Gordinier Group
Ram has a brilliant marketing plan to sell their coveted trucks – bring the trucks to the places that truck-buyers congregate. This plan seems simple, but it is often overlooked by other automakers.
In 2016, Ram did just that. By bringing the Ram Truck Territory Ride & Drive to the 5 biggest agriculture shows (and letting them drive and ride in the trucks), Ram delivered many important impressions on buyers. This year’s ag show list included:
- World Agriculture Expo – Tulare, CA: 2/8 – 2/12/16
- Wisconsin Farm Technology Days – Zenda, WI: 7/18 – 7/22/16
- Farm Progress Show – Boone, IA: 8/28 – 9/2/16
- Husker Harvest Days – Grand Island, NE: 9/12 – 9/16/16
- Sunbelt Ag Expo – Moultrie, GA: 10/17- 10/21/16
Luckily, the ag events weren’t plagued with rain this year as they were in 2015. In fact, of all of the event days in this year’s tour, only part of one day was lost to foul weather conditions.
The new format for these events has Gordinier Group drivers piloting the trucks on the interior, off-road track. GG drivers tackle the precision driving on the off-road obstacles while delivering information – specs, features, and why buys – to the passenger guests.
Meanwhile, 3 tow vehicles circle the perimeter of the space, giving guests the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a tow rig to experience Ram’s best in class towing prowess. Guests chose between a 3500 dually with a gooseneck trailer (loaded with Case farm equipment), a 2500 pulling a horse trailer full of hay, or a 1500 with trailer loaded with a side-by-side or personal watercraft. In this situation, GG drivers ride shotgun, giving towing tips and product details.
Together, these two tracks give guests a nice picture of what the trucks are capable of doing in practical situations.
May 11-15 2016
When Gordinier Group was asked to be a part of the first annual Jeepin’ Beach Jam in Panama City Beach, Florida, it was a no-brainer.
JBJ promoters and founders Mark Hess and Matt McKenzie of JBJ Productions reached out to GG looking for an event partner to design, build and operate an off-road course adjacent to the event site, to be used by Jeep guests in their own vehicles during the event.
With the obvious challenge of creating challenging obstacles in sandy soil – both for stock Jeeps and heavily modified Jeeps – GG took on the task.
We trucked in topsoil, logs, and rock and went to work, creatively using the vast space that we were given to build a unique course that had something for everyone (including a new Renegade owner who was able to navigate parts of the course that Wranglers needed to be winched from).
The inaugural event drew over 1,000 Jeeps – a great turnout for a first-time gig. We hope to be back in 2017 to build on the success of this unique and growing event!
Here is a description of the event and activities that appeared in Four Wheeler magazine.
Overhead pics courtesy of Sky Pro Imaging.
April 1-3, 2016
Ram Trucks once again rolled out the red carpet for guests of the Academy of Country Music Awards Party for a Cause participants.
As a warm up for the ACM Awards, PFAC has turned into it’s own premier, 3-day event and Ram was the gold sponsor for 2016. PFAC boasted performances by the likes of Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney, Lee Brice and other top acts. What’s more, the event raised over $500,000 for various charities.
For Gordinier Group, this event is an opportunity for our drivers to give exposure to the full lineup of Ram trucks – from the 2016 1500 Laramie Limited, to the 2016 Ram 3500 Laramie Longhorn. The 5.7L Hemi, 6.4L Hemi. 3.0L EcoDiesel and 6.7L Cummins Diesel were all represented in our fleet of test ride trucks. We even had a 2017 Power Wagon on display.
GG drivers drove guests on an exciting, closed-course off-road track featuring obstacles such as berms, moguls, culverts, logs and a mobile mountain. During the experience, drivers described best-in-class features and benefits, as well as giving an overview of what is dynamically happening with the vehicle as it conquers each obstacle. With the thousands of people attending PFAC, this was a great way for Ram to engage with one of their most desirable marketing demographics.
2016 was a great year for FCA at the Chicago Auto Show. Both the crowd favorite Camp Jeep track and the City Drive, a showcase of FCA’s Dodge, Chrysler, and Fiat brands, were in full force at the show.
Both tracks gave guests the opportunity to ride in the newest vehicles offered by FCA, with Gordinier Group drivers behind the wheel. Tasked with delivering detailed information about each vehicle while piloting guests up over and through technical obstacles, the GG drivers made countless positive impressions on CAS guests. The tracks operated at full capacity, bell-to-bell, for 10 days, setting a new record for registered guests at an auto show ride and drive.
Camp Jeep –
The Camp Jeep track is always a big hit in Chicago. This is no surprise, given the infusion of massive amounts of organic material (dirt, boulders, mulch) alongside the mobile properties that make Camp Jeep a thrilling ride that shows off the brand’s off-road prowess. The track features an 18-foot tall, pass-through mountain, staircase, Trail Rated pass, side-hill traverse, breakover and several other challenging obstacles.
City Drive –
The 2016 CAS City Drive track gave customers the chance to experience a ride in 2017 FCA vehicles such as Chrysler 300 and Pacifica, Dodge Charger and Challenger, or Fiat 500 and Spider 124. The track featured an ambient sound zone, vehicle info center, and everyone’s favorite, the acceleration/braking strip.
