What I learned at SXSW… I’m too Bro to be a Hipster, yet too Hipster to be a Bro

2013 was my fifth consecutive year attending the music portion of the SXSW conference, however it was the first time that I was less concerned about the music and more focused on experiential marketing and branding. In the madness that was hosting three events for Ninkasi the following observations were first published over at Marketing Fun With Mike, but since SXSW is in the title you lonely music elitists may enjoy.

In the highly evolved digital data mining era, where frighteningly detailed information about any individual is readily available, how does a company fail to reach target consumers? Despite clever messages, multi-platform advertising and unprecedented incentive programs (Axe is offering a trip to space) there may be an emerging demographic slipping through the cracks.

In addition to the mass consumer, marketers need “tastemakers” and “influencers” within each demographic that actually have enough disposable income to purchase their product. The ideal tastemaker has a large social network and willingness to advocate the products they like. And when you look at the marketing campaigns aimed at the educated, unmarried, semi-professional “Man-Boy” demographic you are pretty much relegated to two subsets: The Hipster and The Bro.

Do I really think either of these demographics exist? Would anyone actually self-identify as a Hipster? A Bro? Irrelevant. Do I constantly feel as if advertisers are forcing me to be one or the other? Absolutely!

Though I admit I am of the “Man-Boy” demo, I feel myself, like many others are too Bro to be a Hipster and too Hipster to be a Bro.

Fortunately, I can’t take credit for the Hipster/Bro paradigm and will never have to explain if I’m being serious or ironic. The phrase actually came from a conversation I had with a member of Rare Monk after a performance at a client event in Austin during SXSW.

As legend has it, the phrase was on a sticker in a bathroom of a venue in their hometown of Portland, OR. And while I can’t verify it’s actual existence at this point, they, like myself, begrudgingly self-identified.

Who am I? Well, I take pride in my knowledge of indie music and most things relevant, but I’m not a judgmental “artist” of the trend chasing variety. Additionally, I enjoy competitive sports, but you won’t find me wearing a skull embroidered t-shirt pounding Jager shots while cheering on a UFC fight at Hooters. I’m lucky enough to work in a creative field but it’s not necessarily a lifestyle. I’m an inbetweener who marketers may be trying to reach, but if so, they’re doing it all wrong.

Take this K-Mart commercial for example:

The commercial is genuinely funny and I’ve only seen it advertised on Facebook. However the characters in the commercial are definitely older than the daily Facebook user who would enjoy it most. Not to mention K-Mart’s merchandise is hardly appealing to someone used to paying $25 for an Homage t-shirt.

And what about the random Little Caesar’s commercials?

Once again brilliant, successfully airing on television during sporting events, but people who find humor in the absurd are generally conscious of where their food is sourced. Sorry LC, but imitation cheese on cardboard is hardly edible, let alone organic.

The messages and platforms appear correct, so maybe it’s the products that are wrong.

How do I decide where to shop and eat? As a mass consumer, my decision making process involves a consultation with my socially, politically and environmentally semi-consciousness, although admittedly vainglorious. The actual vetting process is usually by the referral of friends without day jobs… a combination of the bar employed, self-employed and unemployed.

These friends get to stay out late, sleep in late and spend hours each day reading blogs and trolling social networking sites. Unfortunately for me, I’m getting older, spending more time focused on my career and as a result slowly losing touch with said friends. And while I realize that I can no longer keep up, I’m not giving up my Man-Boy status and I’ll be damned if I get duped into eating Little Caesars or shopping at K-Mart.

What’s the remedy? I don’t have a panacea, but I’d start by using the plethora of digital analytic tools to properly get to know both the current and target consumer equally. If you’re going to launch a campaign aimed at the Hipster/Bro demo, focus on what current and target consumers have in common and avoid pitting them against each other. Always start with a new or struggling product line rather than the entire brand. In this age of virality, the creative concept of the campaign itself can overshadow the message or even your entire brand. Not involving your brand will make distancing yourself from the hype machine or a bad decision more seamless. And just like the Hipsters and Bros themselves, stop being too cool for your own good.

Son Step to play Rumba Cafe this Saturday

We received an email from the band Son Step last week kindly asking us if we would mention their show on our blog. So here it is…

Son Step describe themselves as an “indie/electro/experimental” group from Philadelphia. After a quick listen we can say that the intricacy of the guitar play is appealing and the experimental setup definitely adds to the progressive nature of the music.

Here’s a live performance:

We’ve yet to see these guys live so we can’t necessarily vouch, but if you want to see Son Step live they will be playing at Rumba Cafe on Saturday night.

More about the band:

Son Step is a unique collaborative effort featuring four active forces in Philadelphia’s original music scene. Hungry for exploration, the band’s members (Pat Lamborn, Matt Scarano, and twin brothers Jon and Chris Coyle) are apt to mix up both instrumentation and individual roles. Live performances often feature a communal sharing of vocal duties, and are spattered with quirky, intoxicating sounds made on guitar, synthesizer, samplers, bass and drums. This is characteristic of the band’s first EP Spooky Tooth (2011), as well as their debut full length Here Comes Dreamboat (2012), a kaleidoscope recording that effortlessly combines many elements. Dense layers of percussion and off-kilter rhythms often give way to moments of intricate composition and heartfelt lyricism. Colorful harmonies and oddly addictive grooves rise to the surface without notice. And while the band touches upon an array of influences- ambient, post-punk, world music, and beyond- they also create something urgent and distinctly original, something that should be heard by listeners and audiences seeking a new kind of music.

Cold War Kids: Don’t take the keys from the DD

The first time I saw Cold War Kids was in the spring of 2006 at Pianos in New York. As they started their set with “Quiet Please” — less of a song and more of a concert etiquette set of instructions comparable to that of an airline — I was instantly hooked. Unfortunately last night was hardly the same experience and I should have known better from my pre-concert crowd observations.

Indeed Cold War Kids sold out The Newport Music Hall, which just so happens to be my venue of choice as far as PromoWest is concerned. However, I felt things were awry watching the crowd ecstatically cheer when each muddled pre-show song would end, thinking the band was about to take the stage. While I’ll admit none of the songs transitioned into the next, the fact that the lights never dimmed should have quelled the applause. And not to sound like a snarky asshole, I realize everyone has to start their live music journey somewhere, but the sheer number of people who were completely clueless was perplexing.

Calm down folks the techs are still on the stage…

Needless to say once the Cold War Kids did take the stage, they certainly didn’t start with Quiet Please. Instead they proclaimed “We’re going to play a bunch of new songs” which was met with the same rabid cheers. They then proceeded to laying into a number of unrecognizable tracks which lacked the musical prowess I have grown to expect from such talented musicians. Please note that I am not the type to start disliking a band as they get popular, just look at the name of this blog. Even my favorite Cold War Kids song is “Golden Gate Jumpers” which isn’t some rarity or b-side, instead the most structured track off their second album Loyalty to Loyalty.

As I recall, Cold War Kids had a free jazz style of percussion who’s lack of structure was only out anarchisted by Nathan’s janky keys. Not only was this unmistakable sound nowhere to be found from the jump, but Nathan didn’t even touch an instrument until, maybe the third song? While this is probably a direct result of the addition of a fifth member it also became quite obvious the band has a new focal point: Nathan’s voice.

The newly formed rhythm section is indeed tighter and the strategy behind the more palatable sound will expand the Cold War Kids fanbase. Unfortunately it will also alienate those who actually like the chaos. But its all understandable as after the third album its about the bottom line not necessarily the artistic process.

Nevertheless and at risk of sounding like the stereotypical aging scenester, Cold War Kids should know better than to include one of their most brilliant songs (We Used to Vacation) in an encore and skip an entire guitar solo. Then again, if you’re trying to make all the songs sound alike you’ve got to omit the elements that made them unique.

Astronautalis… another white rapper from Florida comes to Columbus.

Words by Kyle McMullen:

Last night I left my house under the assumption that I was joining Mike to see a couple bands, drink a few beers and write  a handful of words. Obviously extensive research was conducted regarding these bands…

as Dream Tiger kicked things off only a mere 90 minutes past their promoted set time.

Alone stands a woman with a smooth voice unique to herself.  A minimalist show of lights fill the empty space as movement is limited to the waving of hands and snapping of fingers reminiscent of a poetic open mic night at a pretentious coffee shop. Not sure if fronting a full band, orchestrating minimalist electro-pop or even partnering with a bass heavy DJ  would compliment the vocal prowess, but as is leaves little to be desired.

Next  was Astronautalis (Charles Andrew Bothwell) and before a single note was played the audience was informed we would be “screamed at for the next 45 minutes.”  Mmmm Kay? I figured he was kidding since the first performance was soft enough to soundtrack paint drying.

As soon as the band started  a controlled scream, not of the death metal, skull shattering blurb of noise variety, but one that clearly took dedication and skill to perfect.  The first song was solid enough that if the remainder were similar, I would have been perfectly content. Which couldn’t be said for the microphone stand that was immediately tossed off stage with authority.

A few more songs and a lot more screams before the music suddenly stops. At this point our triumphant lead turns to the audience a requests topics for his freestyle rapping. Some of the more noteworthy highlights were as follows:

• Crab liberation movement

• Glass eye

• Rotary phone

• Velvet curtains

• Wilfurd Brimley

Bothwell’s self described “historical fiction hip-hop” had the crowd eating out of his hand  and roaring after each song. Yet I stood in amazement as if it was all happening to someone else in a slow motion horror movie scene. Luckily our photographer Mike snapped me out of it just in time to shake his hand before he exited stage left.

Airplay… tricks of the trade from a radio professional

We are very excited to have Mike Rudd, a Sports Marketing Specialist, Author, Speaker, and Hot Dog Extraordinaire using his experience in radio to guest blog for us today.

He can be found on his website MarketingFunWithMike.com and his new book Hot Dogs, A Little Marketing, and A Lot of Fun can be found on Amazon.

If you like to get social with the hot dog man he’s on Facebook and 140 characters or less on Twitter @MarketingMikeR.

AIRPLAY:

They arrive like fan mail at Matt Damon’s house sometimes.

Piles upon piles upon piles of it then go into the program director or the local on air DJ’s mailboxes to sift through.

The only problem is there is so many, the industry is so cut throat, and the breakthrough is so hard that even if they happen to look through them all and take a listen the separation point that yours will be chosen to be played does not stand a good chance.

I’m talking about airplay here. And I want to first off thank Bob for having me guest post on here today, it is truly awesome of him! The site rocks and he is an incredibly smart and good hearted individual.

As someone who has worked at a radio station since 2004 I saw those demos, those samples, those CD’s or even mix tapes (yes I swear, cassette tapes) arrive in droves and get little notice to them.

My thoughts or answer if you are a band looking to get that air play is pretty simple but it is the one thing that I have seen work. Sure once in a while I have seen a PD or a DJ pick up a few and take a listen and reach out to one, but I think a much more effective strategy, would be to stand out by doing something that no other band does.

I would recommend to attempt to build a relationship with a station first. If you are looking at a specific station especially this is easier. Do research first; see what they are playing more and more of lately and engage with the DJ’s and the program directors.

Reach out to them and compliment them on recent new tracks added to their spins. Come out to a few events and introduce yourself.

Invite them out to be a VIP at your next gig. Send them some other bands; that’s right other bands than yourself; that you enjoy and think might be a good fit.

You may think I am nuts but what you are doing there is establishing trust and credibility. You are saying to them “Hey I’m not just another band pushing my album on you in a selfish manner to get some air play. “ You are attempting to build rapport and show that your attitude is different.

See if you can do a volunteer overnight shift at the station. Follow them on twitter and see what kind of people they are like, share their content when it is worthy to be shared to your crowd.

This is a longer process than just slapping a postage stamp on a blank CD or dropping something off at the radio station.

But this process has a much higher chance of success. It will separate you from the other 99 bands that are trying to get air play as well. You will create trust with the station while at the same time build your reputation within the community. I have seen bands do this and they are the ones who eventually wind up magically getting chosen, I mean some were border line stalking the station at times but persistence is a good attribute haha!

You are in essence marketing yourself when you are a band trying to get airplay on a radio station. Don’t market yourself like every other band out there.

Do something different. Be unique. Stand out. Pull in with value of what you have to offer; don’t just push your album or song onto them.

If you do that you have a fighting chance of making a break through, at the very least you won’t feel like a pushy sales person in the process and you’ll build your networking skills and image in the industry and the area.

Oh…and of course make sure your music rocks! But of course you wouldn’t be reading this site if it didn’t.

Best wishes to every band out there in their attempts to get air play on a radio station, and thank you for doing something in life that you are passionate about and stand up for and believe in. If you continue to do that and stand by what you believe is right you will break through. Somewhere to someone sometime if you keep at it. Do the right things every day and it all works out in the end.

Thanks for reading my guest post and this awesome site! I appreciate it very much. If you want to email me with further thoughts or suggestions I might be able to provide feel free to email me at mike@marketingfunwithmike.com or visit my website to check out my book and my updated blog posts!

Carpe Diem!

Marketing Fun With Mike aka The Hot Dog Extraordinaire