Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I was a StartupNation user before I found the location for the business.  Reading the advice on this web site really has helped me a few times a long the way to getting the business open.

Last Friday we had a successful grand opening.  Now it`s going to be a different animal all together.  It`s time to focus on marketing and customer service.

What methods are the best advertising for a theater like mine?  The theater features entertainment like "Whose Line is it Anyway?" where we make up all of the lines on the spot - with no pre-planning.  It is a family friendly comedy club.  The web address is http://www.dramagenics.com . 

Here is a list of things that we have done:
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1.  We sent out a press release to several places...

2.  We have been featured in more newspapers than I have been able to keep track of now - most of the stories ran durring the construction phase.

3.  We sponsored a film festival that did not seem to generate much of a response - very little return on investment.

4.  We had a booth in a family trade show - there were over 200,000 people who attended the trade show - but we were lost in the shuffle of the nearly 300 other business that were there.  Again, not much return on the investment.

5.  I have offered discounts to a couple of businesses - this seems to generate the best response so far.

6.  We ran a TV ad that was targeted to the imediate area where the theater is.

7.  We have flyers and door hangers with 2 for 1 coupons, that have not been passed out yet...but we are planning on doing that soon.

8.  We have done several shows around the community as well...

Any advice on the best method of marketing?

Thank You!!
Joe

Hi Joe :-)

I`m gonna approach this from a nightclub opening, since I`ve been in a fair number of those. Yes, I know this is an improv company, but are there really all that many differences?

I`ll also assume you have a single location, and you`re not yet opening multiple locations like something along the lines of Zanies.

How come people go out? They want to party, drink, meet someone for sex, blow off steam, eat something.....what else?

It`s not that people say, "Hey...it`s Saturday night and so we have to go to a comedy club." Rather, they say, "Let`s do something tonight. What should we do?"

The next issue is whether you have any headliners that could draw people? A new club is just....another club. But if you can get some word-of-mouth going, that`ll likely be your main ticket to success. Do you have a budget to get someone in who can draw a crowd?

What about your location? Are you on your own, or do you have close competition with other clubs? How easy is it for someone to leave a dinner and walk to or have a short drive to your Dramagenics?

Also, what`s your tagline? How do you associate "drama" with comedy and improv?

I like 5. I suggest working with other companies. There`s a place here local called Joe`s Comedy Club, and they do these dinner and a comdey shows that sell the place out! Basically you call there and get a reservation (sp) for a show and pay, they then send you a certificate for your choice of places to eat at.

I think the big hurdle is family comdey. I just dont know many comedians that are clean. You know you could target the families and have comedy classes for the kids during off hours.

Tikki,

Thank you for your advice.   The show and pay is a great idea.  Trust me - the Big Hurdle is not "being family friendly" - there is a huge audience that needs this, because they can`t stand the garbage that is everywhere else.  If anything it`s our biggest asset.  We have been planning since day one to start classes as well.  The reason that people don`t know clean comedians is because there are no venues for them.  However; we put shows on like "Whose Line is it Anyway?" and the audiences LOVE it.  We have a resident improv troupe that performs regularly, so we aren`t constantly looking for the next show to book. 

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Thanks Kathy,

I didn`t realize how difficult it was to find the address on the web site. 

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Craig,

Our nearest competitor is about 45 minutes away.  They draw sell out crowds nearly every show.  But on this side of the Phoenix Metro Valley there are zero comedy clubs, family or otherwise.  There are several resuraunts near the area - You and the others are right that it`s a good idea to develop relationships with them.

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Thank you all for your input - it really helps to hear everyones perspectives.  And I welcome more advice as well.  It seems as if we are on the right track.  There are a few small things to complete and persue.  But, we are well on our way.

Thank You!
Joe

 

 

 

Oh, and associating drama with improv.

The word "improv" has been hijacked by stand-up comedians.  True improv is made up on-the-spot.  Stand-up comdeians are scripted (although some will say that they improvise here and there).  That said; their scripts were improvised when the penned them to paper.  Thus - Improv is where drama begins.  The word Dramagenics is a made up word that means: Originating from or having to do do with drama; or my definition - where the drama rubber - meats the theatrical road; which therefore is a TRUE synonym for improv.  I did not have to use comedy in the tag line because - people already associate "improv" with comedy because of "The Improv" theaters all over the country.  So the business name with the tag line is: Dramagenics - Family Improv Theater.

Also,

Just a thought - about clean comedy.  John Heder became famous for his show Napolean Dynamite.  It was a super clean comedy, and even if that humor was not your cup of tea.  It was wanted by enough people to make him a star over night.  THEN, he started performing in stupid shows with garbage humor - it RUINED him, he will never have a show as successful as the first, unless he cleans up his act.  Now he has to dress up as a cave man to persue his career.

Also, Walt Disney saw the need for clean family entertainment.  After he died - his standards went with him.  But it was the "family friendly" that made him successful.  Now "Disney" is successful - just because of it`s sheer size and name recognition.

Joe