The production team for the Fireball Run Adventurally flew into Jamestown from Universal Studios for a few days to visit the city, which will be the second stop on the competition's journey.
"We are so thrilled that you have chosen Jamestown as an important stop on the Fireball Run, and I know that all 60,000 residents in the greater Jamestown region are going to be pitching together to work together to make this the most successful stop on the 2012 edition of the Fireball Run,"?said Mayor Sam Teresi on Friday.
The Fireball Run is an action-packed, eight-day, 2,500-mile adventurally for a good cause - locating missing children. The adventurally will take place Sept. 21-29, and the teams will be arriving in Jamestown Sunday, Sept. 23.
Article Photos
The production team for the Fireball Run Adventurally flew into Jamestown from Universal Studios for a few days to visit the city, which will be the second stop on the competition’s journey.
P-J photo by Hilary Scott
J. Sanchez, Fireball Run executive producer, discussed what the rally is, why they chose Jamestown for a destination and how it will benefit the city. Benefits include: live-streaming coverage, being part of episodic and motion picture series, having the community showcased to the teams of industry leaders and influential people who compete in the rally and an injection of spending from the teams at local shops, as well as donations to local organizations.
"I would like to thank Fireball Run Executive Producer Mr. Sanchez and competitors who selected Jamestown to be a part of the exciting event," said Assemblyman Andy Goodell, R-Chautauqua County. "Chautauqua County has a number of cultural institutions, from the Robert H. Jackson Center to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute and the Lucy-Desi Museum, which I am eager to share with our competitors and the audience. Having the event streamed live on the web provides Jamestown with a unique opportunity to promote our community."
David Hickman, Fireball Run executive to the production and former "mad man," led a marketing workshop on Friday morning, with about 20 people from the community in attendance.
"David teaches a community how to promote itself and leverage Fireball Run to its best advantage ... Everything David teaches in that workshop is applicable to any other event or any other marketing aspects that somebody would do in the community," said Sanchez.
Hickman said the Fireball Run does the marketing workshop in every community the adventurally stops at as a value add for the communities.
"The communities we go to have been kind enough to bring our production to their town, so we like to give back in as many ways as possible," said Hickman.
During the workshop, he discussed the marketing basics, how businesses and organizations can leverage the Fireball Run for their advantage and emphasized the value of social media marketing.
Hickman said there are nine things that are universal to advertising and marketing, that nobody ever talks about. There are only three ways to sell anything: price, proximity and brand. There are only three people to sell to: current, past and future customers. There are only three ways to communicate a message: purchase it, warrant it or inspire it.
He also discussed selling a brand by selling the experience of the brand.
"According to a recent study, 85 percent of travelers decide where they are going to go on the Internet," he said. "So, for destination marketing, that's a huge number."
So, he said it is important to have an active and positive online presence, as well as good user comments, as two-thirds of that 85 percent of people make decisions based on user comments.