• by Tanya Gazdik , April 26, 2010

Country Financial's "Road Trips and Guitar Picks" program includes concert sponsorship of singer-songwriter Jewel and rising country music star Jason Aldean along with other marketing activities including online and mobile apps.

The program also combines elements of entertainment and education to enable consumers to make improvements to their own financial security using live concert experiences and gaming, sweepstakes, quizzes and other interactive elements to drive awareness of how smart financial decisions have a positive impact on families.

The program microsite (www.tripsandpicks.com) serves as the hub of the integrated campaign. A tour blog, custom games, sweepstakes, quizzes and downloads engage consumers and drive opt-ins for more information from Bloomington, Ill.-based Country Financial.

Included on the site are MP3s, fan discussion and interaction, "roadie" passes, photos and video from the road, behind-the-scenes news, wallpaper and avatar downloads. Concert-goers can text for seat upgrades and enter mobile sweepstakes and enter to win VIP backstage opportunities.

"We have done a great deal of national and market-specific advertising and public relations to promote the 'Road Trips and Guitar Picks' concert series, and our microsite," Country Financial spokesperson Melinda Zehr tells Marketing Daily.

"Road Trips and Guitar Picks" is representative of where the sponsorship marketing world is going, said Doyle Williams, chief marketing officer of Country Financial. "In the sponsorship arena, the two big success-drivers are an authentic connection between brands, artists and fans, and a clear roadmap as to how the investment engages consumers and propels the business forward," Williams said in a release.

The program brings together creative, experience design, technology, online, mobile, database and centers it around the Country Financial business objectives and brand values, said Ian McGonnigal, executive director, program strategy at Auburn Hills, Mich.-based George P. Johnson, which created the program for the financial company. Country Financial, founded in 1925, serves one million households and businesses nationwide.