Victoria Fringe Artists 2015

DIY Marketing and Promo Guide 2015

HAVE AN ONLINE PRESENCE!

Make an “electronic press kit”—a website where you have posted all of your press kit ingredients—and then you can send your web link to the media inviting them to have a look. Here's a sample: infinityliveproductions.com/html/poison_the_well.html. It's really easy to make a free web page these days, via Wordpress, Facebook, Wix, and other free web resources. We put your web links in the program guide and website. Your presse kits contains information about your show that you will send out to the media. If it grabs them, they may want to give your show additional preview coverage or interview you before the festival starts.

Your press kit can be as simple as a one-page press release and a good photo. You can also include company bios, reviews of your work, and even additional story ideas—“hooks” about your show or company that a reporter might be interested in covering (i.e. this is your 20th Fringe tour, or small children designed your costumes, or people have been protesting about your show across the country).

Press Release Pointers

How to write an exciting and original press release:

➢ USE A HOOK to catch the media’s attention. What makes your show special or different from the others? Consider what makes it unique—the media want to highlight the smallest/largest/oldest/most unusual performers and productions at the Fringe.

➢ YOUR FIRST PARAGRAPH should include the ‘must know’ points—a vibrant and exciting ‘hook’ and an overview of the who, what, when, where, and why of your show.

➢ KEEP IT SHORT – a press release needs to be clear and to the point (like a news article). Use short sentences and short paragraphs. Make it no more than one 8.5x11 page. Include in the body of the release a one-paragraph synopsis of the plot of your show or what it is about, and a short paragraph with biographical information on the key performers or team members. Mention high-profile events or productions they have done in the past, any awards won, etc.

➢ BE SELECTIVE – only include pertinent, attention-grabbing detail. Remember journalists read countless press releases every day and won’t necessarily have time to read every single word, so are likely to scan it for something that jumps out.

➢ BE NEWSWORTHY - think about newsworthy links to current affairs/events for your production. Does your show include an actor who was in a TV show, film, or high profile theatre production? Is the director an asylum seeker from Sudan, an artic explorer, or an ex-con? Did the script-writer win any awards?

➢ REVIEWS - if you’ve been touring and have rave reviews, you can send copies or “excerpt” the best lines (crediting the source) on a single separate page, or include one or two of the best lines in the body of your press release.

➢ PROOF your press release for spelling and grammatical errors, then get someone else to check it too, just to be sure! Mistakes on a release will make you look unprofessional.

➢ VITAL STATS - include the name of your show, company, where you are from, the media contact person for your show and their phone number/email, where to get tickets (phone, website details)...

Other Publicity Ideas

➢ With increasing lay-offs, the media are even more under-resourced than before, so one way to get in the newspaper is to volunteer to write something. If you are a writer, offer to write an article or blog for a publication/radio station. It could be about anything that includes a local angle—your experiences on the Fringe circuit and Vic Fringe, adventures getting to this year’s Fringe, issues related to the Fringe, etc. Pitch this to an editor first and maybe provide a small sample to give them an idea.

➢ Events listings – most newspapers and radio stations do free events listings. Try and get your show listed; it is also worth sending a photo with your show info to all print media.

Advice from a Veteran Fringe performer

Jonno Katz (The Accident, 2009) has performed at Canadian Fringe Festivals for many years. Here is his advice on what works from experience for Fringe publicity in Victoria:

“Send the press releases and press packs 1 month before the festival. Ring them. Don't hassle them but let them know who you are. Pitch them story ideas. What would their readership/viewership find interesting? Are you dyslexic? Then you overcame your dyslexia by being an actor or a writer or a comedian and it ended up informing your style so that your limitation ended up helping you, or something like that. The press are looking for stories. Are there other companies who could be part of a feature article? The press often look for "umbrella" stories: Women Comedians doing it at the Fringe, Physical Comedy at the Fringe, Dramatic Dance (Why is it so popular?). Basically try and do the Press's work for them. Although I've never done this, stunts can get you publicity. Your show is about street kids so have your company all sleep on the streets one night. Call up the press and get them to come down and take pictures of it. Your show is about an old age home so invite an old age home to one of your shows and get the press there too.”

--Jonno Katz, 2009

Victoria’s Mike Delamont (God is a Scottish Drag Queen) has sold out Fringe venues across North America. Here is his advice on selling your show:

“Have good strong action photos with simple plain backgrounds.

"Remember that you are selling a product that you want people to buy. So keep your press releases short and sweet. Media knows what the Fringe is so don't waste their time telling them about the festival. Tell them the best about your show. Pitch them the story. Why should they be talking about you? What makes you stand out?

"Word of mouth will sell a show faster than any review. Fill your first houses with friends and hardworking volunteers. Those folks work hard to help out and they deserve your kindness."

Contacting the Media

Contact, but don’t pester, these media-types, by sending them your press kit. There are notes about how they prefer to be contacted and what is interesting to them. If we haven’t provided their phone #, it’s because they don’t want you to call (same with email) – our small number of arts reporters just get overwhelmed with the volume of shows.

A good time to approach most of them with your press kit is around about 4-6 weeks before your show. Earlier and your stuff will be buried under a pile, later and you’ll miss out.

For specialty publications (towards the bottom of the list, like those for kids and seniors), their deadlines are far in advance (around 2-4 months), and they'll only consider you if your show has a specific appeal for their audience.

MEDIA LIST

Longlead (4-6+ months)
Intrepid handles all long-lead media pitches for our festivals, programming and series.

Shortlead (4-8 weeks)

Island Tides
[email protected]

James Bay Beacon
[email protected]

Moss Rock Review [email protected]

Oak Bay/Saanich/Victoria News
Laura Lavin
[email protected]
NOTES: send press kits by email, high res colour photos good, send anytime late July onwards. Do not follow-up. Focuses on local performers, but also takes interest in some international performers.

Monday Mag

Laura Lavin

[email protected]

Nexus Magazine
Camosun College
Greg Pratt, Managing Editor
[email protected]
NOTES: send press kits by email, high res colour photos good, send anytime late July onwards.

The Martlet
University of Victoria
[email protected]

Times Colonist
Adrian Chamberlain – Arts reporter
[email protected]


TV/Radio

CTV/CFAX
Adam Sawatsky – arts reporter/ Eye on the Arts host
[email protected]
NOTE: press kits/press release by email; email is best for follow-up and general contact. If you have broadcast quality video of your show, send CD or link. He also does CFAX radio’s Sunday Arts program. All pre-record – contact 2 weeks out.

CFUV
Randy Gelling, Station Manager
[email protected]
NOTE: Check out their on-air programs there might be one that’s a good fit for your show, do some research. Very supportive of Fringe.

 CBC
[email protected]
General submissions: [email protected]
NOTE: email best for information/press releases; prefers audio clips; follow-up ok, email is best, send 1st or 2nd week of August, they do a series of PSA ‘spots’ during the Fringe featuring excerpts from shows


Online

CVV Magazine
Online arts and entertainment magazine
Leanne Allen
[email protected]

The Marble
Online theatre reviews and previews
[email protected]


These are web calendars where you can list your shows for free. If you know of others, let us know and we'll add to the list.

Harbour Living: http://www.harbourliving.ca/

Monday Mag online events: http://www.mondaymag.com/calendar/submit/

Live Victoria: http://www.livevictoria.com/

Play in Victoria http://www.playinvictoria.net/

YYJ Events www.yyjevent.com

Our list is not exhaustive, so have a browse and find a niche market for your show and there may be a corresponding event listing, community calendar or media contact. Think gay/lesbian/queer content, seniors, medical profession, film lovers…

Promotional Photos

The best investment you can make in the promotion of your show is having professional photos taken. It's all about the first impression. A picture is worth a thousand words, and if you have pictures that make your show look great, the media and the public are more likely to pay attention. In a relatively small city like Victoria, it is possible to get attention in the form of a full-page, full-colour cover of the weekly arts mag or Go! Section of the daily paper. Think of how valuable this free publicity could be to your show.

1-2 really great shots are all you need – we don’t even want more than three. All the images you send will be available to the media online in our Fringe Web Gallery to be used in Fringe preview articles, editorials and reviews. We'll give you the link as well, so you can also access your own hi-resolution photos here any time.

General Guidelines for Photos:

It’s harsh, but we can tell in less than a second if the print media will be interested in your photos. These are general rules, but if you want to see good exceptions, visit the Artist Page Photo Gallery  which shows good examples from last year’s fringe with a little commentary about why they work. (COMING SOON)

Please think twice before sending:

1. Long distance shots.

2. Outdoor Shots

3. Shots with more than three people in them.

4. Non-theatrical “location shots,” such as your living room

And don’t bother sending:

1. Group shots of your company being themselves (ie “the cast photo” )

2. Still-lifes of inanimate objects (“art” )

3. Anything out of focus or poorly lit

4. “Resume” style head shots, unless you are really, really famous.

5. Any image that is under copyright that you don’t have permission to use (ie. a photo of a famous person or work of art from a museum.)

6. A low resolution image that is not print quality. It must be high res (300dpi).

7. An image that is more than 3MB by email. The best way to annoy a journalist is to clog up their email in box.

Your goal should be to produce a well lit, in-focus photo that features no more than three humans against a neutral background. Think visual impact. Consider spending the money to hire a professional photographer. It may cost you more initially than taking snapshots yourself, but if we can’t use your photos, you’ll be wasting money and losing the audience that may have more than paid for the investment in a professional photographer. If your great photo gets printed in the paper, the box office return will pay for your investment over and over.

FAQs

Colour or Black and White? Colour.

Should I use a "graphic filter" in photoshop to add a texture or tint to my photo? Definitely no.

Should I include show details as part of my image, like on my poster or flyer?: Nope, just the photo. A photo with details on it is considered an ad, and won't be used.

When should I send them? You can send Promotional Photos any time, up to July 30, for inclusion in our Web Gallery for media. However, if you send them sooner, and they're good, we will start sending them out to long-lead publications that are looking for photos now (monthly and quarterly magazines, summer tourist guides) to promote the festival in advance.

Quick Links for Promoting Your Event

Free online events listings in and around Victoria

• Harbour Living (harbourliving.ca)

• Monday Mag online events: mondaymag.com/calendar e-mail to [email protected]

• Live Victoria: http://livevictoria.com/

• Greatervictoria.com • Hellobc.com • www.gobc.ca

• Tourism Victoria – http://www.tourismvictoria.com/Eventcalendar.aspx

• Eventsbc.com • Vancouverisland.com

• Dance Current - www.destinationdancedanse.ca (online submission, contact is • Kate, listings editor - [email protected])

• www.seniors101.ca - [email protected]

Social Media

This is a fantastic and FREE way to spread the word about your show. Victoria has several local bloggers, tweeters and general social media inclined arts lovers. Get the buzz building around your show before you even arrive, no posters needed – share your reviews, or promo photos.

Twitter - To be included in the word of mouth of the festival and to maximize your views and get retweeted, be sure to include the hashtag #yyjfringe and you can tweet directly to us @IntrepidTheatre (tweets by Sean, Marketing & Development) or @vicfringefestPA (tweets by Jenson, summer intern). The best way to build a following and get a good buzz happening is to make your tweets engaging (ask a specific question – Quentin Tarantino themed show? Ask what the favorite Tarantino heroine is? Well you are at #tarantino to increase your exposure), use photos and links to reviews or press or YouTube videos. Be sure that it is your voice and reflects on your own show and your marketable brand.

Facebook – Create an event or page or group. Update it often. Add pictures of your travels across the country, post your reviews, be engaging, be creative (same as above). Did your #tarantino get you a tweet pack from Quentin Tarantino himself? Great – post about it. Share this with other performers, friends, and social media activists – stay current and active. Don’t focus on just your show either, post about other great shows you saw, post about the great time you had at The Fringe Preview or the new friends you made.

YouTube – Make a promo video, or a teaser or a trailer for your show. Include it in your other social media, put it in your electronic press kit, share it on twitter. Make an engaging, professional quality concise summary or teaser of your show that people will want to watch and share. Include your show info: festivals, dates, venues etc.

Blog – Tie it all together and share your entire Fringe experience. Sometimes, people are tired of reading reviews and hearing how many stars you got, be a human, make a connection. Write about your travels across the country, all the friends you met, the best fish n chips in the city, etc. Don’t forget the show, but approach it from a different angle – what was creating the show like, how did it feel to play to a sold out house, how is each city different?

Please feel free to use our crest logo on your promo materials.

For ticket information you can add our website victoriafringe.com and the ticket rocket phone number 250-590-6291

Download PNG

FRINGE TUTORIAL #2: Program Guide Images and Promotional Photos

This is kind of a long tutorial, but there's lots of important info so please read it carefully. We talk about two different but related things in this section.

PART 1: your program guide image, which will illustrate your 60-word show description in the Fringe Program Guide (in print and on our fringe website). This is due June 30.

PART 2: promotional photos, which the papers or online media might print alongside a review, or might be used to help promote the Fringe itself throughout the year. You can send these any time.

PART 1: Program Guide Image

What we call your Program Guide Image is the small photo or graphic that will accompany your show description in the Fringe print program and website. This can be one of your promotional photos, or, if you prefer, a logo or illustration. Our print guide is full colour, and it’s also posted online, so by all means send your image in colour.

Program Guide Images can be one of the following (see samples below):

1) your best Promotional Photo

2) another photographic image that is representative of your show, that you have the rights to use.

3) A logo or illustration

4) A "doctored" photo, for example, with your show title in it.

Here's a sample at full size next to a show description, so you can see it's not very big.

 Specs for Program Images

 We prefer electronic files. The  program image should be

• 300 dpi
• 2 inches minimum size ( or 600 pixels square minimum) but larger is better particularly if it’s supplied as a JPEG)
• RGB mode - Full Colour
  
• TIF or DNG or best-quality JPEG format

Bigger files are welcome - we can crop and scale your image to the appropriate size. If this is all greek to you, go to your local copy, photo or computer rental place and they will be able to help you.

Have a look through last year’s guide online , and it’s easy to see what works and what doesn’t.

PART 2: Promotional Photos

This is the most important tip we will give you all year. The best investment you can make in the promotion of your show is having professional photos taken. It's all about the first impression. A picture is worth a thousand words, and if you have pictures that make your show look great, the media and the public are more likely to pay attention. In a relatively small city like Victoria, it is possible to get attention in the form of a full-page, full-colour cover of the weekly arts mag or Go! Section of the daily paper. Think of how valuable this free publicity could be to your show.

1-2 really great shots are all you need – we don’t even want more than three. All the images you send will be available to the media online in our Fringe Web Gallery to be used in Fringe preview articles, editorials and reviews. We'll give you the link as well, so you can also access your own hi-resolution photos here any time.

General Guidelines for Photos:

It’s harsh, but we can tell in less than a second if the print media will be interested in your photos. These are general rules, but if you want to see good exceptions, visit the Artist Page Photo Gallery, which shows good examples from last year’s fringe with a little commentary about why they work.

Please think twice before sending:

1. Long distance shots.

2. Outdoor Shots

3. Shots with more than three people in them.

4. Non-theatrical “location shots,” such as your living room

And don’t bother sending:

1. Group shots of your company being themselves (ie “the cast photo” )

2. Still-lifes of inanimate objects (“art” ) - this may work in your program graphic but media won't use it.

3. Anything out of focus or poorly lit

4. “Resume” style head shots, unless you are really, really famous.

5. Any image that is under copyright that you don’t have permission to use (ie. a photo of a famous person or work of art from a museum.)

6. Logos, titles, or any image with text on it. Again, in your program image this may be fine, but the media won't use anything that has text in it.

Your goal should be to produce a well lit, in-focus photo that features no more than three humans against a neutral background. Think visual impact. Consider spending the money to hire a professional photographer. It may cost you more initially than taking snapshots yourself, but if we can’t use your photos, you’ll be wasting money and losing the audience that may have more than paid for the investment in a professional photographer. If your great photo gets printed in the paper, the box office return will pay for your investment over and over.

Technical Specifications

We prefer electronic files, no smaller than 4x6 inches, up to 11x17 inches is fine, jpg only, at 300 dpi. Label each photo with your company name first, ie: mycompany1.jpg, mycompany2.jpg, mycompany3.jpg, and when you send them to us, include photo details in your email - who is in each picture, and a photographer credit.

You can email or dropbox them to us at [email protected]

FAQs

Colour or Black and White? Colour.

Should I use a "graphic filter" in photoshop to add a texture or tint to my photo? Definitely no.

Should I include show details as part of my image, like on my poster or flyer?: Nope, just the photo. A photo with details on it is considered an ad, and won't be used.

When should I send them? You can send Promotional Photos any time, up to July 30, for inclusion in our Web Gallery for media. However, if you send them sooner, and they're good, we will start sending them out to long-lead publications that are looking for photos now (monthly and quarterly magazines, summer tourist guides) to promote the festival in advance.

Where do they go? We post all (or up to 4 shots per show) of the photos you send on the https://www.flickr.com/photos/intrepidtheatre/sets/72157642507899055/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Fringe Flickr Gallery , and we direct the print and online media to it when they are looking for images for specific shows or the Fringe in general. It's handy for artists too, because if you are on the road or away from your computer, you can still access your own photos there.

 The Fringe Program Guide is your primary sales tool at the Fringe, so it pays to lavish attention on choosing the perfect 60 words to promote your show. Think of newspaper movie listings or TV guide, and how they describe a feature film in just a few words. The Fringe Guide is kind of like this.

Keep in mind that the reader is looking at the guide to decide what shows to see. On average, Fringe-goers attend only four of 50 shows on offer. They are usually scanning show descriptions rather than reading the whole guide, maybe circling a dozen or so to check out, and they will make a judgment based on your opening few words if this is the kind of show they'll be interested in.

Your audience wants more than anything to know what your show is about, and what kind of experience they'll have at your show. Think about what would sell YOU on seeing your show. What is it about? What kind of experience is it? Who should see it?

Here's a good show description from Seattle company Wonder, for their show Cherry Cherry Lemon:

A twist of fate brings together an awkward woman and a party girl. Their friendship develops through erotic stories about love, sex and how one doesn't always mean the other. Accompanied by live solo guitar. "One of the best shows at this year's fringe!" -Minneapolis Star Tribune "Precise and priceless performances" (5 Stars!) --Edmonton Journal "...So beautiful, wise and hilarious, it may as well be the first time the story is ever told..."-The Stranger

That's a good balance of information and credentials that tells the audience a lot about what the experience will be like. Here's another kind of show description - for The Power of Ignorance by Chris Gibbs - that uses the show's own "voice" to convey information about both the format and comedy style of the show:

If you don't know who you are, you can be anyone you want to. Join Vaguen, master of ignorance and motivational speaker ordinaire, and learn how to stop thinking and start living! "One of the funniest shows I've seen in years. Cleverly written and beautifully performed, The Power of Ignorance is satirical comedy at its finest." 5 Stars - Times Colonist.

The great review quotes never hurt if you have them, but don’t sacrifice your entire 60 words to reviews unless you’re already well-known here. If you don't have any reviews yet, don't worry - there will be lots of other people in the same boat. Although it is tempting, avoid reviewing yourself (“If you see one show in your life, this is it!”;). This kind of hyperbole usually backfires. Likewise for phony reviews from your mom, roommate, or ex. It might seem funny to you now, but when you see it in print, perhaps less so.

A FEW FINAL TIPS:

If your show has a clear appeal to a segment of our audience (a murder mystery, a political play, a family show, a show with live music, or a play that deals with seniors or gay issues, for example), use this to your advantage and aim your description at your target audience.

If you have a website, definitely include the URL. We will link directly to it from your show description on the website and include it in the print guide.

Finally, if this is your first time on the Fringe, it's a good idea share your description with others before you send it in, and get feedback. What might seem obvious to you from the inside can be vague or confusing to a reader. Read it out loud - does it hook you right at the start?

If you’d like to look at more examples of show descriptions, see last year’s archived fringe website. Which descriptions "work" to make you want to see the show?

The Fringe Website will be launched in the first week of August, and that's also when our ticket and info line will be hooked up. The print program and iphone app will also be out that week.

The Fringe Website will be at VICTORIAFRINGE.COM (Intrepidtheatre.com will forward there, so no worries if you used that.

We have full online ticket sales and print-at-home ability that people can access through our website.

By phone, tickets will be available just a few days before the festival starts. The hotline number is 250-590-6291 - this is the number for TICKET ROCKET, which is the community box office we run at intrepid Theatre. Tickets will also be available online at ticketrocket.org - but it's best to direct your audience to victoriafringe.com where they can read all about your show, then click the link to ticketrocket to buy tickets.