Show Promoter's Responsibilities
Sunday November 19, 2006
When you have a "bad show", it is not always the show promoter's fault. Different circumstances can always contribute to a bad craft show. However, show promoters do have a responsibility to their vendors. The main one is to get the people to the event. That almost always means using proper advertising to get customers to show up. But there are other things that promoters must do to ensure that their event is considered a success. Those include providing adequate security during the show and after hours, keeping promises to vendors about things like "hand-made products only" and making themselves available to crafters throughout the duration of the event.
Comments
What is the best way to advertise a new show for the spring of 2007 in Montana? We want handcrafted arts and crafts only with quality being our first requirement.
You can advertise in the newspapers (an invitation to artists and crafters), on radio and on the Internet. From that, begin to develop a mailing list. Visit other shows and personally invite (with an application form in hand) those crafters whose items seem to fit your venue. Ask if they know of others who would be interested and give them enough forms to pass along to those people. Since this is a new show, you’ll have a harder time getting participation because many artisans will not consider a show with no track record. So be sure to tell them about all the advertising you will do - television, radio, print, Internet, etc. At our show, we have found TV advertising to be very effective. (I would guess costs in Montana for TV time would be comparable to what we pay here in Nebraska.) Take advantage of all free advertising in newspapers and shop windows around town. Write a press release. Put your head together with others on your jury and start thinking up other ways to get the word out. You can do it!
Also, provide computer graphics that artisans and crafters can modify so they can email their customers with notification and/or coupon.
My biggest gripe with promoters is the contracts. In a juried show the contract ususally states that all merchandise must be created by me. But when buy/sell merchandise is present and several artists/crafters advise the promoters of this, they do nothing. It should be removed. whether a space is left empty or not. Rules should be adhered to by all.