25
Oct 13
Reflections of a Friday Night Concert Sponsor
YourCableStore.com decided to primarily become a sponsor of the Chico Friday Night Concert (FNC) series for two reasons- we love music and we wanted to help keep live music alive in our community. Over half of our staff here are musicians. We often joke about how we could start our own band. We have vocals, bass, drums, guitar, keys and flute covered. We definitely have the cables!
A note about the event for those who are not familiar with it, here are the details stolen straight off of the Downtown Chico Business Association’s website:
For 36 years, the Friday Night Concerts have been a favorite summertime tradition held weekly, from May through September, the Friday Night Concerts are Chico’s best place to hear live, local music for free. Located in City Plaza, in the heart of downtown, the concerts offer entertainment to suit every musical preference – styles range from blues to swing and from country to reggae.
The evenings were hot and the music was hotter!
Of course, we hoped that sponsoring the event would bring excellent exposure to our business. Sure it was a little out of our budget and we didn’t have a plan to drive website sales. But we were committed to the experience.
We started out the summer concert series with a banner, some pens and some t-shirts to give out. From there it slowly evolved. We made and passed out flyers to the audience while they waited for the show to start. Then we bought a wheel and featured giveaways from bags of candy (for kids) to lofty gift certificates. Then we purchased a stand to display our products on. The more involved we became the more involved the people of Chico became. And it was fun.
So much fun in that we plan to do it again next year. Here are our notes/ ideas for future sponsors:
1) Make booth interactive- We had a wheel to spin and prizes to gift. Candy and gift certificates a plenty for those young and old alike.
Our interactive booth was a lot of fun to run!
2) Get involved- Hand out coupons, free pens and T-shirts. Everyone loves FREE!
One of our youngest fans, Maddie, absolutely loved our t-shirt even though it may have been just a little big on her.
3) Be sure banners are visible to incoming/outgoing foot traffic.
4) Water, water, water- We ended up buying a cooler to put ice, kanteens and bottled waters in. Chico summer heat can be unbearable.
5) Get organized- The more stuff you bring, the messier it gets. So get some totes, preferably the ones that roll.
6) Bring foldup chairs- The concrete is too hot.
7) Commit to as many concerts as you can- We only missed a few, even with a staff of 8.
8) Incentivize the staff/personnel- We budgeted dinner and pay for whoever helped execute. Some of our favorite meals came from Burgers& Brews, Pluto’s or Celestino’s.
9) Brand Away!- Put your brand everywhere you can- wear it, put it on a t-shirt and give it away, put it on a pen and give it away… get it out there. Don’t forget to bring plenty of business cards.
Our YCS Basics brand hanging on our display rack for all to see.
10) Have fun. We brought our daughter. We played in the water. We relaxed after a long work week.
11) Optional: If you have a band, feel free to play for one of the concerts. This year I brought my band (The Amy Celeste Band) and we rocked it!
Setting up for our concert at the Friday Night Concert.
We have been regular attendees of the Concert Series in the past. Last year we had our toddler running through the water fountains. As a sponsor of the event this year, not much changed in our approach. We knew we still wanted to bring her along and have a fun evening. The difference is this year we set up a booth and let the community of Chico know that we have an internet retail business. And this year we walked away proud of the fact that our business dollars helped keep Chico rockin’ and rollin’.
