        The best representative of the brand is the friendly car guy that doesn't try to overwhelm others with tons of unwanted info or that they are horribly uninformed about "THE" Marque. Remember to treat the others folks like you would want to be treated if you didn't know Jack Crap about their rides.

        Nothing wrong with handing out literature if there's interest but don't do it like a hare krishna at the airport.

        Bob
        Last edited by sweetolbob; 09-26-2014, 06:07 PM.

        Comment

        • #5
          What has been said so far, Steve; all good points. Please note what Brad said in Post #3; SDC is really on top of supplying materials to assist marque recognition and such.

          I see you have a 1956 President Classic sedan. If the upholstery is stock, invite people to have a look at it. They'll be amazed at its plushness.

          Best wishes; your concern and efforts are greatly appreciated. BP
          We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

          G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

          Comment

          • #6
            Just go and have fun. "Attraction rather than promotion" works pretty good

            Comment

            • #7
              I always let people take pictures and sit in the car, especially kids. They always have the biggest smiles.

              I always park my hawks beside a similar year Ford or Chev that is about twice the height.

              I have an information sheet about Studebaker with a Studebaker history and a story about the model I am showing.

              With your President Classic, I would park it among the other 1956 models so that people can compare styles and quality. You will have the crowd around your car - everyone has already seen 1956 Fords and Chevs, so be prepared for a little envy from them and be friendly.

              Don't forget a lawn chair, some snacks and water.

              Have fun.

              Comment

              • #8
                Make sure you have the new SDC window sticker with the QR code on it. You don't have to know what the QR code is or how to use it. The younger people that we are trying to reach and recruit know what it is and how to use it when they see it. And they WILL use it. There is a whole thread on this sticker if you want to know more about it.
                Jon Stalnaker
                Karel Staple Chapter SDC

                Comment

                • #9
                  Originally posted by 55s View Post
                  I always let people take pictures and sit in the car, especially kids. They always have the biggest smiles.
                  Most cars have signs "do not touch" I let them set in the car, I let them touch the paint so they can see how smooth the paint is... I try to stay with the car, but have plenty of water, or your voice will be gone by the end of the day because of answering questions. I have a window sticker (made by Dick Quinn) almost everybody stops read that...
                  Jim
                  sigpic
                  Jim

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Show the people something they will remember after they leave the show - a poster with some photos of Studebaker history. Start with the elegant Studebaker carriage that President Lincoln and his wife rode to the theater the night he was assassinated in 1865. Show the Studebaker wagon with the Budweiser sign being pulled by the famous team of Clydesdale horses, dating from about 1900. Show the 1947 and 1953 cars to illustrate that Studebaker had advanced styling for the time.
                    Trying to build a 48 Studebaker for the 21st century.
                    See more of my projects at stilettoman.info

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Originally posted by 55s View Post
                      You will have the crowd around your car - everyone has already seen 1956 Fords and Chevs, so be prepared for a little envy from them and be friendly.
                      Awesome. This made me LOL
                      Proud NON-CASO

                      I do not prize the word "cheap." It is not a badge of honor...it is a symbol of despair. ~ William McKinley

                      If it is decreed that I should go down, then let me go down linked with the truth - let me die in the advocacy of what is just and right.- Lincoln

                      GOD BLESS AMERICA

                      Ephesians 6:10-17
                      Romans 15:13
                      Deuteronomy 31:6
                      Proverbs 28:1

                      Illegitimi non carborundum

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Sdude View Post
                        Make sure you have the new SDC window sticker with the QR code on it. You don't have to know what the QR code is or how to use it. The younger people that we are trying to reach and recruit know what it is and how to use it when they see it. And they WILL use it. There is a whole thread on this sticker if you want to know more about it.
                        Ditto that.
                        Brad Johnson,
                        SDC since 1975, ASC since 1990
                        Pine Grove Mills, Pa.
                        '33 Rockne 10, '51 Commander Starlight. '53 Commander Starlight
                        '56 Sky Hawk in process

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Adding to what others have suggested:

                          Download these three documents, print a few and hand 'em out as you talk with folks about Studebakers.

                          "Studebaker Myths & Misconceptions" helps shed light on some of the misconceptions people may have heard.
                          DOWNLOAD

                          "Studebaker Firsts" lists a number of things Studebaker did before other car makers.
                          DOWNLOAD

                          "The Studebaker Story" a self-printable version of the Fred Fox article.
                          DOWNLOAD

                          ALSO... here is a series of four short articles I wrote last year under the general title of "Be A Champion" and had distributed to SDC Chapters for their newsletters. DOWNLOAD
                          Last edited by BShaw; 09-27-2014, 03:12 PM.
                          sigpic
                          Bob Shaw
                          Rush City, Minnesota
                          1960 Hawk - www.northstarstudebakers.com
                          "The farther I go, the behinder I get."

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            I attended a primarily MoPar show today at The Finer Details in Danville IN. It is probably the premier 1970-1974 MoPar E-body (Dodge Challenger and later Plymouth Barracuda) restoration shop in the country; their work is as close to perfect as is humanly possible. Flawless, actually. They also work on other performance MoPars and an occasional Ford or GM product. (I drove my unrestored 1971 Barracuda convertible, well-received as an unrestored car.)

                            I saw a fellow wearing a cute T-Short:

                            You don't have to drive a
                            MoPar
                            ...but you'd be a lot cooler if you did.

                            I suppose that could be taken the wrong way by people with a terminal affliction for being offended, but it put a smile on my face.

                            BTW: One fellow I caught up with at the show was Pure Stock Drag Racer Tom Kelly of Danville. Tom has run his 1968 Hemi Road Runner at the event, but not for several years. Tom commented on reading about "Seb's" 1961 Lark project in the new Hemmings Muscle Machines and thought it was pretty cool! BP
                            We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

                            G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Just hang out by your car and answer any questions folks have. In a way the car will do the talking.
                              Chris Dresbach

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