Posted by: Troy White
July 2, 2009
Issue #706

300 Million in 10 Days
… Year After Year.
How Do They Do It?

in this issue:

• When Walt Disney headed up a cowboy parade … and how it applies to your business

• How to get thousands of people working for FREE

• The $2,000 a day secret that would make even Pamela Anderson proud

• Challenging your customers to “step up to the plate”

• Finding out who ELSE stands to gain from your success (and the financial repercussions to your business)

• And Much More!

Fellow business builder,

I am fascinated with the strategies businesses are using to grow fast and consistently. Not the one-time magic pill solutions that are so prevalent on the Internet today – but long lasting, sustainable marketing practices that any and every business should be using.

You have heard me discuss the Wild West Wealth Summit before, but I have not dug in deep and shown you some of the reasoning behind this event and why the Wild West theme has worked so well for them.

It is an inspirational and educational story of a true showman who had a dream – and built that dream into a $300 million dollar empire.

Back in 1912, Guy Weadick had a dream … he wanted to out-do Buffalo Bill’s Traveling Wild West Road Show and make a new kind of event that could endure in the long run. He also wanted to showcase and celebrate the romance of the Old West.

At the time there was an annual event called the Calgary Exhibition that was starting to catch on and gain popularity among local city folk. But it wasn’t even close to the grand vision Guy Weadick had …

Today, the Calgary Stampede Lays Claim
to hosting the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

And the numbers prove their claims. Every single year, this 10-day event brings in over $300 million dollars into the local economy. It is a world-renowned outdoor midway (with 1.2 million people passing through the turnstiles), has the second largest parade in the world (second only to the Rose Bowl parade), and has the largest rodeo purse in the world ($1.6 million is handed out to the top rodeo stars).

Having been born and raised in Calgary, Canada (with a short one year stint in Dallas, Texas) – I have attended near 38 Calgary Stampede events already – and now my twin daughters are being brought up in the "Stampede City."

I have always been fascinated with the Stampede and how they manage to convert a city of a million people the way they do (more on that later). There is nothing like this anywhere that I have ever seen.

Some of the Big Lessons
the Calgary Stampede Has Taught Me …

Get the word out on a mass scale.

Laying claim to the Greatest and Largest Outdoor Show on Earth means they had better be serious about delivering on their promise. And making sure the world knows about you is critical.

Just a few of the ways they spread the word …

• They use ambassadors. The Stampede Princesses and Queen travel the world year round and do 400 events per year. Doing photo shoots, publicity promos, rodeo related events, etc. Each year a new group of them are chosen – and they are always chosen from exceptional backgrounds of those who support the city and those who are active in the rodeo scene.

• There are 2300 volunteers that travel the world spreading the word. VOLUNTEERS! People who work for FREE. They go on a vacation – and spread the word. They travel to a seminar – and spread the word. They are incredibly thoughtful people who take great pride in what they do and what it helps them build.

• Give it away! 28,000 people are fed for free every year. Not including what corporations give away for free (they caught the spirit). In Calgary, during the July event, you can eat for free every single day of the week – multiple times if you want. The free pancake breakfasts are the community’s way of giving back. These are held in parking lots, at the park, on the street, or pretty well anywhere else they can find a place to pull in the chuck wagons and fire-up the pancake griddles.

• Everyone loves a parade and party! As I mentioned earlier, the parade is huge! With over 400,000 people lining the streets of Downtown Calgary, combined with the millions of people watching live broadcasts in all corners of the world – the parade is a must-see event. Walt Disney headed up the parade back in 1965, and each and every year a new parade marshal is chosen. They are usually celebrities of some sort – either from television, the movies, or from charitable causes (this years parade marshals were a group of young men who skateboarded across Canada while raising funds for breast cancer).

• Build in annual traditions. The chuck wagon races are a big part of the Calgary Stampede. Not only do they stand to pocket $100,000 for being part of the winning chuck wagon team, the canvas on top of the chuck wagon is a VERY valuable piece of property. Each year they hold an auction and companies can bid to have their name place prominently on the chuck wagon. Some of these sell for six figure sums of money. But they get world-wide television coverage with their company name and logo front and center. Think about who else stands to gain from your success – have you asked them to sponsor you or help you grow faster?



• It’s a year-round effort that most people only see every 10 days – the 97-yr-old product launch formula. The anticipation builds up to a feverish pitch locally … and travel agents across the world highly encourage thrill seekers to visit Calgary during the Stampede (45 minutes from Calgary is the Rocky Mountains where you can find yourself pretty well any kind of adventure you seek). The Calgary Stampede is becoming the destination of choice for young partiers as well. Some of the local Western-themed bars have capitalized on this in a BIG way. One of them flies in a portable airplane hanger and uses it for its ‘beer tent’ – on the busy days up to 15,000 people pass through its gates.
  

  One of the more controversial parts of this side of the Stampede is the use of scantily clothed “beer girls” or, as some call them, “tub tarts.” These are usually beautiful young girls, wearing clothing that Pamela Anderson would be proud of. They are typically showing a lot of skin, and the mixture of alcohol in the picture makes it a very profitable time for these girls. Many of them average $1,000 - $2,000 a DAY in tips.

• Be edgy and/or challenge them – “Are you tough enough to wear pink?” This was the campaign they ran this year – everyone who bought a pink western shirt (yes – for the guys) was donating a percentage of the shirt price to breast cancer research. This was a HUGE success for them … in the parades – everything was pink … at the bars - half the guys were wearing pink … at the midway grounds – pink, pink, and more pink. Major success – and for a very good cause.

• Give away lots of free entertainment. Everyone loves a freebie … in your business it could and should be an annual customer appreciation event. At the Stampede – it is the music. Some of the biggest name Country and Western stars converge in Calgary and give it their all. The cost to consumers? Nothing. The big name corporate sponsors (Coca Cola is one of them) pay for the entertainment. Many music buffs travel from venue to venue, soaking up the experience every single day. Who could you bring in to your appreciation event that would keep your customers talking for years?

• When everyone is a part (from CEO’s to entry level clerks) – it is a very amazing experience for everyone involved. This is a strange phenomenon that you have to see to believe. Downtown Calgary is a major corporate center and the second largest city in Canada for corporate head offices. LOTS of suit and ties to be found. At least until the Friday morning of the parade!
  

  If you were new to this and were walking around downtown Calgary on the Thursday before the Stampede starts (it always starts on a Friday morning in July) … you would see suit and ties everywhere.

  Come back 12 hours later for the parade … you won’t see a tie ANYWHERE! From the corporate CEO’s of multi-billion dollar empires … to the mailroom clerks … EVERYONE is dressed Western. The entire city transforms into “Urban Cowboys” for the 10-day event. From boots to cowboy hats, everyone does their part to make this a special event.

These are just a sample of some of the lessons I’ve learned from the Stampede. And there are ample ways to MAKE these fit your business. The question is – will you shrug it off as “not applicable” to your business … or will you find a way to make it fit? Those serious about success can always find a way to make it fit.

To your success,

Troy White
Editor, Small Business Mastery
Supplement to THE TOTAL PACKAGE

Looking for resources related to this article? Try some of these.

Looking for more of Troy’s articles? Check these out.

Looking for past issues of The Total Package? Click here for our archives.

A Final Note:

If you have specific subjects you would like addressed, or have any comments on what you have seen here, please submit a comment below and I will see how I can help.

"Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”

–Napoleon Hill

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5 Comments »

1. Comment by Troy White — July 2, 2009 @ 2:57 pm

   Creak, creak [the sound of crickets] echoing in the background. Some quiet crowd today - with Canada Day and Independence day… makes sense.

   I just posted this audio up for all of you to listen to. This is the presentation that Paul Vickers gave last year at an event I hosted. Paul Vickers runs Cowboys… which is the world famous country bar, and the most profitable bar in North America.

   $100 million dollars in revenues in 10 years.

   Have a listen to Paul reveal his secrets to success in business after business, industry after industry.

   The best part? How he took his marketing ideas from a country and western bar and made them fit his environmental control company.

   http://www.wildwestwealth.com/vickers.html

   Enjoy!

   Troy

2. Pingback by Hey, Guys–Are You Macho Enough to Wear Pink? — July 2, 2009 @ 5:09 pm

   [...] White writes about a 97-year-old macho cowboy event, the Calgary Stampede, and how organizers got these touch cowboys to benefit breast cancer research by wearing pink. Be edgy and/or challenge them – “Are you tough enough to wear pink?” This was the campaign [...]

3. Comment by thomas — July 2, 2009 @ 6:08 pm

   HEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAWWWWWW!!!

   Some very good lessons here but the Stampede is still very much animal abuse. Beef belongs on the BBQ not lassoed or chased around with Kentucky window curtains…

4. Comment by Steve Lanning — July 3, 2009 @ 10:06 am

   Thanks, Troy,

   Really appreciate your subject matter–as I usually do–but this time it is a very special subject.

   Growing up in Idaho, we all thought that the Snake River Stampede was among the greatest events. Even my good friend and fellow Boise State University student from Calgary would love to remind us of the Calgary Stampede’s superiority.

   This was WAY back in the late 1960’s and early 70’s, so your post–knowing my background–makes a great post to me as a marketer. (I always knew my fellow Boise State students were in for a losing debate over the Calgary Stampede when my Calgary friend would begin, “You bloody yanks…”

   Thanks for the wisdom and the good memory, Troy.
   Steve

5. Comment by Roger Due — July 3, 2009 @ 5:46 pm

   Troy, after reading your article, I put the Calgary Stampede on my list of things for us to see. Years ago we rented a car in Vancouver and drove through Kamloops to Banff and then up to Jasper. Fantastic views with a lot of visual overload. Thanks for the business lessons you brought out. — Roger