If you don’t live in a coastal city, sometimes you feel forgotten. The spaces between New York and Los Angeles are often called “flyover country.” That vast landscape below as you wing your way east or west is actually populated by a rich region of towns, industries and people. One company wanted to draw attention to those spaces with an interesting promotion as part of the celebration of a corporate milestone.

Polaris, maker of the Ranger utility vehicle line, rolled the 1 millionth machine off the production line during the latter part of 2017. How did it celebrate? It looked for a place to name “Ranger Country USA” and worked to draw attention to what’s in the flyover parts of the country.

It’s an interesting idea that drew attention not only to the milestone but also to those “forgotten places,” where most individuals know a lot of people live. So where is Ranger Country USA? Turns out it’s in Pinedale, Wyo.

Polaris started the search for the location in a program that included country music singer Jake Owen. The national campaign asked consumers to visit rangercountryusa.com and vote for the town they felt most deserving.

There were five towns that vied for the opportunity to be named Ranger Country USA: Pinedale, Wyo.; Corning, Ark.; Darlington, Wis.; Spring Creek, Nev.; and Stephenville, Texas. The idea was to focus on towns that “embody the essence and hardworking values of Ranger and represent the Ranger country lifestyle,” explains Kyle Duea, Polaris marketing vice president of off-road vehicles.

Apparently Pinedale stands out as that place in west-central Wyoming, because the town secured the most votes in the internet competition. The site did include video profiles of each town.

There was an incentive for website visitors to cast votes for their favorite town. The company held a sweepstakes for every vote entered offering the chance to win a new 2018 Ranger XP 1000.

Pinedale was touted as “all the civilization you need” in its video. The area has a rich “mountain man” heritage celebrated every July at the Green River Rendezvous. This event recreates and celebrates the history of American fur traders, trappers and Native Americans. Pinedale, population 1,895, is the gateway to the Jackson Hole, Wyo., area; visitors enjoy the scenery, hunting, skiing and wildlife viewing that three surrounding mountain ranges provide.

This is an interesting competition, and while there is a “winner,” the other four towns got their time in the spotlight to show off what’s special about each region. The Ranger utility vehicle — first introduced in 1998 — has been a leader in the side-by-side business almost from its beginning. The new Ranger XP 1000 represents a culmination of the machine’s history.

You can see Farm Progress coverage of the new XP 1000 in this report.

Source: Polaris