Learning from Wango Tango

Let's Take Advantage Of the Big Brains!

Last Saturday I took Lily and two of her little friends to see the KIIS FM concert Wango Tango. The line up was… get this: Jamie Fox, The Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Lady GaGa, Flo Rida, All American Rejects, Soulja Boy, and many more.

You may or may not have heard of all these folks, but believe me, they are all huge names in the current hip hop and pop rock world. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were put into this concert.

From an entertainer’s marketing eye, I took a look at what the promoters did before, during and after the show, and have broken it down for you. Ways you can use these same techniques in promoting your own stuff and making more money.

Here we go:

1.) Tickets ran from about $85.00 to about $800.00. The 15,000 seat venue was sold out. If you don’t think that there’s money available in this tough economy, take a look at that. If it’s something people want, they’ll pay.

2.) Even at that price, I don’t think ticket sales were enough to pay all 12 big name bands. They had sponsors, and a lot of them. Have you thought about going after some sponsors for your show?

3.) Outside the stadium, before the concert, they had all kinds of food and merchandise booths set up. Thousands were made before you even walked into the concert. What can you sell before your event even starts?

4.) Unadvertised bonus! They had a small stage set up outside the stadium that had smaller acts playing as you waited. One of them was Mitchell Musso (the sidekick on the Hannah Montana show). This was the highlight of Lily’s day. This was something above and beyond what was advertised. What extra service are giving that you don’t even mention in your sales pitch? One that will thrill your customer.

5.) Every single band mentioned that they were about to release a new album or that you could download the song you just heard on ITunes. Are you promoting your products or services during your show? If now, why not?

6.) Throughout the show, an airplane flew over the stadium a bunch of times promoting different bands’ new albums with lights on the wings and body of the plane. Ok. This one is insanely over the top. But it adds to the whole event.

7.) On each side of the stage, there were 50 foot signs with the pictures of all the acts appearing. Do you have a sign with your name and website visible when you’re performing? It doesn’t have to be 50 feet tall. It just needs to be visible.

8.) A local car dealership had a raffle for a free Prius. Maybe you can’t give away a car, but what are you giving for free?

Too many more lessons to list all here. But if you ever get a chance to go to a major concert, keep your Rebel Entertainer’s marketing eyes open.

- John
Rebel Entertainer and Wango Tango-er
www.RebelEntertainer.com