dosPrompt
Offline
Melbourne, Australia

So,
I’m interested, what do you guys do to advertise your gigs?

As many of you know, Celsius and myself run Soundbytes here in Melbourne. It’s only every quarter or so (enough that people don’t get bored of us) and we have previously advertised on all the online gig guides, facebook, radio (as part of interviews) and will have our first street press ad next week if all goes to plan. Oh and kickstarter as well and we’ve learned to only play venues with reasonable drink prices!
Posters and flyers haven’t really worked for us...
We're always looking to get more peeps to our shows, and I’m interested in what you do to drive people to your shows. Anyone have any brilliant and original ideas for getting extra folks along?

8bitweapon
Offline
Los Angeles

I think you've nailed it, im not sure what else is reasonable for people to do for gig promo. For Microwave, we had consoles and computers set up for people to play games on and advertised as such.

Last edited by 8bitweapon (Jan 12, 2010 11:42 pm)

akira^8GB
Offline
New York City

A bunch of tips from the Kiken Corporation book for proper event production:

- Printing shit is a waste of your money, people throw away flyers or don't pay attention to posters.

- Social networks are good, Facebook being the currently fashionable one, it proved to work very well for us.

- Online sites that are guides for electronic music are always something you want to have your event mentioned in

- If you have a contact in good printed press for your town, move it so you get focused (this worked well for us too)

- Decent drink prices, a good sound system and cheap (or free) entry tickets (as long as it is realistic) are good things that will keep the party appeal for people who will want to go again and also newcomers. Make it fun too, try to make a proper and aptly flowed lineup.

- Get a bunch of PR people working for it. There's people that will always go to your shows. Spot them, pay attention to them, and offer them to get in for free and get a couple of free beers next time if they agree to bring some people over. Extend this network of PRs to your heart's contents. Best parties are those where people bring their friends to party, and in place their bring their friends, etc.

Last edited by akira^8GB (Jan 13, 2010 1:03 am)

Dot.AY
Offline
Melbtown, Lolstralia

I know why you started this thread!

Haha considering the second show I have ever put on is on tomorrow night I am also feeling like there has to be more I can do to get people to the gig...

In the past, busking with flyers or handing out flyers at other shows is always good (I played a show on last friday and because I had flyers on me everybody that liked my set and told me got a flyer and said they will come along)

As much as I don't really like the music being directly connected with video-games/gamers... they are a large audience that often don't look through the other regular music avenues.. I have thought of dropping flyers at Game Traders / Internet / LAN Cafes

any other ideas I am keen to hear them too big_smile

celsius
Offline
Melbourne, Australia
akira^8GB wrote:

- Get a bunch of PR people working for it. There's people that will always go to your shows. Spot them, pay attention to them, and offer them to get in for free and get a couple of free beers next time if they agree to bring some people over. Extend this network of PRs to your heart's contents. Best parties are those where people bring their friends to party, and in place their bring their friends, etc.

The list you just thew up is exactly what we've done so far. The only one I didn't think of was this.

I was litterally just talking about how much I'd love a PR team at work and this could be an excellent solution.

We have also sent media packs to local and national radio stations.

infradead
Offline
Tacoma WA

email lists can be gold. 

at the end of the show announce you have a email list and give away some swag if possible.  shirts drink tickets whatever. 
tell em you're going to offer a discount if they print out the flyer and bring it to the show.   odds are they'll forward it to their friends.  try and get a drink special for the night from the venue.  make sure its on the email.

mushpot
Offline
Brooklyn, NY
celsius wrote:
akira^8GB wrote:

- Get a bunch of PR people working for it. There's people that will always go to your shows. Spot them, pay attention to them, and offer them to get in for free and get a couple of free beers next time if they agree to bring some people over. Extend this network of PRs to your heart's contents. Best parties are those where people bring their friends to party, and in place their bring their friends, etc.

The list you just thew up is exactly what we've done so far. The only one I didn't think of was this.

I was litterally just talking about how much I'd love a PR team at work and this could be an excellent solution.

We have also sent media packs to local and national radio stations.

Wow, I feel a little weird reading that about PR people. I will not bring friends to a show if I didn't think they'd like it. I'll take a beer, but don't expect me to bring my posse. You are on the right track though with public relations, it's hard to explain the "PR magic" sometimes. It takes a keen eye and excellent communication skills to get your event to stand out. You've got to be organized and thorough.

Is everything spelled correctly?
If you read the promo copy out loud, does the syntax sound awkward?
Can you describe what you're doing in one sentence or 30 seconds?

Keep track, thank people that came out and ask them for feedback.

celsius
Offline
Melbourne, Australia
mushpot wrote:

Wow, I feel a little weird reading that about PR people. I will not bring friends to a show if I didn't think they'd like it. I'll take a beer, but don't expect me to bring my posse.

Who said anything about expecting you to do anything? It seems that PR has quite a negative connotation for you. A sucessful PR manager should tap into nieche groups that may well already have a common or similar interest as those promoted by your organisation. It's not about conning people to come to a show that you'll know they'll hate. How is that sustainable?

I for one will bring my crew along to something I enjoy. Generally I associate with people who share common interests as myself. But I'm not about to ask my little sister to accompany me to a breakcore/glitch party...

dosPrompt
Offline
Melbourne, Australia

We're doing a big push on publicity this year, we've applied for a grant to help put some extra funding in our promotion too.

Oh actually I have another useful one. Don't discount the importance of local artists who tend to bring their mates (and existing fans) keep that in mind when working out your bill.

I too love the idea of "promoters" who are bringing mates. I would like to think that our gigs have a nice atmosphere even if you're not there for the music, there's video games to play and a fun crowd, so we're easy to drag people to.

These ideas are great (and hopefully help people other than us) keep em coming guys smile

mushpot
Offline
Brooklyn, NY
celsius wrote:
mushpot wrote:

Wow, I feel a little weird reading that about PR people. I will not bring friends to a show if I didn't think they'd like it. I'll take a beer, but don't expect me to bring my posse.

Who said anything about expecting you to do anything? It seems that PR has quite a negative connotation for you. A sucessful PR manager should tap into nieche groups that may well already have a common or similar interest as those promoted by your organisation. It's not about conning people to come to a show that you'll know they'll hate. How is that sustainable?

I for one will bring my crew along to something I enjoy. Generally I associate with people who share common interests as myself. But I'm not about to ask my little sister to accompany me to a breakcore/glitch party...

PR totes sucks.
(I did the Blip PR).

dosPrompt
Offline
Melbourne, Australia

I think it depends on your definition of PR and what that means. Does it mean someone who helps do your advertising or someone who is (say) part of a group with similar values (maybe someone who runs LANs and has a lot of contact with gamers) mentioning your event to their group.
Forcing it is one thing, but happening to be able to take advantage of access to other like-minded individuals is another

mushpot
Offline
Brooklyn, NY

Yup.

celsius
Offline
Melbourne, Australia
mushpot wrote:

Yup.

Your opinion is both insightful and valued in this discussion.

mushpot
Offline
Brooklyn, NY

No one is wrong here, seems like everyone's being helpful. I'm get uncomfortable sometimes because I've met New York promoters who operate by quid pro quo instead of harnessing the pure enthusiasm people have.

Just trying to prevent relying on favors, that's all.

Last edited by mushpot (Jan 13, 2010 2:23 am)

celsius
Offline
Melbourne, Australia

When I was in New York I went to a restaurant and whilst flipping through The Onion noticed a section on Blip Fest! I kept the article and handed it to Mike on the 2nd night. He had excellent things to say about you. Obviously your efforts didn't go unrecognised. big_smile

*high five!*

mushpot
Offline
Brooklyn, NY

big_smile I was pretty proud of this one.