New Organization Hosts Black Tie Event to Aid Veterans

A new organization, EChO Charity Events, held their first event to aid two charities. The ECho goal is “to bring publicity to smaller charities by coupling them with better known national/international charities, whilst raising money for a worthy cause. On top of this, we tend to hold fundraisers in aid of people who have been touched personally by a charity, for whatever reason might be personal to them. We help them give something back,” EChO organizer Naomi Spicer said.

The event was a Black Tie Evening held to raise money for the Combat Stress and Help For Heroes charities. Both charities help combat veterans and the members and families of military personnel. Spicer said they far exceeded their goal for the night, branding it a huge success for the budding organization EChO and the charities.

Creating the Personal Touch

In order to bring attention to the event and the cause, Spicer said that employees at EChO worked hard to create a personal touch. They spoke “to people directly, giving people our personal message, connecting with people,” said Spicer. They also advertised in small cafes, shops, and naval places as well as offered group discounts to people who bought more than a set amount of tickets.

Spicer ordered the Classic Black Pinstripe Event Ticket on White from UK Ticket Printing, saying that “UK Ticket Printing was so incredibly easy to use, with fast delivery and brilliant communications. We were really happy with the range of options and how the tickets ended up. They looked professional and served the purpose they were made for – and for a brilliant price.”

Enjoying Success

The highlight of the event for Spicer and her team came when the first band came on. “Everyone relaxed into the event, and into their dinner! And then seeing everyone dancing like mad to the band at the end,” Spicer said, adding that they were “Sitting there, looking around, and thinking, ‘we did it’.”

For a first event, Spicer was happy with the turn out and advises that anyone planning such an event to be realistic. She added, “You don’t necessarily have to go big to be successful.”

Fundraiser for Breast Cancer Care a Success

The Blackheath Rugby Club, the oldest open rugby club in the world, reached out to their female fans for their last match of the season. The club hosted a Ladies Day to appeal the women fans during their final match. Simon Legg, a member of the club, said that they set up “a marquee alongside the pitch, serving food and drink to Ladies between 2pm and 6pm.” The ladies seemed to enjoy this set up even more given that there were topless waiters serving the drinks.

The club managed to sell 570 of the Pink Ribbon General Admission Ticket 002 that Legg ordered through UK Ticket Printing. This raised over £2,000 for Breast Cancer Care, plus the extra ticket sales for the rugby club. Legg appreciated that UK Ticket Printing had speedy delivery so they could sell tickets as soon as possible. He said, “Being able to sell tickets in advance ensured the success of the event. On the day [of the event] the weather was torrential rain, wind and fairly cold. If we hadn’t sold tickets before, a lot of people would not have come to the event and stayed at home instead.”

Ticket Sales Made Simple

In order to sell the tickets, the players “took at least a book of 10 to sell to friends and family, we also set up a website where ladies could buy tickets directly” Legg said. The club also “created posters depicting topless rugby players and displayed around the local area, we also set up a Twitter and Facebook pages as well as posing on the Club website.”

Legg said that the feedback was very positive from those who attended the event. Everyone had a great time despite the bad weather. Drinks, shirtless men and “music all afternoon into the night” really drew the women to the pitch and helped to raise money for a fantastic cause. Hopefully next year’s event will be just as successful.

Everyone's happy....that's the door money I am clutching.

The Crawdaddy Club: Making History, Again

On March 2^nd, 2012, the historic Crawdaddy Club Richmond reopened its doors. Many great names in music began their career at the venue. Among these were The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, and The Who. Mike Rivers recently shared his experience of promoting and organizing the relaunch of the iconic club.

Great Promotions Don’t Have to Be Expensive

“I would recommend that others follow my example by using every possible avenue for free PR,” Mike told me. “Do everything yourself, but use others’ expertise in areas that may be difficult for you.”

Crawdaddy Club 50th Anniversary

Mike suggested bringing in the council when appropriate. Tickets were made available through the council website.

For Mike, a strong marketing effort meant broadcasting news of his event through a number of mediums, “In terms of marketing, I did a huge amount of PR with local press and radio, worked closely with the local council, who put the event on their website and promoted it by internal and external newsletter as well as distributing 800 flyers of the 1000 I had printed.”

Mike shared his message on the Internet via Facebook and MySpace where he could reach wide online audience. He shared information about the club, as well as before and after photos of the event. “I also used my contacts to get a mention on national radio. I invited the mayor and a high profile councilor to open the event and some well known music names to raise our profile…. The event was covered by the best read local paper pre and post event. The local radio station recorded an interview with me and the band.”

Mike’s takeaway message? “Treat the marketing effort as the MOST important part of your event without losing sight of the organisation of the event itself.”

Selling Tickets

“Tickets were sold online via the council website and wegottickets.com as well as by email and personal contact with friends. I also encouraged the band to promote sales via their website and fan base. Although the majority of tickets were sold online, I used the tickets for personal and ‘on the door’ sales.” Mike made sure that tickets were available to attendees through a number of different methods. This made it easy and convenient for individuals with different buying habits.

All attendees received physical tickets, Mike explained, “I also exchanged computer printed ticket confirmations for paper tickets on entry and put the first hundred stubs into a draw for a free CD and a band signed event poster.” Everyone who purchased tickets, online or in person, was eligible for a prize.

A Good Night and a Great Start

“The best part was the buzz that was created with a number of people who used to attend the club back in the sixties coming along and having a great time. We were also very pleased to have Bill Wyman, an original Rolling Stone, as well as Elmer Gantry from Curved Air/Velvet Opera come along, with Elmer joining the band on one number.”

Get the council involved if appropriate as well as local media. Have good quality flyers and treat the marketing effort as the MOST important part of your event without losing sight of the organisation of the event itself. Treat your customers as individuals and listen to feedback.

The Mayor of Richmond with Cllr.Pamela Fleming to her right.

Fancy Dress Mayhem: A Skatastic Skalloween

Halloween provides the perfect opportunity for a concert or music festival.  On 28 October, 2011, Bombskare seized that opportunity and hosted Skalloween 5, a night of “fancy dress mayhem” and music at the Liquid Room in Edinburgh.  The Imagineers were on hand to share the stage, and the band’s home crowd cheered them on.

A nine piece band, Bombskare is Scotland’s Ska Juggernaut. They are not to be missed, and their savvy promotional strategies ensure they won’t be.

A Cutting Edge Social Media Campaign

Bombskare knows its audience: internet savvy and plugged into social media. “We use social media website and flyers and posters. We used QR codes too.  Social media works best,” Susan Forgie of the band told me in a recent interview.

Most event promoters are familiar with the power of social networking by now. Sites like Twitter and Facebook allow labels and bands to quickly share information with interested groups of followers. Information about events can be posted around the web, where it will be indexed by search engines like Google and Bing. Even without a custom designed website, fledgling bands and music groups can build a following and get the word out through sites like Bandcamp and MySpace.

Bombskare has leveraged social networking by keeping its website up to date and connecting it to its Twitter page, Tumblr Account, Facebook Page, and MySpace. Bombskare uses a number of sites to reach its audience.

The Power of Codes

In addition, the group uses QR codes. QR or “Quick Response” codes are barcodes that organizations can use to give individuals quick access to site URLs. What looks like a box with a randomly generated design is actually a barcode that can be printed onto flyers, posters, and tickets. Individuals can use their smart phones to quickly scan the codes and visit sites.

Bombskare uses these to drive potential attendees to information about the band and ticketing.

Advanced Sales

“We offered special advance prices in our online shop for two weeks before the general release. We offered them in our online shop, a local record shop, and Tickets Scotland,” Susan told me.

Presales of tickets can be a great way to promote an event. Attendees are more likely to buy discounted tickets and share the deal by word of mouth. Advance sales also give event planners a better idea of whom and how many are attending an event

Pleasantly Spooky Surprises

For Susan and Bombskare, the highlight of the night was a ska rendition of the Ghostbusters theme song and the fancy dress costumes.

There was a minor glitch when the band ordered the wrong size flyers, so their advice to others planning similar events is to do so well in advance of the actual date. “Make sure your tickets are available two months before the gig,” Susan advised. The band also encourages offering special deals and merchandise to bundle with tickets and further encourage sales.

I did not win the fancy dress competition… I was a killer tomato, why did I not win?

~Christiaan Munro

On 29 October, the costumes came out and the village of Farley Hill descended on Victory Hall for a Halloween Disco of spectacular proportions. Though the disguises may have been scary, the sense of community was anything but! “The effort that a very small village can put into getting dressed up when quite frankly there are better things to watch on the telly is heartwarming and makes organizing such an event worth the effort,” said Christiaan Munro of the Farley Hill Village Society.

A Village without a Pub

When the local pub, the Fox and Hounds, closed a few years back, the people of Farley Hill lost an essential social outlet: a place where people could gather and foster a sense of community. Despite the efforts of a few local villagers to reopen the establishment, the pub was turned into a residential home. The village was left without a place to socialize.

Bringing a Village Together

The Farley Hill Village Society was founded in 2009 “to develop stronger sense of community in Farley Hill, Berkshire and raise funds to repair and maintain Victory Hall.” Victory Hall is a registered charity, which brings in money in a variety of ways from fundraising to collecting membership fees. Members pay a small annual fee and receive benefits such as discounted entry to events held at the hall throughout the year.

In August of this year Victory Hall received a grant of £10,000 from the National Lottery. The money was used to pay for repairs to the roof, windows and improved heating. Without the generous grant, the group would have had to have raised the funds itself, which would have taken much longer.

Celebrate Good Times

The Halloween Spooktacular held at Victory Hall was a fun way to get the community together to dance in Halloween costumes.  However, the hall did benefit from the event. Christian explained, “Fundraising was not the primary goal of the event but we did raise well-needed money towards the upkeep of the hall.”

Engaging the Community

How do you get a group of individuals to take time and effort from their everyday lives to sell tickets for a community centered Halloween disco? Old fashioned guilt! “Each member of the society was ‘given’ tickets to sell, so guilt plays a big part of the tactic,” Christiaan said. “Co-opt as many people as you can into helping.” When community members are engaged with an organization, they will rise to the cause when needed.

In order to advertise the event, the Farley Hill Village Society used a mixture of new and old technology. “Email/web site/mail drop and word of mouth. We find the mail drop works best as emails tend to get lost in folks busy lives. A chunk of paper to stick on the fridge seems to still work even in this technological age!”

Save Time for your Costume

To keep it professional and save time, the group chose to design and print tickets from UK Ticket Printing. “The fast service alongside the fact that you can design and order online without printing out and faxing a form means less time wasted when there are better things to be getting on with,” Christiaan told me.

Empower and Have Fun

When it seemed like the village of Farley Hill would be without a place to gather, its citizens found a way. They brought new life to Victory Hall, became organized fundraisers, and created a place where all the members of the community come together, socialize, and dance to disco beats  in costume!

Community Fundraisers to Preserve Local History Succeed!

Your posters, flyers and tickets were excellent and a real asset to our organisation.

~ Marilyn Baker, Volunteer, Coordinator Annual Jacobite Festival.

When a storied castle in Scotland was about to fall out of the hands of the Farquharson clan that had occupied it for two hundred years, a community came together to save it. Built in 1628, Braemar Castle has seen its share of history.  Now in the caring hands of Braemer Community Ltd, the Castle has the potential to see a lot more.

“I am one of the many volunteers from the village of Braemar who help to promote Braemar Castle and raise funds for its restoration and refurbishment.” Marilyn Baker, a volunteer with Braemer Community Ltd, told me. “The castle is part of Invercauld Estate, but the local community took it over on a 50 year lease in 2007 to stop it being sold off.  The difficult part is raising the funds necessary to carry out essential repairs. ”

The original fundraiser for the Castle was the Jacobite Festival, a costumed fete held in 2010 to commemorate the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. “It was such a great success, attracting more than 700 people and raising over £3000 for the castle that the team decided to make it an annual event.”

For this event, Marilyn chose the Castle Event design, a perfect fit for its purpose. The design prominently features the image of a castle surrounded by a crown. Below a shield and sword provide a background for the event’s information.

The Jacobite Event was such a success that Marilyn and the other volunteers held a Village Hall Variety Show Fundraiser and plan a Halloween Extravaganza for this month.

According to Marilyn, Braemer Community Ltd used four distinct strategies to advertise the Jacobite Festival:

“We advertised our Jacobite event in 4 ways.

1. Three weeks before the event we sent your posters to the tourist offices in all the neighbouring towns, within a 60 mile radius, and we handed your flyers to children in the local schools. We also placed posters all over our village on the week of the event.
2. We sent photographs and articles to local newspapers.
3. We sent press releases to websites which advertised ‘What’s On’ in our area.
4. We asked the local radio station to make some announcements during the week of the event.

“Tickets were all sold at the gate on the day, with the usual concessions and family tickets available.”

Marilyn and her team didn’t rely on just one method of advertising the event. They chose a several pronged approach, soliciting the help of groups that would give them greater exposure to folks they may not have reached on their own, contacting the local media and actively advertising online and making sure the event was on the radar within the village and beyond.

“It’s difficult to say which of these strategies brought in the most people but certainly the quality of your posters was frequently mentioned. We also used your tickets in the hope that people would keep them as a souvenir (they are excellent bookmarks by the way) and remember the occasion…and come back year after year.”

In doing so, Marilyn and her team engaged attendees in a kind of memory management by providing them with collateral that also doubled as souvenirs. Attendees can hold onto the tickets long after the event is over and remember what a great time they had. Even after the event the posters and tickets can serve as a valuable reminder of the next year’s event.

“The best part was seeing everybody really entering into the spirit of the occasion, having fun, and participating in all the activities. Many came dressed in 18^th century clothes. About 50 villagers (about 12% of the total population) took part in the Historical Pageant at the end of the Festival, to great applause from the spectators.”

One part of the event that could not be planned was the weather. It did rain the first year of the event, and winds caused some havoc the second year, but attendees remained loyal and celebrated the day.

For those planning similar events, Marilyn shared this advice, “Prepare well in advance, keep lists of contacts, and use TicketPrinting.com for promoting your event.”

Local Promotions and Some Good Laughs

…the flyers we use are all professionally designed and we use TicketPrinting.com to provide professional looking tickets for our customers. This is the one tangible element that a customer has in their hand and goes away with so a vitally important element of a successful event.

Service, quality and value is exceptional…

~ Julian R. Maughan, Vice Chairman, Swanage & Purbeck Hospitality Association

September 22-23, the Swanage Comedy Festival was held. It was hosted by the Swanage & Purbeck Hospitality Association an organization, which, according to Facebook, is “working together to welcome visitors, raise standards and promote Swanage & Purbeck as a quality destination.”

“We are a group of over 150 Business Owners…who have come together to form an active and creative business association committed to providing an environment where local businesses not only survive but thrive!” Julian explained to me.

“We are doing this by means of a creative PR Campaign aimed at bringing more visitors to our beautiful area of the Dorset Coast on the World Heritage Jurassic Coastline and also by offering high quality entertainment to visitors and locals alike, which will enrich further the visitor experience and allow us to generate even more PR for the area.”

The S.P.H.A. is instrumental in sponsoring many attractive events in the area. The three day comedy festival was sponsored by S.P.H.A and Dorset Piddle Brewery and featured a variety of comedians and venues. The S.P.H.A. also recently brought Polly and the Billets Doux to the area to perform.

“Facebook played a large part and does for all of our events – we have dedicated pages for music and comedy events and we also have dedicated websites where appropriate.” Julian said. All events associated with S.P.H.A. benefit from thoughtful attention to web visibility. Visitors can easily find information on events and acts by visiting the Facebook and YouTube pages. The administrators of the Facebook sites share videos, articles, and important announcements. The pages provide a place for attendees to build a sense of community. Other pages of interest and websites are cross-posted to ensure visitors will be able to find the information they are looking for and discover new information.

Julian shared, “We issue press releases in advance of all events and secure “What’s On” listings in all local and National Press that we can. Post show PR is also vitally important, and we post videos on YouTube and numerous links to this via Facebook and websites. This is to drive up demand for future shows.

“We also have professional flyers printed and circulated locally plus posters and road side banners. Tickets are easily available from multiple outlets, including: on-line, at the venues, Local Tourist Information Centres and pushed hard by individuals.

“We try to ensure that every element associated with the shows we put on has a professional look and feel about it,” Julian said of the tickets and collateral used for  S.P.H.A. Events.  S.P.H.A. also makes excellent use of space on its tickets For the Polly and Billets Doux the S.P.H.A. chose the All Purpose General Admission Ticket, a simple yet professional ticket that features prominently information about the musical event.

On the back of the ticket, which features an individually numbered detachable stub, the ticket featured an advertisement for the Swanage Comedy Festival.

Julian urges others planning similar events to “learn from our experience and utilise every medium available to promote.”

Closer to My Dreams Fashion Event

Having the tickets added the level of professionalism that is essential to aiding the success of the event. Everyone liked the flyers, invitations and tickets from the design to the quality.

~Shelique Davis, JBrown1971

On 20 August, 2011, JBrown1971 hosted a UK launch of their fashion line, JBrown1971. “It is a clothing brand targeted to both male and female aged between 18 and 35, though all other ages are more than welcome. The brand specialises in casual and smart wear. The event was to launch the brand to the public for the first official time by hosting a catwalk show and networking after party,” Shelique Davis explained to me.

The launch, an over 21 affair, which required guests to dress smartly, was held at Grand Connaught. The organisers chose the Dinner Dance Event Design, which was used for flyers, invitations, and tickets. The design is full of light and features the partial image of a well-dressed woman prepared for an evening of class and style. Each piece of collateral featured room for custom text detailing the particulars of the event.

How did JBrown1971 promote its premiere launch? “For promotion I published the event on the brand website, [our] social network sites, and via word of mouth,” Shelique told me. “Although all of the above methods were implemented, the end result was not as successful as desired… though still to a good standard for the first event.”

Even with the well-planned event, things can go awry. For instance, “the show was behind schedule, so it started late…it would have been nice to have more guests on the night, regardless of the actual success,” Shelique said. However, despite these setbacks, the show itself went really well. “The best part of the event was the actual show element. There were some amazing performances, and the models for the catwalk were great. The audience enjoyed it, and as a result many orders were put through.

What additional advise would Shelique share with other organizations planning similar events?  “I would most definitely advise that they plan well ahead and start to promote their event constantly at least two months in advance.”

Diamond Divas: Reuniting for Charity

The tickets looked fantastic and were so cheap! Everybody commented on how professional they made us look and they really did. The design was perfect for the event and had a really sleek finish to them.

The template for the ticket made it simple to count how many tickets we had been handed in on the night which was good for practical reasons.

~Olivia Hine, Diamond Divas

In a reunion for a great cause, Olivia Hine and her fellow Diamond Divas, Julia Mosley, Amy Condrey, Hannah Cheetham, Natalie Jackson, Ryan Gibson, Joshua King, and Luke Brightmore came together to raise money for a great cause.

The talented group, made up primarily of former Leek High students appeared 17 August at the Leek Main Hall, where they performed with special guest Dominic Cooper from local band, Rollin Home.

“This year we decided to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society. However it wasn’t just about raising money but also raising awareness of Alzheimer’s and dementia, which I feel we succeeded in doing,” Olivia told me.  According to its website, the “Alzheimer’s Society is a membership organisation, which works to improve the quality of life of people affected by dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

For the event, The Diamond Divas chose the Broadway Event Ticket, a professionally printed ticket that is perfect for any performance. Featuring the bright lights of Broadway in the background, this sequentially numbered event ticket sets the stage with plenty of room for event information and a detachable stub so organizers can keep track of guests.

How did Olivia and her team get tickets into the hands of their attendees? “Tickets were sold through the use of posters and social networking. I also did an interview on the local radio station, Moorlands Radio. I think we mostly sold tickets through family and friends and Facebook. ”

What advice would Olivia offer other individuals who plan on hosting a similar event?  “I would say to make sure you get raffle prizes, sell tickets and get the best venue possible way in advance of the performance. Get as many people to sell tickets, as people know people who will want tickets and it’s far easier to sell tickets this way. ”

How did the Diamond Diva’s event go?  “After a late start due to late arrivals, we started off the event with a speech from a representative, and it was lovely to see everybody sitting silently listening to all the information given to them. The raffle was a great success after the local companies had been so generous with donations, this helped to sell raffle tickets and helps raise the money that we did, all £617.10 of it.”

Local Bands Bring in Cash for an Important Cause

The tickets allowed us to give the event a more professional look and gave the people buying tickets something to have for their money! We also doubled them up as raffle tickets, as they were all numbered, which was fantastic.

~Dave Perry, Consett81

On 13 August, Dave Perry and his band Consett81 rocked the Goff Oaks Village Hall at Jizz Fest 2011, which Dave describes as a ” local mini music festival for a local charity and got together a few local bands.”

“The name…obviously also got people talking and got everyone in a fun and happy mood for the night. We had some great bands playing which were. MC Chromeo, Dat Dem Horse Guyz, Croatian Frenchmen, Al Palmer and the Forest, Talk Show Hosts, and Consett81.

“My band Consett81 had never played live before and a lot of the songs had been written over 15 years ago when we were at school! The set went really well and with the help of super star guitarist Jack Layzell we managed to get the crowd dancing! We also had the help from singing sensation Tony Cedrone who on the night kept the evening ticking over with his MCing.  He also brought and set up his PA system which allowed the bands to blast out their hits!”

Organizers chose the Black and White Hip Hop Event Ticket. This ticket has a contemporary urban look. It utilizes graffiti as a design element and features white text against a black background on the main portion of the ticket, with black text against a white background on the detachable stub. Each ticket is individually numbered.

“Along with your tickets, we also got made up some wristbands to give the event a bit more of a professional feel. People buying the tickets loved the idea and allowed us to sell them really quickly, which obviously meant that once the venue was paid for we could sell more and raise more cash for charity,” Dave told me.

What strategies did the organizers employ to help sell the tickets? “We never intended to sell all of the tickets that we ordered as there was a limit to the number of people that our venue could hold, so we used Facebook and word of mouth to advertise our event. Using some of the remaining tickets, we were able to sell them as raffle tickets to raise more money for the charity.”

In fact, “the most successful part of the evening was the amount of money that we were able to raise for charity the total being over £1000. Along with the sales of your tickets before the event and on the actual night, we had people selling sweets, face painting, the raffle and Karaoke Auctions which helped to raise the fantastic amount.”

All proceeds from the event went to benefit the Isabel Hospice, a charitable hospice founded in 1982. The organisation relies solely on donations in order to provide free service to “patients living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses in eastern Hertfordshire.”

What advice does Dave have to offer for others planning a similar event?  “Plan everything beforehand no matter how small or trivial it seems at the time on the night it could make a huge difference. Work to a time chart and you will be fine!”