Music and sports go hand in hand as evidenced every weekend in college football to the National Football League (NFL). Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” and Styx’s “Renegade” are but two small examples of how music has integrated into the very fabric of home game experiences for the Florida Gators and Pittsburgh Steelers. Little did Queen know when they wrote “We Are the Champions” that it would become the go-to sports anthem heard in every pro sports venue across the globe.
The National Hockey League (NHL) has featured house bands for several years and some NFL teams have also followed suit (Las Vegas Raiders). Concerts are an added feature to many multi-day motorsports events and usually add to the overall draw and fan experience.
Hank Williams Jr. became synonymous with ABC’s theme song for Monday Night Football and Carrie Underwood does the same for NBC’s Sunday Night Football programming. These theme songs have long been used to build anticipation across their respective networks and are wholly engrained in their marketing efforts.
Enter the SMX World ChampionshipTM (SMX). In its third year of being a combined-discipline sport split between indoor stadium racing (Supercross) and outdoor Pro Motocross racing, that culminates in a postseason playoff, the SMX LeagueTM is soaring in popularity. Proven by year over year growth in live attendance and streaming viewership, the sport is capturing the attention of the often-sought after and hard to deliver 18-34 demo that music decision makers are always seeking.
Ghost Hounds band are fully embracing SMX by creatively partnering with the league and arguably two of the sport’s most popular stars – Jett and Hunter Lawrence, which includes prominent placement inside the Lawrence Factory Fan Zone VIP Experience. The Ghost Hounds new single “She Runs Hot” from their recently released fifth studio album Almost Home is being incorporated into FanFest, live event, broadcast and streaming programming throughout the remainder of the season, providing the band with 360-degree marketing integration with the sport.
Additionally, the Ghost Hounds will be playing a special performance as part of FanFest at their upcoming hometown race on Saturday, April 26 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Ghost Hounds performance time will be announced as the event gets closer, but fans can expect the performance to be included with their live event and FanFest ticket purchase.