Ram
April 18,2015
The Mission – to coordinate and operate the largest truck parade in the world with the best truck brand in the world (Ram, of course), in order to set a Guinness World Record
The Magic Number – 439 (The previous record was 438)
The Venue – AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys
The Result – 451 Ram trucks in a constantly-moving, evenly-spaced parade formation
Gordinier Group was once again fortunate to be able to help G7 Entertainment Marketing and Ram Trucks to put together this record-breaking effort, while treating loyal Ram owners to a once in a lifetime experience while visiting the Academy of Country Music Awards in Arlington, Texas.
To say that organizing this parade was logistically challenging would be an understatement. Imagine coordinating nearly 500 trucks and their owners, having them line up in a parking lot, start a parade procession at the same time, and keep them all moving continuously over a 3.4 mile route, without stopping at any point. All of this needed to happen on the busy streets of the AT&T Stadium campus, in the lead-up to the Academy of Country Music Awards…kind of a busy area.
The entire activity was closely watched by the Guinness World Record Adjudicator, who flew to Dallas to make sure that all of the required elements were satisfied in order to win the record.
The announcement came later in the day – to a collective sigh of relief from all of the planners, Ram execs and participants. Our parade was certified at 451 vehicles (13 above the previous record)!
Whew.
All in all, this was a great events for loyal Ram owners, who were treated to a once in a lifetime experience. Not only were they able to participate in an official world record, they were treated to tickets and parking for the Party For A Cause, Ram gift bags, Ram vehicle and partner display area, live music and Raminator monster truck crushing demos.
Motor Trend wrote a nice recap of the event here.
Here is a YouTube video recap of the parade.
January – April 2015
With a lofty goal of increasing throughput / exposure while building on the premier experiential event in the industry, the entire CJAS team delivered again!
The standards were set higher and everyone involved rose to the occasion to make this program shine once again. Last fall we hit our one millionth Camp Jeep rider after 10 years. The next million will come much more quickly as we continue to improve throughput efficiency.
The 2015 “CJAS Tour” visited:
- Houston Jeep 1/21/2015
- Houston Ram 2/21/2015
- Washington DC Jeep 1/21/2015
- Philadelphia Jeep 1/29/2015
- Tulare Ram 2/10/2015
- Chicago Jeep 2/11/2015
- Chicago Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat 2/11/2015
- Dallas Ram 2/19/2015
- Cleveland Jeep 2/27/2015
- Cleveland Jeep 2/27/2015
- Minneapolis Jeep 3/7/2015
- Atlanta Jeep 3/24/2015
- New York Jeep 4/1/2015
- Denver Jeep 4/7/2015
This schedule wasn’t for the weak of heart, to be sure. There were many hours worked, laps driven, much experienced gained, and most importantly, many thousands of people exposed to FCA’s outstanding current product by Gordinier Group professional drivers.
We were once again humbled by (and thankful for) the opportunity to take the stage and represent the brand(s)!
Cheyenne Frontier Days
Cheyenne, WY
July 19-28, 2014
Colorado State Fair
Pueblo, CO
August 23 – September 2, 2014
Oklahoma State Fair
Oklahoma City, OK
September 11-21, 2014
The Ram Rodeo Test ride Series provides excellent exposure for the brand. Unlike the farm show circuit, these fairs are 10-12 days long and feature top country music acts, pro rodeo and bull riding events, carnivals, and other attractions that help to bring scads of people through the gates.
At these shows Gordinier Group/Dirt Designs has the opportunity to design and build organic off-road courses that feature, logs, rock piles, axle articulation rollers, dirt mountains, and as many other obstacles that we can pack into our footprint. While the simulated off-road courses provide an excellent medium to provide a consistent experience, we always jump at the chance to get on the heavy equipment and move some dirt around.
All 3 fairs brought us great weather and provided us a truly enormous amount of people to show off the 2014 Ram 1500 to. We really racked up the rides at these shows and were able to make a ton of positive impressions. This is easy to do when you are you are promoting the Motor Trend “Truck of the Year”, winner (for the last 2 years, thank you very much).
Wisconsin Farm Tech Days
Steven’s Point, WI
August 12-14, 2014
Farm Progress
Boone, IA
August 26-28, 2014
Husker Harvest
Kearney, NE
September 9-11, 2014
In the outdoor event world, when dealing with Mother Nature, you win some and you lose some. With 3 major farm shows on the schedule this summer, Gordinier Group pro drivers had to battle with some serious rain and storms to bring Ram trucks to the masses.
The farm show circuit began with Wisconsin Farm Tech Days, which featured excellent weather and mobs of Ram test riders. The simulated off-road properties and 2014 Ram 1500 and 2500 trucks were a huge hit with consumers who lined up to participate in our experience. Our job of showing off the features of these amazing trucks gets easier each year as they continue to get better and better – no convincing needed, thank you.
From Wisconsin, we moved on to Boone, Iowa, for Farm Progress Days. This is where the rain began. We arrived on the first show day to 6 inches of standing water on our track. Luckily, we brought some trucks to the entrance, put on our Product Specialist hats, and were still able to have a good number of positive guest interactions, despite being unable to drive. The rain continued throughout the show, causing an eventual morning cancellation on the last day.
When we finally dried off, the Gordinier Group crew made their way to Kearney, Nebraska for Husker Harvest. Once again we battled torrential downpours and weren’t able to drive. Back to our vehicle walk-arounds and Product Specialist duties. Not a bad gig, but our team are drivers and really like to be behind the wheel where we can demonstrate the features that we are explaining.
The weather didn’t cooperate this year, but our guys and gals are scrappy and still managed to get in front of a lot of Ram and potential Ram owners.
The farm shows provide an audience that is the perfect demographic for the brand and even with the wet weather, still an excellent series.