Grease Inc. Issue #120
Over the years, trends have continuously changed. Whether because of
age, advancements, abilities, talent, or new styles, there is great
opportunity when things progress. This thought applies to almost all
applications.
Through ten years of progress of Garage71 radio
and Grease Inc. magazine, we have seen market changes, an aging
kulture, the social media explosion, as well as the descending curve of
social media. We have seen the fat tire come and go. We see that old is
the new “new.” The Big Wheel Bagger seems to be barely holding on these
days, but only in some markets.
Then, the LS conversion is
the dream of many hot rod owners today who believe it’s the best choice
when building your hot rod. The fact is, we could discuss for hours the
current trend changes, as well as argue with many over living in the
“past” and what is reality.
We have taken the time, while many
are unaware, to go back to college and continue to improve our skills
as well as knowledge. We see this growth mindset as a key to success.
You can never learn enough. There is no wrong question, although there
are many wrong answers, especially in the day of the opinionated social
media influence.
Over the last several years, we have worked
on improvements with outreach and developing our on-line voice with
Garage71 radio. Since the launch of Garage71, the argument was internet
radio will never go anywhere. At that point, we laughed knowing that the
day and age is coming, and it has. While AM/FM is still available, all
stations, including those on the dial, are on internet radio. It is a
mechanism to get your message heard. It is actually one of the most
subtle changes within media outsourcing today. However, less than 15% of
“radio” is listened to on traditional devices; other sources are more
widely used, including radio applications, music services, self-created
playlists, podcasting, and of course, radio.
Today, you can
flip on your television and tune to Garage71 radio if you have a SMART
TV or the Alexa Fire Stick. With an easy request — “Alexa, play
Garage71 on the TuneIn app” — in an instant you can listen to the
“American Radio Revolution, Garage71”, on any Alexa device. In addition,
we have maintained a free listening base, as we have always been a firm
believer that accessibility is key to long-term success and growth. We
have grown our audience to a consistent nationwide listeners base, with a
very large base in the Southeast.
With the Garage71 base, we
have been able to maintain distant relationships with larger brands, as
well as our audience in markets such as the Midwest, West Coast, and
international markets including Australia and the UK. It has been the
foundation of our platform since the launch over ten years ago with Rev.
Andy and Psychobilly Freakout.
Behind the scenes, we have continued to research, listen to influence in the market and kulture, observe people’s habits, grow our intellectual knowledge, and then apply what we have learned to practical practices in the field with success. We have been working on the new revised version of the Grease Inc. website, separating our brands on stand-alone pages providing specific stories and updates to more specified markets, while also continuing cross-branding at all times. Grease Inc. has become a nationwide resource for the Kustom Kulture Lifestyle.
As our content has
grown over the years, we are looking at better ways to share that
content and deliver stories people want to hear. From lifestyle
articles, to news alerts, to updates on festivals and events, Grease
Inc. has covered Kustom Kulture events coast to coast. Now, we are
excited to share with you the new unveiling of the Grease Inc. website
at the long-time address at greaseinc.com.
The
launch of the new website provides you with headings like:
Entertainment, Featured Rides, Rag Doll Features, News Alerts, and
People & Places. We have created links that, with a click of a
mouse, one can read current or past issues of Grease Inc. in whole with
several updated features, including links for many of our premium
advertisers and endorsements. There is, of course, a link to the voice
of our brands, Garage71 radio, with a pop-up screen that is completely
under your listening control. We have added links to our YouTube channel
where you will be able to see more of our live appearances, and new
Dashboard Confessionals, planned for 2019.
The new site was
created following current updates and trends in the market. The site is
linked to all of our social media platforms with our efforts to balance
what is found in print and on-line. We will be sharing various ways to
search the web or social media applications to provide a consistent
resource when it comes to the Kustom Kulture.
In addition, we
are adapting our street marketing abilities and expanding on the
content of Grease Inc. in print. Beginning in January 2019, Grease Inc.
will be available on a bi-monthly basis. The decision comes after years
of chasing deadlines and pounding clients for material to meet these
stressful print schedules. That is not what we are about. Over the years
it has been clear that we do not follow a local pattern, but we do
follow the nationwide influence in our market. We have always been
inspired by the materials we have grown up reading and being fans of
ourselves. With content being key, we feel as though it is best to
maintain our high level of quality.
With a longer base time,
we believe we can prepare the highest-quality material, including more
features and stories you have already been reading for a decade. This
also evolves our on-line marketing strategy, providing our sponsors and
advertisers a better use of our marketing capabilities. We will be
supplementing all of our endorsements with additional on-line support,
as well as planned announcements providing the best delivery in today’s
current market and trends.
Our decision is based on an
evolving market. We have heard over and over that print is dead, when in
reality it is the complete opposite. Yes, when devices like the Kindle
and iPads took the market, there was a very large surge and increase in
on-line reading. Over the past ten years, data has been collected and
analyzed showing that trend has balanced out. The reality of the current
market is almost a near 50/50 split when it comes to receiving
information from on-line vs. print. Long-time print icons like Popular
Science disappeared from retail shelves, only finding themselves to
reappear years later due to the fact that people still retain materials
that are of interest, and want them at an arm’s reach.
Think
about it. Where are those special issues that everyone collects? Where
are they on-line? They are lost in an ever-changing “web” of tangled
chaos that is not always as easy to navigate as we sometimes want to
believe.
Also, it is amazing how so many businesses do not
use the web or social media properly. We hear the same discussions
everywhere. Here is a clear example. There is a pretty kool
bar/restaurant about 2 miles from our house. The place is actually
really good. We went there at their opening, but really have not had the
time to return just because of scheduling. I met someone there a few
months back and saw they had live entertainment (a decent line-up too)
and were having a car show. Now, I know what takes place in my home town
when it comes to shows, and this, less than two miles away, wasn’t even
on the radar.
When discussing with the GM and bartender
about all that is going on at this good little spot, they say that all
of their marketing is done on-line. Great! But, obviously it is not
working. They are most likely using a blanket company who has absolutely
no connection to the Kustom Kulture or, worst yet, a very underpaid low
level admin doing simple posts which receive no participation from
viewers on-line. It is one of the biggest misuses of social media we see
client to client. It is far from easy and far from simple posting. As a
matter of fact, it is far from even routinely placing boosted posts as
well. That is the fastest way to throw money to the wind, and in the
long run is more costly.
So, what is the magic? Well, that is
where we will work with you and show you as we head into a new decade
at Grease Inc. As we rapidly speed towards 2020, we have created a
dynamic approach providing all the key elements that both our
endorsements seek, as well as what our readers and listeners want. We
are excited about our current updates and know you will be as well! We
have always prided ourselves on quality and consistency, and here you
will clearly see more of our efforts in providing that for you.
2019 will be an extremely busy year. From festivals in the Midwest to chopper shows in the Southeast, Grease Inc. and Garage71 will be reaching new levels of performance and demands. Here, on our homepage and web-site, you can expect to see more from People & Places updates from weekly shows and events, interviews and articles on entertainment and artists, and coverage you can count on when it comes to Kustom Kulture. We are excited about the new year ahead, and we will see you soon at a show near you. Until then, you can always follow us and keep in contact through our social media on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greaseincmagazine/ and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greaseinc/
