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#036 Marketing
Dribble + Drool: Miami Heat Uses COVID Sniffing Dogs 🏀 🐶
Today's read ... 7️⃣ minutes
How the Miami Heat is using COVID-sniffing dogs to expedite fan entry, Ticketmaster launches a brand new ticketing service, + learn why live events may be expected to continue virtual experiences after the pandemic, according to this week’s Headliner, Brain Bauer.
Dr. Fauci predicts that with increased vaccine production and the development and approval of additional vaccines, the majority of Americans will be eligible to receive a vaccine by summer.
2021 festivals across the world continue to dwindle as Canada’s Mariposa Folk Festival and Columbus, Ohio’s Columbus Arts Festival and the Jazz & Ribs Fest officially announce their cancellations. Meanwhile, EDC Mexico has been postponed to September.
President Biden and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell plan to use all 30 NFL stadiums as mass vaccination sites. Having already been sites for COVID testing and election polling, utilizing this infrastructure would likely expedite reopening plans significantly.
Despite receiving the greenlight from the Governor to operate at 25% capacity, many Seattle concert halls are not planning to open their doors until the fall due to safety concerns and inability to generate significant income with the requirements.
German study reveals that trained dogs can detect the virus 94% of the time, which is highly accurate compared to PCR and rapid tests. The Miami Heat have already taken advantage of their COVID-sniffing abilities to expedite fan screening.
Norway becomes the next country to announce a government-sponsored festival cancellation fund to support organizations’ efforts to plan summer events. Several other European countries including the UK and Switzerland await similar aid from their governments.
A stadium in Portugal has revolutionized the ticket sales process by implementing 3D technology that allows buyers to have a 360 degree view of their seats within the venue before purchasing. A strategic nod to improving customer experience.
Two trial festivals will take place in The Netherlands in March. Each festival will host 1500 attendees who are required to present a negative test, wear masks, and wear contact tracking lanyards during the event.
Spanish artist Paula Mattheus to become first musician to release a single on budding social media platform, Clubhouse. The social site boasts more than 2 million users. Are you one of them? Tell us in our poll at the bottom of the newsletter.
Source: We Rave You Credit: EDC Mexico
New York’s Large Venues Get (Very Small) Go-Ahead from Governor Cuomo
Governor Cuomo of New York will allow large venues to operate at 10% capacity starting February 23rd. All attendees must provide proof of a negative COVID test 72 hours or less prior to entering the venue. Other safety measures like mask requirements and seating arrangements must also be implemented. Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden are among the arenas with events already planned. Additionally, New York will host 300 small, free gigs for healthcare professionals called ‘NY PopsUp” between now and Labor Day.
Source: Digital Music News Credit: Krists Luhaers
Ticketmaster Launches New Platform Supporting Livestream Event Sales
Ticketmaster, owned by Live Nation, has launched a ticketing service for virtual events called Ticketmaster Livestream. This service can connect to any streaming platform and will streamline the process of selling tickets and collecting donations. Led by Ticketmaster’s new Global Music Team, this new platform has already been successful for artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Niall Horan, and Glass Animals. The rise of more efficient and engaging virtual shows made possible by services like Ticketmaster Livestream might lead to virtual events sticking around longer than the pandemic.
Stages Saved: UK Charity Saves 13 Grassroots Venues from Closing
United Kingdom charity Music Venue Trust has been taking action to support grassroots venues during the pandemic. They recently removed 13 venues from their Save Our Venue Red List as there is no longer a concern for their permanent closure because of the organization’s fundraising efforts. Additionally, Music Venue Trust has created a new non-profit entity that seeks to help venues renting from private landlords. They hope this initiative will prevent losses of venues due to ownership issues by acting as “benevolent landlord that actually wants venue operators as tenants.”
Brian Bauer is a third-generation entrepreneur and musician. He knew from a young age that he would work in entertainment. Young Brian was not wrong.
After a job in radio and a stint at the Mastercard Priceless Experience in Los Angeles, Brian graduated from the University of Maryland and landed a job at Windup Records in New York City. He didn’t last long there as his band, Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears, was presented with an opportunity to go on tour. During the roughly three years he spent on tour, Brian began to dabble in digital marketing, helping “old school” clients break into social media.
That led him to Nashville in 2012 where he began working for Rockhouse Partners, a marketing agency owned by Etix where he was quickly thrust into a leadership role. Shortly after, Brian created Bauer Entertainment Marketing which now works with marquee music, sports, and entertainment properties across the world such as Country Jam USA, Lexington Center, the National Sports Forum, Emporium Presents, Dixiefrog Records, and TourGigs. Despite the pandemic, BEM experienced a year of significant growth, adding approximately 30 new clients and employing 16 people in 2020.
In March 2020, when the magnitude of Coronavirus first became a reality, Brian saw his business and that of his clients slow substantially. But he gathered his team, took stock of where they were, and formulated a plan. On the top of his list was to stay true to BEM’s mission of being value-forward while positioning the company to help its clients and industry colleagues. Brian knew he had to look at things long-term and focus on mitigating losses for live event industry professionals. Looking back on that list a few weeks ago, he proudly says he “checked all the boxes.”
Some of the ways Brian and BEM have helped their clients keep as much cash on hand as possible are:
Hosted livestream and drive-in events. BEM’s first livestream during the pandemic was on March 21, 2020 -- just two weeks after major event cancellations.
Shifted on-site sponsorship dollars into virtual activations.
Established merchandise stores online.
BEM also hosted and participated in several industry webinars. Brian’s “How to Avoid a “Fan Demic” During the Coronavirus Crisis'' webinar in partnership with the National Sports Forum was their most viewed event. Livestreams are here to stay, according to Brian. But in order for them to be successful, they need production value.
“The days of couch concerts are over. If the experience is the same as watching a YouTube video, it isn’t effective,” says Brian.
Instead, livestream events need to have more production value for fans, a feeling of exclusivity, and fans need control of the experience (the ability to choose the camera angle or to hop from “stage” to “stage”). Fans will pay for enhanced experiences. In fact, many already are.Even after in-person events return, Brian thinks we’ll see more hybrid options than ever before, with virtual experience acting complementary to live experiences. Fans are more likely to attend a live show after watching a livestream, so these hybrid events should be viewed as marketing tools for future in-person events.
Are you on Clubhouse?or
▶️ Rock paper scissors, inc is looking for a full-time Operations Director to manage their day-to-day operations and financial affairs.▶️ 7th Planet Entertainment Group in Water Valley, Texas is seeking a Booking Agent.▶️ Apply to develop strategy and maintain connections as Director of Global Music Partnerships at Splice.▶️ Venue management opportunity: Oak View Group is hiring an Assistant General Manager in Savannah, Georgia.
▶️ Questions on health insurance? Music Health Alliance has got you covered.▶️ The customer is always right. Enjoy these funny stories from the ticket office.▶️ Check out BizBash’s 8 tips for being a freelance event producer and 5 ways to stay positive as an event and ticketing professional during the pandemic.▶️ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces 2021 Class nominees including Foo Fighters and Jay-Z.
February 16: Register for EventMB’s 2021 Outlook webinar on The Future of the Event Industry to hear insights from industry leaders on virtual events and the return to live.February 18: UTA Welcome to the Clubhouse Webinar: Hear about how this next major social media platform works and how to build your audience.February 18: The Arena Resilience Alliance’s second conference, ‘A Game of Two Halves: The Return Leg’ will discuss their plan for a safe return to live events and analyze the results of the Rockhal test concert series.February 22: Tune in to the Production Management for Concerts and Festivals, with Roadies of Color United free webinar to hear some stories of life on the road, learn about international touring, logistics and how to enter and survive in the industry.
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