Last night’s Ganassi Sound Garage event that featured country band A Thousand Horses was held before hundreds of young fans at Chip Ganassi Racing's HQs in Concord, N.C. The event, in its second iteration after last year’s welcomed about 200 people, was expected to draw three times as many people this year. It was replete with activation by CGR sponsors, including McDonald’s, Target, DC Solar, Kleenex, Belkin, Linksys, Chlorox, Axe, Energizer and Coca-Cola. Highlights included McDonald’s bringing its mobile truck unit on site, where a team of staffers served all-day breakfast items as if they were hors d’oeuvres at a cocktail party. They also brought the signature ball pit that many of its franchise play areas have. Target brought its dog mascot, Bullseye, for photo ops and had a dedicated section of the garage that featured Target-branded couches and seats as well as giveaways like sunglasses. DC Solar had a mobile solar light tower and a branded charging station. Kleenex had a vending machine that doled out items from tissues to Belkin mobile accessories if you shared something about the brand socially. Axe had a grooming station, and Coca-Cola gave out beverages. The night featured a heavy focus on social engagement, with signs posted throughout the facility that showed the proper hashtags to use for the night and directions on how to get the DJ to play a request. The event’s #SoundGarage hashtag was trending in Charlotte last night while it was going on.
START YOUR ENGINES: CGR also made racing a big focus in numerous facets. CGR drivers including NASCAR’s Kyle Larson, Brennan Poole and Dylan Kwasniewski, as well as IndyCar’s Sage Karam and Sebastian Saavedra, were in attendance and snapped photos on a red carpet with attendees. All attendees also got a race ticket for this weekend’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and a special few got hospitality tickets. There was also an Indy car with a Sound Garage paint scheme that served as the centerpiece to the event when attendees entered the facility. CGR President Steve Lauletta said of CGR’s sponsors, “The look and feel of what we’re trying to do -- the interaction and setup so that guests tell the story through their own social media and sharing the message of what’s going on here -- is what they’re really excited about.” He added of incorporating racing into the event, “It’s always forefront. That’s what we are -- we’re a race team. As I always tell everybody, if we don’t connect back to our core business then we’ve failed. So having all of our drivers here that fit the demo -- it’s always about racing for us and I think it’s a cool way to show people who maybe aren’t following it every day that you can get a personal connection from being here.”
