Nightclub Survey

Hello all,

If anyone who views this blog could take this quick survey about nightclubs and Luna it would be much appreciated and vastly help our project.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TPK3HC6

-Andi

Cheryl Snodgrass and more Advertising work

I sent Cheryl, the event coordinator Tim told us to talk to an email, today asking her a few questions about her business and for some advice on her project. I CC-ed Nico, Yui, and Tim in the email but in case anyone else wants to know what we talked about here are the questions I asked her:

1) How do you typically market yourself? When people ask what you do what do you tell them?

2) Do you have a mission statement? If so what is it?

3) Do you have an overall business plan as an event coordinator? If so, how do you set it up? (Do you set yearly goals for yourself? Do you simply plan each event individually as it comes up? Or do you plan in some other way?)

4) How do you typically approach venues when planning an event? Do you speak with them about planning an event that compliments their business/establishment? Or do you approach them with an event already in mind?

5) Do you typically approach multiple venues with event ideas? If so how do you determine which location will be best for your event?

6) How do you typically advertise your events? How soon before the event do you begin advertising?

7) Considering the fact that your business is based on individual events, how do you ensure that your business is sustained?

When I get answers back from her I'll post them here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the advertising front, we have a few new updates and concerns. If our event happens at Anduzzi's, they have told us that they will print posters for us. If we go with Luna and they will not print posters, we will most likely ask the communications department to make posters for us. I am currently hunting down the bill from a show I just did to see what the approximate costs of those posters would be. Once we have who is paying for posters figured out, we just need to talk a little more about the theme of our event and then we'll get them printed as soon as possible.

As for, articles in the Post-Crescent and Lawrentian...

I will be contacting Cara Patterson as soon as we have our location secured in order to see if we can get in the Post Crescent's Arts and Entertainment section the week before our event. There may be some small fee if we want a larger article, but I'm fairly certain we shouldn't be charged much if anything at all.

I'm also going to talk to Alex this weekend to remind him of our event and make sure we can have a space in the Lawrentian the week of our event as well.

-Andi

Rubik's Cube Party Debrief

I'd like to build off of Yui's post and share my thoughts on the party and how we can learn from that experience to make our event the best it can be.

Lesson 1: DJing is not all fun and games. As Yui said, it was hard to find that balance between well mixed music with smooth transitions linking songs and tracks that people actually want to hear, keeping them on the dance floor. I think the key moving forward will be to better map out songs that mix well together in advance so that we're not under as much pressure during the event. The playlist we create does not have to be set in stone, but it will give us a better guide to keep the energy level high while still accommodating requests.

Lesson 2: Although I may be a bit biased, I think the lighting and general atmosphere was a success. I borrowed several lights from the Theatre Department and we used two strips of lights in the basement dance area located behind the DJ area. These LED strip lights changed with the beat of the music, adding a dynamic, visual component to the audio. Additionally I placed two lights on the second floor to shine out of the building into the Quad to attract attention.

DJ Session

Nico and I DJd a party this past Saturday to practice and get a feel for our main event. One of our goals of this project was to create a club where we would play a lot of music that isn't just the regular pop hits that you hear on the radio every day, if you are one of those people who listen to the radio. One of the problems we ran into at this party was the fact that many people only want to hear music that they are already familiar with. And I guess people only listen to the radio, because we got request after request of Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas. This is going to be a challenge to please the crowd with familiarity and still incorporate other more interesting types of music, but I think it can be done. My goal in the next few weeks is to ask a ton of people what their "go to song(s)" is/are in the club, and then try to incorporate these into some other tracks that I think are less popular but good club music. In order to get input and feedback I am planning to use the internet (possibly facebook) to get responses from as many people as possible. Lesson learned: familiarity is key.

Advertising Update and Music Feedback

So far I have not been very lucky finding someone to create a poster for us. I'm going to keep looking for a few days. Otherwise I'll just design posters myself. I am a girl of many talents after all.

Hopefully, I can get design work done a.s.a.p., and then once the date and location is determined we'll tag that on, print, and distribute.

Once we figure out liability and insurance stuff, and lock the location and date in place, I'll email Cara Patterson at the Post Crescent, as well as talk to Alex Schaaf about getting us into The Lawrentian.

Also, just so you know I got mixed feed back on the music at the Rubik's cube party. I'd like to meet and talk more about any feed back you received. What times work for you two in the next couple of days? (If you'd like I could try to get a few people that gave feedback there as well, so we ask them more about specifics.)

~Andi

Liability and Insurance off Campus

In order to find out the details of liability issues regarding off campus activities, I got in touch with Curt Lauderdale, Assistant Dean of Students for Campus Life. Apparently, most places that rent out their spaces such as Liberty Hall have their own insurance that covers all of the events that take place in their building. Businesses that are open to the public such as Anduzzi's or Luna are also most likely to have insurance that covers them in case of any accidents. When people like us are organizing an event in such places, the business will present some sort of contract that will be signed by both sides. If we are able to agree on a date and event, the business will then present this contract, which we will then bring to the Campus Life office so that somebody who is authorized to sign such documents will read and hopefully sign it. As long as we aren't planning on doing something extraordinarily dangerous we should be fine. But first we must convince the business to go through with our plans and be willing to host our event. Next step: negotiate with businesses.

Scouting the Competition: Luna Lounge

Luna Lounge is probably the closest match to our nightclub vision that Appleton currently has to offer. One of the larger spaces on College Ave., Luna has a bar/lounge area leading to a large sunken dance floor equipped with a DJ booth, stage, and some lighting. This is one of our top picks to host our one night event at the end of the term. Here's how Luna is marketing themselves on MySpace:

"Welcome to the...... Hottest new nightclub to join downtown Appleton. Intensify your downtown experience with Luna Lounge's sophisticated twist on the night life scene. Sleek describes our design, Intensity describes our vibe and Sexy.... well, that's where you come in. Here you'll find an energetic bar staff that can't wait to get the party started! Luna has 2 bars full of some of the newest and hottest labels around. And don't miss out on one of the largest dance floors downtown has to offer, including music videos that can be viewed from anywhere in the bar. And it only gets better with our nightly drink specials. Get your weekend started off right on Thursdays with our $10.00 all u can drink special! Fridays and Saturdays showcase class and sophistication with $4.00 shots of PATRON!! Thats right $4.00!! Birthday specials always in effect, stop by and let us get your special night started right. Don't forget to ask about V.I.P specials and bottle service. So what are you waiting for? We're open Thursday through Saturday at 7pm until the lights come on! And it only gets better with our nightly drink specials. Ladies pack the place on Thursdays with $1 rails and domestics all night long! Fridays showcase class and sophistication with free champagne from 9 to 11. Birthday specials always in effect, stop by and let us get your special night started right. Don't forget to ask about V.I.P specials and bottle service. So what are you waiting for? We're open Thursday through Saturday at 7pm until the lights come on."

Welcome

A project of the Entrepreneurship in the Arts & Society course at Lawrence University, this blog will capture the successes and failures of Andi, Nico, and Yui as they attempt to create the premier nightclub of Appleton, WI. Stay tuned for our latest ideas, hurdles, and event details. We want to hear from you too--so, please feel free to share your ideas through comments to make this enterprise the best it can be.