MacAuthority, the Nashville, Tenn.-based Mac dealer, is teaming up with the popular country band Lonestar in a new campaign aimed to raise awareness of Apple’s “Switcher” campaign and the store’s presence as an Apple Specialist.
“Lonestar, a once Windows-using band, has made the switch to the Mac,” Lucas Leverett, MacAuthority’s art and promotions director, told MacCentral. “After they showed their enthusiasm for the Mac, and upon realizing how thrilled they were with their switch, we decided to involve them in our new billboard ad campaign.”
The billboard features the MacAuthority URL, directing users to the company’s redesigned Web site.
“In Nashville, a well-known country band making the switch really speaks to people,” Leverett said. “It drives home the idea that there is another platform out there and it is a much better world. With the release of their new CD, and our interest in becoming more of a household name in Nashville, this was a great opportunity for us to team up and switch some more people to the Mac.”
MacAuthority is reinforcing the campaign on the radio with country, classic rock, and talk formats. It’s the largest unified advertising effort the company has ever undertaken. But MacAuthority wants to “make sure people in our market know that Nashville is a Mac town.”
All four members of LoneStar — Michael Britt (guitar, vocals), Ritchie McDonald (lead vocals), Keech Rainwater (drums, percussion), and Dean Sams (keyboard, vocals) — are “Switchers.” The group’s first album, “Lonestar,” was released in 1995. Since then the group has racked up over a dozen top 10 country hits with all their albums going gold, platinum, or multi-platinum.
LoneStar currently has another hit single, “My Front Porch Looking In,” and album, “Greatest Hits: From Here to There,” on the charts.