HOW TO MARKET A LIVE RECORDING OF NPR’s FROM THE TOP WITH HOST CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY
Marketing Timeline The marketing department at From the Top will help guide you through the process of marketing your show. Here is a timeline of what to expect:
3–6 months before recording: • From the Top contacts local radio station and delivers customized talent recruitment radio spots. You will be copied on that correspondence and we will make sure that they have your contact information so that you can work together on the show. • From the Top will contact you to set up a marketing/presenter phone call to discuss your show. • You should fill out and send the recruitment press release, included in the recruiting folder of the presenter kit. Read the “Tips for Finding Local Talent” and determine whether you are interested in holding an audition event. • Confirm your media partnership details with your local radio station. They are an important piece of the puzzle in reaching the audience for a From the Top recording. Consider trading tickets for time on the station, co-hosting a reception, or other ideas. 4 months before recording: • From the Top will create customized event radio spots to promote your show based upon ticketing information details you provide, and deliver them to you. • Once you receive the audio files, you should share them with the local radio station. Radio is all about frequency, so we recommend a healthy schedule of spots during peak time, generally about 4–6 spots per day over a 2 to 3 week time period leading up to the show. 3 months before recording: • From the Top will send an announcement e-blast to people on our email list who are in your area to let them know that we are coming to town. • Single tickets should be on sale at this point. Please make sure that the From the Top staff has the appropriate URLs and contact information for your box office. You can find more information on pricing of single tickets below. • Include From the Top on your website, using photos from our Flickr gallery and marketing copy from the presenter kit. You can also embed a 30-second video spot available through the link in the presenter kit. • If you post about the show on social media networks, be sure to tag From the Top so we can re-post: facebook.com/fromthetopfans and @classicalkid. • Place advertising using the approved ad templates included in the presenter kit. • Reach out to local music schools, programs, and teachers about group sales. 8 weeks before recording: • From the Top will send a preliminary press release to you when one to two performers have been booked for your show. We will also provide you with contact information for any local students so that you may contact them directly for any press requests. If you have any interview requests for From the Top staff, including Christopher O’Riley, we will facilitate scheduling that for you. • You should customize and send the press release to your local press contacts. 6 weeks before recording: • From the Top will send you the final press release with all performers included once we have a complete rundown of the show. • You should customize this and send it to your local press contacts. • Encourage your local radio station to use local kids to create customized event promotion spots.
295 Huntington Avenue, Suite 201, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 • Phone 617.437.0707 • Fax 617.262.4190 • www.fromthetop.org
• From the Top will send you a file for your printed audience program that includes repertoire listing and bios as well as the required information on From the Top. • We will need to know from you whether you will design the program yourself, and we can just send you text, or if you need us to design the program layout for you. If you use our design, we can include blank pages for your use, please let us know how many you need. 4 weeks before recording: • Book interviews with local performers on the radio station. • This is when all of your planning comes into play! Ramp up your marketing emails, radio spots, newspaper and online ads, etc. • Finalize group sales. • Expect to hear from the From the Top staff on a final check in. • From the Top will send a Buy Tickets email to people on our email list in your area.
Marketing Guidelines: The Boston Globe declared “A live recording of From the Top is an unpretentious mix of the ridiculous and the sublime that have made the show the fastest-growing program in public radio history. An entertaining, accessible and often inspirational mix of outstanding musical performances, informal interviews, skits and games, the show is a celebration of extraordinary musicians who happen to be teenagers leading fairly normal lives.”
In addition to all that, the live show is a wonderful event that allows audiences the exciting opportunity to see how a radio program comes together. A live recording of From the Top provides entertainment for all ages, from young kids to their grandparents, and gives presenters a unique classical music program that can and should be marketed to a multi-generation audience.
Positioning Christopher O’Riley Christopher O’Riley must be mentioned as a headliner on your From the Top recording. NPR’s From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley is how the show should be positioned in all communications (season announcements, press releases, advertising, and the like). There is a logo treatment of NPR’s From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley in your logo files that should be used on posters, postcards, web sites, etc. Any second mention of the show may be printed as From the Top.
Target Audience The primary audience for a live recording of From the Top is, of course, the radio listening audience. With more than 200 stations nationwide carrying the program, the national audience for the show is approximately half a million listeners.
While the majority of From the Top’s radio audience is 65+, roughly 22% falls between the ages of 25–54 and likely have children at home. We estimate that 15% is comprised of school aged children under 12. That combined with the traditional older radio audience for classical music provides two distinct and approachable groups to target when marketing a live From the Top: active seniors and families with school age children.
Please note, From the Top’s live show is recorded without intermission for national broadcast. Therefore, it is strongly suggested that the program is appropriate for children ages 7 and older. Younger children frequently find it difficult to remain seated and quiet for the 90+ minutes that a recording usually involves.
Pricing a Live From the Top Recording It is recommended that tickets be priced “affordably” but not so inexpensive that people don’t value the product. In one market, tickets were priced so low that the Ticketmaster charge was just as much as the ticket price and the presenter had an audience of nearly all walk-up patrons. Believe us, you don’t want the stress of having no advanced sales! Price your From the Top event at a price point that is reasonable for your market and in line with other national brand chamber music attractions and family entertainment (i.e. touring shows such as Big Apple Circus, Broadway attractions, Disney on Ice, and national chamber music attractions such as the Eroica Trio, Empire
295 Huntington Avenue, Suite 201, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 • Phone 617.437.0707 • Fax 617.262.4190 • www.fromthetop.org
Brass, Juilliard Quartet). A higher face ticket price allows for aggressive discounting (radio station member discounts, subscriber discounts, group sales, etc.). Additionally, it allows the presenter to place a dollar value on any trade tickets that are distributed as part of a sponsorship package.
In several markets, that price has been in the $25–$40 range with “Sponsor” tickets priced at $50–$75 (including donor reception). In Boston, where From the Top records multiple shows a year, the show is priced at $27–$43 for adults, $22–$35 for students and seniors. From the Top donors receive special email offers to promote advance sales ($5–$10 off) and WGBH members receive $5 off. Similar discounts are available through various organizations such as New England Conservatory and local colleges. We also donate a significant portion of tickets to school groups and target affinity and social groups as well as private music teachers and music schools to sell group tickets at a discount.
How to Reach the Target Audiences Partnering with the local From the Top affiliate radio station will be essential to maximize your marketing efforts. It is expected that performing arts presenters have a good working relationship with From the Top’s carrying radio station and that the two entities will coordinate their efforts to ensure a successful event. Please let us know if you would like our help in facilitating this partnership.
Single Tickets Radio stations have several methods to reach their audiences. On-air promotions that both surround the broadcast of From the Top and that air in other day parts will be a significant part of any marketing effort. On-air campaigns can begin several months prior to the live event, with talent solicitation announcements, calling for young musicians in the area to apply to appear. Three to four weeks prior to the event, event promos should begin airing. These will be customized by our production department and sent you.
It is highly recommended that such announcements be packaged as part of any sponsorship deals with event underwriters.
Dual radio/television licensees have an opportunity to employ From the Top’s television spot utilizing promotion time on the television partner. The 30-second spot includes 8 seconds for localization. It is recommended that such announcements be focused around music programming and such family viewing programs as “Great Performances,” “Evening at Pops,” and “Nature.” If you utilize children’s programming, it is suggested to think more in terms of “Zoom” and “Between the Lions,” rather than programs targeted at younger children. You can also use this 30-second spot on your web site and your radio station affiliate’s web site.
Many presenters also have relationships with the local cable systems. In such instances, we recommend that you use the same sort of schedule that you’d employ for any arts programming (CNN, MSNBC, Bravo, A&E, Lifetime) with a schedule sufficient to make your sales goals.
In addition, member magazines, web sites, and targeted direct mail and email can be used to reach single ticket buyers. Advertisements and/or program stuffers/flyers that are distributed at classical music, family music, and theatre events in the area over several weeks prior to the From the Top recording will also be a cost-effective marketing tool. Such materials can also be distributed via local retailers, particularly if a local underwriter is a retail operation.
Performing arts presenters should offer the event as part of a subscription package whenever possible particularly if there is a classical or family series available. If From the Top is an additional event, obviously, the first place to market will be to series subscribers, followed by single ticket family attraction buyers and classical music buyers.
Templates for flyers, postcards, and print ads that can be used for such activities can be found in the presenter kit. All ads must be approved by From the Top before they are printed.
295 Huntington Avenue, Suite 201, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 • Phone 617.437.0707 • Fax 617.262.4190 • www.fromthetop.org
Group Tickets Outreach should be made around three months in advance to the following suggested group sale markets:
• Private music teachers and community arts programs (music and other arts) • Public school band & orchestra teachers or fine arts coordinators • Senior community centers • Church/ synagogues • Company activity planners (the people who buy large groups of event tickets) • Bus tour operators • Local hotel concierge associations
Complimentary Tickets As stated above, it is essential that the audience perceive that there is a value to the show. However, it is important to From the Top that the presenter delivers a large (at least 75% of the house), enthusiastic, and demographically diverse audience for the radio program.
We encourage you to reach out to community organizations that might find even “affordable” tickets out of their price range using complimentary tickets, or “sponsored tickets” by corporate sponsors. These should include YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, senior centers, and other organizations in the community that will find the show appealing but need financial help to attend.
Tickets can also be used by development departments for cultivation, as a “thank you” gift for volunteers, or as an incentive for radio stations to get involved. If you are planning a donor reception after the recording and would like From the Top’s staff and performers to attend, please remember to notify From the Top’s David Balsom at [email protected] of that plan at least three months prior to your event.
Social Media Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and others have become an important part of interacting with audiences. If your organization is using social media, please be sure to tag From the Top when you post about the show. That way we can re-post and highlight posts on our page, sharing your information with our audience of over 6,000 people across the country. Find us here: facebook.com/fromthetopfans and on twitter at @classicalkid.
Because From the Top’s audience is spread across the country, we don’t create Facebook events for each live recording, but if you create an event and let us know, we will post it on our page for fans in your area. Other ideas for promoting the show on social media include: posting short notes about the scheduled performers, sharing press articles, sharing the video spot or other From the Top YouTube videos, and doing special limited-time promotions using Facebook or Twitter.
PR Outreach You will receive several templates and press releases from the marketing department to help you in reaching out to your local press contacts. We will help identify local alumni in your market that you can use in early PR pitches to area press.
Included in the presenter kit is a recruitment press release template for you to fill out. It is important for From the Top to include local performers in each tour location. Local kids will be very helpful in later press interviews and outreach, and an early press release about recruitment gets some buzz going about your live recording. Please see the Recruitment Tips document for more help with this.
Also included in the presenter kit is an announcement press release template. You should customize this and send to your local stations to announce From the Top is coming to your venue. Then, follow up by sharing the detailed press releases from From the Top’s marketing department.
295 Huntington Avenue, Suite 201, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 • Phone 617.437.0707 • Fax 617.262.4190 • www.fromthetop.org
From the Top’s marketing department will provide you with press releases as performers are confirmed for the recording. In each tour location, From the Top performers and educators bring music programs to local schools and community centers. These are great opportunities for PR as well, and you should let your local outlets know about them. From the Top’s marketing department can provide you with detailed press releases and media alerts for these events and can help with press outreach if you are interested.
A Final Word
One of the things that makes From the Top so unique is that we try to customize each residency to meet the goals of each presenter. If there are specific marketing and PR goals you would like to reach with this recording, or if you would like to try new tactics, please let us know so that we can help. We are here to be an extension of your marketing department as we work to promote this residency in your community.
295 Huntington Avenue, Suite 201, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 • Phone 617.437.0707 • Fax 617.262.4190 • www.fromthetop.org