[Dixielandjazz] Kids & OKOM - Jonathan Russell

Sat Dec 3 13:09:45 PST 2005

To My amigo Bob and any other Jazz Society paying attention on the list:

  If you want to insure that your will draw a younger crowd and sell 
more tickets to your festival, do this:

  Bring Jonathan out to your city early and put his expenses into your 
advertising budget,
  Hook him up with the best known OKOm band or as many as you can get to 
participate in this program:

  Now go take the show to every school in your school district and 
perform at an assembly fort 30-45 minutes with him,
  set up three or more of these a day, print up flyers for the Festival 
with his photo and the bands on them and all the information about the 
festival of course. Insist that each teacher send a copy of that flyer 
home with every kid in his/her Friday folder, and tell the kids under 
12 or 13 that they can attend the festival FREE with a paid parent.

  Rock their socks off at the assembly and every kid in the room will go 
home begging his parents to take them to the festival to see Jonathan 
again. No you don't get a ticket price form them, but you will get 
unbelievable enthusiasm from them and some of the best ticket 
salespeople you could ever ask for. Don't worry about their ticket 
money, they will more than make up for that loss of revenue on food and 
beverages and Cd sales and such. But more importantly they will bring 
their friends and start a buzz going around the school to promote the 
festival.

  Your society could also cover the expenses for the band to go out and 
play the assemblies as well, and create some additional day gigs for 
your local bands. If you paid them the same as you pay them for playing 
the festival you both win and it is all live advertising for the 
festival. Get a local car dealer or major store to underwrite the 
printing of the flyers with a coupon for their business printed on it 
as well as a sponsor. Heck they might even pay for the whole program if 
you ask them.

  GET OUT OF THE BOX folks, that is how you SHAMELESSLY PROMOTE 
yourselves and your activities. Let's see now 200-400 kids per assembly 
X 3 times a day X 5 days a week = about 4,500 + kids a week which could 
convert into 10,000+ festival tickets sold. Plus providing employment 
for say six musicians & Jonathan for a solid week, sure beats spending 
the same amount of money on a radio station or newspaper that none of 
those kids are going to listen to or read. If the school has newspaper, 
get them to do a feature story on Jonathan. TAKE IT TO THEM. THEY WILL 
COME. Don't forget to get the Local Newspapers to do the same. That is 
how you Promote an Artist ANY artist, but the Kid Factor is a sure 
grabber for attention at any Newspaper, they love that kind of 
opportunity, and they will do it for FREE so take it to them long 
before you BUY any advertising in the publication, and if you get it 
you can save a lot of money on your cash advertising outlay on that 
paper :))

  Don't start in the advertising department of any newspaper, go to the 
editorial department, get a press release and story to everyone on the 
staff that might even think about using it in their column, follow up 
with them daily about the success of the school program and your 
organizations Do gooding in the schools, They love to write about these 
Community efforts, (hint ) they need things to write about and put in 
their papers otherwise they have no paper and no reason to exist other 
than selling advertising. :)) WORK IT TO DEATH, Leave No Child Behind, 
or his/her parents with the money. :))

  Just mailing to your current membership is not going to do the trick, 
and besides you already know they are coming, go get the unwashed and 
new folks and convert them to memberships for the future.

 Cheers,

 Tom Wiggins

 -----Original Message-----
 From: Robert S. Ringwald <robert at ringwald.com>
 To: DJML <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
 Sent: Sat, 3 Dec 2005 11:14:05 -0800
 Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Kids & OKOM - Jonathan Russell

 Steve Barbone wrote: 

 > 
 (snip) 
  > Wonder if Mighty Aphrodite & Jonathan Russell on the same festival 
gig > might 
 > draw a young crowd to some of the ailing festivals around the USA? 
 (snip) 

 Both will be at Sacramento, May 26-29, 2006. 

 For info, write to 

 tressa_connor at yahoo.com.hk 

  Ask her for a Jubilee promo paper. Don't forget to include your 
snailmail address. you can also reach her by calling 916/372-5277. 

 --Bob Ringwald 

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