fbpx
The Rust Belt Logo

The Rust Belt Text Message Marketing Case Study

How The Rust Belt Grew their Text Database

80x in 30 Days Using a Launch Contest

About The Rust Belt

Located in East Moline, Illinois, inside a century-old automobile manufacturing plant is The Rust Belt’s unique event space. With space accommodating nearly 4,000 people, the venue provides the opportunity for a range of musicians, comedians, and other artists to entertain audiences in the region. From country stars to house music festivals, The Rust Belt welcomes all.

After trying many traditional marketing channels such as email, social media, press releases, and radio, The Rust Belt was still looking for a way to connect with their most engaged fans. This is where TapOnIt’s text message platform comes in.

Launch Contest

The very first step to building a database of engaged fans is growing subscribers. The Rust Belt did a contest to help launch and grow their Text Club, and they saw growth of 80x during the duration of the promo. To enter the contest, people opted into The Rust Belt Text Club through a personalized landing page for a chance to win free tickets for a year to shows at the venue. The chart below illustrates a boom of subscribers in the month-long period it ran.

Rust Belt Contest Page and Subscriber Growth Chart

The Rust Belt Gets #TextSavvy

The effort to grow their database didn’t stop after the contest was over. The Rust Belt continues to reward and grow its Text club. Here are a few #TextSavvy Examples…

Rust Belt Main Offer Phone Image with Spotify
Offering their Text Club Subscribers an exclusive presale offer to get their hands on concert tickets the day before they were available to the public is a perk that rewards current subscribers and encourages new subscriptions.
Free Admission for Text Club Subscribers encourages them to enjoy a free show at The Rust Belt, and helps organically grow The Rust Belt’s database when their fans share the promo.
Rust Belt Case Study Offer Image Phone with Spotify
Rust Belt Case Study Text Thread Phone
Texts sent to the subscribers about upcoming shows are an easy way for the most engaged customers to get the most up-to-date information straight to their phones and purchase tickets quickly through a link in the text thread.