--- title: Leverage Tentpole Events to Grow Your Audience With Subtext description: USA TODAY audience editor and Subtext host Ashley Shaffer offered concise debate highlights. Learn how to leverage tentpole events to grow your audience. image: https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/Event%20Tentpole.jpg --- [![Subtext Logo](https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/subtextlogo.svg "Subtext")](https://joinsubtext.com/) Menu - Customers Open Dropdown Close Dropdown [Newsrooms & Media Newsrooms & Media Headlines, current events, local news…](https://joinsubtext.com/v/media) [Music Music Artists, labels, festivals...](https://joinsubtext.com/v/music) [Sports Sports Athletes, game coverage, podcasts…](https://joinsubtext.com/v/sports) [Marketing & Commerce Launches, events, affiliate marketing…](https://joinsubtext.com/v/marketing) [Creators Creators Influencers, podcasters, thought leaders…](https://joinsubtext.com/v/creators) [Politics & Advocacy Politics & Advocacy Politicians, PACs, organizations…](https://joinsubtext.com/v/politics) - Features Open Dropdown Close Dropdown [Features Overview Features Overview View all Subtext features at a glance](https://info.joinsubtext.com/features)[The Subtext Platform The Subtext Platform Broadcast composer, subscriber inbox...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/subtext-platform)[Subscriber Growth Tools Subscriber Growth Tools Landing pages, embeds, keyword sign-ups...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/subscriber-growth-tools)[Engagement Tools Engagement Tools Auto-replies, SMS surveys, drip sequences...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/engagement-tools)[Audience Segmentation Audience Segmentation Audience tags, segments, personalization...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/audience-segmentation)[Analytics, Subscriber Data & Reporting Analytics, Subscriber Data & Reporting Monthly reports, live analytics, 1st party data...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/analytics-reporting) [API & Webhooks API & Webhooks SMS API, subscriber management...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/api-webhooks) [Security, Compliance & Support Security, Compliance & Support 10DLC registration, audit logs...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/security-compliance) - [Case Studies](https://info.joinsubtext.com/case-studies) - [Blog](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog) - [Log In](https://joinsubtext.com/dashboard) - [Book a Demo](https://joinsubtext.com/#sign_up) ![](https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/Event%20Tentpole.jpg) # Leverage Tentpole Events to Grow Your Audience With Subtext Published by [Subtext](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/author/subtext) on Feb 2, 2021 It may be hard to believe, but we did learn something from the first 2020 presidential debate. In what descended from a political event to a contentious duel, we actually found a moment of informative solitude by turning off our live streams and tuning into USA TODAY’s [“The Short List: Countdown to the presidential elections”](https://joinsubtext.com/theshortlist_elections) campaign. USA TODAY audience editor and Subtext host Ashley Shaffer offered her audience concise debate highlights in real-time, using [Subtext](http://joinsubtext.com/). > The 2020 election, but make it a ~text~ > Presidential debate updates, but make it ~snappy~ > > Just launched Election Texting™️ for [@usatoday](https://twitter.com/USATODAY?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), where I’ll be giving you all the ✨spicy✨ updates and need-to-know moments as we ride out an election year that’s def worth talking about. [pic.twitter.com/jScqTYAfVi](https://t.co/jScqTYAfVi) > > — Ashley Shaffer (@ashleyshafferx) [September 22, 2020](https://twitter.com/ashleyshafferx/status/1308546120780374023?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Ashley, who also runs the popular newsletter “The Short List” and a Subtext campaign of the same name, spun off a fresh campaign to cover the debates, the election, the inauguration, and everything in between. In the week leading up to the first debate, **Shaffer grew her Subtext audience by 5x** with her new election campaign. She topped that with **188% growth the week of the election**. Talk about knowing what your audience wants! She provided value to her subscribers by enhancing the individual viewing experience, removing the noise of social media, and the debate itself, if you opted out of watching it. What proved this? Positive subscriber reactions, a high level of engagement, and most notably, thoughtful replies. There are lots to take away from this success story, but perhaps the most notable learning is: Tentpole events are a great opportunity to test out texting with your audience, draw on heightened interest to scale your audience, and create a dedicated window of time to engage with them. We’re here to help! Remember, your audience isn’t built overnight. It takes a set plan, a marketing strategy, and promotion to grow your texting community, especially leading up to a tentpole event. It sure does pay off! If you're looking for ways to grow your audience, [schedule a demo](https://info.joinsubtext.com/book-a-demo) with the Subtext team. Tags: [Use Cases](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/tag/use-cases) [Back to Blog](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog) ### Ready to start texting? [Schedule a Demo](https://info.joinsubtext.com/book-a-demo) ## Related Articles ## [How USA TODAY Provides Live Trial Coverage Using Subtext](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/how-usa-today-provides-live-coverage-using-subtext) A host making history. We’re talking about USA TODAY and their latest Subtext campaign— State of... [Read More](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/how-usa-today-provides-live-coverage-using-subtext) ## [Audience Imports: Bring Your Audience to SMS in Minutes](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/audience-imports) Messaging platforms are good at sending messages. But for many organizations, the real challenge... [Read More](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/audience-imports) ## [Now You Can Text Segments of Your Audience](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/text-segments-of-your-audience) We’re excited to announce the capability to send broadcasts to segments of your audience. This now... [Read More](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/text-segments-of-your-audience) [![Subtext Logo](https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/Morgan/subtext_footer_logo.svg "Subtext")](https://joinsubtext.com/) Subtext was founded in 2019 in New York City by Advance Alpha Group. © 2026 Subtext. All rights reserved. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/joinsubtext/) [X (Twitter)](https://twitter.com/joinsubtext) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/joinsubtext/) [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/JoinSubtext/) --- --- Help - [Host Portal](https://help.joinsubtext.com/) - [FAQs](https://joinsubtext.com/faq) - [Developers](https://joinsubtext.com/docs/api) - [Contact Us](https://info.joinsubtext.com/contact_us) --- About - [About Subtext](https://info.joinsubtext.com/sms-platform-faq-subtext-sms-marketing-engagement) - [Features](https://info.joinsubtext.com/features) - [Case Studies](https://info.joinsubtext.com/case-studies) - [Blog](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog) - [Press](https://info.joinsubtext.com/press-mentions) --- Legal - [Website User Agreement](https://info.joinsubtext.com/alm-user-agreement) - [Website Privacy Policy](https://info.joinsubtext.com/alm-privacy-notice) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Subtext", "url" : "https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/author/subtext" }, "dateModified" : "2024-08-08T16:32:40.458Z", "datePublished" : "2021-02-02T17:52:41.000Z", "headline" : "Leverage Tentpole Events to Grow Your Audience With Subtext", "image" : [ "https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/Event%20Tentpole.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/leverage-tentpole-events", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/Logomark_white.png" }, "name" : "Subtext" } } ```