Jackson is known as the home of Carl Perkins, the King of Rockabilly. As “Blue Suede Shoes” approached its 70th anniversary, our client, Visit Jackson, TN, knew it was time for Jackson to honor Perkins’ legacy and elevate Jackson’s identity as the Birthplace of Rockabilly with an inaugural music-and-heritage festival. 

B3 partnered with Visit Jackson to launch Blue Suede Rockabilly Weekend from the ground up, including brand identity, event planning support, and a multi-channel marketing rollout celebrating 70 years of “Blue Suede Shoes” in Carl Perkins’ hometown.

The idea that Jackson should host an annual rockabilly festival was a no-brainer. The challenge was execution: building a first-year event that felt credible and exciting to attract a niche rockabilly audience and earn community buy-in.

The Challenge

• Design a brand identity that felt recognizable and rooted in rockabilly culture
• Earn sponsor support for a first-year event without past performance data
• Market to a niche fan base while still appealing to locals and regional visitors 
• Communicate multi-day, multi-location logistics in a simple, attendee-friendly way

Deliverables

• Brand Identity and Event Naming
• Event strategy and planning support
• Website 
• Social media content and management 
• Out-of-Home (OOH) and printed materials 
• Paid media (Meta, Reddit, and Google)
• On the ground photography and videography 

Results (Year One)

• 315 tickets issued 
• 11 states represented 
• 4.59M total digital impressions 
• 41K social engagements + 28K clicks from Google display placements
• 53K website visits 
• Post-event attendee feedback: 4.29/5 overall experience, 4.63/5 likelihood to return