Austin Improv Co-op Advertising Committees

[Wesley]

As many of you probably already know, a bunch of Austin Improv folks sat down this past weekend and discussed various aspects of the Austin Improv Community (AIC), including its future and our advertising plans both now and moving forward.

A number of people took on various responsibilities and several committees and sub-committees were formed.

Roy and I have volunteered to head up the Non-traditional Advertising Committee. Andy C. is heading up the Traditional Advertising side. Phil and Valerie are taking on the Logo/Branding/Motto subcommittee. A lot of people are already helping out and everyone is welcome to chip in in any way they can.
If you missed the meeting this last weekend don't worry, there will be many more. And any ideas you would like to propose are always welcomed. It is all of our community, so please speak up and contribute any ideas you have.

I will be posting various announcements and requests over the next few weeks and months in this journal and over on the AIC message boards and wiki site. Below is a short debrief on what we discussed Saturday with regards to advertising.


Advertising Meeting Debrief

About 10 people met for 90 minutes on Saturday the 22th, from 6:00 to 7:30. Because there were so many potential specific ideas to go into, we tried to keep to several general questions and concerns. Future meetings and subcommittees will delve into specific ideas and solutions.

What is Traditional Advertising?
--Standard media (TV, radio, print, flyers, internet ads, posters, chaulking, marquees, A-frames, sandwich boards, etc.)
--Merchandise (T-shirts, buttons, stickers, bumperstickers, etc.)
--Promotional (free tickets, contests, etc.)
--Tends to be in the mainstream
--Often utilizes clear identity, branding, motto, or logo
--Semi-passive (people receive information by watching, listening, or reading)
--Often remains fairly consistent over time
--Often distrbuted by advertiser to customer
--Traditional advertising is providing what is expected. An online calendar may have been innovative in 1995, but in 2005 it is an expected service and traditional form of advertising.
--???

What is Non-traditional Advertising?
--May be less passive and more active (people may interact with it or have to do something to find out more information, like taking an internet quiz (one suggestion was "Which Austin improv troupe are you?"))
--May be one-time event or publicity "stunt" (like walking in a parade, holding a scavenger hunt, or putting on a concert)
--May not even be perceived by the public as advertising
--Sometimes focuses more on niche markets than mainstream
--May become viral and be passed around by customers rather than the by the advertiser (like a link to an internet meme or a funny video)
--Could focus on something other than information, like entertaining (information being secondary)
--May provide an "Added Value" or "Talk Value" to the consumer
--Gives the customer something unexpected.
--May push technological or social boundaries.
--???

What are we not doing now or what opportunities are we currently missing? How could we improve our general efforts?
--Not targeting audiences as well as we might (UT Campus, St. Edwards, High Schools, etc.)
--Try targeting tourists (hotels, conventions, etc.)
--Try targeting events (SXSW, ACL, Bat Fest, Pecan Street, football games, people bat watching on bridge, etc.)
--Not forming media connections (with local TV stations or radio shows. We have had some recent press success, but we could do more follow-up work with them.)
--Maybe not theme-ing shows enough for things like holidays. Cage Match may alleviate some of that.
--Not giving the audiences the tools they need to come back easily. (Roy will work on an Audience Questionaire to ask the audience what it is they want).
--We could raise exposure by doing free events, street performances, or opening for other events.
--Target specific groups (like students, teachers, visiting parents, people under 21 who want to go downtown, etc.)
--Target outlying communities more
--Target in ever-expanding concentric interest circles. Find out what our core audience is and expand outward.


We set the logo/motto as one of our most pressing Advertising concerns and we wanted to plan one good advertising push before Thanksgiving, probably focusing on the UT campus.

Keep your eyes peeled for more information!