For
my musician choice I chose Toby Keith. I like his music and what he stands for.
I am putting his website up front in this so you can go see for yourself before
you finish reading. http://tobykeith.com/ . When you first open up his
site, you are hit with a big picture asking you to vote for him for the CMT Male
Video of the Year and for Video of the year awards; which is empowering to the
user as it gives them the ability to help Toby achieve these awards. You can
also become a member of his elite fan club by merely clicking on the available
button. There are also links to follow him on Twitter and sign up for mobile
alerts which will keep you informed of all of his happenings. All of the
choices you can make are put right up in your face with big fonts, bright red
colors and a huge cowboy smile. You get bombarded with his latest hits of Red
Solo Cup and Beers Ago that are both followed with links to purchase them. The
website appears to be put together great with plenty of opportunities to purchase
items for, from and about Toby Keith. I think the website promotes his image of
an all American guy that drinks beer and raises hell. Even the main picture of himself
portrayed on his website is of a bearded Toby with hair that could use a trim
and a baseball hat with sunglasses on the brim. He does not appear to be some
make-up-wearing meticulously made up person that is not within reach of the
everyday person. He is one of us, he is a piece of Americana.
He has a multitude of
pictures of himself and the troops deployed from his various USO tours. He clearly
doesn’t state anywhere on his website that he is either for or against the war;
that doesn’t really matter what his stance is. He supports the troops! Whether
you are for or against the war effort, everyone either knows someone over there
or knows a family that has someone deployed and also wants to support them. There
are also links to his restaurant, Toby Keith’s I love This Bar & Grill,
which is taken from one of his songs. His restaurant is furthermore promoted by
the fact that he donates a complete meal to each and every service member. At the
bottom of the website page are several huge links to again his restaurant, a
new Wild Shot Mezcal, the Toby Keith Foundation and Show Dog Music Corporation.
I am most impressed with the Toby Keith Foundation in that it is designed to assist
children going through cancer treatment with a place to stay for their duration
of treatment.
All of his upcoming tour dates, cities hosting the show and the
ability to buy, not just regular show tickets, but VIP packages. The VIP packages
are again, another ploy to make the user feel elite and have the ability to
meet Toby personally.
Altogether though, I feel the marketing and advertising strategies that
are utilized on his website are well thought out. Everywhere you can link to
has a great heart-warming picture of Toby coupled with the user’s ability to
spend some money. While you are spending your money, you are feeling good that
you are helping out America by enabling Toby to support our troops, our
children with cancer and the USO.
