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Mindpro Eternal Order 10587 Posts |
We had another event Friday night in what should have been a great performance by an entertainer we booked for a corporate event. Rave reviews from the audience, rave reviews from the entertainer ("great room, I really killed"), I even spoke with my contact at the venue who said he did excellent from what they observed, yet the client called to express their dissatisfaction for his performance. They said he did very well, but they did not receive what they were expecting (and were paying for) and they wouldn't be using him again in the future.
This is something that for some reason is happening more and more and it seems performers are completely unaware of it. That is actually performing the material that is on your demo video. The client hired them based on A.) our recommendation and B.) on his promotional materials (photos, one-sheet and video). Here is an another example of a performer who worked hard to create very effective promotional materials (his one sheet is amazing), his bio and credits are quite impressive (and most importantly 100% verifiable - testimonials from Ray Romano, Gary Shandling, Conan, clips from numerous appearances on Letterman, etc.) and a video that puts most performers to shame. They loved the video, laughed the entire time and immediately noticed the interplay with the audience in with his ease and non-threatening/inviting interaction. They loved the video. It along with the rest of the promo sold them instantly. However, at the performance he did not do the material that wooo'd them, won them over and created this perception from his video. Yes he was still good, yes the audience loved him, but it was not what they client saw and was therefore expecting. I only bring this up as an example for performers to be aware of this. Performer trying to better understand how clients think, operate and how agents think/operate. Again, in all the talk of "what they client actually whats, needs, thinks," and the ability and importance of understanding "thinking from the clients perspectives," this is another great sample. Even if the material the performer did do was better or more impressive that that on the video, the client expects what they've seen, what has been presented to them. Performers often hear the praise and feedback from the audience and in this case, even attending employees, but in the greater picture that is not what really matters. It is the client, the person(s) or venue that actually booked you and paid you. In this day of performers trying to create artistic, fancy, high-priced and avant garde video productions, that is not what matters to the client and your business, it's delivering on the expectation. In this vein, many performers videos are actually working against them. These videos I get today that are all hype (like an independent release to the magic community) with little or no actual performance footage and audience interactions. The the bottom line is perform what is on your video! You are creating expectations with your video, you must take the responsibility to live up to this expectation you've created. It's such a shame to have put int he hard work and effort (and likely expense) to create great promotional materials, for them to do their expected job, to win over the audience, only to have the client come away frustrated and disappointed. If you change material in your show, update your video. If you have performance material on your video demo, be sure its part of your show. Just like the modeling division of one of my companies, you would be amazed at how often models do not look like their head shots. Great shots by top industry photographers. Our clients see them and book them, then the model shows up looking nothing like their photos. They cut their hair, changed hair colors, etc. Deliver what you are presenting in your promotional materials! All of this is creating your own recipe for disappointment and unfavorable perceptions and results. It's putting us (the agent/agency) in a bad place with one of our hard-earned clients) and is doing you, the performer, absolutely no good either. |
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Sealegs Inner circle The UK, Portsmouth 2596 Posts |
Back in the days before youtube, dvd's and even videos a friend of mine had a great publicity photo that captured and reflected the crazy style of comedy he did in his show. The picture showed him in a tiny bi-plane flying around someone's living room in full 'Biggles' headgear and goggles and a scarf flapping in his wake.
I was with him one night after he'd finished his show when the booker of the venue came backstage to express their disappointment that he hadn't flown round the room in the tiny plane.
Neal Austin
"The golden rule is that there are no golden rules." G.B. Shaw |
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charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
This is a very important topic. Though I do not use demo video, I do incorporate video on my website. There, I include footage that is broad in scope and does not necessarily represent the content of a particular show. I am clear about that in my written correspondence with clients. I know a demo video is different, but I wonder how others feel about show content differing from elements illustrated via video on websites, as there too expectations can be created, intentionally or unintentionally.
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
Well if someone books you based on an expectation you better meet that expectation. Regardless of how they reach that expectation it is your job to meet it. If you show them a video at any point and they see something in it and book you based upon that and don't get that how will that make them feel? Like not booking you again that is how.
It is shocking how many times this very basic idea is blown off by performers.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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Taterini Special user 604 Posts |
This part of Mindpro's post says it all, "If you change material in your show, update your video. If you have performance material on your video demo, be sure its part of your show."
It would be the same thing as if you went to see a concert of a band you were really a fan of and they played nothing from their albums and nothing you'd ever heard before. What's the point of going in the first place if that's the case ? If you have promo material in the public eye (social media, YouTube, etc...) where they can reference it to get a better understanding of what you do and who you are, then that is what they are going to expect to see when you arrive and perform. If you are going to go to the trouble to perform material that you don't include your promotional material/video, then you just as well hand them a blank business card... because you are going to be doing something different than what you showed them so far. |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10587 Posts |
This is one of the great problems for agents, agencies, event planners and such is youtube (one of many with youtube). Entertainer's LOVE to direct people to their youtube videos, channels, etc. However they almost always post videos that are several years old. Performance materials they might have moved on from of grown with and now perform differently. Buyer and bookers see this and guess what happens. YOU MUST CONTROL YOUR MEDIA! You must control your perception. (And as being discussed in another thread, you must control your value!).
I couldn't agree more with your last paragraph as well. Well said! |
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Bill Scott Regular user Las Vegas, NV 119 Posts |
Well said and remarkably true!
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
It is inexpensive enough to keep updated materials online. While I do not think it is bad to have more in the show, if it is on the promo it should be in the show.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
Quote:
On Apr 10, 2016, Dannydoyle wrote: I have seen this done so often, I thought it was common practice, and that a disclaimer that the content of each show varies would suffice. While it may in terms of not breaching an agreement, I can now more plainly see why it may not come up as a complaint, but yet a disappointment. It becomes a real challenge for those of us who try to appeal to multiple markets with one website. One website serves me well in certain circumstances. For example, a birthday mom/dad may also be scout leader. There are things I perform at a scout show that is not practical to perform in a living room ( like riding a unicycle). I want to appeal to both situations. Perhaps the best thing to do is separate out the performance elements that are not part of every show and only provide depictions of these elements in select situations. I have to think a bit more about this. For me, it comes down to weighing the potential for disappointed customers and rebooking loss vs missed opportunities because I was unable to depict my show to a potential client because I choose to exclude some video content and they did not know I could satisfy their needs. |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10587 Posts |
OPINION ALERT:....I would strongly suggest you do the unicycle riding in all living rooms! End of opinion.
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10587 Posts |
Quote:
On Apr 10, 2016, charliecheckers wrote: Or simply have a separate video for each market you are targeting. As in many areas of our business, one size does not fit all and all clients are not alike. The other thing to take from my original post, although not intended, is how so many performers believe the stuff audience memebers tell them. (This is why audience testimonials are often so misrepresentative and nearly useless). They base their own level of success on this and it's often quite inaccurate. It's only one-sided and listening only to what you want to hear. People (guests, attendees, audiences) will typically not tell if they didn't like it, were dissatisfied or disappointed. Just like a restaurant, most won't say anything, but will tell others about their dissatisfaction and will never patronize you again. I choose to strive for the reality of the truer picture. Satisfaction of the client and their needs. This is most important. Performers need to create honest perspective and not get "caught up" in what they want to see and hear. This also applies for the agent, EP or DMC. You aim should be to completely please and satify both the agent and the client. 99.9% of the time, if this is done the majority of the audience is satisfied too. In a perfect scenario, the client, the agent/EP/DMC, the audience and all involved are happy and satisfied. |
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thomasR Inner circle 1189 Posts |
Without knowing the details (not that I expect you to reveal specifics in this situation), it's hard to get a grasp on this.
was there one specific routine that the client was expecting to see? Or was the entire act drastically different? When I see demos, I usually see a variety of routines. One that comes to mind shows walk around card tricks, a parlor routine, and a shell game routine. I think it would be obvious that the demo shows routines from various settings, and not to expect the shell game in a stage show setting. |
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
Quote:
On Apr 10, 2016, Dannydoyle wrote: Not to quote myself but your answer is here. And by way of further explanation when I say "expectations" they can be created in lots of ways. Not just video. For example many close up magicians claim they will increase the bottom line or bring in more customers. When this doesn't happen (As it almost never will at least measurably.) the establishment is now upset. An expectation has been set, and an expectation has not been met. Customer lost. Or it can be done with video testimonials saying you are the greatest and just pumping yourself up perhaps more than is realistic. In short if it creates expectations you can not live up to it will cause disappointment and that is no way to build a customer base. It doesn't matter how you justify it to yourself, it matters what they expect when you arrive. It matters if you meet said expectation, or better yet exceed it. This is why I have never been a fan of self aggrandizing types of promo. Often to me it just goes way too far. It can be a recipe for disappointment. To me this is the backfire of too many video testimonials. Just one way of looking at it.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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Bairefoot Inner circle 1097 Posts |
Minder you mean you are still hiring magicians and have not hired me yet? Just kidding great information.
Bairefoot |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10587 Posts |
You're one of my go to guys next time I need talent in Myrtle Beach, lol
Quote:
On Apr 10, 2016, thomasR wrote: I'm not sure why you are having trouble grasping this. Someone saw your video, liked what they saw, what they saw persuaded them to want to book you, then once they have you perform it does not live up to the very thing they saw that caused them to book you. Very simple. Like Danny said, you create expectation, but ultimately you failed to live up to their expectations because you didn't perform the thing that made them decide to book you. This is also a very similar issue for those that have television credits. One of the best demo video elements a performer can have is performance footage from television appearances. Forget fancy, expensive, over-produced demos, but a demo with the right and proper (two key elements) footage from media appearances can be absolutely powerful and the most effective (for many reasons). However, if someone sees you perform on t.v. or in a clip from a t.v. appearance, and you end up not performing the same material as in the t.v. appearance, it too can create disappointment from again the very same expectation of which Danny speaks. This is why choosing the right material to perform in your media segments and knowing how an where to perform it in media segments is so crucially important. Speaking from an agent's point of view, I would recommend having separate demos for your different performance markets. The problem with a lot of magicians is they try to be many thing to many people in the same video, promo or website. As in this example it can work against you very often. One of the misnomers of magicians is the belief that more is better. I can do closeup, strolling/walk-around, I can do my stage performance or "parlour" (a word I would NEVER use in my promo, video or printed materials), and I can also do balloon animals, a bit of juggling and some light gardening. H**l, you wanna shine my shoes too? The mistakenly believe it is impressive, when to an agent or booker it creates problems, confusion and lack of direction, focus or priority. It makes it very difficult to sell you. Now some will say, and I always love hearing this, "but I don't work with agents"..., that's fine but do you not think regular customers don't think the same? You have to know the limits of what is impressive and beneficial vs. what is overkill, over the top, unimpressive or ineffective. |
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thomasR Inner circle 1189 Posts |
I never said I didn't grasp it.
I'm more curious about the specifics of the situation, so I can understand the clients view. Did the the specific performer do a majority of material from the demo the client saw? Was the client disappointed that one specific trick wasn't performed? Or did they feel the entire act was not what they signed up for. I'm not trying to debate anything with you, in general I agree the client should get what they expect. (That's obvious). But most variety performers (not just magic) have multiple types of acts. An aerialist comes to mind, she performs cube spinning, aerial silk, and trapeze. All 3 acts appear in her demo. A client would need to ask her if they wanted a specific act. But also when booking, she would ask "what would you like to see in the performance." So again.... If a demo video clearly shows multiple scenarios, but the same over all personality, it could be done in a way that would be obvious to clients and perhaps even agents, that different material will be performed in different settings. |
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thomasR Inner circle 1189 Posts |
It's hard to get a grasp on what the client was expecting to see.
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BrianMillerMagic Inner circle CT 2050 Posts |
This is a great topic. I would add just one thing: If there is something in your demo that would not suit the particular event/venue that the client is hiring you for, let them know before they sign the contract. I've had to do this on some occasions with my guitar looping piece. It's not the right fit for every type of event, but it exists in one of my demo videos. All it takes is saying to them, "In this particular situation, due to X, Y, Z, I would not typically perform the piece with the guitar. Is that okay with you, or would you like me to include it?" Like Danny and others have said, it's just about making sure that their expectations line up with what you give them.
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thomasR Inner circle 1189 Posts |
I'm sorry my posts have not been clear.
I understand the general idea of the original post. I'm curious about the specific situation. It seems surprising to me, that a client would complain if one particular trick wasn't performed. If the entire act, however, was vastly different than the demo video, that would make more sense. Just because I ask questions doesn't mean I'm trying to argue with anyone's point of view. |
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BrianMillerMagic Inner circle CT 2050 Posts |
Quote:
On Apr 11, 2016, thomasR wrote: Perhaps it could be better understood this way: Clients look at your promo video as if it is your "greatest hits" reel. If you hired Journey to play a private concert for your event, and they didn't play "Don't Stop Believin," you would be rightfully upset. It's one of their greatest hits. The client hires you based on your demo video. If there is one trick in your video that they particularly loved - the trick that sold them on you, perhaps - and you don't do it, they will feel let down. |
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