Today, I attended a roadshow in Brighton, put on by the Fringe society, entitiled 'Sell Your Show at the Fringe'. This is the closest I can manage to a play by play of some of the advice and important information that the talk gave out. But you'll have to forgive my rudimentary notes, because I neglected to record useful segments that weren't relevant to me specifically, as well as often, unfortunately the source that most of these nuggets of information came from - there were 5 speakers and the advice often came thick and fast from all of them.
The set up was a panel of guests with a huge combined wealth of experience at the fringe as well as acclaim for their expertise, and a member of the fringe society acting as mediator fielding them useful questions from the audience as well as from his own arsenal of insights.
The panel included Matt Truman a freelance journalist, Paul Levy who works for the Fringe Review and seemed to have a good deal experience with theatre, Mel Brown who works with an entire team of publicists in Edinburgh, Valerie Potter who braves it alone as a freelance publicist at the fringe, as well as, crucially, Lyn Gardner from the Guardian, who as an extensive theatre critic and writer it would seem is a humble and deserving member of the Edfringe royalty.
If you haven't been able to get to one of these roadshows, or are thinking of going to one (my unwavering advice is to do so), then I hope my notes will be of use to you. Here are some of the bits that I picked up:
Writing A Media Press Release
This was the first topic that was covered extensively by the panel, in the first round of questioning asked by the mediator. Some very interesting and helpful points were made by Mel Brown who briefly described some of the dos and don'ts of a press release for your show.
It's important to have the press release as a one page document, so that it is clear, concise and easy to read. You should fill this document with factual but interesting information, without adding a great deal of flair or taking a creative license with your show. Flowery writing and impressive metaphors are just going to confuse your message and the point of your show, besides, it's a job that is up to the journalists themselves if they go see your show - you don't need to promise them your show will fill the room with raucous laughter like the sound of great heavy crashing waves. Instead focus on the Unique Selling Point, or usp; why is your show different, special and worth witnessing? This is the information you should be able to get across in a short and to the point summary of your basic premise.
In fact, one of the main points that was stressed, and driven home, was just how little time journalists have when trying to sift through the enormous number of emails, letters and press releases they get. So the message from them would appear to be, the quicker, the shorter, the clearer, the better.
Then there is the question of who to send it to, and this came with an important rule, to absolutely avoid what was called blanket bombing all of the journalists. if your show is stand up, and you send your press release to a theatre critic, this will be incredibly irritating for them. Admittedly, it can't hurt, but what can hurt is sending out a bland and uninteresting press release that excites absolutely no one. Think, if your press release sounds like a generic round robin letter that everybody receives it is much less likely to excite the interest of anyone reading it. Find out a little bit about who you are sending it to, so that you know what it is that they are looking for and what they are likely to respond to.
On a related and important note, find out the precise format that the journalists like to recieve their information in; Lyn Gardner for example, told us she likes to receive a press release by post so that she can read it on the train, so this is much more likely to get a response out of her than an email. This information is all available in the media list that all of the participants will receive on May 30th - which is an extensive list of all of the appropriate journalists and media that you can contact along with their details plus a checklist of what they do and do not want to be sent.
The date of the 30th is important, because this, and immediately afterwards is the day that the inbox of these journalists is going to explode with an influx of information from thousands of different shows. They told us today, that they hate the second half of July with a passion because that is precisely when they are beyond inundated with a landslide of information. It's also, never too early to get in there, and start letting the press know who you are, with the month of February thrown around as a good starting point. The advice from this seems to be, once May 30th comes, get something to the people on that list as soon as possible, because the longer you wait, the more they will have to wade through to find yours.
The last word about a press release was simply about images. These don't need to go to the journalists themselves, you send them to the picture desk of the appropriate publication, so that when it comes to print they've got it already to hand. Again, the only thing a journalist is looking for, is a snappy informative description that simply says here's who I am and what I'm doing, and here's why it's worth you coming to see it.
------- Very importantly: do not forget to put the absolutely vital basic information into the press release. Where and when the show is, and your contact details are the absolute most important part, and yet they apparently are often forgotten by shows that get carried away in writing about how great it is. 'Okay, sounds awesome, but how do I see it?'
Flyers and Leafleting
The next big topic that was thrown around, was to do with flyers and the way that you sell directly to the public itself.
On this topic, Paul Levy had some interesting insights when he spoke from experience about a sort of tipping point that can occur for a lot of shows at the fringe. He described a familiar scene in which you leaflet day after day to very little success, then one day it all comes together by chance for whatever reason, and suddenly you have a decently packed venue, you put on a good show, and those people tell their friends and the buzz starts to spread. Suddenly you've got a success on your hands, even though it seemed at the start as if no one was ever going to come. This is in part, he said, to word of mouth, and a quality product, but crucially, he greatly emphasized the incomparable importance of hard graft when it comes to getting people in. Gimmicks, stunts and spending are nothing compared to the crucial step of just really digging your heels into the mud and working at the publicity tirelessly throughout the whole run. Even when it seems like your work on the mile is bringing absolutely no one in, you could be just one day away from that great tipping point that could turn it all around, even as sometimes happens, in the very last week of the run.
Matt Truman, who was a performer himself at the fringe before becoming a journalist, spoke about the importance of once again targeting your show towards the right people. It is not, he explained, simply about getting people through the doors and into seats, but about making sure that it is the right people in the right seats (the right show). This will undoubtedly help your word of mouth as well, an audience member who is suited for the show, and who enjoys it is so much more valuable to you than someone who you might have accidentally deceived into believing it was for them, when you promised them the world whilst selling it on the mile. Again, as was the case with many of the questions and advice, honesty is absolutely the best policy, be clear about what your show is, and trust in your quality product.
Part of this is to do with starting a dialogue with the people that you are flyering to. It's not, the panel told us, simply about shifting a huge volume of flyers; find the people who are receptive to what you are saying and leave them with all of the information that you can about your product. In this dialogue you can find out a little bit more about the person you are actually trying to sell to, connecting with someone on a personal level is much more likely to get them along tot he show than cramming a piece of paper into the hand of someone who is only pushing to get past you. I understand by the way, whilst writing this, that the mile is overwhelmingly busy and noisy, and that having a conversation with someone, whilst certainly the ideal, isn't always going to be possible, but it seems to me that the if you are personable enough, the people who are willing to stop and speak to you, are the people who are actually looking for something to go to, and want to be sold to, rather than the people who are in an incredible rush because they are late for something else they've already got scheduled in.
To do with the flyers themselves, the publicists present said that it's vital to have a strong image that delivers a clear message about what your show is. In an ideal world it's unique, stands out, conveys the message, and is even funny. On top of all this, it's necessary for your defining image to work both as a large picture and a tiny one for the side of a column or the programme. Work, time and investment put into the image itself can not be understated and will definitely not go to waste. It was said that the image for your show is just as, if not more important potentially, than the press release or the description. Get a designer, or someone you know with considerable talent, because this image, along with everything else about your promotion, will wordlessly speak volumes about the quality of your show.
A golden rule that seemed to be implied throughout the whole talk was, 'Professional product? Professional promotion.'
By which I'm not implying they were saying o hire an entire staff, crew and PR team (more on that later). But just to be aware that every single step that you take to do with contacting the media or the public has to be undertaken in a professional and high quality manner, because anything less is bound to make you look like an amateur and not worth the time.
So strong image on the front, grab the attention, all of the information anyone could possibly need on the back. A simple premise for the layout, that could help your flyers to carry so much more value to you.
In the discussion of flyers, an interesting conflict about quotes and reviews was sparked. Unsurprisingly, at the fringe, shows and performers exaggerate their reviews, or borrow quote from other shows they've performed and attribute them to shows where they aren't relevant. It really isn't beyond the realm of imagination to believe that many shows just simply conjure up quotes out of thin air, and attribute them to whoever they like, fictional or otherwise. Once again, as with many of the questions, honesty triumphs. It's a very underhanded, if not simply morally bankrupt thing to do, and it's likely to be picked up on and slated by journalists who might have otherwise been tempted to give you a real positive review you might use. If you don't have any quotes attributed to your show yet, just make sure the product is good, and wait for them to come in and be surprised by it, rather than resorting to lousy tactics that present you as dishonest and untrustworthy. If you've made up a quote this year, why would anyone believe the one next year? Whether it was real or not.
At this point Lyn Gardner told a charming story about her astonishment at being given a flyer outside Waverly station by a leafletter who told her the show in question was reviewed as 'Lyn Gardner, Critics choice', despite the fact that she'd never even heard of the show, let alone been along and highly rated it.
A great piece of advice that was given by Mel Brown, was to staple fresh reviews to your flyer if you get them whilst you're up there. If something comes out about you in the local papers, or the nationals and you're reviewed positively, photocopy it and include it stapled onto the back. This information is 'hot off the presses' and will raise the impact value of your flyer considerably.
3 Additional Nuggets of Advice
One additional suggestion that stayed with me, put forward by Valerie Potter, was to make friends with the people that can help you, and those that are in fact already helping you a great deal. These vital people include the fringe society, the ticket office, as well as the venue managers and their staff. For the venue in particular, you should be able to show them that you are valuable and important to the venues success and work alongside them to achieve the goal of a popular and packed out show. You don't want to appear as a potential problem for them to battle with, but as a friendly face, so introduce yourself and get to know them well, they are already helping you out everyday of your run already. There is also the fringe society and the information desk, during the month of August, these people work immeasurably hard, and according to our panel are sometimes too busy to even eat. So the occasional offering, or kind donation of a box of chocolates, or a snack run to show your gratitude for their work, could make you incredibly valuable to them, and again just presents you as a friendly face. Whilst they may not be allowed to officially endorse your show, every individual helps to be a part of the buzz that you generate as a participant of the Edinburgh scene.
The question rose, and was fairly addressed, as to whether it is necessary to hire a publicist. Considering there were two professional publicists on the panel, this question was directed towards them, who spoke at length about the benefits of a publicist, but quite reasonably ended by concluding that whilst they are a help if you have the budget, they are not by any means essential. Again, it would seem, they are part of these professional steps that could help your show look a lot better, if you know that you would struggle to write a press release, or communicate professionally with the press, it would seem to be almost essential to hire one for some of these purposes. However, one important suggestion that Valerie made, was to make sure, unquestionably, that only one person in your group was in charge of all publicity. The reasons for this are numerous and important. It creates a clear and unpolluted message for your show, unifying it behind the marketing vision of one individual. It also provides journalists and press offices with a single contact for all of their potential needs or questions. She pointed out that it isn't rare for a picture desk to call you, half an hour before printing desperate for you to be able to send them a photograph to accompany some information about you - it's important there's one person to answer the phone and efficiently deal with this emergency, additionally, she keeps a memory stick with all of the photos and information anyone might need on her at all times, which is advisable, perhaps in a data cloud, but vitally somewhere always immediately to hand.
And the final piece of advice, raised by Paul Levy, but supported by the entire team was the question, 'what are you doing in September?' He asked us to look ahead, and past Edinburgh for what it can do for us. It's a big festival, and can be a great platform, yes, but unless it's just part of the course in the continuing upward direction of your work, it's not going to be the day into night, immediate success that it is renowned for. And though it's hard to hear it, this was actually for those who are successful, it's an even harder struggle for those who aren't for whatever reason, and also all the more important. This was a word of warning from him specifically for those who win prestigious awards, and generate a lot of press. Unless you are immediately capitalising on this success and acclaim, it isn't going to be able to do much for you at all, and will rapidly decrease in value as it gets older and further away in your past. So don't leave September free as part of a moment of peace and rest from the tiring work of Edinburgh, he told us, it is the most vital month for you to maintain the momentum and move your work forwards and upwards. And the time to organise that does not start on the 25th August. It cannot. It starts right now, for your plan-making and your organisation.
This is my extensive report of the event and the information that they gave us, I understand it might be a little dry, but hopefully it will be helpful to anyone reading who is planning a different show and didn't have the chance to catch this helpful talk themselves. The advice or opinions, unless otherwise stated, are not my own necessarily, and come instead from the significant experience of the panel. I hope to follow up this post very shortly with a post that discusses some of my thoughts about the event, and the discussion it started in my head about thinking through the marketing of our own show. Thanks for reading
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