Defending Champions Win Again in Mower Madness 2015
Gravely Wins Second Annual Mower Madness Tournament
BOLINGBROOK, IL (April 07, 2015) - In a hotly contested match up, Gravely narrowly squeaked by Honda 52% to 48% in the final round of Mower Madness 2015 to become back-to-back champions.
The Mower Madness Tournament started, like last year, with 64 lawn mower brands. Bracketology was again used to pit brands against one another, but this year the seeding was determined by a random draw.
“There were some close calls and tough match-ups this year but the Gravely fans, again, showed up to play,” said Dan Ariens, Ariens Company CEO and manufacturer of the Gravely brand.
“You can never underestimate the power of a last minute rally. This title should help to raise our spirits a bit here in Wisconsin when we bring the prize back home.”
Some manufacturers, like No. 7-seeded John Deere, could rely on customer loyalty and brand awareness. However, as the tournament drew closer to the end, social media outreach and internal rallying of employees proved to make or break remaining brands.
While upsets were commonplace in the first annual Mower Madness, there were very few this time around.
"It was exciting to see such an increase in social media involvement from so many manufacturers this year," said Jon Hoch, Founder of Power Equipment Direct. "Hats off to Gravely and their fans. There were a few hotly contested matchups this year, but Gravely was able to get their supporters to vote them all the way."
Gravely's social media outreach played a major part in their success in last years tournament, and again in this year's. Their competition wasn't light, especially in the later rounds. In Round 4, they faced off against a very strong and popular brand - Kubota. And in Round 5 they had to go against Bob-Cat, who beat John Deere 54%-46% in the previous round. There, Gravely just barely squeaked by with 51% of the votes to face off against Honda in the final round.
Ironically, Gravely doesn’t sell their lawn mowers online. Instead, they drive traffic directly to their local dealers through Power Equipment Direct’s Dealer Ads Program. Gravely also participates in Power Equipment Direct's Preferred Placement Program, helping to achieve better rankings on Mowers Direct, which gains them more exposure, recognition, and brand awareness.
As the second annual tournament gained more popularity than the first, MowersDirect.com will be continuing the tradition of Mower Madness again in 2016.
Download Printable Bracket
The Mower Madness Tournament started, like last year, with 64 lawn mower brands. Bracketology was again used to pit brands against one another, but this year the seeding was determined by a random draw.
“There were some close calls and tough match-ups this year but the Gravely fans, again, showed up to play,” said Dan Ariens, Ariens Company CEO and manufacturer of the Gravely brand.
“You can never underestimate the power of a last minute rally. This title should help to raise our spirits a bit here in Wisconsin when we bring the prize back home.”
Some manufacturers, like No. 7-seeded John Deere, could rely on customer loyalty and brand awareness. However, as the tournament drew closer to the end, social media outreach and internal rallying of employees proved to make or break remaining brands.
While upsets were commonplace in the first annual Mower Madness, there were very few this time around.
"It was exciting to see such an increase in social media involvement from so many manufacturers this year," said Jon Hoch, Founder of Power Equipment Direct. "Hats off to Gravely and their fans. There were a few hotly contested matchups this year, but Gravely was able to get their supporters to vote them all the way."
Gravely's social media outreach played a major part in their success in last years tournament, and again in this year's. Their competition wasn't light, especially in the later rounds. In Round 4, they faced off against a very strong and popular brand - Kubota. And in Round 5 they had to go against Bob-Cat, who beat John Deere 54%-46% in the previous round. There, Gravely just barely squeaked by with 51% of the votes to face off against Honda in the final round.
Ironically, Gravely doesn’t sell their lawn mowers online. Instead, they drive traffic directly to their local dealers through Power Equipment Direct’s Dealer Ads Program. Gravely also participates in Power Equipment Direct's Preferred Placement Program, helping to achieve better rankings on Mowers Direct, which gains them more exposure, recognition, and brand awareness.
As the second annual tournament gained more popularity than the first, MowersDirect.com will be continuing the tradition of Mower Madness again in 2016.
