The Great Gimmick!

[mjr]

Here's what I'm going to try when my new band starts playing out again.

I'm going to try my best NOT to promote the band at all. I'm not going to tell ANYONE about our gigs --- not even our friends. (I may not even tell my drummer about it, depending on how I feel.)

I'm never going to mention our band name to anyone (even at gigs); it will be the best kept secret this side of Area 51.

If people that know I'm in a band ask when I'm playing next, I'm going to say "guess."






I'll let y'all know how that goes.

Maybe you could take the "South Park" approach. There was the episode where Cartman bought the amusement park, but wouldn't let anyone come, "Especially Stan & Kyle!".

Well, I know it's animated, and it makes fun of people, but the fact that he essentially said "You can't come!" made people want to come to his amusement park.

So, on that note (excuse the pun), you could say something like "Our CD named <whatever> is out, but you can't have one!" or something like "The New CD <whatever> is out, and nobody can have it, especially YOU!"

Of course, that would mean you'd have to have some type of media to advertise in, and it could always backfire on you.

 

[grn]

the idea is that people have to know that they're not supposed to know... and that they're not allowed to come or hear you or purchase a cd... just 'not advertising' won't work at all. in fact, that's probably one of the dumbest things anyone has ever said. you need to advertise that you're 'not advertising'.

a better approach would just be to exclude people. for instance, saying things like "if you're a fan of so-and-so, you'll hate us and we don't want you as a fan".

 

[grn]

also, if people do happen to 'discover' you, and your music actually doesn't suck, you will lose a lot of money and word of mouth advertising from them if they have no idea how to find out when your next show is or where to get a cd.

 

[grn]

for our next EP (and it's ten songs) - that in itself is a gimmick... a ten song EP. screw everyone, we're saying it's an EP, not a full length. anyhow, we lined up a radio interview to debut it, and a live performance in an ice cream shop where they will then name an ice cream after us (costs them nothing). that will then get us an article in the newspaper. see how it works.

 

[famous beagle]

for our next EP (and it's ten songs) - that in itself is a gimmick... a ten song EP. screw everyone, we're saying it's an EP, not a full length. anyhow, we lined up a radio interview to debut it, and a live performance in an ice cream shop where they will then name an ice cream after us (costs them nothing). that will then get us an article in the newspaper. see how it works.

Say what you will, but I think my anti-publicity route is worth a shot. To let them know what they're missing defeats the whole purpose. I'm trying to keep it bottled as tightly as possible and let the mysterious forces of nature take care of the rest.

 

[mjr]

the idea is that people have to know that they're not supposed to know... and that they're not allowed to come or hear you or purchase a cd... just 'not advertising' won't work at all. in fact, that's probably one of the dumbest things anyone has ever said. you need to advertise that you're 'not advertising'.

a better approach would just be to exclude people. for instance, saying things like "if you're a fan of so-and-so, you'll hate us and we don't want you as a fan".

That's exactly what I'm saying. I just didn't convey it very well. If you're putting out a CD, your advertising could include what you were saying, something like "Our new CD <cd name> is available now, and YOU can't buy one!" or "<band name> is putting on a show this Saturday Night at 7:30 PM, and nobody can come! Especially you!"

 

[altiris]

I forgot all about this thread...

The number one reason for business failure is exactly this. Did you already give up?