The Smoky Mountain Rodeo Association has signed an exclusive GLBT media sponsorship with the monthly Out & About Newspaper and weekly Inside Out Nashville.
The agreement nets the Smoky Mountain Rodeo Association (SMRA) more than $18,000 in combined advertising, marketing, and support services offered by O&AN and iOut.
Out & About Newspaper, Tennessee’s largest monthly GLBT newspaper, and iOut, Middle Tennessee’s oldest and largest weekly GLBT newspaper, teamed up to offer SMRA the exclusive agreement to help the community organization after the group requested a proposal from local GLBT media.
“We solicited proposals from all local GLBT media organizations and the board and SMRA membership voted and agreed the joint proposal from O&AN and iOut exceeded our expectations,” said Justin Waldner, president of SMRA.
Jerry Jones, publisher of O&AN, and Linda Welch, publisher of iOut, brokered the agreement for each of their companies.
“The combined power of iOut and O&AN (print, Internet and TV) reaches an estimated 60,000 weekly and monthly audience throughout Tennessee, Southern Kentucky, and Northern Alabama,” Jones said. “We are glad that we could partner with a great GLBT weekly publication in order to provide SMRA with a well-rounded media package. It’s very exciting to be building this relationship with the membership of SMRA.”
SMRA will host the first-ever International Gay Rodeo Association conference and convention at the Preston Hotel in October. Welch said she was impressed with the groups planning and community involvement.
“iOut is very proud to be the exclusive GLBT weekly media partner with SMRA,” Welch said. “I’ve been very impressed with their community involvement, their growth and their ability to reach out to a great different number of people.”
The partnership agreement runs from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007. Exact terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
"SMRA is very excited and consider ourselves very lucky that we have such great support in the Nashville community,” Waldner said. “Having iOut and O&AN as sponsors of SMRA is just one great example of this. We hope other cities are as lucky as we are."
