Free Joy Rides

   All manufacturers are pretty confident their products are good enough to serve the needs of their customers. The hard part — and this goes for just about any business owner — is to get those customers to walk in the door. Cub Cadet decided not to wait, instead bringing products to the customer.

  As part of the Cub Cadet Test Drive Challenge, the company brought a series of mowers to the plaza that sits between Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena — homes to the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Cavaliers respectively. Between the two teams the company had an opportunity to reach nearly 30,000 fans in just one afternoon. The company, located in Valley City, not too far from downtown Cleveland, is a long-time supporter of the Cavaliers and was on hand as part of Fan Appreciation Night. The company even gave away one of its mowers as part of the Cavaliers' salute to fans.

   The Cub Cadet Test Drive Challenge is a national tour with which the company is exhibiting its residential line of mowers to consumers around the country. The Cleveland stop is just about the mid-point of the tour.

LM Publisher Jason DeSarle demonstrates
his zero-turning radius prowess.

  "You can promise all day long," says Jeff Salamon, Director of Brand Marketing, but "people need to test" products for themselves. The Test Drive Challenge is geared to the residential market, but most of the stops on the tour are conducted through that city's local dealer, which means a professional contractor has an opportunity to take a look at the high-end models.

  Cub Cadet set up a test course on the plaza to to show off a line of the company's zero-turning radius residential mowers. There was even a simulated grass area to help demonstrate the electronic power steering feature the mowers offer.

   The Test Drive Challenge is about midway through its tour around the country, but any contractors that want to test one of the company's commercial mowers can visit any of the 1,500 or so dealers around the country — of course they might not walk away with the free key chain and T-shirt offered at the Test Drive.