Promoting your Concert / Recital

1. What does organizing a Recital or Concert entail?
   Auditorium, Sound and Light Arrangements. Parking arrangements at the venue.
   Sponsorship &Publicity (Designing and printing posters, flyers, ads, banners and choosing the right locations to distribute / place the same and creating web sites)
   Ticketing (printing tickets and sale of tickets before the event date, and box office on the day)
   Making a Brochure (Getting the content ready, and handling the technical aspect of making a brochure).Identifying the MC for the concert and Putting up signs to the concert location on the day of the concert .
   
2. Locate site & establish dates
   Select the location carefully, keeping in the mind the need for parking and public transportation. Think of who your target audience will be and find a location in the same neighbourhood. Other points on site selection are set-up times, availability for rehearsal(s), refreshments (if you having an intermission), unloading and loading, changing areas for the performers. Decide on a venue which can accommodate your expected audience. Too big an auditorium might leave empty pockets giving an appearance of poor turnout and also make ushering very difficult. Choose the right size and make sure that there will be sufficient technical help from the auditorium. Also verify, if space is available for food stalls and AID merchandise tables. Identify if parking lots are sufficient for the audience you are expecting. Auditorium should be in a convenient location.

Firstly, time and timing is very important.Treble check the date of the concert so that there’s no confusion there. (It has happened) Then make sure that any publicity is printed and ready to be displayed in plenty of time. This allows for hold-ups at printers, weekends, bank holidays etc. Then make sure that any publicity is printed and ready to be displayed in plenty of time. This allows for hold-ups at printers, weekends, bank holidays etc.You want a good return on ticket sales so don’t leave publicising the event till the last minute. Things like” book now to avoid disappointment” and “when they’re gone they’re gone” are good stock phrases to use.


3. The design of any posters, flyers or leaflets that you create is vitally important. They have to meet the A.I.D.A criteria. Not sure what that is?
   A=attention . I=interest. D=desire. A=action. Basically, the design needs to be good enough/bright enough/unusual enough to attract everyone’s attention. But especially, the attention of your target audience.Some research into what’s grabbing that particular age group’s attention would be a good idea when it comes to promoting a concert. There should definitely be something of interest in the flyer etc too. Not just a blatant advert. Add some interesting fact, an anniversary of something, the fact that this is a return by popular demand or similar.Then you’ve got to make the audience want to come – the concert’s got to be unmissable. Why? Use your imagination because people act on their desire.
   


4. Finally, if all the above works, then your audience will decide to come because all that’s left for them to do is take action!Be sure to get this promotional literature everywhere that the potential audience will see it, including the venue itself.If you or some helpful volunteers are putting flyers out yourselves, it’s best to stick them at around eye level for maximum effect.Get them in local shops, libraries, shop & café noticeboards, colleges, schools( if that’s the relevant age group), Universities, local government halls, council offices, village halls, supermarket & mall boards. Like I say, anywhere and everywhere.

Promoting a concert with Facebook and MySpace
Promoting a concert can be a tricky business, but can be carried out largely online these days. I would recommend you use this as just one tactic though, combined with more traditional ways.Facebook has the advantage of groups being built up by location, so you can search for these and promote to them.MySpace is good particularly if you have a big list of friends already. Bear in mind that they need to live close enough to your event to be able to make it on the night though. Send out regular broadcasts and keep you blog updated with news about the concert.I would suggest making a video to promote your event, maybe a song or performance just for online. You can then post this on YouTube and Helloworld as well as the other video networks.Helloworld has the added advantage that you can broadcast your concert live - so people all aruond the world can view it (they don't need any software or downloads at all their end) and you can even charge pay per view if it is a charity event for example.

That's "As I see it!" This is a big one! So leave a comment if you want general or Flute specific. (Your choice - suggest)