Tractorbeam scores big by combining team-building, mums, and Discourse with Dave Campbell’s Texas Football

Nov 3

Let me tell you a story told to me by my friend Nikki Stephens and long-time “mumtrepreneur” Denise Mays. It’s about a company that created an amazing customer experience and a team-building activity around homecoming mums.

Tractorbeam is a Dallas-based agency specializing in branding, design, strategy, products, website design, and digital marketing. As they like to say, they’re not about tractors. Nikki and Denise both work for Tractorbeam.

***L to R:*** *Tractorbeam Controller Denise Mays; Dave Campbell's Texas Football Chief Content Officer Brooke Miller; Partner/Head of Marketing and host of The Discourse Christopher Miller*

Every fall, Tractorbeam hosts a series of customer-employee engagement events they call Discourse. Each event within this aptly-named series is an informal and informative conversation between the team and one of their customers. As the agency was planning for their Fall 2025 Discourse series, they were excited to include Brooke Miller, Chief Content Officer for Dave Campbell's Texas Football.

Now listen up. If you’re new to Texas, you need to know about Dave Campbell's Texas Football. Founded in 1960 by Baylor grad and legendary sports journalist Dave Campbell, this media company is known for its annual summer magazine, which many consider "the bible of Texas football.” In addition to the magazine and its digital platform, the company is also the official AP rankings partner for Texas high school football.

Long before the visit by Brooke Miller had been planned, Denise’s coworkers were already enchanted by her homecoming mum expertise and business, It’s All About Mums. Several, including Tractorbeam’s founder Peter Benanti, were particularly curious about homecoming mums because they did not grow up in Texas and had never experienced the tradition (or read my book). Denise, Nikki, and Nikki’s boss Jessica Figueroa, Vice President of Strategy & Development, recognized right away that Miller’s visit was the perfect occasion to bring out the mums.

Denise invited fellow members of Mums, Inc., an organization for professional mum makers, to create 24”-36” custom homecoming mums for display during Discourse with Brooke Miller. A total of eight, all in black and white, were showcased, including:

The Yellow Rose of Texas mum by Tara O’Donnell, TARAriffic Mums in Spring, TX
Crimson Kickline mum by Samantha Lightbody, Bell and Bow Mums in Cypress, TX
Frosted Black mum by Mandy Krnavek, Handmade by Mandy in Grandview, TX
It’s a Texas Thing: Missions of San Antonio mum by Jennifer Moody, Mums by Jen in Katy, TX
A Cheerleader Mum by Mindy Rodgers, Cheerful Crafthouse in Keller, TX
The Halftime Beauties mum by Delaynie Roberts, Sissy's Loot Homecoming Mums in Gainesville, TX
The Big Beam mum by Denise Mays, It’s All About Mums in Caddo Mills, TX
Football: A Symbol of Texas Spirit mum by DeAnn West, The Bling Stop in Conroe, TX

The mums were unified by a common theme of “Spirit,” including a ninth one Denise customized especially for Miller to wear and take home.

*Props to Tractorbeam’s colleagues at* *Infillion* *who sponsored both the exhibit and engagement activity.*

Because I’m a sucker for hands-on experiences, my favorite part of the vision for Discourse with Brooke Miller was to include a mum making workshop for all attendees.

After taking her first, eye-opening shopping trip to The Saleplace, Nikki learned some tricks of the trade from Denise then made twenty-four classic 18” streamer mums, all in black and white. So that attendees could customize their mums, they provided glue guns and supplies including trinkets, bells, ribbons, plus individual letters for spelling out their name on the largest black ribbon.

Benanti, who grew up in New York, chose to make a mum for his wife. Swoon.

Needless to say, Discourse with Brooke Miller was a huge hit. Why? Because homecoming mums are fun and unique and a little (or a lot) audacious… and so very Texas. But most important, homecoming mums are about creating memories, and when you make a mum with or for someone else, these are memories you’ll cherish forever.