Free Merch...

[The Funk]

I did a test run of some 2009 Foolish Earthlings Calendars (all very tasteful, nothing too saucy ) to see how they look with a view to giving them away to anyone who wants one. I was wondering if you guys ever give away merch rather than selling it as a bit of a promotional tool. (And I was also wondering if anyone would like a free 2009 F E Calendar - PM me).

[Musky]

Hmmm... I think badges and stickers are OK to give away, but aren't calendars relatively pricey to produce? I'd tend to target them at previous clients/promoters or others likely to be of direct benefit to you.

Though I suppose it depends on how flush you are.

[Geddys nose]

I'd give them away at gigs then you have 12 months of free advertising on bedroom walls- Good marketing ploy BTW.

[yorick]

My main band have a tendency not to give away t-shirts, unless it's to good looking busty wenches, , or people who can do us a favour. Badges are the way to go for freebies!!!

[Dubs]

Once you start giving merch away you may find it hard to sell any when you want to start charging people for stuff - if you build up a large fan base and realised there's a bit of money to me made, you may have thrown that potential away by giving yourself a reputation for giving merch away for free. I think cheap things like badges would work, maybe not calendars or t-shirts though. It could work for you though, only one way to find out...

[ziggenpuss]

As long as it's not too pricey to produce.

Who doesn't love a freebie? It would certainly endear you to the audience but they might expect stuff at every gig then!

Maybe limit the calenders to your regular fans who put the effort in to come an see you and badges etc, as previously suggested, for other punters.

Edited December 15, 2008 by ziggenpuss

[crez5150]

Depends who your giving it too...... we had a load of Mouse mats made up with our logo and contact details which we gave away at a wedding planners convention..... cost a fair bit but we've made our money back for next years bookings...

[Kiwi]

Terrible idea, if its worth having then people will be willing to pay for it. By giving it away you gain nothing apart from maybe the appreciation of a few fans who probably already liked you anyway and how much did that cost you? Make people pay for it and they enter into a self imposed obligation to determine whether you represent good value for money.

Price it at a point where your existing fans feel comfortable paying for it.

[The Funk]

Thanks for the comments guys. Very helpful. Keep them coming.

[Delberthot]

How about giving them away to promoters & pubs that have live music?

That way when they are looking at the callendar wondering what band to get in, its staring them in the face.


actually that's a good idea. copyright 2008. I'll have to charge you if you want to use that idea

Edited December 15, 2008 by Delberthot

[Geddys nose]

I would say with calendars you have a very small time to sell them/give them so over a year they are not ideal but December/Jan everyone wants them thats what we find at work and we give them away free.

[Golchen]

I wouldn't reccommend a calendar. My wife is very fussy about calendars and what she will and won't hang up - and there's only ever one!

At work, we get sent loads of calendars so most get binned.

As far as getting rid of Calendars - they only have a short shelf-life. I'd say Dec to Feb max, after that people don't want to think about calendars and they won't be any use next year! At least a CD can be given out/sold all year around. If you are giving away something it needs novelty value eg something like beermats, or specially packed condoms! Something that will amuse people.

[OldGit]

+1 for not doing calendars - or make a down loadable PDF available from your website.. no printing costs (well not to you anyway)

give away badges and stickers in exchange for signing up to your emailing list ...
You could do the whole street team thing and create stuff just for them . .. limited edition CD's etc ...

[tauzero]

Mrs Zero runs the telemarketing team that sells calendars on behalf of a Canadian firm, so she gets us a few done for the covers band and the ceilidh band for nowt. We send the covers band ones out to clubs that we've played for and that we'd like to play for, and the ceilidh band ones go to a few potential venues plus people who have booked us in the last year or two.

The covers band has also got a 5-track CD which is going out to various clubs.

[mewsie]

sell it, definitely, that way people are buying into your brand.

occasional giveaways are nice, makes people feel special.

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='Golchen' post='355168' date='Dec 15 2008, 04:37 PM']I wouldn't reccommend a calendar. My wife is very fussy about calendars and what she will and won't hang up - and there's only ever one!

At work, we get sent loads of calendars so most get binned.

As far as getting rid of Calendars - they only have a short shelf-life. I'd say Dec to Feb max, after that people don't want to think about calendars and they won't be any use next year! At least a CD can be given out/sold all year around. If you are giving away something it needs novelty value eg something like beermats, or specially packed condoms! Something that will amuse people.[/quote]

Which is why we did fridge magnets!
Loads of people we gave them to still have them even though the band are long since gone!

[Russty_dub]

[quote name='yorick' post='355086' date='Dec 15 2008, 02:56 PM']My main band have a tendency not to give away t-shirts, unless it's to good looking busty wenches, , or people who can do us a favour. Badges are the way to go for freebies!!![/quote]


yea we used to do that lol

i remember going round Edinbrough with a box full of our album and i shifted about 30 of them, sold a quite a few but gave most away, i was in a good mood for some reason!! its a great way to get female attention

and how does my band repay me for selling those cds whilst they pack my van??

by leaving my bass at bannermans in edinbrough and we had a gig the next day

luckily the band we suported Disarm saw it and brought it down for me!

[elom]

[quote name='The Funk' post='355074' date='Dec 15 2008, 02:49 PM']I did a test run of some 2009 Foolish Earthlings Calendars (all very tasteful, nothing too saucy ) to see how they look with a view to giving them away to anyone who wants one. I was wondering if you guys ever give away merch rather than selling it as a bit of a promotional tool. (And I was also wondering if anyone would like a free 2009 F E Calendar - PM me).[/quote]

As you say, this is a promotional tool for your business. Therefore you need to make sure that you know what the objective of giving them away would be and understand how you are going to measure the relative success of the exercise.

Sorry to sound so dull but if you're doing this to promote your band/brand then you need to look at it from a commercial prospective. If you're just doing it for a bit of fun that's great too, but different.

[The Funk]

Again, thanks for all the replies. Very, very helpful.

I've pulled the free calendars idea (the moment's gone now anyway). One BC member asked for one and his is on its way.

I am still drawn to the idea of some free merch though - and I think you guys are right that if it is to be done at all it has to be targeted and not overly expensive to produce. And you've convinced me that there's a risk of getting a reputation for giving things away for free - and that people would come to expect that from us.

[Rich]

I think it's a good idea, with small inexpensive items -- badges, stickers, that sort of thing.

[acidbass]

OG's comment about the mailing list and street team is well worth taking on board too. All it takes is a couple of mates to sign people up during/after gigs and it'll cost you the price of a stamp (plus the stickers and badges which as you know are relatively inexpensive) to supply them with their fan items! I've received some in the past from bands and you always feel that warmth of appreciation when you open the envelope. It's even better when you were loaded at the gig and can't remember signing anything!