Don’t Let Your Best Asset Sit

As marketers our best asset is our brain.  The creative ideas, problem solving, and quick thinking is what makes us unique (we also like to spend other people’s money, but that is for another blog post).  Like anything else if you don’t use it, you lose it.

Ask any athlete what happens when they take too much of a break from training, practice, or competition.  Like anything you have to keep your brain in top marketing shape.  If you are sitting around and doing nothing, your best asset will feel it too.  Of course you need to rest it, but too much rest can make your best asset well…flabby.

If you are currently unemployed, what are you doing with your best asset?  Yes, you need to use it for seeking out your next “big thing”.  But what else are you doing with it?  If you are employed, do you use the creative part of your brain for just work?  Do you use it outside of work?

Keep your best asset in shape on a regular basis.  Create an exercise program for it.  This might include getting involved in a charity or non-profit.  How about an activity you enjoy that uses your creativity, problem solving, and quick thinking.  Even though I am an event & entertainment marketer I am also going to culinary school to become a professional chef.  You would be surprised how it has helped my marketing creativity?

So get off your other asset and exercise your best asset.

So…What Does This Mean?

Since the news broke on Monday that the merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster was approved by the Government, the number one question I am asked is “what does this mean?”  The quick answer is: I don’t know yet.

Depending on where/what you are in the industry could determine if you see changes now or later.  For the customer I don’t see any real changes at least in the short term.  Christine Varney from the Department of Justice Anti-Trust division was quoted as saying “we expect that we will see ticket prices coming down”.  Why does she think this?  Live Nation alone does not control the price of tickets.  If Live Nation, AEG or anyone else is still willing to pay “out of whack” dollars for talent then prices are not going to drop. Greed is not with one company alone. Ticket prices will drop when effort is made from artists, managers, agents, promoters, and venues to work together. 

DOJ is also making the new company license its ticketing software to AEG.  For Live Nation Entertainment, this is no big deal.  The ticketing software is not a major piece of the company.  For AEG, this is a good deal because they can now sell their own tickets “ready made”.

For peeps working at Ticketmaster and Live Nation, there is a lot of uneasiness.  What will the consolidation look like?  Are there jobs that could be considered duplicates?  Yesterday, Liberty Media offered to buy more stock in the new Live Nation Entertainment.  If this happens it would give them a 35% share of the new company.  How will they play into this? They are known for taking over companies.

I do know this.  The industry as a whole is not in the best shape.  This past year was a killer for all of us.  We need to see improvement and growth in 2010.  We need to move lots of tickets.  It’s in Live Nation Entertainment’s best interest to help facilitate this.  I ask that they don’t just look at their bottom line but the bottom line of the whole industry.  As the line in the movie Spiderman said “With great power comes great responsibility”.

If They Want It, They Will Buy It

Over the weekend I attended the Boston Wine Expo.  This annual event is always a big draw for wine lovers.  But the most interesting facts from this years event were that both days were sold out, the price/type of the wines being sampled, and the average age attending.

Yes, this event was sold out.  I am not sure how many tickets were sold each day but tickets cost $85 each.  The event was from 1:00 PM until 5:00 PM each day.  With the economic climate we are in, I think this is impressive.  As with last years event the demo of the ticket holder was younger.  I would guess the late 20′s / early 30 something crowd.  Why were they willing to drop $85 bucks for a few hours of wine tasting?  The answer is in the title of today’s post.  If they want it, they will buy it. If they see a value, they will buy it.

While I was there I hooked up with wine and social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk.  He was all decked out in his Jets football jersey.  He is a huge Jets fan so I feel bad for him today.  I understand his pain!

A very interesting fact worth discussing is the average price point of the wines being sampled.  The average bottle being offered was in the $10 – $15 range.  This has dropped since last year.  Wine producers have come to the realization they are now main stream.  They need to offer their products to the “masses not the classes”.  I remember this was a favorite line of Allen Bloom when describing the demo of Ringling Bros.  He also finished that line with “we are Chevy not Lincoln’s.  More people drive Chevy’s then Lincoln’s”.

As you produce and sell your events you should keep in mind these five important items when it comes to pricing:

1. Who is my demo?
2. Is this a product they want?
3. What will they really pay?
4. Will my customer see a value?
5. Will they buy again next time?

It Was All About The Marketing!

This blog is about event & entertainment marketing, not politics.  However, when I believe we can learn something about marketing from a political campaign then I write about it.  I am not writing this as a Democrat or Republican but as a marketer.  What happened here Massachusetts last night was all about the marketing.  One side did a great job and the other side did not.

Did we not all learn from last year’s Obama marketing campaign?  Everyone agreed that President Obama did an amazing marketing job.  That is why he won.  So why did Martha Coakley go back to “old school” thinking? 

The Democrats used the number one rule you never use, they ASSuME’ed. This is a blue state.  All branches of the state government are controlled by Democrats.  The voters would never elect a Republican.  Early in the marketing campaign they had a big lead so they pulled back on the marketing campaign. Why did they do this?

Scott Brown had a marketing plan and he stuck with it.  His message never changed.  He studied and used the Obama playbook.  He had a fabulous grass roots marketing campaign. He did his market research.  He knew his market.  He played  offense.  He created excitement. He got voters to like him as a person.  He even marketed his truck.  From what I hear he did all this without national Republican help for most of the campaign.  They didn’t jump on the bandwagon until he started moving up in the polls. 

The Democrats got caught with their pants down. Martha Coakley did not work the media.  She did very little grass roots. She did not create excitement.  A candidate is a brand.  You have to create brand excitement. Negative marketing does not work in the 21^st century.  When are they going to learn this?  When she fell behind she started spending marketing dollars  again for defense and negative. 

What can we learn from all this? A lot, but start with this:  Market every show or event with the same intensity.  Never stop or slow down until it’s over.  If you have tickets to sell, keep marketing until they are gone.

Sponorship Is About Being Win-Win

We have discussed this in the past, but I get excited when I see a good example of sponsors and venues working together.  The goal of a good partnership is to accomplish a win-win for both partners.

Last week I received an e-mail press release from my friends at the Roanoke Civic Center.  They have started a ticketing sponsor/partner deal with HomeTown Bank in the Roanoke market.  The goal of the venue is to move tickets for their events.  According to the press release the bank’s goal is “It is our goal to continuously provide our community with support and determine new and exciting ways to market our bank. HomeTown Bank is known for outstanding customer service and this is another way we are expanding our brand.”  Wow, they said it in such exciting bank language.

The bottom line is the arena wanted more customer opportunities and exposure to buy tickets.  The bank wanted to enhance the customer experience.

The venue is using the Paciolan ticketing system which is part of Ticketmaster. Tickets are sold on the HomeTown Bank website, by a HTB ticket toll-free phone number, and the Roanoke Civic Center box office.  They are not selling tickets at the bank branches.  That is a good idea.  You don’t want bank tellers selling tickets.   Check out the HomeTown Bank Tix website: www.HomeTownBankTIX.com

This deal is not just about signage and brand exposure.  This is a deal where the customer is “hands on”.  If they want to buy a ticket they think HomeTown Bank.

This is what partnership is all about! If you want more sponsors give them steak with the sizzle.

Marketing Is Like Cooking

Maybe this is why I am working to merge my two passions of entertainment marketing with the culinary world.  There are so many similarities. 

With cooking you follow a recipe.  With marketing you follow a marketing plan.  Before you execute the marketing plan you have to write the marketing plan.  With cooking, there are all types of recipes out there but they don’t all fit your needs.  Sometimes you even have to re-write a recipe to fit the right situation. The best cooks know the food and can create new and exciting dishes.

There are many times when you find out the recipe has mistakes.  This is more common in cook books then you think!  With marketing plans, you could use previous plans written for that market.  Are these plans correct?  Only you can decide this.  You know your market.

Sometimes when marketing an event things go wrong and you have to fix it.  The same happens with cooking.  Do you know how many times the “F” word or the “S’ word is said in a kitchen?  Almost as much as the entertainment business.  Actually, this may be the real reason I feel so comfortable in the kitchen.

Weather can affect both marketing and cooking.  If you have a show during a blizzard you are screwed!  If you try making meringues on a very hot, humid day you are screwed!

For the next event you work on think of yourself as the Chef.  Think of your marketing plan as the recipes.  Your marketing budget as the money to buy the ingredients.  The implementation of the plan as cooking.  Then watch your results.  Yes, sometimes there may be issues but if you work behind the scenes to fix it you could have great results.

Happy Cooking!

Hey Baby It’s Cold Outside. We Can Market This!

This post goes out to any markets that are experiencing really cold weather right now.  That means most of us.  As marketers we need to always be thinking and ready to react.  If something becomes news worthy we need to hurry and jump on the bandwagon.  The cold weather snap is a good example. 

There is an article in today’s Advertising Age Online about how some brand marketers are taking advantage of the cold weather.  The brands discussed make perfect sense.  They include: Campbell’s, Zappos, and Home Depot.  All of us that promote events indoors can use this “top of mind” subject in our marketing too.

It could be as simple as using certain words or phrases in your advertising.  “Come out of the cold for a hot night at (place show here)”.  “Hockey so hot the ice melts”.  You could do a promotion such as “free hot chocolate to the first 1000 kids”.  Get Swiss Miss to sponsor it.  If you have open ice time available in the arena, why not offer public skating in the “warm comfort of indoors”. 

Don’t wait to brainstorm when a situation happens. Come up with the ideas in advance.  Write them down in an idea book.  How many of you wake up in the middle of the night with an idea?  How many of you write it down?  Do you realize how many good ideas disappear in the morning? 

I believe there is no such thing as bad ideas.  All ideas have a time and place.  Come up with ideas for anything you can think of and write it down. You never know when you will use it.  Remember, timing is everything.  Be ready for it!

Open Mic Friday

Happy Birthday Elvis!

Today is Elvis’s birthday.  He would have been 75.  Wow, I can’t believe he would be almost the same age as my dad.  Besides being the King of rock-n-roll, he was a real mover and shaker in live events.  Before Elvis, many acts could not even think about filling up an arena or stadium. His live tours were instrumental in the develop of marketing live events.

Who Doesn’t Love Chocolate?

As I have mentioned in the past, I believe the world of culinary live events is going to increase.  We have already seen the momentum with celebrity chefs on tour and food festivals.  This is one of the reasons I am getting into the culinary world (I also love food).  Fellow Boston marketer, Aspen Dinner Club member, and team building guru David Goldstein has launched Taste of Chocolate.  David knows that culinary is hot and anything chocolate is always popular, so he is getting into the chocolate event business.  His new venture includes chocolate tours, workshops, team building, and private events.  Will there be a chocolate festival in the future??

“The Advance Man” Update

I am still reading the book “The Advance Man” by Jamie MacVicar and I must admit it’s a very addictive read.  When is the last time you read a book and know most of the people mentioned?  I have been letting other people in our industry know about the book.  My very good friend Rob called me to say he is addicted to it too.  It brings back tons of Feld Entertainment memories.  If you ever worked for Ringling/Feld you will enjoy it.  If you didn’t work for Feld but work in the live event industry, I suggest you read it.  The people and stories mentioned in this book shaped how we market family shows and live events.  Some of the marketing ideas have been lost in time but we should re-visit them.

Have a great weekend!

Make Your Marketing Stick Out

After last year’s Super Bowl with the 3-D promotion, I figured we were on the way to a new trend with 3-D technology.  The trend seems to have arrived.

Everyone in Hollywood was waiting to see how Avatar did before jumping on the bandwagon.  Once the movie hit a billion dollars, everyone in the industry is now trying on the glasses.  Disney/ESPN and Discovery Communications announced yesterday they are going to offer 3-D cable networks.  

As live event marketers, we should look into marketing in 3-D.  Since our events are live, we are already in 3-D so why not give our customers a taste of the experience.  This would be a great sponsorship opportunity for a touring show.  Bring in a retail sponsor for the entire tour.  Have them distribute 3-D glasses at their locations.  Run promotional spots, contests and commercials in 3-D.  I believe you could even run newspaper ads that would require wearing 3-D glasses to read the ad.  Think about the buzz you would create with a 3-D campaign.

The point of today’s blog post is to get you thinking about trends.  Marketing is about staying ahead of the curve.  Being ready for a trend instead of reacting to it.  If you are always reacting to trends, then you are already too late when you finally get your campaign going.

In With The Old And The New

I just started reading a new book by Jamie MacVicar called “The Advance Man”.  This is the story of Jamie’s life as a Regional Marketing Director (promoter) with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus back in the 1970′s.  It is a very long book (660 pages) so it will take a while to finish it.  I will give you my review of it when I do. 

I didn’t join Ringling until a decade later but I know or worked with most of the people mentioned in the book.  So far, my initial thought is that nothing changed for 20 years (1970′s - 1990′s) in that company.  This is not a bad thing.  Those 20 years were considered the “most powerful” years of live event marketing fueled by Allen Bloom and his team.

There is an old Bob Dylan line “I forgot more then you will ever know” and this book is bringing back many great promotions and advertising ideas that I had forgotten about.  It got me thinking, maybe we should bring some of that old thinking back.  Many of the promotions that were done in the 70′s and 80′s would still work today.  As I mentioned last week, the message has not changed just the way we communicate it.  Maybe there is a place for both the old and new to work together?

Just as I was writing this, I read an article in Ad Age Online about how Fox is marketing the movie Avatar.  Guess what, they are marketing the movie with both the old and the new. As we all know it’s paying off.  Sometimes we get so caught up with staying ahead of the curve that we forget about what still works.