March Sadness: The Equinox Tour that Wasn't

Here’s one of a new series being added to Jedemi:Â The Not Going Anywhere (NGA) Files

I’m watching the MLB channel, listening to The Irish Experience, and wistfully thinking of the Sprint Equinox Tour idea I put together which is now an addition to the NGA file.

It all started with a cattle call for Goodby Silverstein employees. They were looking for ideas to promote Chevy.

When my husband told me, I didn’t think much of it. Then I went on a run and my subconscious took hold —the ideas flowed and flowedâ€¦

It was crazy. While stretching, the ideas flowed some more.

The GMC Terrain SUV caught my eye during a broadcast of ESPN SportsCenter.

“There must be a Chevy version,” I thought to myself.

I few clicks later, I nearly hit the ceiling when I saw that Chevy’s take was called Equinox.

“How perfect is that?!”

And this year, Spring Equinox falls on March 20 which just so happens to be THE weekend to be in Phoenix for Spring Training.

I did some research and found out that the Cactus League in Arizona draws nearly 1.5 million in attendance during the month of March. The Los Angeles Dodgers are playing there now.Â Both Chicago teams train there.

“It might could work!”

With that thought in mind, and right after learning that the Chevy Equinox gets 600 miles per tank (a whopping 32 MPG) and comes in at an affordable price point, I knew what I had to do next. The key to the promo had to move beyond the standard cliche of “baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.” What it needed was a beyond the ballpark experience.

“Are there fish in Arizona?”
“Yes. Apache Trout.”

“Can you go fly fishing in the morning and hit the ballpark in the afternoon?”
“Yes.”

That really got me thinking.

How about this as a premise:

Husband (fly fishing guy) and wife (baseball aficionado) tour Arizona in a Chevy Equinox during Spring Training (March).

Wife out to prove to husband the Equinox can do what his dream car can do AND More for a lot less $$$.

Wife intends to document the adventure (photos/video, blogging tweeting).

Then, thinking end-to-end, I worked on the “What’s in it for Goodby Silverstein (GSP) and Chevrolet?”

GSP gets visibility for client’s affordable, great mileage vehicle PLUS has options for other clients (Sprint, HP)
Chevy & Sprint already have MLB ties so access at ballparks for further visibility an option
The Equinox/Equinox concept is memorable.
“Runs Deep” & “Runs Steep” off road proof point

Then I started pondering the extensions of the concept.