Today is Shrove Tuesday, the sun is finally out and Brighton Festival Fringe 2014 has its launch party tonight at the Sealife Centre. Pancakes and stingrays, what could be better?
But I’m not sure what the mood will be amongst Fringe Participants. Many of them will be taking their shows up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Early Bird registration deadline is fast approaching. As the Adelaide and Leicester Comedy Festivals wrap up and the promoters return, the venue allocation for Edinburgh takes on a frantic pace and with four times the applications that there are spaces for shows, not many will get their first choice.
Location and time slot are obviously important, yet so is word of mouth – it’s probably one of the major influences to drive audiences to a relatively unknown show. Examples: Nick Helm’s Keep Hold of the Gold, and last year, John Kearns’ Sight Gags for Perverts. Nick’s show was so good I was recommended to it almost as soon as I arrived in Edinburgh. I ended up seeing it four times in a row. I know people who did more. And John Kearns last year was a big buzz on the grapevine and sure enough when I squeezed into the show the audience was full of the best up-and-coming comedians on the circuit. We had a ball, he won prizes.
So, key to a successful show:
Firstly, it’s got to be great!
Secondly, it’s got to be really really great!
Thirdly, it’s got to be well promoted.
And that’s where I come in. Enjoy your pancakes, don’t panic, and if you’d like some professional help with the marketing then contact me when you’ve got your time and venue sorted. A nicely worded short blurb in the brochure can make the world of difference, and that’s just the beginning.
Kerry x
Stand-Up Marketing 