Marketing ploys?

M. Welshman

M. Welshman

Jay came through on the pun-ishing thread suggesting I consider doing a feature/talk/book on the marketing exploits I've experienced since publication of P in P.  Thanks for the idea Jay. Has anyone done similar? If so,let's ear (sorry...stop it Malcolm) about it.
Funny enough I've just had an e-mail from a presenter I met on a local radio show. She's a whizz-kid when it comes to publicity and she's come up with a mind-blowing promotional idea for me. I live on a hillside in a 5 acre woodland setting laid out in the early 1900s with some splendid specimen trees, Cedar groves and stunning views for miles across to the Mendips. Quite magical.  Anyway, she's suggesting a 'gathering' where episodes from the book are enacted in costume all at the same time, but constantly repeated in various locations in the grounds on platforms under makeshift gazebos. Hugh Fearnley Wittingstall's chef, a friend of hers, is just down the road and could do the catering. She's saying the local amateur dramatic societies could be roped in to do the scenes.  She thinks it's just the sort of thing that would attract TV coverage.  Talk about thinking big.  I'm gob smacked.  Whatever, I 've mentioned this as an example of a marketing ploy. Would be interested to hear of any that you guys have experienced or even just heard about.
And no...don't let anyone dare suggest I don a plucked chicken costume akin to the cockatoo in P in P and strut round Somerset handing out flyers about the book. I'll knock you off your perch if you do.

Carol

Would you actually have time to do it all?

Jenny

Can we all come and play?

Island Girl

You never cease to amaze me, MW. Go for it! (But don't forget your Talkback friends left behind in your trail of stardust, will you?)

Jay Mandal

The phrase 'never work with children and animals' springs to mind! But is the idea for the AmDram-ers be dressed up as animals?

Kangaroo

What a good idea MW, goodluck!

brownfox

Sounds like a fantastic idea!  I presume the idea is to charge admission?  My only reservation (if I were in your obviously well-heeled shoes) would be security of the property, especially the house.  No doubt folks who open their gardens for charity have the same concerns.  Apart from this, it is a very imaginative 'prospect'!

brownfox

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but what about public liability insurance for such an event?  Likely to be sky high, especially if animals are involved.  Constant reports in the press of village fetes cancelled because of the dangers of egg and spoon races.  Likely to be magnified if camels etc are involved.

josiehenley

It’s a great idea, wow, certainly good to have someone like this presenter on your side MW. It’s good to have a manager for these sorts of things rather than trying to organise it yourself, you could find an events organiser, or maybe the amdram society would have one, who would know about things like public liability and health and safety etc. I’ve been to loads of festivals and outdoor plays and they are a real money-spinner, people expect to pay for drinks, ice-cream etc. Maybe you could link up with an animal charity and have the profits for entry, refreshments etc. go to them, but with the idea that you get the publicity (and sell copies of your book at the event as well of course).

Katy

MW, it sounds like a great suggestion and Josie's ideas about joining up with a local charity to host the event are good ones. A local charity that is used to running events (like your local branch of the RSPCA for instance) will have public liability insurance already that will cover it for events run in its name, and lots of volunteers it can call on. Your local Am dram soc may simply need to extend its P L insurance cover. A first aider on site is a useful precaution, but loads of people these days have first aid certs through work and you might be able to arrange a volunteer to do it. Failing that, St John's Ambulance will supply cover but be aware that they make a fairly substantial charge for it. You can even invest in 'pluviat insurance' for outdoor events in case the whole lot gets rained off!

I've worked in the charity world for years (now freelance) and the main risk at events of this kind funnily enough is dispute over profit. The only thing I would say is to sit down and work out your whole budget for the event first - and then agree among participating orgs who is going to pay for what and how proportions of profit (or loss) will be allocated.

M. Welshman

Thanks for that excellent advice.  Mmm.  Not too sure if I'm up for all of that though. But certainly if I could get someone willing to do the organising then maybe... I know the local Rotary Club have used the grounds for functions in the past so I could try approaching them. I'll certainly fish for some helpers, see if I can hook any interest and wait with baited breath  (reel sorry..... wrong thread). Fin.

josiehenley

haha MW you just can't resist it, can you? Talk about carping on...

brownfox

Another wet-blanket-y thought occurred when you mention roping in helpers (sorry).  Anyone involved with children will need to be police checked.  More red tape ...

brownfox

If all this is seeming like too much hard work, perhaps the local amdram could just perform 'Pets in Prospect' at their local hall.  You (or one of them) could write the screenplay, perhaps transfer it to Somerset for more 'local flavour'.  Could still be worthy of TV coverage; still potential to benefit a charity.

brownfox

It has been suggested that you use people dressed as animals as a safer option than animals. There's a report in today's press of a Japanese zoo that decided to hold a drill for a potential emergency if one of their wild animals escaped from its enclosure.  They dressed a zoo keeper in an orang utang costume and let him pretend to run amok in the zoo.  Trouble was, it went to his head.  He terrorised a group of schoolkids, then attacked and captured one of his fellow keepers.  He finally had to be subdued by a tranquilliser gun.  Just what you want at the bottom of your garden, isn't it?

Katy

Well, it'd certainly capture the attention of the media circus...

brownfox

I didn't think of it in that way, Katy!  Perhaps MW could 'arrange' for a stooge dressed as a camel to 'go berserk' during the course of the pageant.  He could bite a local bigwig on the bottom.  As you say, then it would definitely hit the press!

M. Welshman

That would certainly give me the hump.