Marketing Your Stallion: A Helpful How-To

For years, stallion owners depended on print advertising to reach mare owners. These days, though, a multi-faceted approach to marketing is the key to success.

The savvy stallion owner embraces the advancements in technology and uses it to his or her advantage. Combining electronic media with traditional print media gives your marketing plan extra reach and opportunity, helping you stay competitive in today’s market. 

Stallion Marketing Essentials

Video

Almost as good as seeing a stallion perform in person, video gives mare owners plenty of insight: They can glean info about a stallion’s conformation, athletic prowess, show-pen appeal and disposition.

• Set a TV in front of your stalls at big events, with the video replaying, catching attention from passersby.
• Upload the video to YouTube or Vimeo.
• Embed it on your website.
• Natively upload the video to your stallion or stallion station's Facebook page or Instagram account. (Pro tip: Native video posts receive better Facebook engagement and reach than posts that link to YouTube videos.)

Photography

Mare owners pay close attention to detail, and that’s why good images are essential. Professional photographers give you the most bang for your buck. A professional photographer will know how to set your stallion up and pose him suiting his conformation and structure. A variety of shots engages your social media audience throughout the year. 

Ad Design

Professional ad designers not only have a knack for enhancing photographs, but they can also help you establish a logo for your stallion and help you maintain a recognizable look – his “brand,” if you will. The talented designers at the American Quarter Horse Association can help you create a winning ad to run in The American Quarter Horse Journal, the magazine for AQHA members that reaches 227,000 households.

Reserve your advertising package soon!

Dynamic Data

Keeping prospective mare owners apprised of your stallion's recent sire or performance accomplishments is imperative. For stallions listed on QStallions.com, powered by AQHA, progeny and performance data is updated weekly. A QStallions listing delivers:

• Customized cross-breeding research for mare owners looking for the best cross.
• Photos, videos, pedigrees and records.
• A unique URL to share with prospective mare owners, sending them directly to your stallion’s profile in one click.
• Offspring stats and earnings updated weekly.
• And more – read on to learn more about QStallions.com.

Digital Marketing

Website

Websites offer an extension of a print advertising campaign. Living in full color, websites give you virtually unlimited space to showcase several images and even video at a fraction of the expense of print. The key to successful websites is to keep them current to keep customers coming back to them. 

If building and maintaining a website seems like a stretch, consider a QStallions.com page, which dynamically updates.

Social Media

Many stallions boast Instagram and Twitter accounts, but Facebook still persists as the social network preferred by the equine community. The key to a successful Facebook presence for your stallion is to set the account up as a business page. You want fans to “like” his business page, as opposed to a personal account, where users send and accept friend requests. Once your page is set up, all you need to do is post frequently; followers look forward to seeing both old and new photos of your stallion, plus pics of babies and highlights of their achievements. Social media also offers great networking opportunities. By 'liking' and 'sharing' other pages and posts as your stallion, the overall page reach and engagement will grow. This enables more people to see your stallion's page content.

Packaged Advertising

AQHA offers a variety of packages to fit your budget, including both print and digital options. The AQHA Stallion Advertising packages are designed to campaign your stallion and reach your target audience with*:

• QStallions.com listing – updated weekly

• A full page ad in the Journal

• Email marketing

• Video on QStallions playlist on AQHA YouTube (45,700 subscribers)

• Targeted Facebook posts to a subsection of AQHA's 1 million+ Facebook fans

• And more!

Continue to this form to see stallion advertising package details and pricing.

*Features offered dependent on package purchase.

Thinking Outside the Box

Event Sponsorships

This is an especially effective way to get your stallion’s name in front of the public, while supporting the industry. Class sponsorships at the AQHA World Championship Show include a print ad in the show program, video commercial spot on the big-screen above the arena and on the online webcast, plus logos on the draw sheets.

Top-level sponsors receive premiere stallion preference, allowing your stall front to serve as a booth space to promote your stallion or stallion station. Make use of pull-up banners, oversized wall signs or cut-outs to catch the eyes of passersby. Consider setting out promotional items, such as ball caps, lip balm and can koozies.