Business Plan

Business Plan

What's the Plan:

The idea is to stage a small gig, to organise the venue, line up, costs and how I'm going to promote it.

Venue:

KOKO

I will stage my gig in the KOKO club in Camden Town. The venue has an urban yet colourful feel, which could be a good appeal to a younger audience. The venue sits at the bottom of Camden high street and is easily accesible (via bus or tube). The whole venue has a capacity of 1400 so I can squeeze in a fair amount of people. I will organise the gig to take place during the summer. This allows a bigger audience as some of the customers will be away from college or sixth form. To hold it on the day before August Bank Holiday Monday (24th) gives those that work the opportunity to attend as most don't work on the Sunday and will have no work the next day, so they won't feel they will have to go home early, they can let their hair down and have fun. It is also likely to be hot so the audience will want to buy drinks, therefore selling more. I will contact KOKO via their website in order to receive a quote for the venue.

Promotion:

This whole marketing campaign will start about 6 weeks before the event, allowing time for tickets to go on sale with the event safely in the audiences minds.

KOKO sits at the bottom of Camden high street. So I'll hire someone to hand out fliers along the high street especially to those who are walking towards the bottom of it as this gives the customers the opportunity to check out the venue on their way to where ever.

Posters could feature something like this.

Placing posters around London will get the word around to those who aren't close by. Placing throughout North and Central London (where Camden resides) will put a focus on those who are more likely to attend as they are closer to the venue and won't have to travel too much. The posters will feature the whole line up, pricing (tickets, food, drink, so the customers are well aware of how much they need to pay), ease of access to the venue and the time it starts, it will be

clear to avoid confusion.

Stickers could be posted around North and Central London tube stations (such as Chalk Farm, the closest to Camden, Euston, Brent Cross and Tottenham Court Road) to target the closest audience during their weekly travels. This would attract a wide audience as most Londoners use the tube.

Social media! Almost everyone is using some form of social media like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Creating a post for Facebook and sharing it amongst my friends and then asking them to share with their friends and so on would get the word out to an extent, but certainly not as much as I need. The same can be done on twitter, in much shorter form (140 characters max) and hash tagging such as #KOKOBankHoliday or #KOKOBBQ gets news around to the same extent as Facebook but with less words, something the audience wouldn't find boring to read. Instagram is a means to be creative. Posting a picture representing the event on my own account (and then getting others to share) is one thing. But asking the whole lineup to post a picture of the event 2 weeks before will get word around to their followers (most likely their fans) who might just be "dying" to see them, therefore, building up a custom of those who will come to the event especially for the artists. Social media will target the younger audience which seems fitting for an indie rock night. Instagram could also be a way to promise behind the scenes footage of sound check and preparation as a way to boost my own account and perhaps build some sort of reputation.

An article in the Camden New Journal could be an effective way of pulling in an audience. I say 'could' because not many read the newspaper but, if the article features a massive picture of Jake Bugg, it could increase hype if a big name is to attend an event in the Borough.

Line Up:

I want to event to have an indie-rock feel so a suitable headliner would be Jake Bugg. With 2 albums behind him and another on the way he is perfectly capable of sustaining a 60 minute set, maybe even longer. This also gives him the opportunity to promote his upcoming LP.

A good support act with the same genre to give off the whole indie vibe is Palma Violets. Palma Violets have a more rock feel which is a good way to liven up the crowd before Bugg comes on, a shorter set is much more suitable for them as they don't have as big a back catalogue as Bugg (they have only got 1 studio album).

An American indie band called Hundred Waters would be a suitable first opening act as they are known in the states but almost unknown mainstream over here. It would involve paying for their flights and accommodation, but as they aren't massive over here I'm fairly sure they're not expecting 5* service.

The reason for choosing the indie-rock theme was to attract a fairly wide audience (age-wise), a lot of people of varying ages will enjoy the music on display during the event.

Tickets:

KOKO has a capacity of 1410 people so a sale of 1200 tickets will be satisfactory. 1000 Tickets will be sold online via KOKO's website and other ticket sales sites such as ticketmaster and lastminute.com. 200 tickets will be kept aside for on the day box office selling on a first come = first serve basis. Decreasing the amount for online sales and putting some aside for box office sales will increase demand as it adds exclusivity.

With a £22,000 payout, to break even and profit tickets will be sold at £20 per online sale and £25 per box office sale. Different prices between the 2 sales enhances exclusivity as it suggests that because the box office tickets are more expensive they are limited (which they are). 

£20 x 1000 = £20,000. £25 x 250 = £6,250. Of course this doesn't include profits made from food and drink sales.

Costs:

As stated in the email, in order to hire KOKO out for the event it will cost £14,000 plus VAT which is allocated to £5,000 for the venue and £9,000 for bar staff and sales (drink included). I have emailed all 3 acts' booking agents (2 of them under CODA)
Jake Bugg - Waiting for Quote
Palma Violets - Waiting For Quote
Hundred Waters - £2,500 max for flights and accommodation. Waiting for Quote
BBQ Food - £1,000
Posters, Fliers, Stickers - £550 (quote from website)
Security - £1,000

Total = £22,000 maximum (unfortunately this includes estimates from the acts as I was unable to get a reply from the booking agents) maximum.

The whole event will be funded by sponsorship from H&M. In return their logo will be featured (heavily) on my posters, fliers and stickers. The idea behind getting H&M to sponsor the event fits with the August/Summer-y theme I'm trying to achieve. At the time H&M will want to promote their summer clothing line and possibly leading to their  autumn range. Getting some members of staff to wear certain pieces of clothing designed by H&M could be a good way to obtain/secure sponsorship too.  

Paper Work:

The boring bit. A contract will be signed between myself and the agents/managers of the acts to cement their performance and to ensure they will be paid. Signing for the venue to assure KOKO that it will be taken care of and to leave it in the state it was found will be taken out, this contract will also state the legal side, which will make sure that if any illegal activity takes place (underage alcohol selling, violent altercations) that a fine could be headed my way.

Tech & Security:

KOKO has an in house technician, so they isn't a need to hire one. They also provide necessary technology (microphones, amps, mixer etc). So forking out for that isn't required. I will hire 20 security guards to ensure everyone in the venue is safe and to man the doors.  

Timing:

The whole stage will need to be set up by 3pm latest. This will allow the acts to perform their sound check quickly at 4pm before doors open at 6.30. Doors opening at 6.30 will allow the audience an hour and a half to buy drinks, food, go to the toilet and settle in their seats before Hundred Waters takes to the stage at 8. They will perform for 30 minutes with a 15 minute break following before Palma Violets takes to the stage at 8.45. They will play for 45 minutes, something they are perfectly capable of with their back catalogue. Another 15 minute break (perhaps longer, to build anticipation) will follow after P.V and then Jake Bugg will perform his 70 minute set.