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Daniel Ulzen Elite user Berlin/Germany 490 Posts |
Hello,
I already posted this question in the childrens magic area some time ago, but I hope to get here some more advice. It is one of my dreams to play a family magic show every day at the same place. One way to promote the show would be to have persons who hand out flyers for the family magic show every day on the streets of the city. In some countries it would be financially possible to have for example 20 people who give out these flyers every day. Does anybody have experience with such a way to promote the show? If somebody gives out the flyers for eight hours or so on the street – how many persons will he draw into the show? Two families or more or less? Of course lots of other factors matter (the flyer, the entrance fee, …), but any feedback would be appreciated very much anyway. Best wishes Daniel |
SpellbinderEntertainment Inner circle West Coast 3519 Posts |
You’re in Berlin, so I would think things could work very differently. In most US cities, you must also be responsible for picking up the flyers that people will toss on the ground, some areas prohibit flyers for this reason. In San Francisco we mostly use smaller postcards , if we do anything like this.
It is also important where you hand them out. We have a central tickets-booth that sells discount and regular tickets in the downtown tourist area for a small fee, this is a good place to meet and greet people, tell them about the show, and pass on a postcard. I think it is important to speak to the person, see if they have an interest, if they seem to like you, and only then hand them something, you’ll save a lot of paper and money, and your response will be much better than with a “shotgun” approach of just handing them out. You may find other places that would allow you to promote the show, in front of a children’s toy or clothing store, or a busy family restaurant, anywhere that families and their children are likely to be. Maybe in a busy Mall or movie theatre? Again you must ask, be responsible for any trash, and I’d engage each family in a short conversation, maybe even to a ten-second piece of magic, then pass on the information card. When I’ve done this, or have had colleagues/friends who have done this, it seems to account for about 10% of our audiences, and mostly the visiting tourists rather than city residents. You can’t beat using PR with Press and Media Releases (with follow-up of the newspapers, magazines, and TV/Radio stations) always using a “hook” that is news-worthy and directing them to engaging and unique photos they may want to print on a slow news day. Having your postcards in small stacks (maybe a dozen at a time) in restaurants, coffee shops, some targeted retail stores, and hotels is another way of getting the word out, just be sure to dress professionally when you ask them if they’ll help you out. I would only have a small crew to pass out things, they must be well dressed, personably, attractive, and know about you and the show so they can speak about it and answer questions. Hope this helps, good luck with the show! Magically, Walt |
Chris Capstone Regular user Tulsa, OK 107 Posts |
It might help to make the postcards redeemable for a free magic trick at the show. It can be something inexpensive, like a coin slide or ball vase ($3.00 value.) This gives the postcard a little more value than just a piece of paper you hand to someone. Be sure to print the dollar value on it.
You could also have them numbered and do a drawing for a free magic kit ($30.00 value) during the intermission. Kids might get excited about receiving a free trick and possibility of winning a "giant super deluxe magic kit!" If they like you and you give them a little preview performance they may think: "Hey, this guy is pretty good! Let's go to the show later and get the kids their free trick. We might win the big drawing!" The old timers in America did stuff like this all the time. Heck, they even gave lots of prizes away to get people to come! I think Walt is right about where you do this and who is helping you do it. I wouldn't expect much result from hiring mindless cheap labor to indiscriminately hand them out anywhere. As Walt said you will get better results if you make a personal connection with people. You could go to a park with a big playground, do a preview performance, and then sell tickets or hand out postcards for your show. If they like you you are halfway there. The only thing is I'm not sure any of this stuff will work in Germany. I've done this type of thing here and it works really well.
Chris Capstone
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