We had a ton of fun activations in 2021, but this was one of our favorites. Our task was to create an authentic activation, test drive and content creation opportunity for our long-time partner, Yamaha, and invite a small group of core media to experience the new class-leading Wolverine RMAX 1000 lineup in the wild — while simultaneously creating content for Yamaha’s digital Wear multiple hats, like planner, coordinator, host, off-road driver, camp cook, photographer, videographer, editor, writer, and all-around PR badass? Sure, Casey can manage that!
But, what was the result of such an efficient and authentic activation for core off-roaders who’ve been covering trips for decades and had to be treated to something totally different to be impressed? How about multiple stories garnering tens of thousands of page views online,a “UTV of the Year” award, and a full complement of assets sent back to Yamaha for a complete content marketing campaign including email, landing page, and multiple social media posts. That’s some serious SPEC, right there! And here are a few highlights from Yamaha …
Learn more from Yamaha HERE.
More from Casey on this epic adventure:
Adventure can take on so many different forms. For some, it’s an overnight tent camping experience in the backyard rekindling their one-on-one relationship with the city stars, and for others it’s a month-long trek through the snow-capped mountains as they knock another 14-er off the climbing list. We recently found a middle ground between these two examples with a 3-day, 317 mile adventure on one of the up-and-coming famous Side-by-Side trails in the desert Southwest – the Arizona Peace Trail (AZPT).
Instead of riding the entire 700+ mile trail, we designed a shortened, but equally as impressive, route along the Northern points of interest on the Arizona Peace Trail for this particular ride. This specific layout was imagined to comfortably host our media guests and Yamaha partner while camping in a remote tent spot one night and staying at the remote but impressive Hualapai Mountain Lodge another night. Our remote camp spot partners, Klymit and Camp Chef, supplied great gear to help us set up a comfortable and impressive camp right off the trail.
Our main objective of the trip was to highlight both the sport and recreation capabilities of the all-new Yamaha Wolverine RMAX 2 and RMAX 4 1000 Side-by-Sides, which debuted in 2020 to media accolades across the board. When we combined the superior storage and hauling capabilities, passenger comfort, and exceptional trails in this area, our team was able to showcase how adept the Wolverine RMAX 1000 lineup is at giving drivers and passengers an exceptional experience on the trail. Media in attendance were equally impressed by the event layout as they were by the extreme capabilities of this vehicle.
SPEC was involved in all facets of this trip, including the route planning, vehicle prep of both a fully accessorized Wolverine RMAX 2 1000 R-Spec and a Wolverine RMAX 4 1000 LE, execution of the route plan and logistics of the trip, and we tracked the outcome of the trip with several articles and stories published. In addition to individual stories, the trip helped lead to UTV Action Magazine naming the Wolverine RMAX 1000 lineup their UTV of the Year for 2021 – quite an accomplishment, indeed!
If you or someone you know are interested in doing the Arizona Peace Trail yourself, check out these links, or feel free to drop us an email. AZPT History & Resources:
– Maps: Arizona Peace Trail Map
– Spiral bound printed Atlas on the entire trail: Amazon, Direct
Happy Trails!
