[Dixielandjazz] ReNew Way of Advertising OKOM

[Stephen G Barbone]

Ginny  wrote: :Gluetje1 at aol.com

> Locally there is overbuilding of retirement continuum complexes.    
> That means
> they are having to work harder at selling.  In today's  Post- 
> Dispatch Metro
> section there are at least of these complexes with large  photo ads  
> announcing
> public-invited music events happening on their  premises, some with  
> wine &
> cheese, etc.  This means the music group not  only has a paid gig,  
> but someone
> else doing their marketing.  Might explore  this possibility in your  
> area.

Right on Ginny. The various retirement complexes are a natural for  
OKOM because their resident average age is 70 or more There are many  
in the Philadelphia area as follows:

1) CCRC's (Continuing Care Retirement Communities) They have up to 700  
apartments in their Independent Living Units and another 100 or so  
that require some sort of Assisted Living. They are tied in to local  
hospitals for medical care. They are a natural for annual concerts in  
their auditoriums or outside in the summertime. Usually one hour  
concerts. They also have open houses as listed in #2 below.

2) Assisted Living Retirement Communities. These are smaller and the  
residents require some form of assistance in their daily lives. These  
are naturals for "Open House" days when they ant the public to come in  
and look the place over. The musical portion for these is 1 to 3 hours.

Very active musical dates for these facilities are Mardi Gras week,  
July 4, Labor day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Other dates are summertime weekdays and evenings. We do a bunch every  
year.

A few years ago I posted about directories for these facilities, even  
in my own area because we could not fulfill the demand for all of  
them. Several other bands in the area besides us play for them now.

Biggest caveat? They bitch about price, but they do have an  
entertainment budget and bands should have no problem getting at least  
$700 for a one our concert. More for longer ones. Be that as it may,  
there are lots of musicians who play for virtually nothing at these  
locations because they "love" to play. Like the Mummers here and others.

BUT" If you market properly and have an exciting band/program, they  
will take the money they saved from the freebie folks and pay it to you.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

www.barbonestreet.com
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband