A Transformative Event

“Soulsearchin’films is a film and theater production company that acts as a platform for youth and young adults within our inner city communities who have a passion for theater arts to hone their skills, build their resumes as performers, and embrace the opportunity to showcase their talent as actors, singers, and dancers,” Dawn Blair told me, this past January, of her Oakland, California based production company.

Events can entertain. They can also transform communities. Ghetto Magnolia, performed early in 2012 was a “gospel stage play production,” Dawn said. “The purpose of the production was to provoke change within the lives of our inner city youth and young adults, through the message of its story line. It was not a fundraiser.”

The story follows Magnolia Brown, an aspiring gospel singer faced with “harsh realities of the ghetto and the redemptive power of God.”

“There was nothing that did not go as planned. The production was a total success,” Dawn said. “The best part of our event was actually seeing the audience enjoying the production as the story unfolded on stage. The turnout was tremendous, and the production was a hit!”

Getting the Good Word Out

In order to get the word out to attendees, Dawn and her team relied heavily on print collateral and word of mouth. They designed posters and flyers using TicketPrinting.com. The stage play was produced on a limited budget. The professionally printed collateral gave it an extra “Bling Factor.”

Relationship sales were also very important to the success of this event. Many tickets were sold in advance. Each cast member was tasked with pursuing advanced ticket sales. With thirty cast members, the ticket sales were sure to be a success. This allowed the cast members to interact with potential attendees as well as promote themselves as performers.

Every Event is Different

The team behind Ghetto Magnolia was pleased with its success. The event was highly attended. The cast, crew, and audience had a great time. For this event, print collateral played a central role, defining the tenor of the event and portraying a professional production.

Some events benefit from a spectrum of marketing efforts. Some will advertise through online social networks and event websites. Others will take to the airwaves, advertising over radio and television or doing the interview circuit. Others will rely solely on word of mouth.

Every event is different, and each event’s success is defined by its organizers and attendees.

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Catch the Spirit!

Hosting an Annual Event

On March 15, the Mary Louis Academy held its annual Spirit Night. The Mary Louis Academy is an all girls Catholic Academy in Jamaica Plains, New York. Spirit Night is “One of TMLA’s oldest traditions…dating back to 1940 when it was known as Sports Night.” All four class years join together in a variety of competitions. The 2012 Spirit Night Theme was “Hollywood Movie Studios.” The Student Council Coordinator, Beth, explained, “It is a school competition used to bring unity among the grades.”

Something to Look Forward to

Many organizations such as The Mary Louis Academy host annual recurring events. Annual events are a traditional way to bring members of the organization together, raise awareness for a cause, or bring in funds for projects that exist outside the regular organizational budget. While all events have similarities, there are special expectations for ones that reoccur.

Annual events build community and loyalty among attendees. Some families look forward to attending the same cultural festival each year. A proud alumni might looks forward to returning to her alma mater for the homecoming celebration. Traditions build around the tradition.

Tradition and Success

Annual events rely on wisdom and tradition.  Often there are elements that absolutely must be included, an opening dinner in honor of a Provost or a Sadie Hawkins dance. Some are formal, some are strange, like MIT’s annual Piano Drop. Whatever the tradition, it is an important feature of the event.

Each year, organizations and planners learn from the past year’s event, so they’re able to host more effectively and more efficiently the next year.  Organizations can learn what worked and what didn’t. By reviewing the event when it’s over, the committee can come up with ways to make the following event more enjoyable and memorable to everyone.

Marketing Annual Events

While it’s true, annual events will have more built in buzz than one time gatherings, organizers shouldn’t rely solely on word or mouth or loyalty to ensure attendees. For even the most established recurring events, it pays to look at different ways to advertise in order to keep bringing in new folks.

Traditional print media is great. Posters, flyers, and bill boards will get the message on the streets, but if the budget is tight, events can benefit from plenty of free advertising. It’s simple and quick to build Facebook and Google+ pages where information about the upcoming event can be posted and shared. A Twitter account dedicated to the event can be used to share small snippets of information. A more traditional website, even a simple one, can help keep folks informed. For organizers who aren’t comfortable with technology, it might help to arrange an interview on the local radio or news station or with the local newspaper. There are many ways to share information about the event.

Have Fun!

The event at the Mary Louis Academy was run by the school. “Students sold tickets and got the student body excited about the event,” Beth explained. For her the best parts of the event were the “students dances and cheer and the general vibe in the gymnasium.”

The most important part of hosting an annual event is the outcome. Have fun and enjoy your tradition.

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Fly Fishing, Cancer Survival, and Movie Ticket Sales

The tranquil waters of the Middle Fork River in West Glacier bring peace and a strong sense of belonging to the hearts of 14 women each year. For three days, these women cast their flies into the water and allow their battles with breast cancer to drift away.

Western Montana’s Casting for Recovery program currently has 11 community volunteers who support women with all different stages of breast cancer by providing them with an all expenses paid fly-fishing retreat. Community volunteers lend a guiding hand and are “River Helpers” who share their knowledge of the river with participants. Those struggling with cancer may find it hard to remember that they are not alone, but Casting for Recovery works to reverse this trend. As one participant expressed at the end of last year’s retreat, it was the “first time she felt strong community support.”

“My Heart Just Keeps Smiling”

The three-day retreats include more than just fishing. Medical counseling and group sessions fill the last day, providing time to reflect and build a network of support. Participants leave with new friends, new skills, and renewed hope. “It was an incredible weekend,” one woman stated. “My heart just keeps smiling.”

Casting for Recovery is a national organization but is rooted in local communities across the country. It was brought to the winding banks of the Middle Fork River by a woman moving from the East coast who had herself been a participant. While she was unable to make the first retreat in Western Montana, community members helped continue her mission to bring women with breast cancer closer together and provide them with therapeutic skills through fishing.

The Connection Between Fly Fishing and Breast Cancer

While the connection to fishing and breast cancer recovery may not at first seem apparent, participants come to an understanding by the end of the weekend. A participant shared with the group, “I was grateful to have been chosen, but I didn’t yet see the connection between fly fishing and breast cancer. Sunday morning, standing in the river, I got it.”  At the end of the weekend she shared her experience:

Fly-fishing is a “be here now” activity. It takes focus, balance and being centered, physically and emotionally, to stand in the river and cast. Living well after the diagnosis of breast cancer is best done in the moment as well. It takes focus, balance and being centered to avoid feeling victimized by the diagnosis or anxious about any future recurrence.  In both fly-fishing and living with breast cancer, the best that one can do is “be here now” and hope.

Fundraising with Film Tickets

Casting for Recovery in Northern Montana typically has one major fundraiser each year to support the program. This year, they have teamed up with the Fly Fishing Film Tour to show a screening of the film to the community.  Admission tickets, donations, and raffle tickets sold at the event provide the funds needed to make the special annual retreat possible. TicketPrinting.com has been thrilled to be able to play our small role of printing to help make their fundraiser successful. We love working with nonprofits and small community organizations which are making big changes in lives across the country.

To learn more about Casting for Recovery, visit their website: castingforrecovery.org

 

 

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Fundraising Like It’s Second Nature

On March 10, 2012, the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin held a fundraising event: A Ride on the Wild Side with Jack Hanna. All proceeds from the event went to the Arctic Passage Project to fund new habitats for polar bears and seals.

Jack Hanna is a well-known zookeeper who was once the director of the Columbus Zoo. He is a recognized celebrity zookeeper who has done much to raise awareness about conservation and wild animal issues for many years.

Keeping Everyone in Mind

The sold out, adult only event offered both VIP and general admission ticket opportunities, so individuals of varying means were able to attend and contribute. Tickets for the event cost $75. There was also a VIP reception with Jack Hanna at the beginning of the evening offered to individuals willing to purchase a $150 ticket; this included a bottle of wine and preferred seating. For $1000 individuals could purchase a table. There was also a wildlife show hosted by Jack Hanna.

The lead up to the event included a raffle for a Toyota Prius, in keeping with the conservation theme.

Different funders learn about events in different ways. The organizers of the Ride on the Wild Side event reached out to their potential patrons through many different types of media: postcard invitations sent to 20,000 people, ads in local magazines, newspapers, newsletter, e-blasts, Facebook, Twitter, and a digital billboard

The organizers relied on traditional forms of media and word of mouth, which remains the most important and effective selling strategy even as technology advances.

Defining Success

“We received the most comments about the digital billboard. However, we did not survey attendees, so we do not have an accurate way to measure this,” Cathy Sheets of the Henry Vilas Zoo told me.

For those planning similar advance, Cathy offered this advice, “Begin planning a year in advance. Lay out the event in as much detail as possible, monitor advertising effectiveness. Define your goals clearly. Remain flexible and calm under pressure. Don’t forget to enjoy the event, and make sure you have a great photographer and/or videographer to record the event.”

After the event, the zoo posted galleries of photos to its site, so visitors could remember the experience.

For Cathy, the highlight of the event was, “The ability to share an important conservation message and raise funds for a vitally needed capital project by providing attendees with up close animal experiences and the opportunity to meet Jack Hanna and be inspired by his experience and stories.”

 

 

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Pitching a Music Festival Fundraiser: The Diversity of Community and Communication

Frank Murdoch has Master’s degrees in Social Work, Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapy. He serves as vice president of a small local non-profit organization devoted to providing services to the physically disabled in the region of Lafayette, Louisiana. Their goal is to provide access to media that might not otherwise be available to those unable to read print materials. Murdoch, an avid comic book fan who lost his vision at the age of twenty-four, has a personal interest in this goal and can readily communicate the importance of the project.

The long-term fundraising goal is $10,000 over the next two years. In the short term, they hope to raise $3,000 to get started.

The group has held successful fundraisers in the past, but they have also experienced some fundraising disappointments, so it’s important that they get this one right. Murdoch plans to offer the board his own pitch for a music and cultural festival, dubbed “The Diversity of Community and Communication.” He likes the theme of diversity because the program addresses “the diverse ways in which to provide information to all of us equally.” The theme would allow him to “incorporate multiple things from the community to our advantage and still press our agenda: more inclusive inclusion of persons with disabilities into the community.”

Murdoch envisions an event showcasing a diversity of cultures, especially in regards to food and music. If his idea is approved by the organization, he will then pitch his idea to various sponsors.

“The first thing I’ll do,” he explains, “is pitch my idea about diversity and equality… then talk about the richness of diversity in the community appealing to their cultural backgrounds and appreciation for food.” He would also discuss how the proposed program could create “more access [for recipients] for everything from cultural awareness events to important governmental practices and then into their pockets: sales and advertising.”

To create a diversity of music, Murdoch would like to approach a diversity of artists. With help from others in the organization, he has complied a list of acts he hopes will agree to perform, including Acadian musician Nellie Harrington, indie group The Wooden Wings, classic rockers Strazza & Company, blues musician Dege Legg, rockabilly group The Howdies, Cajun rock and rap artist Michael Juan Nunez, zydeco groups Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha-Chas, Curley Taylor, and Rosie Ledet, and Southern Creole Blues group Henry Gray and the Cats. In addition, he hopes to showcase “an interactive act in between set-ups and breakdowns,” including belly dancers from long-time supporters, Desert Shadows, Oasis Bellydance Studio, and Trybe Habibi Bizarre.

In order to arrange for a prize draw, Murdoch wants to approach local restaurants, to showcase the diversity of food in the community including Cajun, Creole, Asian, Italian, Mexican, and Middle-eastern cuisine. He knows that many businesses “are happy to provide a thirty-dollar gift certificate to promote their restaurant at the gig,” and adds that he could further help his sponsors by providing them with additional publicity. If his pitch goes forward, “several weeks before [the event] people see four thousand fliers around the city and residential areas to inform people that there is going to be an event and who is sponsoring it.”

Murdoch advises those hoping to pitch a similar music festival to think about reaching the broadest possible audience. Of course, you want to create something new and different. Figure out who your crowd is, and then “appeal to that crowd’s mental and emotional aspects that will get them to help you out.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Use Event Badges to Increase Security without Hassle

Security these days can be complicated and expensive. Looking for a way to identify people that won’t take up all of your time? Look no further, one solution is here. And not only is it easy to handle, it won’t break your budget, either.

Personalized Name Tags

Whether you have a group of VIPs to keep an eye on, an entire convention to attend to, or a school to run, security is one of the biggest issues on the books. One way to identify people easily is to print personalized name tags (or event badges) for each person to wear. Each person can wear their name tag while attending an event, arriving at work or going to school, showing others who they are and that they belong on site.

Individual Codes

As an added security measure, you have the option of printing a unique number or barcode on each event badge. Especially in cases where there are a very large number of people around on a daily basis or many attendees at an event, this added layer of security can be useful and informative.

Unique Logos

Print unique logos on your event badges to add even more specialized security to an event, worksite or school. Include almost any design that you can send in a standard file format. Use specific logos to help identify different groups of people, or differentiate between companies at a convention by printing the company logo for each attendee to wear.

Important Details

There may be more information than simply a name or logo that you want to include on a name tag. Any information that can help to identify people quickly and easily can be printed on the event badge. If it can be included in a CSV file, you can include it on an event badge. For example, to print event badges for added school security, add an identifier of either “staff” or “student” to help recognize separate each group.

Event badges are an easy and fast way to add an extra layer of security to any event, site or school. They can be worn clipped right on the front of a uniform, or they can be hung around the neck with a lanyard that can be printed to include a logo as well. Print information on both sides of the event badge to utilize the full space available, or make them double sided so that important information will always be prominently displayed.

 

 

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QR Code Posters for Music Event Ticket Sales

Your fans love your music.

Your fans want to see you perform live.

Your fans have smart phones.

Your fans have lives.

Do you love your fans? Show them a little love by making their lives a little bit easier. How? Make it simple for them to get tickets to your upcoming show the moment they see your print publicity. You can make the experience totally hassle-free for you and your fans with QR Code Posters advertising the gig. They actually sell tickets for you, so your fans don’t need to search around for the right link, stand in line at a ticket counter, or deal with any exorbitant ticket broker fees.

It’s So Easy

We’ve streamlined the process. First, we created an online box office at TicketRiver.com. In five minutes, you can register your show and set up an event page where your fans can find all your event details and purchase tickets. You can even sell different kinds of tickets—VIP Passes, 18-over, ½ price, whatever you like—to the same event. It’s fast and easy to create your page, complete with its own unique URL.

A Little Help from Your Friends

But that’s not all we’ve done for you. We’ll get your fans to the link in no time at all with a custom QR Code Poster. Whether you’ve got a design in mind or need one of our graphic artists to create an image that suits your particular needs, all you’ve got to do it is call our customer support at 888.771.0809. They’ll help get your order going. We’ll design your posters, generate your QR code, and send out a proof for your approval. We never print until you’re satisfied you’re getting exactly the Poster or Flyer you need.

Waiting Here for You

Wherever you hang your high-resolution QR Code Posters, your fans can scan the code with their smart phones. It will take them right to your TicketRiver event page where they can buy tickets right away.

TicketRiver sends users print-at-home tickets to save you time and money, but, if you still want to use paper tickets, you can order those too (at a discount for TicketRiver users) and mail them out, or hold them at will call.

It’s that easy! QR Code Posters are there for you, selling tickets night and day, from the moment you hang them until you sell out your event.

It’s just one more way to show your love to the people who support your music.

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A Little Transparency: Creating Customer Confidence by Inviting Customers Behind the Scenes

The ticket legitimizes our event; it makes it look special with a specific date and time and the incorporation of our photos & logos on the ticket as well.

~Paul Komorowski, Seaway Window

Custom printed tickets can mean so much more than “Admit One!” Take, for example, the case of Seaway Window, a  replacement window company in Northwest Pennsylvania.  In the business for over 50 years, Seaway is always looking for new and interesting ways to expose its products to customers.

To show off its process and products to its customers, Seaway Window invites them onto the factory floor. “Our Event is an Open House. We open our factory for tours of one of our production lines showing how a double hung window is made. The purpose is to get people to come to the factory and see how our windows are made, thus making them confident in choosing our company for their replacement window project,” Paul told me.

For the factory tour, Seaway uses the General Concert Ticket. This ticket can be printed in several flashy colors. It has space for event information as well as custom images.

For the factory tour that took place on October 8^th, the Seaway team chose orange as a background color and included images of the factory and the company logo. Besides featuring a detachable stub and individual numbering, the ticket has discount information printed on its opposite side, which can be a handy reference for customers attending the event.

“We do not charge people to come to our event; it is free. We use the tickets to legitimize the event. Plus if they go through the factory tour, the tour guide will sign the back of the ticket for a discount applied to their project.”

For Seaway the ticket serves as a valuable form of advertising. It gets customers through the door and helps to incentivize customers to purchase replacement windows through them.

How does Seaway keep the public informed about its factory tours? “We use a multi-media approach. We use TV, radio, signage, print, direct mail, newspaper, and we use the ‘Open House’ ticket that I order from TicketPrinting.com to promote this event.” Seaway uses an all avenues approach. Rather than settling for one form of advertising, it utilizes a number of different outlets to build a buzz around its factory tours.

Paul urges others to, “Use a multi-media approach to drive people to your event.”

Those who attend the factory tour at Seagate have a good time, no matter how they learned about the event. “The best part of the event is the actual factory tour; people love to go though it,” Paul said.

 

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Charity Dance Event to Prevent Suicide

The tickets were really professional looking. I would definitely use the service again!

~Patricia Pupek, Event Organizer

On September 17th, the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention held a Zumbathon to raise money for their annual “Out of the Darkness” Community Walk held in early October. Zumba is a combination of Latin dance, music, and exercise. It is meant to be fun and motivational and provide a great workout. A Zumbathon is a charity event hosted by a licensed instructor or instructors.

According to Patricia Pupek, the fundraiser was a great success with,  “about 100 people, which is great, considering we put this together pretty quickly. The best part of the event was the enthusiasm of the people who attended, and the fact that we were able to get the word out about our organization to so many people.”

Raising awareness is one of the main goals of the organization. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is “the only national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research and education, and reaching out to people with mood disorders and those affected by suicide,” The AFSP hoped to raise $50,000 at the Community Walk event to fund a number of local initiatives. The Zumbathon helped put them on their way.

For the Zumbathon event, the AFSP chose the General Admission Concert Ticket. The colorful ticket had plenty of room for event information plus space for two logos. The images chosen included a life preserver and the Zumba emblem. This provided attendees with visual imagery to accompany the event. The ticket featured a detachable stub as well as individual numbering.

How did Patricia and her team sell tickets to their event? “We sold tickets by word of mouth, posters in our workplace, we posted our event on Facebook, and we had four Zumba instructors who all work at various gyms and health clubs in Western Mass. They promoted the event at the health clubs, put up signs everywhere.

“Also, I gave out a stack of tickets to each AFSP volunteer in our chapter and asked them to sell as many as they could.  Some people bought a ticket even though they knew they could not attend the Zumbathon, but wanted to give a donation.”

The AFSP really covered its bases with this event using every available resource. From sharing the news one on one, creating printed resources such as posters to relying on “ambassadors” to spread the word on the organizations behalf and utilizing social media, as well as professionally printing custom tickets, the AFSP was able to reach individuals in many different ways. In turn, it was able to raise the profile of the organization and the cause.

 

What advice does Patricia have for those planning a similar event?

 

“Start planning and marketing the event a couple of months ahead.  Use Facebook- it works!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Fundraiser for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

TicketPrinting.com gave us the ability to be professional, and offered us the tools we needed to make our event into a great one! Thank you for making our event a success!

~Charlotte Dunn, Co-Founder and President of Fighting For Damion

Just five months old, Damion Antonio Carbello has already touched countless lives. Born in May 2011, Damion was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), “a genetic disorder that is carried by 1 in 90 people and affects 1 in 2000. SMA is the number one genetic killer of toddlers and infants in the world.”

“Fighting For Damion is completely not for profit, and our sole goal is to help this little family with medical bills, and Damion’s needs, to make things just a little easier,” Charlotte Dunn, Co-founder and President of Fighting for Damion explained to me. She founded the organization with Vice President and Co-Founder Rachel Kessleski when they learned their dear friend’s son had been diagnosed with the disorder.

The organization’s most recent event was a benefit get together sponsored by Scale’s Grill and Deck Bar to raise money for Damion and also raise awareness of SMA. The group “held a Chinese auction, a 50/50 raffle, featured live entertainment and a dinner buffet. One hundred percent of the proceeds went to a secure account strictly for baby Damion.”

For the event, the organization chose the Blue and White General Admission Ticket, a simple but professional ticket with plenty of room for event information. The event ticket featured the details of the event on the front, as well as a logo and slogan on the back. The tickets were individually numbered and featured a detachable stub, which can be used to track attendees and keep account of the raffle.

“Because we are just starting out, we have set our goal very small and I am pleased to say we greatly exceeded it.” Charlotte told me.

To get the word out, Charlotte and her team relied heavily on Internet and radio advertising, “We advertised greatly on all social networks, and local radio stations. We also pre-sold the tickets that your company printed, which [were] a big hit! We also list every event and detail on our website, www.fightingfordamion.com.”

Some event planners choose to focus only on one method of advertising, which means they may reach only one audience. By using more than one channel of communication and reaching out to an online audience, as well as one that might hear about the event from a more traditional route, the team maximized its message and reached more potential attendees.

Another effective method that helped with ticket sales is offering a presale discount.  “We offered our tickets to anyone who would listen for $10 presale or $15 at the door. We advertised them the same way we advertised our event,” Charlotte said. “It worked very well in my opinion. If you can get the word out there on as many sources as you can, your event will sell itself.”

Though the weather didn’t cooperate, the event was still a success. “For me, the best part of the event was seeing everyone who came out having a good time for a great cause. Most of these people have no idea who this family is that they are helping, and yet they still come out to support and donate. It is truly amazing to see people put aside their busy life and help someone in need. ”

When you’re planning a fundraising event, a strong advertising and sales strategy will bring out many people who were unaware of your cause. You may find allies who come to believe just as passionately in your message as you do.

For those planning a similar event, Charlotte has this advice, “Plan ahead! Make sure all loose ends are tied a week prior to your event; it saves a lot of time and money. And remember to have lots of helping hands to help set up and break down!! That is truly the hardest part of any event.”

To donate to Fight For Damion visit FightingforDamion.com.

 

 

 

 

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