Elvis Presley
Enterprises had
its "biggest
year ever" in
2007, according
to Scott
Williams, EPE's
director of
marketing who
spoke in Tupelo
Friday. He's
gave a
run-through of
the
organization's
activities for
the past year.
What made 2007
stand out,
Williams said,
was the
successful brand
partnerships.
He cited the
partnership with
Reese's for a
Collector
Edition Peanut
Butter & Banana
Cr�me version of
its peanut
butter cup.
Other successful
partnerships in
2007 included
Harley-Davidson,
Budweiser,
Sports
Illustrated,
Tennessee
Tourism and
American Idol.
Another standout
partnership,
according to
Williams, was
with NASCAR and
Dale Earnhardt
Jr. "The only
fans I can think
of who are
bigger than
Elvis fans are
NASCAR fans,"
Williams said
with a quick
laugh.
The Ultimate
Elvis Tribute
Artist Contest,
of which Tupelo
hosted one of
the preliminary
rounds,
contributed to
the year's
success as well.
Tupelo, being
the birthplace
of Elvis, was
selected again
to host a
preliminary
round at the
Tupelo Elvis
Festival June
6-8.
Williams said
EPE used Tupelo
last year as the
model for a lot
of the smaller
towns that were
hosting
qualifying
rounds. He also
showed a video
about the
contest, which
featured
Tupelo's winner
Brandon Bennett.
The finals were
held in Memphis
during Elvis
Week 2007 and
sold out the
Cannon Centre.
Business also
was good at
Graceland and
the surrounding
properties in
Memphis.
Williams said
about 600,000
people buy a
ticket to tour
the house each
year, and
another several
thousand visit
just to shop or
do the free
walk-up to the
house.
And Williams
said he only
expects business
in the Elvis
world to get
better.
"The magic of
Elvis is still
growing as more
younger fans
discover Elvis,"
he said.
About one-third
of visitors to
Graceland are
younger than 34
and 75 percent
of Graceland
tourists are
visiting for the
first time.
"According to
all of our
research, it's
growing and
growing," he
said. "The more
than you guys
can do to
celebrate and
bring awareness,
the better it is
for all of us."
EPE's goal is to
preserve,
protect and
enhance the
legacy of Elvis.
It is a
subsidiary of
CKX Inc., a
publicly traded
company that
also includes
American Idol
and Muhammad
Ali.