How About A Cash For Clunker Ticket Deal?

With all the buzz about slow summer concert sales and the hype about cash for clunkers, I have an idea for all the classic rock shows on tour.

Yesterday, I pointed out that I have a lot of old ticket stubs from concerts attended throughout the years.  I heard from many of you that you also have lots of old ticket stubs.  Why not put them to work?

If you are really an old fan of the band then you should pay less for tickets.  Prove you are a fan by cashing in your old ticket stub for a discount.  50% off would be a decent deal.  In many cases this is still good money for a ticket to see an act that was “on top” over 20 plus years ago.

Sir Paul McCartney is coming to my city this week for two shows.  According to today’s Boston Globe there are still tickets available.  Why is this happening?  Live Nation claims they released production holds.  But they have been running TV & radio spots for this show for weeks.  This is Sir Paul we are talking about playing at Fenway!  I did an non-scientific survey of my friends and most told me they were not going to the show because ticket prices were too high.  My one friend who did buy tickets still bitched about the price he paid for tickets.

This is not Live Nation’s fault on summer ticket prices.  To their credit, they are trying really hard to move tickets this summer.  Agents and managers really need to think about what they are doing.  I understand they want to get as much money for their client as possible.  But at what cost?  All this short term thinking is killing the live event business.

Online Media Buying

I am still going through my notes from the conference and I have even more information I can share with you.  Today, let’s talk about online media buying.

The online sales & marketing session speakers at the Event & Arena Marketing Conference were Joyce Szudzik from AEG Live Interactive and Brandon Lucas with Carbonhouse.  The panel discussed what is working with online marketing.

For example they mentioned that local newspaper dotcoms are good online opportunities.  I agree with them. We all know that newsprint versions are on a major decline, yet we still want news.  In the market where I live, Boston.com is the number one local website.  I check that site everyday even if I already read the newsprint version of the Boston Globe. 

The online versions of newspapers, TV, and radio stations are always looking for ways to promote themselves.  This is where promotional opportunities from you come in.  Whenever you are pitching any local media outlet, make sure you get a promotion on their online sites to compliment the deal you have with their main media version.

The panel gave some sound advice on what to ask for when buying online advertising:

1.  Buy “above the fold”.  When an online reader clicks on the web page you want your ad visible in full without the reader having to scroll down.
2.  Find out what pages get the most traffic from your potential customer.  It may not always be the home page.
3.  Find out the S.O.V. (share of voice) of the buy. On major websites you may only get 5% but on smaller sites it could be 40% to 50%.
4.  See if you can run video.  Running your 15 second spot on the website will create great online exposure.

Newspapers Are Killing Themselves

As we all know newspapers have been on the decline over the past 10 years.  Circulation is down.  Advertising is down. Numbers of newspapers in this country are down.  I heard this week that someone put out a list of newspaper “endangered species”.  The Boston Globe here in my town is on that list. 

Newspapers are doing nothing to help themselves.  Oh sure they all have online versions now.  Some are actually very good and popular.  Some act like the “official” city website. Are they making any real money from them?   But when it comes to the old fashion print side they are not fighting their demise. 

I read this week about more layoffs at a major newspaper in the advertising department.  These are the sales people.  These are the folks that bring in the revenue.  If you lay them off where does the revenue come from? 

I was at a marketing meeting recently for an up coming show.  In the room were media buyers, marketing, and PR.  The marketing plan submitted showed no money for newspaper ads.  I asked why?  The answer was that 1) Newspaper ad rates are too high. 2) Newspapers are not offering promotional space like they once did. 3) No one reads newspapers anymore.

I am not sure I agree with number 3 completely.  I walk around my neighborhood every morning with my dogs.  I see newspapers sitting on many driveways.  Yes, circulation is down but it is not out yet. 

I agree that newspaper ad rates are way too high.  I don’t think newspapers know the term “supply & demand”.  As more people read your paper you raise your rates. If less people read then why not lower the rate?  The cost per reader today just does not make sense to an advertiser.  Here I was sitting in a room of advertising and marketing peeps who said they can’t afford newspaper ads. 

ATTENTION NEWSPAPER AD MANAGERS:  lower your ad rates, get more promotionally aggressive, leave your office and visit us event marketers once in a while and you might get some of the budget. 

There still is a place for newspapers.  The problem is that newspapers are just not willing to change.  They better do so soon or they will end up as a Smithsonian exhibit.

Have a great weekend!

Do You Think You Can Afford To See You?

There is a good article on today’s front page sports section of the Boston Globe on the fun and value of watching minor league sports.  With the economy taking a bite out of everyone’s wallet, minor league sports are back in the limelight as an alternative to the very costly major league sports.

You may not see your favorite sports star but you will get to watch your favorite sport played by future stars at an affordable price.  If the team does it right, you will have a good experience and great time if the team wins or loses.  I used to handle marketing for a minor league hockey team.  This was our formula and it paid off.  Our team led the league in attendance and outsold the NBA team that played in the same venue. It is ironic that this article appeared today.  I was just discussing this very issue with someone yesterday.

I love going to see a major league team or good arena event as much as anyone.  If done right it is a great experience that is long remembered.  But the cost of that experience may have reached its max.  In fact I think its over the max based on the current economic climate. 

Here in Boston we are lucky to have three “major venues” to see events and sports.  The Garden, Fenway, and Gillette Stadium each provide a very cool and exciting experience.  However, all three have attracted the reputation of a very expensive experience.  Between the cost of the ticket, the parking, concessions, and merchandise it is becoming “out of reach” for the average fan or customer.

If I was handing the marketing for any of the three, I would put a campaign together around how it can be affordable to go.  If you are The Garden or Fenway you should cut a deal with the MBTA.  A whole campaign should be done around taking the “T” to the game or event.  The Bruins started the season promoting its “hungry for hockey” promotion.  This was a ticket that included unlimited concession items.  You should bring it back now.  This makes for great “recession” marketing.  The Red Sox and the Patriots have the great fortune of almost always being sold out.  But the seasons have not started yet.  What if the fans start to cut back? What if they want to watch you on TV instead of live? Start a campaign to show the great value of coming to your event.

If you are a show or event that plays in a “major venue” you will run into the same issues of affordability.  Because you are a first class show in a first class venue your customer may think they cannot afford to go.  You need to counter this with marketing.  Look at your ticket prices.  Look at how they get to the venue.  Look at everything that your customer is thinking.  If you were your customer, could you afford to go?

Will Only The Cheap Survive?

Cheap is in.  It is cool to be cheap.  If you don’t believe me check out the article in today’s Boston Globe www.boston.com in the “G” entertainment section.  There is a big article about how being cheap has become a sport.  People wear it like a badge of honor. 

You don’t have to read an article to know this is true.  Look around you.  McDonald’s is kicking ass these days.  Have you noticed more Mickey D commercials?  Starbucks is getting killed because they still charge $4.00 plus for a latte.  I have mentioned before that Wal-Mart is the new Neiman Marcus.  You don’t have to hide your face with a hat and sunglasses when you shop there now.  All of us in the event and entertainment business should learn from this new and quickly growing trend. 

I think someone should put out a “Cheap Show”.  I don’t mean a show that costs less; I mean a show about living frugal.  This would make a great consumer event.  Think about who your vendors could be. There are tons of them.  You should have no problem filling a venue with them.  Even the ones that are not cheap want to be cheap so they will buy in on this show.   Of course you need to have a cheap ticket price with some coupons in the market.  How can you be a Cheap Show and not have coupons?  You need to have seminars with cheap talkers.  The first name that comes in my head is Clark Howard.  He has made a great living talking cheap for many years.  He was way ahead of his time.  He is laughing all the way to the bank and still has every penny.  When it was cool to only buy designer underwear from a high end store, Clark was talking about the “great” deals on underwear and socks at Costco. 

As we go forward with our events, shows, and sports teams, we should think about what our customers are thinking.  Are they going to pay $150 for one seat at a hockey game?  Are they going to pay 200 bucks to see a rock star they paid $10 to see in 1981?  People still want and need to be entertained.  That is never going to go away.  But right now they are looking at what it costs to be entertained. This could be good news for smaller venues and lesser named artists.  Small performing arts venues, coffee houses, and clubs usually have lesser ticket prices then their big brother arenas.  For $30 you can see an artist that puts out great music but doesn’t command your entire life savings to see him or her. 

When you market your shows and events you can be “cheap” too.  Are you doing PR on Twitter?  Are you talking about the show on Facebook? Are you writing a blog about your brand?  All of these are cheap.  In fact you can do it for free!

 

 

Lots Of Free Tickets Out There

I can really tell the ticketed event industry is in full recession mode.  All kinds of events are not only offering discounts on tickets but free tickets as well.

Yesterday, I was forwarded an email with an offer for free opening night tickets to Ringling Bros. in Miami.  That’s right free tickets!  On the email was a link to the Ticketmaster page.  Being the curious blogger that I am, I had to check it out.  It was true!  They were offering free tickets to last night’s opening night performance at the American Airlines Arena.  All I had to do was type in the code: TMOPEN.  I did this and was offered lower level seats with no ticket price.  Of course nothing in life is completely free.  The same two tickets after paying all the TM service charges and $2.50 print tickets at home came to almost the price of one full priced ticket.  But the face value of these lower level seats was free.  I am sure there is “method to their madness”.  I know that Feld Entertainment people read this blog.  Please let me know what the scoop is.

In today’s G (entertainment) section of the Boston Globe there is a story on 18 money saving ways to enjoy the arts.  The arts community knows they are in for hard times and they need to do something. 

Some of the highlights that stood out in the article were:

1) Use of social network sites to reach patrons.  The Huntington Theatre is offering special offers and even free tickets to patrons that join their Facebook group.  DeCordova Museum is offering free tickets if you join their Flickr group and submit an “interesting” picture of you and/or family at the museum.

2) Lots of free ticket offers (besides what I just mentioned).  There are free ticket offers for your birthday, MLK Day, museum free movie nights, free show if you get a membership, even a free “bailout”  ticket promotion for signing up for a newsletter.

3) Corporate Sponsor offers.  Bank of America has two promotional mentions.  BoA is sponsoring the February school break week (free tickets for all) at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and free tickets the first weekend of the month at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

By now you must think I work for the Boston Chamber or CVB. I am just pointing out there is some panic going on.  This may not be good for all of us that make a living from ticket sales.  While I am a firm believer in keeping ticket prices low and giving our customer a good deal, giving away “the store” is not the solution.  If our customers get used to always getting “free” or “really cheap tickets” how are we going to sell “normal” priced tickets when the economy turns around?

Have a great weekend!

 

Make The Holidays Work For You

With the holiday season coming up next week, I thought this might be a good time to discuss how to market in the holiday season. 

I mentioned last week that I don’t see as many holiday show ads in the newspaper.  While I agree that print should not be your number one media expenditure I do think it has a place this time of year.  Consumers are looking now for holiday gift ideas.  If you are going to run print or any form of media this time of the year why not put a tag line in that says “makes a great holiday gift” or something like that.  Now you might be saying “duh, this is a no brainer tell us something we don’t know”.  Yet, as I scan through the morning newspapers I see ads for all kinds of shows and most don’t say that.  For example there is an ad for Stars On Ice in today’s Boston Globe.  The show is coming to the TD Banknorth Garden April 5th.  The show went on sale today.  If you are running an ad today (November 21st) for an April show, would it be so wrong to have a tag in the ad say “Start your holiday shopping here”?  I bet there are lots of skating fans that would like to have tickets for the show sitting in the stocking Christmas morning.  With all the choices out there for holiday spending, you need to remind people tickets make great gifts. 

In the same newspaper section was a full page tab ad for The Hanover Theatre.  I am giving them a shout out because I have been impressed with their marketing campaign over the past few months.  They are a Worcester, MA theater that has decided to market like a big Boston venue.  In today’s ad they have several upcoming shows listed from now through June.  They did use the holiday period to their advantage.  The tag line in their ad reads: “Give the gift of entertainment.  Start your holiday shopping at The Hanover Theatre”.  Perfect! They are even promoting a “holiday open house” the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday).  At the open house they are going to sell gift certificates and  have a one-day 10% off sale on all shows.  They are making an event out of it. Santa is even making an appearance. They are using the holiday to work for them.

If you have a live event during the holiday time period, don’t fight it.  Make it work to your advantage.  Several years ago I had the privilege of promoting Disney On Ice in Toronto.  The show opened at SkyDome the day after Christmas.  In Canada, they celebrate Boxing Day (day after Christmas).  This has turned into the biggest shopping day of the year for Canadians.  The first time we put the show on sale in Toronto, we didn’t know what to expect from Boxing Day.  Would they buy for that day?  Not only did they buy, but we sold out two performances for that day.  Besides, shopping this is the big day to get out of the house and do things.  We did a big campaign around buying tickets for the holidays and it paid off. We became a holiday tradition that first year.  You can make your events a holiday tradition if you market to the holiday and not against it. One word of advice, don’t try to run a performance on Thanksgiving or Christmas.  I was involved once and it failed in a big way!

If I was sports team, I would use this time of the year to push ticket packages.  Besides season ticket packages, teams have all kinds of packages to fit different budgets.  This would be a great time to work those deals.  If you are a team that is currently in season, the holidays should be part of the current campaign.  If you are in your off season, this is a great way to keep your ticket sales office busy.  Even in this bad economy, this is the time of the year that people will spend discretionary dollars on gifts.  Do you want them to spend it on sweaters or on your products?

Have a great weekend!

 

Stand In Line

Anyone who is a regular reader of this blog knows that I am a big fan of hype.  So, today I found a very interesting article in the Boston Globe G (the daily entertainment pullout).  The article is about queues and how they have become an event onto its self. 

Did you know that there is a MIT professor Dr. Richard Larson who is an expert in queues?  He even has the nickname Dr. Q. I guess there must be a professor for everything.

Many times fans of whatever event will create there own queue because they “have to have it right away”.  They need to be the first.  But as marketers we can create our own queue by creating the hype, buzz, and demand. 

How many times have you seen a huge concert, movie, or sports game go on sale and the media always does a news story on the people standing in line?  We in marketing should do more with this.  I am creating a new marketing buzz word “hype marketing”.  This is a marketing campaign to create an event to create hype for whatever you are marketing.  A well marketed queue fits in perfectly.

The article goes on to say that queue’s have lost there punch a little with all the online ticketing today.  But that is why creating a promotion around the queue makes sense.  It is not just about buying the ticket but being a part of the experience.

The article mentions that the best place to create hype for a queue is to go where the fans are.  For example, if you have a new comic book or Sci-fi event, then go to their conventions to let them in first on the upcoming event.  They will organize.  Another way to create the hype is to go online to the MySpace and Facebook’s and other social networks and market to that particular group.  These groups are already organized and looking for something they can do together and talk about.

Shout Out

I have added another blog to my blogroll.  This is the Liveworks Newsletter.  To be fair to my readers, I am little one sided on this one.  It is written by my brother Jim Lewi. Check it out at http://liveworksnews.wordpress.com.

 

Street Teams Still Work

So just when I’m thinking that street team marketing has lost it “spark”, I pick up today’s Boston Globe and there on the front page is a story about it.  Not only a front page story but one with a color photo.  What makes this story interesting is that the street team is not handing out flyer’s for a concert, club, or some new cool clothing line but for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum here in Boston. A art museum that was founded in 1903. 

The article talks about the fact that people were more willing to take a flyer about a museum then for the same stuff handed out everyday.  In the world of crowded street flyering, they stand out.  The museum has made an effort to attract a younger audience.  They even promoted some “after hours” events to attract young professionals. 

What came to mind while reading this article is that a street marketing campaign is getting publicity.  It is like a campaign within a campaign.  I mentioned in yesterday’s post on grass roots / alternative marketing about a street team that was getting publicity.

The article also mentions how the museum has been using other non-traditional marketing including podcasts, blogs and a Flickr site.  Wow, a “stuffy” old museum trying new stuff!  I am impressed!

The bottom line is: the Gardner Museum knows it has to find new audiences and they are not afraid to try something different.  As we all know, that’s the way to go.