Jazz Night Experiment Brings in New Customers

On 6 October, Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen performed for the community of Faversham, Kent. The Old Brewery Store hosted the legendary jazz man and his band. Britain’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame Ltd, owns The Old Brewery Store and “produce iconic Kentish Ales such as Spitfire and Bishop’s Finger as well as Asahi lager, Sam Adam’s Boston Ale etc.,” explained Derek Smith, Visitor Centre & Old Brewery Store Marketing & Event Co-Coordinator.

50 years as band leader of the Jazzmen, Kenny Ball played his greatest hits, including, “’Midnight in Moscow’, ‘Samantha’, ‘The Green Leaves of Summer’ and ‘Sukiyaki’. These hits and more propelled Kenny and his Jazzmen to the top of the charts and they have remained firm favourites with audiences throughout the world ever since,” according to The Old Brewery Store website.

The Old Brewery Store hosts a wide music programme, which opened last year. “We have been experimenting to see just what mix of music works for prospective clients. This was the first evening of Jazz we have put on,” Smith explained. The venue is normally standing room only, but with hosting a Jazz night, Smith and company had to consider the older crowd that would be attending. “We turned the venue into a seated jazz club – which was certainly different from our point of view,” Smith said.

In order to bring in an audience, Smith used a wide range of methods to advertise the jazz night. The Old Brewery Store took out ads in the local newspapers, posted posters, and handed out handbills of the expected set list of the night. Using direct mail and online advertising were also used to advertise. Smith said that mailing direct to local community members was the most effective way of bringing in new customers. The websites for Shepherd Neame and The Old Brewery Store were used to advertise the event specifically.

Planning any event can be stressful. The Old Brewery Store has been experimenting with different music events, and the Jazz night was just one more chance to bring in more business. Smith said of his experience planning the event, “Difficult to say as this was really a test for us as we are still gauging audience tastes. My advice to anyone organising an event is not to book someone just because you like them–make sure the paying public will to!”

And once the stress of planning is gone, it is finally time to enjoy all the hard work that went in to the event. Smith explained that having a legend playing for them was incredible. “The highlight of the performance was Kenny Ball bringing back great hits like Midnight in Moscow, and Kenny’s son Keith getting a rousing response to his rendition of ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’.”

Keep checking The Old Brewery’s website for many more events to come.

{ 0 comments }

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.”

 

 

 

{ 2 comments }