For the first time ever in the Motor City, Red Bull Heavy Metal brought a single-day street snowboard contest of progressive rail riding and stunts to Detroit’s Hart Plaza in February 2023. Hosted by Red Bull athletes Benny Milam, who brought the legendary event back after a ten year hiatus in 2022, and Grace Warner, a Detroit local and Red Bull’s newest snowboard athlete, Red Bull Heavy Metal welcomed more than 40 of the world’s top street snowboard athletes. A one-of-a-kind event called for pre- and post-event coverage – and Mekky Media was tasked with securing impactful local media in the Detroit area.
To drive coverage ahead of the event, the team leveraged Grace, solidifying her as a true hometown hero and offering her for in-studio and onsite interviews. Mekky also worked with other Red Bull athletes, as well as the Red Bull Heavy Metal competition director, to garner further coverage and maximize reach. The team secured 36 pieces of pre-event coverage that contextualized the importance of street snowboarding events, and local TV stations played a big hand in driving attendance as they conducted 12 live broadcast segments from Hart Plaza during the event setup. And even with the Super Bowl the next day, which is known to dominate not only sports coverage but general news as well, the team’s emphasis on a quick turnaround for visual assets proved essential – following the event, Grace’s story was shared in 22 broadcast clips across the entire state of Michigan and in major metro areas such as Portland, Las Vegas, Omaha, Fargo, and more.