A dummies guide to local promotion

Local promotion is hard work. To make any event full capacity means understanding that you need to be obsessive to ensure this.

1. IDENTIFY
• Artist/author demographic, this would be age, likes and people group of the consumer who would like this type of event.
• Ensure that a minimum of 3 months is available for promotion from point of receiving promotional items
• Platforms for promotion within a 50 mile radius or 1 hour drive to venue (do not focus on people within your town – look beyond.)

2. PLATFORM
• Look for local platforms to distribute publicity and meet people of influence who will ensure the event is full. Listed below are a number of key people groups who would help with this:

  o Church Leaders (go and visit them and the groups they represent don’t just rely on mail outs.)
  o Worship Leaders
  o Youth Leaders
  o Children’s Leaders

• Look for other events, concerts, and conferences within a 3 month lead time to your event (distribution of material, handouts or a voice from the platform.)

It may be appropriate to offer major influencers tickets to add to their enthusiasm for the event.
If you don’t have a church listing then an idea is to Google your area for churches within your county and surrounding towns of the event.

3. INSTORE
• Work alongside local Christian bookstores / coffeehouses and any other daily outlets to display material and sell tickets.

4. MEDIA (LOCAL)
• Local media are always willing to help promote events that are happening within their local area. Therefore contact your local newspaper and their ‘what’s happening’ sections to see if they want
to interview the artist/author, attend the concert, run competitions or just add it to their listings.

• The same goes for Radio and any local community radio stations will have a similar show for what’s happening in their area probably around 2 weeks up front. It’s interesting to note that radio, unless sponsoring the event, will not pre promote up to 2 weeks before.

• Web – work alongside any Christian organisation through their email listings and by banner placement.

To get access to artist/author contact their national promoter or record label/publisher direct.

5. MEDIA (NATIONAL)
• TV – if part of a national tour, then your national promoter may look at TV advertising through Christian TV. Our advice is to always ensure that ads are placed around major profiled shows, like Hillsong or Joyce Meyer.

• Charity – should the artist/author be a sponsor or affiliated with any charity then make contact with them and see if there are any mailings, monthly magazines or emails that you can access for your
event.

• Record Company/Publisher – ensure that should there be a new album or book that the tour dates are added within these products, either via a sticker or a leaflet.

• Denominations – again should the artist/author be linked to a specific denomination its worth contacting them to use their national database for profile.

6. MISC
• Street teams – a good idea is to encourage others around you to be involved in promotion of the event spreading the resources you need to impact the event. Street teams are people who will take
flyers/posters into schools, Christian Unions, colleges and universities.

• Multiple hits – ensure that everyone you deal with has been hit twice in person or through literature. Statistics show it takes 3 times for people to recognise a song on radio, therefore consumers need to be hit multiple times to connect with the event you’re doing.