Pepsi Refresh Project - 14 Days Left

I love what Pepsi has done with their Refresh Project.  Not only are the spiking major brand impressions from media and the non-profit sector, they are associating their brand with community oriented projects - in the right way.  Instead of trying to tie into community events on a market by market basis, they have created a funding source contest that drives the traffic to their site.  The program is presented very well, its understandable and engaging.  Additionally, the voting component is always a great incentive for the contestants to mass promote (socially) via their networks.  The voting process utilized traditional email but more importantly is tied in with Facebook Connect.  Take a look at the leaders. Anyone one can submit an idea or vote.  The program touches on all kinds of ideas that have been submitted including food banks, educational, clothing drives, troop support etc. Pepsi has built a great foundation for this program and it looks like it will continue to grow and evolve for some time.  I like to think of myself as a Coca Cola guy, but on my last trip to the grocery store I found my self reaching for a Pepsi product.  Coincidence?

There are only 14 days left to cast your vote on the Pepsi Refresh Project contest here.

Social Media Announce Spikes Fans & Followers

In 2009 I wanted to craft a unique platform to grow our social media base, quickly. As a festival or once-a-year event, there are only a handful of opportunities to capitalize on your media push. One of those times, and probably the most important, is when you announce your performing artists. At the time, Facebook was motoring and Twitter was taking over the world. These two social media buzz words seemed seemed to lend instant credibility (as silly as it sounds) to any business. We were on the forefront of this, it just happened that the timing for the push was right on schedule with the hype machine.

We leveraged the power and reach of the media to help drive traffic to our social networks. Similar events would send out one press release that houses all of their artists who are performing at the event. We chose to dissect this and release small, digestible pieces of information; but spread it out over time and increase the frequency. One press release was sent out informing the media on how we would "leak" the lineup. By doing this we held the attention of our core audience, continuously built of our Facebook Fan Page (grew from1 member to over 3000 in 4 weeks) and drove new followers to our Twitter account (grew from 1 follower to over 1000 in 3 weeks). IT WORKED! Of course there were people who couldn't grasp the concept (or who were just too impatient) but the majority LIVED FOR IT! What we found was they were all watching. Every single day! For three weeks, every day was like Christmas Day to an eager group of loyal followers. There was a wealth of fan-to-fan interaction on the Facebook community. Instead of one big tweet about the lineup, there were hundreds each day about one artist. This continued to spiral into one of most unique marketing concepts to date (and there have been some good ones). The media continued to pick up bits and pieces and increase the frequency of the coverage. Everyone watched as we built the story, right before their eyes. The best part is, they are all still there. Wanting more.

Take a peek at some of the press coverage as it was unfolding.

Denver’s Monolith Festival 2009 is Sept. 12-13: Girl Talk First Major Act Announced –Promoters are Releasing Band Roster on Facebook and Twitter

Written by clubnotes in Monday, May 18th 2009

Girl Talk is the first major Monolith Fest act to be announced

Most music festival press releases give out an entire roster of bands. However, the Monolith Festival is doing something a little different this year.
The festival promoters are very slowly divulging the band roster on Facebook and Twitter, so music fans have to keep checking out the fest’s progress.
This much we know for sure: Monolith will be taking place September 12-13 at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
It feels like we’re getting little clues to a puzzle

Continue Reading>>

More:
NME (London) , Denver Post, The Colorado Daily, My Old Kentucky Blog, 8201, ZME

Coors Ambushed At Super Bowl?

"Ambushing" is tough to prevent, even in its simplest forms.  Sponsors want protection to back up their investment. An ill-timed ambush can dilute a profile sponsorship in seconds. Abmushing can be seen in a variety of forms ranging from the rogue sampling outside your event or on a nationally televised platform such as this...

Recently, I was  "Googling" Coors and SuperBowl to see if Coors had a super bowl ad this year.  As I watched the game all I saw were Bud/Bud Light ads. I came across this.  It looks like Jon Kander at IEG was thinking the same thing.  Coors has the exclusive on the NFL but NOT the televised portion of the Super Bowl.  How can you activate a year round major sporting sponsorship and not link it all together during the pinnacle game?  Actually, its brilliant move by Anheuser-Busch.  Coors outbid AB a few years ago for the rights to the NFL.  AB continued its heavy Super Bowl ad campaign (which is exclusive until 2012).  Coors doesn't even have the right to advertise in one of the biggest sporting events of the year, not to mention the sport in which they are an exclusive partner.  The genius of this? The general public still perceives AB as the official beer sponsors of the NFL.

"A June 2009 Turnkey Sports and Entertainment survey noted that 43.9 percent and 47.4 percent of avid and casual fans, respectively, believed Anheuser-Busch was the official beer sponsor of the NFL. Meanwhile, only 26.1 percent and 10.9 percent of avid and casual fans, respectively, thought Coors was the league’s official beer."

To me this seems like one of the greatest, strategical ambushes of all-time.  Sure, Coors is pouring the booze at the stadiums, but its AB who is reaping that public awareness and brand impressions.  I would think the residual retail beer sales reflect this and have most likely paid for those TV spots 10 fold. See photo below from Ask A Copywriter, taken two hours before the Super Bowl.  Bud Light is GONE, but plenty of Coors remain.

MMS Seminars Provide Unique Networking Opps

The networking and industry panel discussions that were organized for the Midwest Music Summit, proved to be one of the most valuable networking tools for attendees and artists. Not only were these sessions beneficial to the attendees;  they were a great opportunity for us to groom our relationships with profile individuals and businesses that comprise the music industry. Over the course of 6 years we assembled an all-star cast of music industry executives, artists and advocates to discuss key industry issues.

Building Your Band Panel - Featuring Shawn Murphy from ASCAP


Over the past 6-year tenure of the MMS,  134 cutting-edge music industry seminars were produced featuring some of the brightest individuals in the business. Countless relationships were fostered through these seminars and one-one-one sessions. Listed below you will find a short listing of the companies who were selected to take part in the discussions.

Guest speakers included representation from the following companies:
Kill Rock Rockstars, Geffen, Bug Music Publishing, SpinArt, Advice, Yep Roc, Playtone, E! Entertainment TV, Harp Magazine, Ashmatic Kitty, Denver Post, Polyvinyl Records, Microsoft, Secretly Canadian, Atlantic, Midway Games, J Records, Minty Fresh, Capitol Records, V2, Artemis, Aware Records, The Basement/Grimeys Records, Virgin, K Records, Amazon.com, REAL Networks, AM Only, Metro Chicago, CNET, XM Radio, Toolshed Media, BMI, Imeem.com, WRLT Lighting 100, Playback Music Supervision, Americana Music Association, Sarathan Records, Big Takeover, Performing Songwriter Magazine, Sonicbids, ASCAP, Fuel TV, Fleet Team Booking, KV Financial, Audio Lunchbox, HYFN, Pump Audio, FirstListen.org, No Depression, WOXY.com, Al Moss Promotions, Revolver Magazine, Bloodshot, Lumberjack Distro, SESAC, John Wells Productions, CD Baby, Ear X Tacy, Double Door, Beat Management, Nicodomus Agency, Audio Lunchbox, Masterdisk, The Chop Shop (The Hills/The OC), MyOldKentuckyBlog.com, Loudersoft.com, Summerfest, MOBfest, Meitus Gilbert Rose LLP, Almighty Institute of Music Retail, Thrill Jockey, Ernie Ball, Sabian, Doghouse, Washburn, Yamaha, Amped/AEC, Machine Records, Universal, Dreamscapers, KDHX, Hollywood, Bunim/Murray (MTV’s Road Rules & Real World), Summerfest,, Satellite Booking, Sonicbids, and hundreds more.

Environmental Awareness @ Cerebral Palsy Denver

This event was one of the highlights of my promoter career. It was such a pleasure to take an idea (that could have easily failed) and grow it into something that touched the lives of so many kids. This was not just a memorable event for ourselves, but also for the teachers, staff, volunteers and even the local TV stations (who covered the even for the 5pm news on two networks.)


















In September 2008, Monolith Festival teamed up with Esurance for a day of environmental enrichment at the Cerebral Palsy campus in Denver, CO. The day was orchestrated to provide Monolith and Esurance to provide outreach and environmental education to a select location in the Denver market. Through our parternship with Denver Digs Trees organization, we were able to facilitate the need for reforestation on the CP campus in Denver. Shortly after our initials discussions did this evolve into a full scale event. This was truly a day to remember, for all of us. Minneapolis-based environmentally friendly art rockers Cloud Cult agreed to come perform three separate sets of music for the eager children. There was a band playing in their lunch room, they were painting their interpretation of trees to music, there was an ice cream man and the opportunity to get dirty planing trees on their front lawn - what an amazing day this was for these kids.


Media Opp - highlight local TV coverage

About Cerebral Palsy of Denver

An Interview With The Denver Post

Josh Baker, the Monolith Festival’s director, says that the festival will happen in 2009 — and there will be plenty of indie rock, dance music and hip-hop. Photo by Laurie Scavo. Interview by Ricardo Baca.

Now that the summer music festivals are making news – including the biggest party of the summer, the four-day ninth annual Denver Post Underground Music Showcase – the chatter is starting up about the Monolith Festival, Colorado’s indie rock bash that happens each September at Red Rocks.
This year’s fest is Sept. 12-13 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and the hipsters and scenesters are already spreading the gossip on the fest – “Monolith isn’t happening.” … “The festival was dropped by its promoter.” … “Paul McCartney’s going to headline.” But here’s the official word from the horse’s mouth, a.k.a. Monolith Festival director Josh Baker.
Question: So Monolith is definitely happening this year?
Answer: Absolutely.
Q: What will the aesthetic be? Last year was a lot of indie-dance and indie rock.
A: Indie, dance, hip-hop — and equal parts of each of those.
Q: You guys are no longer with AEG Live, which co-produced Monolith in 2007 and 2008.
A: Right now we are free agents and doing it on our own, for the time being. But it’s going to be our best year to date, and I’m very confident about the way things are shaping up. It’s certainly a lot more work for us this year, but its a labor of love - we enjoy every minute of it.

Read the full article here.

Wrap-Up Videos Protect & Secure Deals - Video Post

Wrap-Up Videos should be the #1 essential component of your post-event reporting process. Statistics are great for measurement, but you don't get that emotional "felt like I was there" feeling that video gives you.  You can create and produce these videos on a relatively low budget.  Not only are you giving your sponsors something tangible to connect with, you are creating content.  The same video can be re-purposed in a number of ways including teasers for your next event, TV/Cable spots and securing investment capital.  I have posted two wrap-up videos that I created (with the help of Giant Pictures - 2009 and Marshall Baumgartner - 2008.)

2009 Monolith Fesival Wrap-Up Video (Produced By Giant Pitctures)














2008 Monolith Festival - Sponsorship Wrap-Up Video produced by Marshall Baumgartner. You will see that this video was re-purposed as a sponsorship teaser for 2009.