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127th AES Convention Coverage (New York, NY Oct. 9-12)
PRESS RELEASE
Road Show In-Store Events
July 30, 2007
Advertisement Teams of experts from the Taylor Guitars factory have been traveling across America and through Canada, presenting the Taylor Guitars Road Show, an all new in-store event from Taylor. The Taylor Road Show helps dealers introduce Taylor's Acoustic, Acoustic/Electric and Electric guitar lines, with in-depth guitar demos, Q&A sessions, and a hands-on "petting zoo," where people are encouraged to try out a variety of guitars, including some "Road Show specials" - custom Taylors, prototypes and one-offs that are for sale on the night of a show. Says Taylor Product Marketing Director, Brian Swerdfeger: "We did some similar events last year, on a casual basis, and we found that people are hungry for information about tonewoods, about how different body shapes affect sound, about Taylor electronics, and about the various options we offer. It made us realize that the time was right for us to go out and talk to people. Maybe we can help them overcome 'option anxiety!'" Each Road Show team consists of a Product Specialist, such as Swerdfeger, a Regional Sales Manager, and a Repair technician, who gives a 15-minute presentation on basic guitar maintenance. According to dealers who have hosted Road Shows, which regularly draw crowds of 60 and above, customers are not the only ones who learn things at the events. Stephanie Bonesteel of Peeler Music noticed her sales staff picking up some on-the-fly training: "I noticed that my staff was out listening when the [Taylor] crew talked to customers about the guitars. Now they are talking about many of the points they learned at the clinic. They're excited, so that when they sell and demonstrate Taylor guitars now, they bring all those extra elements into talking about them." Bart Whittrock, owner of Rockin' Robin Music, and a veteran of numerous in-store events, says frankly that he "wasn't expecting much," but the Road Show surprised him. "Brian was phenomenal - all smiles and energy, and he answered every question; people couldn't wait to get their hands on the guitars, but they listened to him, because what he had to say was interesting. We sold five or six guitars that night." To Swerdfeger, the wide-ranging appeal of the Road Show is only natural. "People love to talk guitars, and the Road Show gives the people who play Taylors a chance to hang with the people who make them. What guitar player wouldn't find that exciting?" At time of press, Taylor Road Shows are being booked for the fall of 2007.  (Click for close-up)
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