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The Trail of Lights Austin is Back!

Combo Platter is proud to work with BrightBlue Marketing in bringing back Austin’s beloved holiday tradition, the Trail of Lights, back to the community after a 1-year hiatus.

The event was put on hold after 46 years of being produced by the City of Austin due to budget shortfalls. In the Spring of 2011 the City issued a Request for Proposals to outside event producers for the outsourcing of this event. The request said that the “Holiday Event” could be just about anything, anywhere in Austin. Only one proposal was received! And that one proposal happened to come from Combo Platter and BrightBlue Marketing. We know and appreciate how meaningful the Trail of Lights is to Austin, so we put together an 85-page proposal to bring the original event back to Zilker Park. Among the exciting ideas envisioned in the proposal: a snow patch, flash mobs, a 5K run, an added live music stage, one free night for military servicemen and -women, an Austin Trailer Food Court, an I Live Here I Give Here Circle of Charities, an Adopt-A-Display refurbishment program, and of course the Trail of lit displays.

The process to work with the City is a long one and the event was officially okay’d by Austin’s City Council on August 4. So we are, as of this writing, just now able to ramp up production plans for the event, which leaves less than ideal time to implement many of those elements. What WILL happen: the Trail of lit displays, Circle of Charities, Austin Trailer Food Court, flash mobs, and a single entertainment stage which will feature a mix of live local music and community group performances.

An admission charge will depend on the amount of sponsorship revenue that is raised, but as of now we are planning on $5 per person 11 and older, with kids 10 and younger free. One dollar from each ticket sold will go to the City of Austin. (To find out more about sponsorship, email sponsors@trailoflightsaustin.com)

Follow the Trail of Lights Austin on Twitter and Facebook!

Go here to see coverage by Austin’s KVUE.

We hope to see you there in December! (Firm dates will be announced soon.)

UPDATE

Posted Friday August 5, 2011
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Large-Scale Event Management

Read my guest post for BrightBlue Marketing here

Posted Monday July 18, 2011
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Corporate Hospitality at Festivals Should Be Discreet

This article attests to the fine line walked by corporate sponsors at arts and music festivals when they want to create a branded experience without being too “in-your-face”. It’s a fine line indeed, but can be done well if the focus is on experience vs straight-up marketing. Of course, these experiences are intended to get the brand’s message to the consumer, but getting out of hand can happen easily and quickly if the consumer feels bombarded or marketed to. Rather, branding done in a less-is-more manner can end up having a much greater impact.

Posted Wednesday June 22, 2011
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Event Marketing Strategies for Small Business

Check out my interview here

Posted Friday April 15, 2011
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Thoughts on SXSW 2011

Purists will – and have – bemoan the overgrown blowout blast that has become SXSW. The level of corporate commercialism has certainly reached gargantuan levels, and perhaps even a tipping point. The attendance this year was up 40% over last year, greater than anyone anticipated. Could this be why there were some ugly moments?

Purists also hate that SXSW has become a celebrity mecca, overshadowing the plethora of emerging acts that the fest originally started in order to showcase. In attendance this year were such superstar acts as the Foo Fighers, Duran Duran, Kanye West, Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Jack White, actor Jake Gyllenhaal, TV personalities Rachel Ray and Jimmy Kimmel, and many more.

Regardless, I had a blast! The upside to all the sponsors at the fest is the number of free parties, which usually also means free beer and free swag. Not to mention getting to discover new acts! Favorite discoveries this year include Man Man and Noah and the Whale. Favorite piece of swag is the flash drive with the entire catalog of listings by the Texas Music Office. Favorite deal at the Trade Show is an iPhone case that doubles as a charger – a virtual necessity to augment the shameful battery life of iPhones – for half price. Favorite panel : well, unfortunately I missed the few panels I wanted to attend. But that’s the nature of SXSW – there’s always too much to do. Something else purists might bemoan.

Of special note is the explosive success in recent years of the Interactive portion of the fest, which now surpasses Music as the most widely attended, at least in terms of badge sales.

What were your highlights (and/or lowlights)?

Posted Saturday April 2, 2011
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A Glimpse Behind the Scenes of a Music Festival

This article gives a great glimpse of what it takes behind the scenes to make a huge festival like ACL Fest come together from a production standpoint. (Go here for a brief description of festival “production”.)

Fests are huge undertakings, even those that are much less ambitious than ACL and similar fests. They require a great deal more time, money and staff than most folks would ever dream. Many lose money in the first few years, even those produced by experienced industry veterans. For more discussion of these points, go here.

Posted Monday January 17, 2011
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Another Reason to Sponsor Music Fests & Artists

My mission this year is to get brands to see value in sponsoring emerging talent in the creative fields of music and art. This article gives yet further insight into why joining in partnership with music – be it festivals and/or with artists and/or indie labels – is something all brands should consider. For more reasons why, go here, here, and here.

Think your brand is ready to explore the possibilities? Contact Combo Platter now!

Posted Monday January 10, 2011
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Brands at Music Festivals

Good article on how brands are amping up their activation at music fests here

Posted Monday November 22, 2010
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The Most Common Festival Complaints

Mismanagement and disorganization unfortunately happen all-too often, usually a result of inexperience and/or poor planning. (See Tips for First-Time Event Producers .) But even the most well-run fests face these common complaints:

“Taking Over” Public Property
Every event organizer on the planet will roll their eyes, shake their heads, and tell stories of cranky citizens who insist that festivals take over and prevent use of parks, a travesty because parks are public property. This one really gets under my skin because I find it extremely selfish and short-sighted. Sure, fests can present some inconveniences to their neighbors for a short amount of time, sometimes up to a few weeks or a month. But parks are there to enhance the community and festivals do that. Given the upside (see below), the community should rally around fests and encourage more. Besides, most areas have more than one park that the public can access at any given time.

Radius Clauses
C3 Presents, producers of Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival among other things, has been in the news recently because they are being investigated by the Illinois attorney general on anti-trust issues stemming from the radius clause they put in their contracts with Lolla performers.

A radius clause limits where and when an artist can perform in the region and dates leading up to and immediately after their festival performance. The purpose is to protect the festival from competing shows that could pull their audience away which would result in a less successful festival.

Radius clauses are necessary and the norm not just with festivals but with touring acts in general. Some say that C3’s demands are onerous compared to other fests, but the producers maintain that they do not strictly enforce the clause and work with artists on a case-by-case basis if they want to play shows within the radius clause. There is a powerful and vocal group of anti-C3 folks in Chicago whose complaints may have helped prompt the investigation, which is ongoing as of this writing.

Doing No Good For The Community
Put bluntly, this is bull.

Every festival contributes to the local economy by hiring staff, and by bringing in vendors & suppliers. Those folks all get paid. Then there’s the money spent by attendees to partake of the food, drinks, and fun at an event. Very often there is additional money going into the area at large including hotels, restaurants, parking lots, and shopping. All of this creates an economic influx that can only benefit the area.

Public events are a big part of what imparts quality of life to a city and makes it attractive to tourists. Could you imagine no Thanksgiving Day parade in New York? No fireworks display on the Fourth of July?

What other complaints can you think of? Do you have a good solution to any of the above?

Posted Tuesday September 7, 2010
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How to Make a Festival Great

Booking the right talent and having good vendors is crucial, but everyone knows that. Here are some other tips for making your event great.

1. For key staff positions, such as managers of production, vendors, security, and marketing/PR to name a few, hire people who are experienced in those roles. If that means putting things off in order to raise enough money, then do it. Do not rely on volunteers, interns, family or friends to handle critical elements if you want your fest to have a shot at repeating. This is item #1 for a reason.

2. Start planning early. If it’s a first-time event, start planning VERY early. Depending on the size of the event, this could mean anywhere from 4 to 18 months or longer.

3. Pay attention to details. Well-crafted signage, clear and ubiquitous directions, snappy graphics, plenty of trash cans, extra supplies, lots of entrances and exits (or one big one), just to name a few. And make it all look nice and inviting.

4. Anticipate: weather, traffic volume and flow (both vehicle and foot), tardy vendors or artists, lost or malfunctioning equipment, staffing or volunteer shortages, injuries, security & staffing needed, visits from fire marshals and health inspectors (make sure all permits are in order).

5. Take care of your people. Not just the audience, but that also means the artists, vendors, suppliers, sponsors, staff, volunteers, media, road crews, and anyone else that is necessary to run a great fest. Treat them with respect, feed them, pay them competitively and on time, do what it takes to make sure everyone wants to come back next year.

6. Plan to lose money for the first year or two at least. Even the biggest, most famous fests have lost money in the beginning only to become hugely popular and profitable, including Bonarroo and Coachella.

7. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. As with any business, which is what an event is, start with what you can handle and plan to grow from there. Trying to be everything you want from the get-go has led to more failures than successes in every business, especially festivals.

8. This is not a comprehensive list. Think for yourself. Consult with other organizers. Do your research. Plan for the long term. And be sure to check out the blog tags and the rest of this site for more info.

Have other input? Share!

Need an expert for your festival or event? Check out the About page then Contact Combo Platter.

Posted Monday August 30, 2010
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Thoughts on SXSW 2010 Marketing

The biggest takeaway for me was temporary branded venues. Temporary in the sense that they were only for the duration of the festival but many were in actual brick-and-mortar buildings vs. tents. This is an idea that began at least a few years ago and seems to have really taken off. No surprise there, as it offers a great opportunity for brands to create and control an entire experience for consumers over the span of several days.

Many venues featured free day parties with comp food & beer (a sure way to attract a crowd) and of course live music. Zone Bar’s Live Create Lounge featured laptop stations, wall art that attendees could contribute to, an interactive word-magnet wall (a bigger version of what’s likely on your fridge), a cell-phone charging station and of course plenty of free Zone Bars. Added value fun and convenient stuff is a smart idea.

Other examples include Canada House, British Embassy, and Levi’s Fader Fort, the latter of which partnered with local music charity Health Alliance for Austin Musicians who helped spread the word and benefited from sales of Levi’s apparel. This kind of partnership between national brands and local music-related entities is something I am a big advocate of and would love to help other brands get involved in.

Canada did a nice job of cross-promotion between their venue, a hosted day party open to badge-holders and invited guests (in a different, outdoor location), and a booth at the trade show. Well done. And most importantly they offered great music from bands like Plants and Animals, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Born Ruffians, and Radio Radio. For Canada’s wrap up and a free download of their Canadian Blast SXSW 2010 Sampler, go here.

Should you sponsor SXSW? Yes, IF you have the budget and plan to do something big, cool, exciting. The standard rules of sponsorship have changed, and what’s needed by sponsors are plenty of creative ways to get noticed so that you can engage the audience. With the cacophony of companies vying for attention during this massive fest, only a “go big or go home” approach will work.

Posted Tuesday March 30, 2010
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Lolla Lineup Leaks

Leaks and rumors are running rampant on the web of confirmed and almost-confirmed artists playing Lollapalooza 2010. The producers (Austin’s C3 Presents) remain mum, but apparently they are the only ones.

Posted Wednesday February 17, 2010
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SXSW Parties & Events

Here is the Facebook page for “Unofficial SXSW 2010 Events & Parties”, although I’m pretty sure I’ve also seen some official events listed.

(If you organize your event thru the SXSW folks, which you must if you want SXSW to help you promote the party to registrants [i.e., invites inserted into the Big Bags], then that makes your party “official”. However, trust me when I tell you there are TONS of unofficial parties too.)

Where else are you getting your SXSW party info?

UPDATE 2/17/10: Other sites listing parties & events, here and here.

Posted Wednesday February 10, 2010
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Festival Season is Fast Approaching...

If you need expertise for the event(s) you are – or want to be – producing or sponsoring, contact Combo Platter. Go here for an overview of experience.

Posted Thursday January 21, 2010
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What the '10 SXSW Music Panels Reveal to Marketers

Naturally Combo Platter loves event marketing and, by extension, marketing with music. After all, who doesn’t love music? When brands can partner with artists in smart and creative ways to reach and expand a consumer- and fan-base, it can result in a big win-win for all.

Folks in the advertising and marketing worlds seem to think so too – go here for yet another article crowing about some successes – but that doesn’t seem to be translating to the topics that will be on deck for the South by Southwest Music panel discussions, announced a few days ago. Lots of very interesting and relevant stuff to be sure, and it’s nice to see that they involved their audience in deciding what these topics would be. And clearly that makes a difference, as evidenced by the wide variety and yet some common themes, including lots on the digital and social realms. (Yes, of course those are marketing tools too, but I’m specifically referring here to companies partnering with artists.)

Frenzied and ubiquitous marketing at SXSW has become the norm, so there will be plenty of opportunities for resourceful artists at every level of success and who are open to such a partnership to rub elbows with potential sponsors and endorsers, and vice versa. But because this event is so huge it follows that the companies who tend to be marketing there are themselves huge – companies like Miller Brewing, Microsoft, Verizon and Levi’s come to mind from years past.

So where does that leave the “little guy”?

All too often these conglomerates overlook emerging artists in favor of the superstars, and there seem to be as many star acts at SXSW any more as there are not-so-famous. Certainly it makes sense to partner with big stars for their vast reach and appeal, but just imagine the “angel effect” it can have on a Big Corporation that offers financial and marketing support to a non-superstar act, the vast majority of whom desperately need it. A little can go a very long way towards creating a lifelong relationship. (The concept of a corporate-sponsored Battle of the Bands doesn’t count because it’s the most over-worked cliché. Ever. Boo.)

Still, lots of artists shudder to think of such a thing which is why it’s important for all involved to not only be smart and creative, but also to understand what they’re getting and giving when they enter into such an arrangement.

Smaller companies on tight budgets need not feel left out of the marketing opportunities presented by events like SXSW. In fact, those artists who would never dream of getting into bed with a conglomerate might on the other hand be very open to talking to a local mom & pop outfit about some support and cross-promotion on a smaller scale. The possibilities are virtually unlimited.

Posted Tuesday December 8, 2009
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Another Music Festival is Born

Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, will host its inaugural HullabaLOU Music Festival next summer in an effort to create new revenue for the venue, no doubt trying to duplicate the success in recent years of other nationally known destination festivals such as Austin City Limits Music Festival, Coachella, Stagecoach, and Bonnaroo.

Is the U.S. saturated with festivals yet? Is a startup festival a wise move in this economy? Time will tell, but here’s hoping there’s room for all the current fests, the new ones on the horizon, and those that are still just a gleam in many dreamy eyes.

Posted Tuesday December 1, 2009
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SXSW '10 Initial Showcase Lineup Announced

Music business networking and showcasing festival grandaddy South by Southwest has announced the first round of acts confirmed to showcase during the music portion of their 2010 event. (They also have a film festival and an interactive fest.) As always, it’s a heady roster that will only swell until the last minute when the event takes place in March of 2010.

Combo Platter has attended SXSW for many years and no doubt will be there again next year. How about you?

Posted Tuesday December 1, 2009
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Are You Easy or Playing Hard to Get?

Today I got the the final-last-ever-please-act-now-or-never renewal notice for my subscription to Fast Company magazine. Despite the many prior notices I hadn’t renewed yet, for no good reason other than it was low on my radar and list of priorities (even though I really like it). But today the renewal caught my eye because Fast Company makes it so easy to do – it’s a pre-printed, postage-paid, perforated card that I just tore off the outer cover. All I have to do is pop it in the mail. Don’t have to fill anything out, dig out my credit card, nothing. Couldn’t be easier – the necessary tool was provided and they’d even done the work of providing all the pertinent info. Easy-breezy.

And that got me to thinkin’.

Making things as easy as possible is simple, good business. It astounds me sometimes how certain companies make you jump through hoops to do business with them.

This applies as much to events and festivals as anything else. Certainly most events try hard to make things great for the audience, as well they should. But how easy is it for everyone else to get involved and stay engaged? Event staff, participants like vendors and artists, sponsors, volunteers, suppliers – a critical key to a successful event is to make it a no-brainer for them to come to the table with their A-game. Again, I have at times been astonished at some organizations that take so much for granted and act like they’re doing you a favor by allowing you to be part of the action. That leads to high turnover. Bad business.

Don’t play hard to get. Be easy.

Posted Tuesday May 20, 2008
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Street Teams

Record labels and independent musicians have been utilizing street teams to deploy on-the-street guerrilla marketing tactics for a long time. But mobilizing these fans can be a complicated exercise in logistics and time management.

Now there is an online software platform available for managing street teams no matter where they are. A great idea whose time has come and something events also should look into. It’s comprehensive, user-friendly, with built-in quality control and incentives for the best street teamers.

Check out Fancorps.com.

Posted Tuesday April 22, 2008
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Head's Up for Event Producers

Now more than ever it’s imperative for event and festival producers to be on top of their game in creating unique, interactive ways for sponsors to get involved. More money is being spent in this marketing category, but it’s being allocated to fewer events overall. Meaning, sponsors are eschewing the shotgun approach and instead looking for ways they can really dig into an event and be an active participant. The days of throwing up some signage and calling it a day are behind us for the most savvy marketers, and savvy event producers know this. This means it’s harder to compete for sponsorship dollars, an already highly competitive arena. So if you’re not in the game, then get in now or you’re out.

I could outline an exhaustive list of things you should already be doing to attract sponsors, starting with mobile media and online social networks. But instead I would suggest you research events that are similar to yours but perhaps bigger and see how they pull it off. Some music events that do an excellent job are Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival (same producers); Coachella and Stagecoach (ditto); and South by Southwest. Even if your event is not music-related, you can still use these examples to get great ideas.

Posted Sunday March 30, 2008
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Behind the Scenes

The current strike by TV & movie writers is an excellent example of the critical yet often overlooked talent and hard work that is required to produce…. well, just about anything that people want. Witness the recent cancellation of the Golden Globes, the highly touted kick-off for the all important awards season.

Just as in Hollywood, events and festivals require a huge amount of heavy lifting – literally and figuratively – to be pulled off. I often half-jokingly refer to my love of festival producing as a type of brain damage, and folks with the same affliction always nod knowingly.

Posted Thursday January 24, 2008
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What a Sponsor Wants

I often hear or read questions that go something like this: “How can I find a sponsor that values my (cause, industry, etc.)?”

Like individuals, sponsors want to know what’s in it for them. If they “like” your cause, it’s because your cause lines up with what the sponsor’s customers like, and sponsoring your cause will help them to reach those customers. So to find a sponsor, you have to create value that will give them great ROI – “Return on Investment”. Sponsorship is strictly a marketing decision, and they want marketing benefits in exchange for their money.

Go here for more information to give you some ideas about what to offer a potential sponsor.

I strongly advise you, if you are seeking a sponsor, to hire a professional such as Combo Platter that understands your industry, the sponsor procuring process, and how to speak the language of marketing decision-makers.

Posted Wednesday January 2, 2008
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Tips for First-Time Festival/Event Producers

This advice also comes from personal experience of having known lots of very nice, cool people who were producing various types of events and who made critical errors that can kill an event’s success and hopes for the future. And that would be bad. Your event should be a success!

Start early.

It will take MUCH longer than you think to round up all the necessary elements, especially financing/sponsorship, and that goes double for events that are new and therefore have no track record of proven success and viability. Sponsors, and other partners as well (staff, security, venues, ticket agencies, performers, exhibitors, permitting agencies, etc.) will likely require some vetting of your event, and that takes time. Those folks have their own internal systems for budgeting, decision making, and timelines. Not to mention lives of their own. So if you expect to pick up the phone and hear Joe Major Sponsor tell you he’s putting a 4- or 5-figure check in the mail tomorrow – you’re dreaming. And he’s probably thinking you’re an amateur and a schmuck for even asking. And he would be right.

It will cost probably five to ten times what you think it will. So again, start early.

For a one or two-night club “festival”, give yourself at least 3 months. The bigger the shebang, the more money needed (probably, unless you have rich friends or a family member who owns, say, Target). And time is money, money time. So give yourself plenty of time to raise plenty of money to pay for the costs you know of plus all kinds of things that you haven’t thought of yet.

One thing your event should not live without is in-kind donations. These can range from pizza for the crew to gifts for participants or decor for the venue, all kinds of stuff. A great in-kind donation is credit or gift certificates for a hardware store. A strange event phenomenon is the constant lack of adequate amounts of duct tape, zipties, or tools. This is the event equivalent of losing one sock while doing the laundry.

Do everyone, most especially yourself, a major favor and get someone with experience to work with you, or at least advise you. You wouldn’t want a weekend tinkerer to rebuild the engine of your classic car would you? So get someone with some real experience, which will probably require at least some money, which will take time to raise.

This goes for all event interns, volunteers, and day-of staff who think they’ve gotten it down. That may be the case, but probably not. Being familiar with onsite execution is only one part of pulling off a great event or festival. Many events have full-time staff that work year-round.

Be advised that most festivals lose money the first 2-3 years or more, so be prepared for that. This holds true even for internationally known events like Coachella and Bonnaroo, which of course are in the black now but they didn’t start out that way.

A white paper that covers this topic much more in-depth is forthcoming. If you have anything you want to see addressed in that, lemme know.

Posted Tuesday December 18, 2007
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Emotions Mean Business

People make decisions based on emotion rather than facts or logic. That is not meant to criticize, after all I’m a people too; rather it’s a familiar observation borne out time and again. I have read actual poll summaries that say folks preferred one person’s position on the issues, but liked another person more and so that’s who they’d be voting for.

(But I’m not going THERE.)

Where I am going is that this is Reason Number One to use music and events as marketing tools. People, when they’re listening to a cd, or at a concert, or attending a festival, are having FUN. They LIKE being there. They CHOSE to be there doing that instead of somewhere else doing something else, and they most likely spent their hard-earned money to do it. And the best part is, at least at a concert or festival, there’s a bunch of other people who are there for the same reason.

Don’t you think you should be a part of that?

Posted Tuesday November 13, 2007
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