So, last Saturday my husband and I as well as Deborah, and other account executive at CEA, went to our first roller derby bout. It happened to be a Valentine-themed  exhibition match, so they took the players from the Derby Darlins league and mixed them up.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect to be honest. I had met Stephanie during our initial interview; she was in what I would consider very business professional clothing, and I knew that the dress code for the roller derby girls was pretty drastically different. There was the home team, wearing black and red, and the visiting team wearing silver and pink! Hot pants, fish net stockings, low cut shirts galore – it was crazy!!! And, they all looked great! The best part really were the names – very creative. My favorite was Lunch Lady – she was an amazing skater. I also met the President, Jessica recently, and her name is Annetagonize. Some other crowd favorites were Roxy, Betty Kruger and Ninja Monkey. When the girls are in skates, their names ARE their skate names!

I arrived at 8pm at the Temple Terrace skate arena, and seriously, there was a line that was literally the length of the building. There was such a great energy there. Old, young, couples – there was truly a very diverse crowd and it felt very alive!

The girls were so awesome! They set up a special section for us – caution tape all over the place. There were not major crashes though in our area, but the WARNING signs were all around us I happened to sit next to a regular, so he helped fill me in on the rules. The place was packed and it was definitely a fun night.

Can’t wait to start putting the marketing plan into action. We are going to focus on:

• Driving ticket sales and attendance at the home bouts
• Creating ways for fans to stay engaged with Derby Darlins between bouts, heightening loyalty and ongoing enthusiasm for the league
• To educate the public on what roller derby is
• To convey the true love and passion the skaters have for their high-intensity, adrenaline-pumping sport, as well as the camaraderie and relationships of the players and fans

I’ll break down the rules in my next blog as I get to know them all

Derby Darlins – Winner of the CEA Marketing Makeover 2010

www.ceamarketing.com

http://www.tampabayderbydarlins.com/

Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Derby Darlins! We are sooo excited to begin working with you.

What we loved about the Derby Darlins was the fact it had FUN written all over it. We also really like supporting local businesses and felt this would be a great opportunity to get to know a lot of incredible personalities along the way. We will be meeting with Derby Darlins within the next week or so to interview them. We want to better understand their culture and listen to their goals and ideas!

And, of course, we are very excited to attend our first bout? May be totally spelling that wrong But, the CEA team is stoked about seeing the derby in action!

Thanks again to all the entries. Please check out the EXCLUSIVE offer page, http://www.ceamarketing.com/makeover/offer, and set your appointment by Feb. 28! Free Money!!!!

Hello,

My name is Jennifer and I am an Account Manager at CEA Marketing Group and will be working with the CEA Marketing Makeover Contest winner! If you’ve ever wondered how an agency works or what working with CEA would be like – I will be documenting the entire experience from start to finish via this blog.

We were extremely excited about our response. We received over 50 entries from various businesses throughout Florida. CEA, like everyone else, was working with a minimal advertising budget , always key these days, and were elated with our results. Most of our entries came in off of our E-mail campaign, as well as Facebook.

Last week, we wrapped up the majority of our interviews. We selected the top 14 contestants and invited them all to an agency meet and greet. First, we filmed each of them as they pitched why their company deserves to be selected. Everyone did a great job! I was very impressed; most everyone did it without a script.

We then sat down and asked some questions. It was fascinating learning about all these different types of businesses from a Moving Company to an Auto Repair Shop to a National Plastics Chain to a High-end Doggie Merchandise web site, Derby Darlins and Football . . . there were so many great stories and so much opportunity for success.

I will be posting our top 5 contestants online no later than Monday.

Once we select our winner – let the fun begin!