http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...27/2047/NEWS01
Flown to Nashville this week for a whirlwind of private concerts, star meet-and-greets, outings to the Ryman Auditorium and, of course, premium seats at the CMA Awards were at least two-dozen corporate executives — many of whom were in the dark about country music.
Fans might turn green with envy thinking about similar behind-the-scenes access to country stars, but this up-close treatment was meant to spur business deals.
The two-day CMA Marketing Summit was designed to showcase the country music genre to corporate America — specifically to companies not yet involved in joining marketing forces with country music artists.
This year — the fifth time such an event was held — executives from Coca Cola, Suave Shampoo, Purina, ConAgra, Jack Daniel's, Applebee's, General Mills and pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim were among those who got a chance to rub shoulders with country stars and industry power brokers.
"It's really had the 'wow' factor," Kimberly Henderson, an Englewood, N.J.-based associate brand manager for Suave, said during a break in sessions that included morning mimosas at Country Music Television, a private concert with American Idol favorite Danny Gokey (he made several women cry with a song about his late wife) and a studio session that allowed the executives to record "back up" for Blake Shelton's album Hillbilly Bone.
"I'm definitely a convert to country music. I didn't realize how deep it goes beyond what I've heard," Henderson said. "But what impressed us most is the ways in which the Suave target audience aligns with country music fans."
That's the kind of feedback that resonates with CMA's Shari Warnke, who organized the event. Warnke serves as vice president for strategic partnerships at CMA.
"Our goals were really to expose every aspect of the country format to all of these important brands," Warnke said. "I think we really turned them on to the music, those who weren't familiar with it. And we sold them on our key demographic audience. I think we're going to be seeing partnerships built out of this."
-------------
I think the new and upcoming artists aren't getting a fair shake here. The music biz is a fickle thing...so many struggling artists and yet so few artists who are mighty successful
I think it's time the little guys got their spotlight. My heart goes out to all the musicians starving to make a living.
