Not long ago Billy and I went over to Edelbrock for a shop tour. I asked Eric Blakely, Director of Advertising, how a company like Edelbrock is engaging younger generations.
“I am proud of the culture Vic Edelbrock has built with supporting younger generations. We are engaging younger generations in several ways.” Stated Eric.
Vic was an early supporter of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow program that Rodney and Jim Bingham have created. The program exposes the youth to our industry and potential career avenues. Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has found a great way to generate excitement in engine building in a competitive format.
Edelbrock has developed an Educational Package that includes demo cut-a-way versions of an intake manifold and a cylinder head. The package also includes a sheet that calls out the different aspects and terminology of each product. Included in the package are decals, catalog and shop banners. It’s a great way to give an auto shop instructor some tools to help educate their students. We also support some schools with discounted product for their builds.
Edelbrock offers tours of their facilities here in Southern California year around. The tour lasts a couple of hours and gives students insight into what it takes to design, cast, machine and market aftermarket products. They get to see every job aspect of the industry from conception to completion in one building.
We also take advantage of the SEMA Internship program at the SEMA show and in our R&D department. At the show, Edelbrock host as many students as they can. The students are paired with an employee in their field of interest. Eric has personally spoke to countless interns about marketing and advertising and gives them an inside look at marketing an automotive aftermarket manufacturer. The R&D team also utilizes interns to help with various projects. Edelbrock believes this is a great opportunity to find some talent, but also to give a future gearhead a chance to see how they can use their talents in a field they have interest.
On the marketing and PR side, Edelbrock has focused some of their marketing budget to gaining exposure in areas where the youth are interested. We’ve added events that are focused at the youth audience to their display schedule. They believe the youth of the industry is familiar with the brand, they’ve seen the logo in their dads shop or on their uncle’s car, but they may not know what we have to offer in the way of products. The challenge is to get in front of them and educate them the history of our industry, as well as expose the them to their product line. With their expanding E-Force supercharger line and late-model products, they are building a great selection of products that appeal to the younger generations. Sounds to me this is a win-win for everyone involved!
We are sad to report that just after we released this story in Special Print Edition #14, Vic Edelbrock Jr. passed away with his family by his side. Rest in peace one of the last original hot rodders.
Story: Tony Colombini with Eric Blakely. Image from Edelbrock.