A Few Marketing Thoughts From London

I just returned from a week in London.  As an event marketer I noticed two things while there:

1) They know how to market shows and events

2) Group sales is very big and very good

Marketing in England is a combination of traditional and non-traditional.  They understand that you need to “spread the word” any and all ways.  The Underground subway (The Tube) is used daily by millions of people.  They place advertising messages in The Tube anywhere commuters will be.  They used traditional posters on the walls that line the escalators.  You have no choice but to read them.  They use the new electronic transit boards.  They do grass roots marketing.  They hand out flyers in a proper way.  They are pushing the social network sites.  You don’t see a lot of TV ads for events but you do see PR on the TV morning news shows.  You do see TV promotions! 

Newspapers are still a very important communications tool.  Even the BBC and other TV networks discuss what the daily papers are saying.  It seems everyone has a newspaper in their hand.

Group sales are a part of everything in Europe.  They have tour operations down to a science.  All shows, events, and attractions have relationships with tour operators.  This is something that live event marketers here in the USA need to work on.  Amusement parks in the U.S. live and die with group sales and tour operators.  If you handle the marketing for an arena or live event, you need to cut deals with the tour operators.  Every bus group you sell represents 55 tickets.  We saw tour bus groups everywhere in Europe.  They provide groups with a very good customer experience and offer them very good package deals. Groups are given priority access.  Bus groups are dropped off upfront.  Group leaders have the relationship with the venue or attraction and use it to take care their customers.

Engage In Online Conversations

As with last year’s Event & Arena Marketing Conference, everyone at this year’s conference wanted to hear about non-traditional marketing.  Why are we still calling it non-traditional marketing?  This is 21st Century marketing.

Everyone wanted to know how to use Facebook and Twitter for their venue or show. The key to social network marketing is starting and engaging a conversation.  Web 1.0 was all about one-way communication (websites).  Web 2.0 is two-way communication.  Getting your fans/customers involved in the show or event is the best kind of marketing. If you use Facebook, you may have been invited to join something or go to something.  You can respond to the invite with yes, no, or maybe. 

Peer marketing is an important key.  Think about when you were in high school.  How many times did peer pressure come into play?  Why not engage your fans and ask them to tell their friends?  “I am so psyched to see … you need to go see them too”.

Reward is always a good incentive for spreading the word.  Give them a reason to talk about your event online.  Ticketmaster has created a new program called Ticketmaster Street Team.  You can spread the word about upcoming TM ticketed events. When someone you told buys a ticket (you have to prove this) you get paid a commission.  This is a virtual street team using the internet.  This program is perfect for Facebook and Twitter users.  It also works great for mommy bloggers. 

Many marketers are afraid to create conversational opportunities.  They don’t want people to say bad things about them.  If you are one who thinks this way, you need to get over it.  Today’s internet is going to spread the good, the bad, and the ugly anyway.  Don’t you want the opportunity to talk back or even let your fans talk back for you?  The “boo birds” will always be out there. Why let them voice their opinions alone?  I would rather they say it in my forum then someone else’s.

Stop Making Excuses And Market

My friend and mutual event & entertainment marketer Jim Delaney and I were talking yesterday.  We bitched in unison at the lack of non-traditional marketing that is happening in the arena venues.   This includes both the small and large venues.  We discussed what we continue to hear are the reasons.  The list is the typical excuses:

1) Not enough time

2) Not enough manpower or resources

3) Not enough money

Give me a break.  How long are venue marketers going to use these excuses? Let’s discuss each of these three “so called” reasons.

You have heard the term “time is what you make it”.  Well make time.  One way to do this is stop looking at non-traditional marketing as “extra”.  This is marketing in the 21st century.  If you are paid to market then this is part of your time.  You make time to place TV, and radio.  You drive around town looking for the right place for your billboards.  You write press releases and pitch media stories.  Why don’t you have time to post Twitter messages?   How much effort does it take to send 140 character messages out about the venue or show? 

I will agree that venue marketing departments are never given all the resources and manpower that they should have.  The main purpose of a venue is to fill the seats.  This is all about marketing the product.  I believe the venue marketing department should be the most important department.  As marketers we have learned to adapt to our environment.  This means making it happen with what we got.  You don’t need a team of people to make advances in social marketing. 

Jim used the analogy of venue digital technology and an advertising wrapped vehicle.  It looks great.  It will bring your brand lots of attention.  You give it to the intern.  Instead of driving the wrapped car all around town he leaves it in his driveway.  This is what is happening with websites.  What good is a flashy website if you don’t use it to market?  Just listing upcoming events is not good enough.  Today’s web is all about interactive.  You have technology to capture data like mobile phone promotions, yet you don’t use it to market back.

Money or budget is the “easy out” excuse these days.  This is one of the reasons that the recession is so deep.  We are so worried that our business is going to be hurt, we cut budgets “just in case”.  If we cut budgets that affect business does this help?  Every show you promote has a budget.  Look at what you are spending this budget on. Every venue tells me that print does not work anymore.  I am not sure this is true or not.  But if customers don’t read newspapers anymore, where do they get their info?  I just read today that Boston TV advertising revenue is down $66 million.  So where are we going with the marketing dollars?

3 Reasons Why Many Venue Marketers Are Behind

About a month ago I asked the question in this blog of why most venue marketers are still not using non-traditional 21st century marketing.  I know venue marketers want to.  They told me they want to. 

At last year’s Event & Arena Marketing Conference, the non-traditional marketing sessions were the best attended sessions.  I heard most venue marketers who attended say they were going to implement what they learned at the conference.  We are now 55 days out from the next conference (1 year later) and many have still not “gone for it”.  Here are the three main reasons that venue marketers are still behind in 21st century marketing:

1) “I don’t have the time or people resources”

2) “I don’t have the money”

3) “My boss won’t let me”

As a venue marketer it is your job to market the shows.  This means by whatever way is the most correct, economic, and up-to-date method of doing so.  Not staying up-to-speed is like a doctor not keeping up with the latest trends in medicine.  Do you want an “out of date” doctor treating you?  You do have the time. This is what your time is for. Why do you look at these new marketing methods as “extra”?

You do have the money to use non-traditional marketing.  You receive a budget from the shows and events you promote.  You have tools already at your disposal.  How much money do you think you need to spend on social network marketing?  Why do you think you need more staff to handle it?  The answer is you need very little or even nothing to at least make a start. 

The first two reasons why many venue marketers are not using non-traditional marketing may be related to the third reason; the boss.  If your General Manager does not understand what is involved then this is the battle.  Your job is to make him/her understand.  A GM’s job is to bring in as much revenue for the venue as possible.  Most of the time this also means spending as little money as possible.  They know the basics of your department.  They know what has worked before and base the department budget on this.  They don’t like change because that usually means “more money”.  If your department is not up-to-date with technical infrastructure, then you will have to spend some money.  But if your department is 21st century ready then all you need to do is make the commitment and execute the plan.

 

Stop Looking Back At Marketing

As I read through all my morning newspapers and online sources today I find a very common thread. Marketing in the digital non-traditional way is hot, traditional (old school) advertising is not.

21st century online newspapers

Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke yesterday to newspaper executives at the Newspaper Association of America’s annual convention.  He told newspaper peeps that if they want to survive in the online world they need to push online advertising revenue and not charge readers.  He made a very good point.  People don’t need to pay for online news.  The way the internet is set up, you can find whatever news you want for free. Of course by using Google.  He suggested pushing more online advertising and maybe charging readers for niche articles.  For example the online paper is free but if you want to know more about wine, then you can buy this type of service.  He compared this to the TV business.  The broadcast networks started and continue to be funded by advertising.  Cable networks are niche and can charge. 

Maybe the traditional version of newspapers should charge less and gain more readers.  This in turn will bring back advertisers.  As I say this The Boston Globe has announced a price increase at the newsstand.  Yea, that will keep your readers.  “Our NYT owners want to close us so let’s charge more”!

Mobile marketing is slowly getting there

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that mobile advertising is gaining momentum slowly. The biggest issue I see facing mobile advertising is budgets.  As companies cut back on advertising, marketers tend to go into the “comfort zone”.  They look to traditional advertising methods which don’t have the ROI they once did.  Mobile marketing has a few different elements for use of advertising.  You can run banner type ads like internet websites. It has better data capture for an enhanced personal sell.  You can send text messages directly to a customer.  You have a better chance that a customer will read your advertising message on this personal small screen.  The article quotes Eran Hertzmann from Mobixell Networks ”it’s the last screen they look at when they go to bed, and the first one they look at in the morning”.

Ad Age today is full of digital marketing

Today’s online version of Ad Age is full of articles about marketing in the 21st century because they have been hosting a digital conference. 

There is an article about venture capitalist Fred Wilson telling marketers at the Ad Age Digital Conference to spend more dollars on Facebook and Twitter and less on TV.  He calls these sites “earned media”.  He gives examples such as the Burger King Whopper Sacrifice “killed friend” promotion on Facebook or Disney promoting the Jonas Brothers online instead of radio.  He also predicts that Twitter will have 50 million users by the end of 2009.  Check out today’s Ad Age online.  They have some really good stuff.

Social Media Going Mainstream

Marketers are starting to embrace social media and social media is embracing marketers.  Check out today’s Media & Marketing section of the Wall Street Journal.  The article in today’s WSJ talks about how Mars Snackfood is using its Skittles brand to apply new online marketing techniques. 

Mars has revamped the Skittles website with content from online Skittles fans www.skittles.com.  When you go to the website you get a Twitter background with Skittle followers commenting on the candy.  This is very cool!  They do take a risk doing this.  What if Twitter followers say “nasty” stuff about the candy? As I am writing this post I do see negative comments on the site.  In the age of social media, those are the chances that online marketers have to take. Does the famous PT Barnum quote of “no such thing as bad publicity” come into play?  BTW, Skittles was one of the top topics on Twitter yesterday!

In the upper left corner they have a box where you can click on different tabs. If you click on the friends tab you go to the candy’s Facebook page. If you click on the media tab you can either go to YouTube or Flickr.  

This is a perfect example of “out of the box” thinking.  The brand is taking risks, trying new stuff, and embracing non-traditional marketing.  Congrats to them!

Open letter to U2

Dear U2:

I understand you are planning to play some small venues in the next week to promote your new album.  I applaud your thinking on how to create a buzz.  I understand that you plan to play the Boston market next week.  The two most logical choices are House of Blues and The Paradise.  Of course the Paradise would be great since you first got your start there.  I hear both venues are already booked with other gigs.  May I suggest a small 300 seat theatre in suburban Boston where your 1980 era original fans now live.  The Center for Arts Natick (TCAN) www.natickarts.org is a restored 19th century fire house that is very intimate.  The acoustics are great.  You will be able to see every one of your fans in the audience.  If you are interested, please let me know and I will help you make it happen.

 

Non-Traditional Marketing

Even though it was not the theme of this years Event & Arena Marketing Conference, non-traditional marketing is hot.  Between the breakout sessions and the round tables the biggest crowds were at anything that dealt with the new marketing technology.

There was two guys from the mobile marketing area.  James Cannella with Impact Media and Jitender Singh with Geopepper.  They had everyone with a cell phone in the room text to a short code with either DC, LA, or CHI.  You received in return two texts with information about that city.  Mostly with marketing offers for that city.    The use of mobile marketing at events could be very cool.  Say you are at a game, at certain times you send a text message with your seat number to the number on the video screens to win a prize from a sponsor.  This makes for a interactive experience for the fan, good sponsor interaction, and a great data capture for the arena or team.  Now take this to the next level of geographic messaging.  The next time the fan comes to a game, a text message is sent to their phone as they enter the arena.  Yes, the technology can do this.  This text could be for upcoming events or bounce backs or discounts on F&B and merchandise.

Kristin Tanguay from Fanscape was at the conference to speak on social networks, blogs, etc…  The key to these is “spread the word”.  You need to make sure you get to the right ones.  She spoke about the fact that you cannot be afraid of the social websites.  Many companies steer away from them because the worry what people may say.  They cannot control the content.  The answer is to except this or lose a huge opportunity.   Its all where you are.  They are tons of niche communities.  

 The sports and family show industry needs to embrace this new area and jump in with both feet.