MB GTG's - What interests participants and the public?

[T-500]

Vancouver, BC, Canada

I'm hoping for some suggestions and input from our true enthusiast community.

The local MBCA chapter in Vancouver is trying hard to come up with strategies to attract not only new members, but more onlookers, at our public car shows.

Each year, there is an "All-German", multiple-marque show at the beginning of the summer, followed by an MBCA event for the public, this time, in September.

I've been asked to help with some suggestions to generate interest for the event.
The local MB dealer organisation (MB Corporate) may be open to some sort of support or cooperation.

Please tell me what you like to see at local car shows.

What piques your interest? Raffles for swag (proceeds donated to charity)? Light-hearted car display competitions?
Model/car histories displayed alongside participant vehicles? Vehicle displays from the Dealer/manufacturer?

Your feedback and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Sean

 

[2phast]

MBCA in general needs new, younger leadership. If they refocus the Star Magazine to include "customized" vehicles and add more car shows, auto cross, driving schools etc. They might be able to attract younger members. Think HIN but only with Mercedes.

 

[T-500]

I too, am interested in the driving school events, I think that would certainly have a popular appeal, including many younger MB drivers.

 

[gerryvz]

There are quite a number of reasons why MBCA's relevance to MB owners has decreased over the past 10-15 years. Some of them have been within the club's control, and others have been caused by external forces beyond the club's domain. But that's another argument.

What I have observed is that there is no "formula" for goosing involvement and turnout at MBCA events. At our section here in Houston, we are lucky to get more than 10-12 people at typical section events, whatever they are. Which is sad, but it also says that perhaps the section isn't doing the things that members see as a "must go-to" event. Different members have different things that they like - some like autocross and track events, some like wine and cheese lunches, some like show and shines, some like technical events, some like rallies and driving events, and others like fun "get to know you" events like bowling tournaments.

I think swag type raffles/giveaways are OK, but most of the time that stuff is just junk. I mean, do I ""REALLY"" need another Mercedes keychain or hat? Boooooring !!! Why not raffle off something interesting like a $100 gift certificate to a nice local restaurant, or 20% off parts or service at a local indy shop or MB dealer? Those things have value that people really appreciate .. and USE.

Having an MB dealer co-sponsor an event is a great way to attract people, because it gives them an excuse to go check out the new cars and it's a nice facility to visit. I think multi-German marque (or dual marque like BMW and MB) events are of much broader interest than just a bunch of old MB-owning fogies sitting around clacking their dentures at each other, checking out each others' 240Ds....

Seems to me that few MB owners (particularly with the newer cars) are interested in maintenance and technology behind the cars. They typically lease their car and only bring it into the dealer when something goes wrong or it needs serviced (when the car tells them to), so these folks are really not the folks who are MB brand enthusiasts and who would join the club & participate in events.

You also need to run a good publicity campaign and that means multiple e-mails (good ones with photos and good information) leading up to the event, perhaps a nice web page that you can publicize, and maybe handing out flyers at the dealership. The only way you're going to get onlookers is to do your event in conjunction with a larger public event. That means a town festival or other public event where the club could do a charity event or participate in a parade or show. People are NOT going to come out somewhere just to see a bunch of old and fancy Benzes. Perhaps you could negotiate to have a roped-off static display area of a local festival where people could walk through and enjoy the cars (again not just MBs but have all German cars to expand the appeal).

A few rules of thumb:

• People have extremely short (30-second) attention spans
• People are only interested in eye candy (visual flash), not technology or why/how things work
• The general public is not really interested in old Benzes
• Publicize your plan well in advance, using as many tools as you can
• Any type of event you do, you will only please a small portion of the club membership, so don't try to please everyone & know that going in
• Partner with a dealer or civic organization to maximize exposure - leverage existing and/or planned public events to maximize attendance
• Try to make any door prizes or raffle items interesting and relevant, not boring old club swag that gets donated to the Goodwill

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Gerry

 

[T-500]

just a bunch of old MB-owning fogies sitting around clacking their dentures at each other, checking out each others' 240Ds....

Thanks, Gerry - VERY helpful, indeed!

From your frank review of the issues, it's obvious that we are experiencing the same problems that you have, in Houston.

The summation you've given will help our organisers focus on some strategies, with a realistic set of expectations. It's clear to me that we really need to work with other organisations to attract people.

I've passed this along to the Chapter President, Charles, and a small group of organisers. They were happy to get some definite feedback.

We are meeting this week and will discuss publicising the events.


At the Houston Show & Shines etc., have you had any successful interactive activities with the public?


Cheers,

Sean

 

[2phast]

I have noticed at many MBCA events, this vehicle seems to be very popular with the members. (wonder if AMG is going to do a tuned version)

 

[T-500]

LOL!!

You're killing me!!!

 

[T-500]

If it were Nitrous in that tank, I could forgive them...


Thanks for your responses. Getting out the defibrillator for the next meeting.

 

[Allgonquin]

We have what I think is a reasonably active region here in the Washington DC area. I've never gone to a meeting, so I judge this from the newsletter. Each year however I do try to go to the local club picnic, but if, like me, you are not that outgoing, I find it very clicky (clique-y?) and all the old folks know each other and hang out by their cars and talk to each other. A new guy like me drives up, there is no welcoming committee, no enthusiasm for a new guy, no one goes out of their way to introduce themselves, etc. I realize that part of this is my own doing, I should be doing my fair share of outgoing, so to speak, but I'm not that type. I'm 56, and I find the folks old, as noted above. I've seen this demographic bemoaned in the Star magazine, the national club management knows this and tries to be more hip, but it isn't easy to draw younger members.

Perhaps go to a few "cars and coffee" events and pump people for what they'd like to see at GTG's - I'm sure many of them are in their marque clubs and attend other GTG's. How about a "best burnout" competition? j/k....

Rgds,
Chris

 

[gsxr]

How about a "best burnout" competition? j/k....

Hmmm. OK, you got my attention with that one! I'll sign up. (My wife would sign up too... her 500E has the Quaife, btw...)

 

[T-500]

Can Pagodas burn out?

Thanks, Chris;

I imagine the events can be clique-y. I've seen some of it, too.
It must vary a bit, from chapter to chapter though.

To their credit, the Seattle members made a special effort to be friendly when I visited last summer.
I'm sure our local chapter could benefit by bearing this in mind.
The latest STAR had a little appeal to members to make an effort to greet newcomers.

I agree, we need to cultivate some relationships with other clubs and find out what they'd like to see.

I appreciate your response.

Now, to push Gerry's magic button...

 

[gerryvz]

Actually (I am privy as VP of the Houston MBCA chapter) there has been some very specific outreach to chapter leadership in the form of directives and videos, authored by the club leadership, to try to instruct section leaders to be more outgoing at events and to reach out more to members -- especially new members. This is evidence to me that there is a very strong realization among the national board that some basic skills are lacking, that cliques definitely do exist among section members, and that new and occasionally attending members are not feeling welcomed into the fold.

I can say that when I was in Portland, I would attend perhaps 1-2 events a year put on by the Portland section. And I was never a member of the "clique" there, always an outsider. I knew a few people and hung out with them, but few if any people made an effort to come over and introduce themselves, or check out my cars (450SEL 6.9, 300SEL 6.3, etc.). Few members even knew what my cars were !! The one event I never missed was the annual tech session, which was held at my mechanic's shop (MBI Motors in Portland) and the owner, shop foreman and most of the mechanics (all of whom I was great friends with) were there, and I relished the chance to hang out at the shop on the weekend.

In Houston, I certainly didn't know anyone, being new to the section and to the area. However I started attending events, again very infrequently at first. Very similar story as with Portland -- few folks were that interested to see a 560SEC or an E500, and fewer even knew what an E500 is !! I attended a couple of events, mainly an annual run up to Centerville (about halfway between Houston and Dallas on I-45) and met DarkStar (from Austin) and alabbassi (from Dallas, whom I knew online for many years through M-100 circles) and some other folks. Then I went to the annual Oktoberfest at Texas-German Autohaus, where the co-owner has the Albrex-supercharged 500E. I started volunteering to give tech sessions at events. Then I decided to talk to the incoming section President (the youngest MBCA section president in the US) about perhaps helping him out. He encouraged me to run for VP. Through that I met the other section board members at the board meetings, and now I attend probably most of the section events. So it just sort of snowballed from there.

Generally speaking though, folks in Texas and the South tend to be much more outgoing and friendly and easier to get to know than folks on the West Coast. It's just the culture here, people are real nice and they'll give you the shirt off their back if you need it.

So the bottom line is that you get out of it (MBCA) what you put into it. If you decide to get active and to try to make a difference, then people will stand up and take notice, and you'll meet folks. Particularly if you have good ideas and deliver on your promises.

I agree with the sentiment that there are far too many old folks running MBCA (definitely true in my section, where some of the board members are retired dudes) and I think this introduces some mentality not to want to try new/innovative things. I mean, why get together with BMW guys when you can sit around with other dudes just like you and have wine and cheese? The demographics of MB owners and buyers tends to be older than BMW, Audi and Porsche (though it has come down a bit in recent years) and there are fewer and fewer folks out there (car owners in general) who even like to work on their cars !! Most people just want something that's cheap, reliable and has 1,000 horsepower and looks good with them driving it (you know, that old "chicks dig it" thing I'm always talking about here). It's not easy running a club like MBCA because it IS so diverse. So you just have to find a formula that works for your own locale and go with it. But doing the same old wine and cheese lunches and formal Christmas dinners thing and throwing your dentures down on the table just isn't going to cut it. No young whippersnapper wants to hang out with dudes who roll around in nitrous-powered wheelchairs or who bring a half-rusted 240D to that month's MBCA event....

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[T-500]

Hmmm. OK, you got my attention with that one! I'll sign up. (My wife would sign up too... her 500E has the Quaife, btw...)

Lol

Next time you are at Mission Raceway, I'll bring the MBCA 'boys' down.

 

[gsxr]

Next time you are at Mission Raceway, I'll bring the MBCA 'boys' down.

Gonna be a few years before we get to Mission again, but Seattle is a possibility this September...

 

[jano]

I joined mbca, and I can't believe how much junk mail I get from them. It just doesn't stop..

 

[szvook]

I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member...

 

[need2speed]

Specifically to Vancouver's meet, I'd suggest a sponsored hotel/motel for out-of-towners attending. Availability and price can be a problem in Van...

 

[T-500]

Specifically to Vancouver's meet, I'd suggest a sponsored hotel/motel for out-of-towners attending. Availability and price can be a problem in Van...

Ha ha, coming to Vancouver, soon?

I think MBCA gets a really good Seniors rate.

Actually, joking aside, we do hope that some Victoria or Washington members will attend. Good idea.

 

[Sacco_Fan]

Sean,

Good discussion going and I agree with the points raised. MBCA is struggling like most car clubs due to declining memberships. One thing we have done in Portland is meet up at local cars and coffee event to mingle with other car guys. I agree there can be cliques and people do the same 'ol events. We are doing a joint event with BMW club in may. We also did a joint event with Audi and Porsche.

Perhaps do a all German car show. Give out tongue in cheek awards such as 'spirit of mille miglia' , etc. in Portland we will celebrate 60 years of the SL at our local concours. Try and get the dealer involved. Agree with Gerry's suggestion to combine it with a local festival or existing event. See if you can get a 'cars and coffee' event going. Promote it on Facebook. See if a local collector will open up his garage for a tour of his collection.

Hoping you can make it to Portland again soon! And I am overdue for a visit to Vancouver.

 

[T-500]

Nice to hear from you, Allen.

I'd be interested to hear how some of your strategies work out.
I've been putting all these ideas to our guys here. They have been well received.
We have meeting with the Dealer rep. tomorrow night.

I like the SL idea. They are a popular car and we have a number of nice Pagodas.

Saturday morning Cars n' Coffee might be good.

I know you have a young family, but it would be nice to see you at the All-German show up here in June.

We like Portland too!

Sean

 

[T-500]

BTW,

At last year's All -German, I think I befuddled a few of the Porsche gang by displaying my 500E as a 2758 Porsche chassis.

 

[T-500]

Actually (I am privy as VP of the Houston MBCA chapter) there has been some very specific outreach to chapter leadership in the form of directives and videos, authored by the club leadership, to try to instruct section leaders to be more outgoing at events and to reach out more to members -- especially new members. This is evidence to me that there is a very strong realization among the national board that some basic skills are lacking, that cliques definitely do exist among section members, and that new and occasionally attending members are not feeling welcomed into the fold.

I can say that when I was in Portland, I would attend perhaps 1-2 events a year put on by the Portland section. And I was never a member of the "clique" there, always an outsider. I knew a few people and hung out with them, but few if any people made an effort to come over and introduce themselves, or check out my cars (450SEL 6.9, 300SEL 6.3, etc.). Few members even knew what my cars were !! The one event I never missed was the annual tech session, which was held at my mechanic's shop (MBI Motors in Portland) and the owner, shop foreman and most of the mechanics (all of whom I was great friends with) were there, and I relished the chance to hang out at the shop on the weekend.

In Houston, I certainly didn't know anyone, being new to the section and to the area. However I started attending events, again very infrequently at first. Very similar story as with Portland -- few folks were that interested to see a 560SEC or an E500, and fewer even knew what an E500 is !! I attended a couple of events, mainly an annual run up to Centerville (about halfway between Houston and Dallas on I-45) and met DarkStar (from Austin) and alabbassi (from Dallas, whom I knew online for many years through M-100 circles) and some other folks. Then I went to the annual Oktoberfest at Texas-German Autohaus, where the co-owner has the Albrex-supercharged 500E. I started volunteering to give tech sessions at events. Then I decided to talk to the incoming section President (the youngest MBCA section president in the US) about perhaps helping him out. He encouraged me to run for VP. Through that I met the other section board members at the board meetings, and now I attend probably most of the section events. So it just sort of snowballed from there.

Generally speaking though, folks in Texas and the South tend to be much more outgoing and friendly and easier to get to know than folks on the West Coast. It's just the culture here, people are real nice and they'll give you the shirt off their back if you need it.

So the bottom line is that you get out of it (MBCA) what you put into it. If you decide to get active and to try to make a difference, then people will stand up and take notice, and you'll meet folks. Particularly if you have good ideas and deliver on your promises.

I agree with the sentiment that there are far too many old folks running MBCA (definitely true in my section, where some of the board members are retired dudes) and I think this introduces some mentality not to want to try new/innovative things. I mean, why get together with BMW guys when you can sit around with other dudes just like you and have wine and cheese? The demographics of MB owners and buyers tends to be older than BMW, Audi and Porsche (though it has come down a bit in recent years) and there are fewer and fewer folks out there (car owners in general) who even like to work on their cars !! Most people just want something that's cheap, reliable and has 1,000 horsepower and looks good with them driving it (you know, that old "chicks dig it" thing I'm always talking about here). It's not easy running a club like MBCA because it IS so diverse. So you just have to find a formula that works for your own locale and go with it. But doing the same old wine and cheese lunches and formal Christmas dinners thing and throwing your dentures down on the table just isn't going to cut it. No young whippersnapper wants to hang out with dudes who roll around in nitrous-powered wheelchairs or who bring a half-rusted 240D to that month's MBCA event....

Cheers,
Gerry

Gerry,
I am passing this all alongand although it has opened some eyes, there is much to do.

I am really finding out what you are saying about only getting out what you put in.

It's encouraging to hear what you say, and with work, I expect it to be rewarding.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Sean

 

[gerryvz]

I think in the short term, partnering with some of the other German marque clubs would be a great place to start. Why don't you guys set up your own monthly "Coffee & Cars" event for the German cars, somewhere prominent like a mall or big shopping plaza, or a nice cafe/restaurant (with their permission well in advance, of course). Make it like 8-10 or 9-11 AM on a Saturday or Sunday. Have the clubs encourage their members to attend, and perhaps put it up on local forums, flyers in repair shops, etc. Perhaps after the event you can also do a nice 1-2 hour drive somwehere out in the sticks, preferably on some twisty roads - people can come if they want to (most won't, but a few might). Gives people a reason to stretch their cars' legs -- all of the garage queens need that anyway.

The big thing is location. Since it's only for a couple of hours, and in the early morning, shouldn't be too much of a drag on business (particularly if on a Sunday). So negotiate with a good shopping mall, and locate it near a Starbucks or great coffee shop that you can walk across the parking lot to. Good for business too. I went to our last Houston Coffee & Cars a couple of weekends ago and I was stunned at how many cars and people were there. Probably 900-1000 cars !! I met slownrusty there too, got to see his brand-new 560SEC and he got to see my 500. I also saw our immediate past-MBCA president there walking around (talked to him for quite a while, he's sort of gotten more into Porsches recently) and also our current MBCA club secretary (fellow board member) there, who lives nearby and was there showing his restored 230SL Pagoda.

So it's some heavy lifting but if you partner with the other German marque clubs in the area and plan it out right, it will snowball to include other marques. Or if there is an existing Coffee & Cars, then talk to the folks running it and see if you can get a roped off German section for all the German car dudes, keeps the nice cars separate from the Camaro and muscle car riff-raff. Those cars tend to reduce the value of MBs when they are close proximity, anyway....

 

[need2speed]

Having had a bad experience with our local MBCA chapter, I'd point to the need for a means of turning over stale club executive members who can become very passive-aggressive over the years. Perhaps term limits and a constitutional requirement that each exec start grooming replacement candidates from the day they start...its called succession planning ;-)

 

[gerryvz]

Dean, I can see where you're coming from with regard to long-term, passive/aggressive leadership on some club sections. For some of these guys, they've been "leading" for 10+ years so they feel they are just entitled to the positions. And frankly, they go unchallenged when it comes to club elections, because most members are too apathetic to vote and attend meetings to try to change things. I saw a little of this many years ago (I'm talking 10-12 years ago) in Portland MBCA although I think in recent years things have changed. There are a number of old-timers here on the board in Houston, but also some younger folks who have all the ideas and make things happen. The old guys I think tend to be more passive and frankly, I don't even see them at a lot of the "fun" club events that we do !!

I think it comes back to the "you get out of it what you put into it" and if you want to effect change in your local section, I'd recommend getting involved so that people know who you are a little bit, then run against some of these guys and enlist members you know (or submit a statement for the local section newsletter) on why you should be elected. If it's something you want to do, then do it !! I'm interested to hear about your "bad experience" though. I've never found most MBCA gatherings to be warm and friendly places (particularly in Portland) but I have come to realize that a lot of this is just shyness. You nave to make the effort to go up to people, shake their hand, comment and ask questions about their car, and so forth. Because they're certainly not going to do it. If you don't want to do that, then probably not a great idea to attend MBCA events, plain and simple.

Believe me, I've been a vocal critic of MBCA (particularly on their web site forums, about the club in general -- this topic -- and how they really messed up their forums when they switched FROM vBulletin to the Drupal platform, which is a piece of junk. I actually did quit MBCA for a time a few years ago, but decided to re-engage around the time I moved to Houston as it was sort of a fresh start with new folks. While MBCA Houston isn't the highlight of my month's social calendar, the events are varied enough, and I've made enough friends, that it's fun to attend an event or so a month. I've also volunteered to write articles for the local newsletter so as to beef up the quality of the content, as I get tired of reading re-hashed Mercedes-Benz press releases which tends to be the filler.

MBCA has tremendous challenges at both the national and local level. They are an organization in transition and trying to "find" themselves. The main thing is that they are trying different things and they do have some significant assets in terms of the STAR magazine, which took a nose dive for a few years after they fired former multi-decade publisher/editor Frank Barrett, but has recovered over the past couple of years under professional editor Gary Anderson. I have to give them kudos where kudos is due. The national leadership has made some very bone-headed decisions on the tactical level, but I do believe their intent is honest. What they really need to do is to bump up their value proposition to owners. They have done this somewhat by offering MBUSA-sponsored discounts on new cars, and so forth. But what would really be a nice benefit would be to offer members free access to the WIS and other MB technical materials that would help owners who are interested in maintaining their cars. To date they haven't been able to do this, which is too bad.

Hope you find this rant worth the read.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[Sacco_Fan]

Here is the Facebook page for the Portland Cars and Coffee -- for inspiration: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/PDXCandC/

 

[T-500]

With thanks, Allen!

I'll be following this...

 

[gerryvz]

https://www.facebook.com/coffeeandcars

http://coffeeandcarshouston.com/

The Houston C&C event is literally right across the street from my company's Houston campus, but about 18 miles from my house. The good thing is that it's largely back (farm) roads to get from one place to the other (same as my commute).

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gsxr]

Yeah, but do you get a high-speed NJ police escort to the coffee house? THAT would be epic.

"OMG! WE'RE IN THE RALLY!"

 

[T-500]

I think in the short term, partnering with some of the other German marque clubs would be a great place to start. Why don't you guys set up your own monthly "Coffee & Cars" event for the German cars, somewhere prominent like a mall or big shopping plaza, or a nice cafe/restaurant (with their permission well in advance, of course). Make it like 8-10 or 9-11 AM on a Saturday or Sunday. Have the clubs encourage their members to attend, and perhaps put it up on local forums, flyers in repair shops, etc. Perhaps after the event you can also do a nice 1-2 hour drive somwehere out in the sticks, preferably on some twisty roads - people can come if they want to (most won't, but a few might). Gives people a reason to stretch their cars' legs -- all of the garage queens need that anyway.

The big thing is location. Since it's only for a couple of hours, and in the early morning, shouldn't be too much of a drag on business (particularly if on a Sunday). So negotiate with a good shopping mall, and locate it near a Starbucks or great coffee shop that you can walk across the parking lot to. Good for business too. I went to our last Houston Coffee & Cars a couple of weekends ago and I was stunned at how many cars and people were there. Probably 900-1000 cars !! I met slownrusty there too, got to see his brand-new 560SEC and he got to see my 500. I also saw our immediate past-MBCA president there walking around (talked to him for quite a while, he's sort of gotten more into Porsches recently) and also our current MBCA club secretary (fellow board member) there, who lives nearby and was there showing his restored 230SL Pagoda.

So it's some heavy lifting but if you partner with the other German marque clubs in the area and plan it out right, it will snowball to include other marques. Or if there is an existing Coffee & Cars, then talk to the folks running it and see if you can get a roped off German section for all the German car dudes, keeps the nice cars separate from the Camaro and muscle car riff-raff. Those cars tend to reduce the value of MBs when they are close proximity, anyway....

I can't think of anything like this going on, anywhere, in Vancouver.

I like it though - nice and casual, and there is always a number of people around.

There is at least one place where I thjink this could work - a sort of farmer's market, by the harbour, with lots of families and pedestrian traffic - good exotic coffees, too!

Early on Sat or Sun morning would work. Less traffic to get there. As it is right now, our only regular meeting is on the first Tuesday of each month, right downtown, at 6pm.

That's still rush hour!

There is no such thing as an impulsive, " I think I'll go hang with the boys and have a coffee".

 

[T-500]

We had an encouraging initial meeting with the MB Retail Marketing Mgr. for Vancouver.

It looks like they are intersted in giving some support to make our events successful and bolster our presence with the public. It looks like more than just swag

 

[T-500]

Sean,

Good discussion going and I agree with the points raised. MBCA is struggling like most car clubs due to declining memberships. One thing we have done in Portland is meet up at local cars and coffee event to mingle with other car guys. I agree there can be cliques and people do the same 'ol events. We are doing a joint event with BMW club in may. We also did a joint event with Audi and Porsche.

Perhaps do a all German car show. Give out tongue in cheek awards such as 'spirit of mille miglia' , etc. in Portland we will celebrate 60 years of the SL at our local concours. Try and get the dealer involved. Agree with Gerry's suggestion to combine it with a local festival or existing event. See if you can get a 'cars and coffee' event going. Promote it on Facebook. See if a local collector will open up his garage for a tour of his collection.

Hoping you can make it to Portland again soon! And I am overdue for a visit to Vancouver.

Hey, Allen;

I just received our local MBCA newsletter, including your chapter's endorsement of Barry Patchett as new Section head.
I see too that there are several fun events coming up in the PNW.
Hopefully, I'll see you at one of them.

We already have an All-German meet, next month, with the Bimmer and Porsche clubs. It's usually a huge turnout, and we have managed to whip up a lot of excitement about it, now that the local MB Retail Group has agreed to help us up our game. That feels like a great shot in the arm for us!

The subject of the launch of the new 2013 SL came up, and taking a page from your notes, we're wanting to showcase the "60 Years of The SL", at our show in September.
I hope you don't mind, it's such a great idea, and it gives the older guys a reason to air out their Pagodas.
The dealers may very well help us with that fall event, too.

It's looking very encouraging.

Sean

 

[DerFuror]

Working with your Chamber of Commerce, consider organizing an All-German meet for the local car clubs coinciding with a community's Oktoberfest celebration. Socializing with food, music & car eye-candy is usually a winning combo. For many regions, September/October marks the beginning of the end of driving season. Many car owners may be inspired for a last hurrah; give their car that final wash & wax detailing for public viewing & make a roadtrip (possibly the last for the season) with friends for a community event that should be of interest to a wide-ranging demographic.

Also, if your area has a regional road course race track, try teaming up again with the local German car clubs & Track organization for an on-site GTG. The Track can use this opportunity to promote their facilities, events & services to enthusiasts; provide pace car led laps on the track. The opportunity to drive on a road course & then talk about it afterwards while the buzz is still strong should provide a draw from the car club community. Other community businesses may be interested in cross-pollination marketing involvement also, such as car dealerships, service centers, food & beverage producers/providers. etc.

 

[T-500]

Working with your Chamber of Commerce, consider organizing an All-German meet for the local car clubs coinciding with a community's Oktoberfest celebration. Socializing with food, music & car eye-candy is usually a winning combo. For many regions, September/October marks the beginning of the end of driving season. Many car owners may be inspired for a last hurrah; give their car that final wash & wax detailing for public viewing & make a roadtrip (possibly the last for the season) with friends for a community event that should be of interest to a wide-ranging demographic.

Also, if your area has a regional road course race track, try teaming up again with the local German car clubs & Track organization for an on-site GTG. The Track can use this opportunity to promote their facilities, events & services to enthusiasts; provide pace car led laps on the track. The opportunity to drive on a road course & then talk about it afterwards while the buzz is still strong should provide a draw from the car club community. Other community businesses may be interested in cross-pollination marketing involvement also, such as car dealerships, service centers, food & beverage producers/providers. etc.

Thank you, Furor!

I'm going to pass this along to the local officers of the club.
We have a wealth of ideas to try now, mostly because none have been done before, or we're abandoned in the distant past.

I am reaching out to the Vancouver Island chapter and my wife and I are joining their Okanagan Wine Tour, this month.
I will be taking pics and doing a report for our local newsletter.
Hopefully, this will inspire more joint events and bring up numbers.

Sean