From A Reader

Just as I was sitting down at my computer to write today’s blog post and thinking “what am I going to write about” I received this email from an arena marketer in the Midwest.

“Hi Joe, I subscribe to your blog, read it immediately whenever it hits my inbox and often share it with co-workers.

 I have dilemma that I thought you might be able to enlist your subscribers for their thoughts on. Here lately, it seems as though our building has had a string of events that don’t sell very well (priced too high) and we have been forced to roll out last minute, fire-sale deals to move seats. One of the ways we get the word out about the deals is our social networking…Facebook and Twitter. Facebook is great for us, but we often get complaints as comments from folks who paid full price earlier. What is the industry (good PR) thought on how to respond to the Facebook comment complaints? 

I am in a position as an arena marketer to take directions from the show’s promoter (who rents our building), but this practice of pricing things too high and then putting out last minute discounts and making our early buyers mad…just irritates me. 

Any help you can provide on the Facebook question would be appreciated. Should I respond? Should I delete the comments?” 

Name Withheld By Request 

What the author of this email stated is a topic that is an ongoing issue.  This problem is not new.  It has been happening for years.  The only difference now is that our customers have more avenues to express their comments and complaints.  

To answer his last question first; I believe you should always answer every question or comment you receive from a customer.  Part of social networking is creating the dialogue. With social networking you need to take the good with the bad. 

As for taking direction from promoters, I understand both sides because I have been on both sides.  Promoters do need to listen to the venue marketers who live in the market.  They are the first line in what is happening in that city.  They know if the economy is healthy or unhealthy. No one likes a fire-sale.  Besides upsetting customers, it also cheapens the show which makes the producers and artists mad. 

The writer of the email and I want to hear from other event & entertainment marketers.  This goes for both promoters and venue peeps.  Send me your comments!

LinkedIn: Lots Of Connections And…?

All of you know that I am a big fan of social media.  I discuss all the social network sites and preach about how we need to use them as marketers.  I am currently signed on to four of them.  I am active on three.  One of these is LinkedIn.  This one is bugging me.  What is it really good for?

I do understand what LinkedIn is all about.  It is a business “networking” website.  Anytime you can network with others in business, this is a good thing.  You can join online groups that apply to your industry.  You can share business ideas.  You can look for a job.  You can see how everyone in this world is connected by just a few people (makes Kevin Bacon proud).  But with all of this, is it really doing anything to help you?

I have been on LinkedIn for almost 2 years.  Yes, I have connected with a lot of people. Many of which I have not seen in many years.  This is a good thing but that is why I also use Facebook.  I have joined a lot of groups.  But what has LinkedIn done for my business or job world? What has it done to make me money? The answer is: not really anything.  

If you have the basic free membership (which I have) to LinkedIn, you are limited to its resources.  They are always asking me to upgrade to the paid membership.  I have thought about it and would do it if I thought it would really help me make money. I just don’t see the value prop.

Virtual networking is a part of our 21^st century communication. It has a place but it also has its limits.  It is easy to connect with people online. However, nothing will ever take the place of face-to-face networking.

Talk Is Cheap But Its Worth Gold

People are doing more talking then ever before.  You can thank the internet and cell phones for this.  They are not just talking with their mouths.  They are writing, blogging, and social networking.  These words and conversations are what is influencing decisions and moving product. 

As event and entertainment marketers we should not only use these marketing methods, we should also listen and read what they are saying.  A lot of our marketing decisions can be made based on what our customers tell us.  So often we forget to listen to our customers.  It reminds me of the Verizon fios TV commercial where the cable guy asks “why are we listening to customers, seems dumb”.  Customers tell us everything we need to know to be successful.  So many times we just tell them what they want and need.

One the best and cheapest marketing methods: strike up a conversation.  This is really easy to do.  You know who your target market is, so go to them.  On the internet find out where they hang.  What social sites do they use?  What blogs do they read?  Read what they are saying.  Ask them questions. Don’t be scared of the negative.  Use this for positive change.  

You don’t have to use just the internet.  Meet them live, face to face.  Go where your customers are.  This could be at your venue.  Instead of walking around with a clip board, invite them to a table or booth.  Give them a gift for their honest conversation.  We are always doing contests with text messaging at events.  Why not have them text you their opinions? If you market a sports team, why not go to youth sports games? Talk to the kids.  They are your future.

I am a firm believer in having a finger on the pulse of our customers.  Two way talk will do the trick.

Twitter Is Finally Cool With The Younger Gen

I read an Associated Press story today about how Twitter is finally catching on with the younger generation. 

Since Twitter started, it seemed to be a social site for older generations.  The article discussed how the young generation was staying away from Twitter like a plague.  The group that you would think would be on top of all new technology stayed away. 

The social network world has gone through some interesting transitions over the last few years.  It was not that long ago the MySpace was number one.  Now I find very few who actually still use it unless they are in the music business.  MySpace has become a great site for bands and music lovers to show off their stuff.  My teenage son was on Facebook before I was.  Today, it seems everyone from pre-teens to senior citizens have a Facebook page. 

My theory of why the younger generation is moving to Twitter has to do with the following statistic.  The article states that the median age on Facebook is 33 years of age and Twitter is 31.  If MySpace is not the place, and Facebook has been taken over by geezers, then maybe there is a place for the young on Twitter?

If the young are taking over Twitter, is it just a matter of time before AARP starts marketing their own social site?

No matter where generation groups go, the bottom line is that everyone is getting into social networking.  Marketing our shows and events on these sites are very important.  When I first started discussing social network marketing over a year ago, I said you didn’t need marketing budget for it.  Today, you still don’t need to spend money but is that the right decision?  Don’t we want our marketing dollars going where the customers are?

Take Your Facebook Marketing Live

I am happy to report that more and more event and venue marketers are using social network sites to market their events and shows. Bravo to all of you!  For example, I am Facebook friends with the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.  They are really great at marketing their events on Facebook. I seem to get event invites, news, or on-sale announcements from them everyday.

Most of you who use Facebook are aware that FB has a live chat feature.  This is their version of instant messaging.  It occurred to me that the Facebook live chat is an untapped marketing tool.  Those of you that are using FB as a marketing tool have gathered hundreds of friends.  Why not chat with them?  If you have a show coming in, why not use the live chat as a PR event?  Have someone from the show do a live chat with your FB friends? How about a press conference using the live chat?  Let your friends be the reporters.  What about asking your FB friends what events and shows they want to see?  This chat feature is a great opportunity to ask our customers what they think.

Attn: Boston Readers

Tonight (September 30, 2009) is Boston’s chapter of the monthly Aspen Dinner Club.  We are meeting at the Elephant and Castle in Boston’s financial district.   This dinner club was started by my brother Jim as an off shoot of the Aspen Live Conference.  This dinner club is designed for anyone in the event and entertainment industry.  The dinner club now has chapters in L.A, New York, Denver, Austin, Indy, and Boston.  If you live in any of these markets you should attend one.  If you don’t live in one of these markets, you should start your own chapter.

Is Radio Next To Go Bye-Bye?

Last week I wrote about the demise of WBCN in Boston.  This “tastemaker” station was once the place where you found your next great band.  Today, there is an article in The Boston Globe about young people finding their new music in different places but not on commercial radio.

Top 40 and pop stations still exist on commercial radio.  These stations still appeal to children and pre-teens. However, once they hit the young adult years, their choices on commercial radio gets really thin.

Have you listened to commercial pop radio today?  How much music are they really playing?  During morning drive on a commercial radio station you will hear very few songs.  You will hear lots of on-air personalities talking.  You will hear lots of commercial spots running. Instead of saying “where’s the beef”, we need to say “where’s the music”? While this may work for the moms and dads that are driving, what does this do to build a future audience?

Where are younger people hearing their music today?  They learn about new music from friends (word of mouth), the internet, bloggers, and social networking.  They are downloading songs on their iPod.  You can put thousands of songs on an iPod and plug it into your car stereo.  No need to ever listen to a radio station.  Satellite radio plays music with no commercials (endless music).  The listener can hear any genre they want.  Internet radio is on the rise.  The article mentions Pandora Radio.  Even mobile devices are playing music. On my Blackberry I have Slacker Radio.

If music is not what drives commercial radio today, what does?  The answer is talk. The problem with talk radio is that you are not attracting a younger audience.  If we don’t get the younger demos listening to radio then we are going to see a dramatic drop off of listeners. Fewer listeners mean less advertising dollars.  

Doesn’t this whole discussion sound familiar?  Didn’t newspapers lose the younger readers first?

Use Your Marketing Skills for You

One of the biggest surprises for me at this year’s Event & Arena Marketing Conference was the amount of unemployed event marketers.  I know the recession has done damage to our business but I didn’t realize how much. The percentage of the unemployed at this year’s conference was really high.  We are talking about very talented people.  For those event marketers out there looking, I dedicate today’s post to you.

As event marketers you know how to market. You write your marketing plan, pitch your media deals, and put your marketing into play.  Now you find yourself looking for a new job.  I am sure part of your daily search routine includes checking the internet job sites, making phone calls to your contacts, and reading the trades.  But what else are you doing?  How can you apply your event marketing skills to marketing you?

Marketing Plan

If you write a marketing plan for your shows, why not try it for yourself?  Make yourself the event.  Put everything down just like you would for a show.  Write down all the stats.  This should include what is happening in your industry.  If you are looking in a certain market, research the market. Who are your potential employers? What are their goals?  What are their needs?

Media

Write down your media plans.  No, you don’t have to buy TV, radio, or billboards.  That would be cool if you could afford it.  I did see where someone did this recently.  But you can afford to use non-traditional (21^st Century) marketing.  Use the internet and social networks to promote yourself.  The key to the internet is having your name everywhere.  Your goal is to have your name rise to the top of the Google search.  You don’t want to this happen only when someone searches your name.  You want your name to show up on marketing searches.  You want your name (brand) to be associated with marketing.  This blog is a perfect example. My name and this blog show up in marketing Google searches all the time.

You need to use Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.  Linkedin has become the number one online social tool for the unemployed.  It is designed to post everything you have ever done in the professional and educational world. They also have a job finding tool. Being active on these social sites will also promote you on Google searches.

Promotions

Why not create promotions around you?  I am not kidding on this.  Why not offer a contest for free marketing services?  Offer this contest to any company or industry that you are interested in.  This will get your name out there, tell them what you offer, and someone will win a free taste of your expertise.

If you skip over everything I just wrote then remember one thing:

You are re-building and marketing the brand called “You”!

The Future Of Marketing Is Here

Last night proves that a good marketing plan works.  It proves that if you create the right image, hype, and buzz it will payoff.  It proves that you do need to use all the new forms of marketing and continue to look for more.  Let’s all learn from the 2008 election and use it to our benefit.  Just like the marketing message that the campaign branded and the American people gave as a mandate last night, “its time for a CHANGE”.  All of us in marketing need to embrace change and use it. 

As I watched the results last night I realized that this country has changed.  We are not a country of “Joe the Plumber”.  We need to market to the “new mainstream”.  To do this we need to use the new marketing.  We need to use social networking, mobile, web, email, blogs, branded entertainment, grass roots, viral, video game advertising, and everything else that our creative minds can think of. 

There is no limit to how we market.  Let’s promise that once we create the hype, buzz, and capture our market, that we will live up to the hype and give them a good experience. I promise to continue to help you with this.  I will continue to let you know what’s out there.  I will let you know what works and doesn’t work.  You can help me make this blog better by giving me your insight and ideas.  I will post them not just as comments but as posts so that everyone can share in this. 

I am psyched for the future of marketing.  We have no limits.  The future gives us the opportunity to use our creative marketing brains once again.

What About Social Network Events?

Between my son, all the hype, and the Arena Marketing Conference, I have been really learning a lot about the social networking sites.  I now belong to three: LinkedIn, Facebook, and My Space.  I might join at least one more.  For someone that is in business (grown-ups) LinkedIn seems to make the most sense.  I am finding tons of people that I have worked with over the years.  Because of being linked in to their networks I should meet even more.

On Facebook I am finding a lot of people that I went to high school and college with.  That’s pretty cool.  It is like a reunion of sorts.

So as I was searching around the sites when I thought “what about social networking events?”  There are so many groups and clubs and organizations on these sites that you could have social network tours traveling around the country catering to them.  People could actually meet (person to person) at these events.  This could be a sponsors dream come true.  Think about how targeted you could be with these events.  I think I am going to really look into promoting these events.  What do you think?  Send me your comments and ideas.

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.