Everywhere you look, on TV, on the radio, magazines and of course on the web, tailgating is an emerging lifestyle that corporate America wants to capture. Even TailgatingTimes.com did a blog post on how Corporate America Hangs Their Brand on Tailgating. The post cites huge companies like Kingsford Charcoal with their “Tailgate at Home” campaign, Allstate Insurance’s Bergwood tailgater and we all have seen Bud Light’s Jimmy Football hawking “Tailgate Approved” gimmicky tailgating merchandise. Now you can add Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets to that mix and we are happy to say they have teamed up with TailgatingIdeas.com to get out their message.
Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets are currently located in the Southwestern United States with locations in metropolitan areas such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego, Calif. More locations are in Las Vegas and the greater Phoenix, Ariz. areas as well. Their “back to basics” philosophy of not overwhelming the consumer with overkill of choices and brands keeps costs lower. You won’t find fancy displays on the end of the aisles. Those cost extra money and those costs are eventually passed on to the consumers. The Fresh & Easy approach is by keeping it simple and not overwhelming the customers they will have a better shopping experience and come back again. If you have ever been in a Fresh & Easy store it has that old fashioned neighborhood market feel to it too.
With that said, Fresh & Easy is mobilizing a media campaign to inform TV viewers on hints and tips on how to host a killer tailgate party. They were looking for a “tailgating expert” to go on TV morning shows and tell the hosts and viewing audience how to not just tailgate, but to tailgate better. (Now where have we heard that before?)
I was contacted and the long story short is Fresh & Easy has chosen me to visit a number of TV stations to talk about tailgating and to promote the tailgate party lifestyle. And before you start calling us “corporate sell outs”, keep in mind this media campaign is focused on encouraging more people to go out and tailgate. Of course Fresh & Easy products that help tailgaters enjoy themselves while saving money will be included but in the grand scheme of things, this media campaign is all about tailgating.
So where can you see me on your TV promoting tailgating and Fresh & Easy? You have a few options. Starting this Friday, October 9, 2009, tune into That Morning Show which airs daily on E! channel from 6 am to 9 am. (Those of you with DirecTV or Dish Network will want to tune in during the eastern time zone hours because those satellite service receive the east coast feed.)
If you live in Las Vegas, tune in to KTNV ABC 13 this Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 for their morning show. I’ll also be making an appearance in Phoenix, Ariz. on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 on 12 News NBC Phoenix. More shows may be coming on board in the near future as this media campaign was just kicked off a few days ago.
If you live in the Southwest and have seen a Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market but have yet to go in one, try it out. I will admit that before I was offered this opportunity to promote tailgating for the Fresh & Easy brand, I had not stepped foot in one. I can honestly say I was quite impressed when I did make a few stops in. For the last minute tailgater on their way to the stadium, Fresh & Easy has all the essentials you’ll need in easy to find places. And the Fresh & Easy stores are self-checkout so you need not worry getting stuck behind someone holding up the line while she digs through her purse to locate her checkbook. Give them a try and keep an eye out for me talking tailgating on your TV in the coming weeks.
