Author Topic: Shawn Ray's First Experiences as a Promoters (Read 21523 times)

bic_staedtler · « **Reply #25 on:** May 14, 2006, 02:25:15 PM »

240, your idea of having the Pros doing interviews and guest seminars on the weekends sounds good on paper, but what makes you think they'd do it? For peanuts, none the less?...these guys are prepping for a show, the LAST thing they wanna do is answer regular joe's questions about steroids and crap while they're busy dieting and training.

240 is Back · « **Reply #26 on:** May 14, 2006, 02:25:30 PM »

IMO, it comes down to the mindset of the buyer. It is not easy to buy tickets, even online. If I happened to be at the gym and there were pro BBers there selling them, I'd be quite inclined to whip out my check card and buy a few (be sure to have wireless EFT capability that day also!)

It's hard to see the show on tv or on the radio while driving to work, then remember the website, look up info, order tickets, pick up tickets, then go to the show. BUT if all they have to do is shake hands with Phil Heath, then hand LIFT their credit card or cash while Phil talks with them about his diet, you will sell a hell of a lot of tickets.

AIDA, the right audience, and ease of buying. The 240 forumla

CQ · « **Reply #27 on:** May 14, 2006, 02:26:48 PM »

For a first time show, it was excellent. I think we can all agree it was better than the debacles of the Masters and Olympia

That was part of the marketing for next year. A decently run show attracts competitors, which attracts ticket buying fans. The NPC portion will have much greater numbers next year, as amateurs will want to compete in a well run show. Each amatuer brings a few ticket buying fans. I pretty much guarantee that the amateur numbers will be spiked significantly next year, especially the figure. I would also not be surprised to see more/'bigger' names in the pros as well.

The quality show also has the added plus that more 'general' people will plan to attend next year. I'm pretty sure I'll drag myself there. Like how on the opposite end of the spectrum, the last Olympia I attended was such a freakin mess that I have zero plans of going back.

240 is Back · « **Reply #28 on:** May 14, 2006, 02:29:27 PM »

Quote from: bic_staedtler on May 14, 2006, 02:25:15 PM

240, your idea of having the Pros doing interviews and guest seminars on the weekends sounds good on paper, but what makes you think they'd do it? For peanuts, none the less?...these guys are prepping for a show, the LAST thing they wanna do is answer regular joe's questions about steroids and crap while they're busy dieting and training.

Make it an invitational. In order to do the show, you have to do at least two guest appearances in the weeks before the show. use top NPC guys too! Shawn alone could draw decent numbers, but throw in a competitor or two, and it'd be packed. Drop the hummer and up the prize $. I don't care if only 8 guys end up doing the show. Eight good physiqes that the fans KNOW sure beats 30 guys, 25 of which we can't name.

Hell, why not have Phil heath do every appearance? He is the reigning champ. He has to re-sign with VYO this year. Shawn, write that into his contract! Two appearances a week, in the denver area, every saturday for those 8 weeks. It's take maybe 3-4 hours out of his day. And his own value would go up too.

Lift Studios · « **Reply #29 on:** May 14, 2006, 02:31:25 PM »

Quote from: 240 is Back on May 14, 2006, 02:29:27 PM

Hell, why not have Phil heath do every appearance? He is the reigning champ. He has to re-sign with VYO this year. Shawn, write that into his contract! Two appearances a week, in the denver area, every saturday for those 8 weeks. It's take maybe 3-4 hours out of his day. And his own value would go up too.

LOL! You are too funny bro. Phil isn't signed with any supplement company and hasn't signed a contract with Vyo-tech or any other supp. company.

ManBearPig... · « **Reply #30 on:** May 14, 2006, 02:35:13 PM »

i won't give any advice here, i just know that gnc's (when i used to go to them) would have big posters of whatever that show was in chicago.

i think putting an ad up at a gnc/vitamin shoppe would be better than at a gym. because here you have a dude who knows a little more about bbing than your average guy on the stepper.

Lift Studios · « **Reply #31 on:** May 14, 2006, 02:41:13 PM »

Quote from: Power Rod on May 14, 2006, 02:35:13 PM

i won't give any advice here, i just know that gnc's (when i used to go to them) would have big posters of whatever that show was in chicago.

i think putting an ad up at a gnc/vitamin shoppe would be better than at a gym. because here you have a dude who knows a little more about bbing than your average guy on the stepper.

There were posters in supplement stores all over Denver and surrounding areas - Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, etc.

FOR REAL · « **Reply #32 on:** May 14, 2006, 03:05:48 PM »

Here's an idea, have a show with some TOP GUYS signed on to do it!!! When the biggest name in the show is a guy who cant even crack the top 10 at the Mr O (Darrem), it doesnt really speak volumes for the quality of competition...

Let's not forget some of the other "big name" guys like Ahmed Haider pulled out at the last minute and a crap 3rd tier bodybuilder filled with synthol is able to crack the top 10 (Arntz) LOL...

I think 240's idea of marketing in the gym makes the MOST sense... I hate to break it to ya shawn, but no body outside of the hardcore gym crowd have any idea who you are!! You are not Arnold bro...

Hurricane Beef ! · « **Reply #33 on:** May 14, 2006, 03:09:33 PM »

Quote from: 240 is Back on May 14, 2006, 01:14:31 PM

Thanks. Shawn did well, but the mission plan was flawed. Surgery was a success, but the patient died.

When it comes to the marketing, your approach has to match the product offering, and the target audience. Check it:

If you're going to advertise to a mass audience (shotgun approach), you need a mass appeal offering. If you're going to be on the morning news, talk about something that they like. Add something to the show to make them want to visit. IE: "guest host" someone that housewives identify with, etc.

If you're going to advertise to a specific audience (rifle approach- my favorite!) you need to NOT spend time on the news, but spend time doing seminars at local gyms the 8 weekends before the colo pro, with athletes coming along to meet the patrons and giveaways, etc. THIS would have motivated ppl to come out. (IE: "I met darrem, nice dude. I'll be there!").

Shawn was just another guy selling something on the morning news. But in the gyms, he would have been THE man with THE SHOW OF THE YEAR!

Schedule 4 appearances a weekend- Q&A with Phil Heath and a few other guys, for the 8 weeks BEFORE the colo pro. Hit the 32 biggest gyms closest to Denver. That's 2 every sat, 2 every sunday. Meet thousands of real pro BBing fans in the denver area.

Anyway, that is my marketing advice. You never asked, but I'm sharing anyway. You went after the wrong cutomer group, Shawn. You did things right, but for the WRONG people, IMHO.

Rob

Wow, marketing advise from an MBA . . . 240 you have an MBA from Gulf Coast University, was it an attended study program, or did you go the online route?

Also, now that you have finished your MBA ( assuming you have ) you should update your site to reflect that.

Keep the great advise coming.

The Beef

bigdumbbell · « **Reply #34 on:** May 14, 2006, 03:10:08 PM »

why not move it to mexico city. they have great restaurants, great shopping, the internet, the dollar is strong there, same timezones and they have 12,000,000 people

Tre · « **Reply #35 on:** May 14, 2006, 03:16:17 PM »

Quote from: onlyme on May 14, 2006, 01:36:40 PM

It's going to be hard to get through Seans thick skull, but Denver was a horrible choice for a venue. He did not think this one out. He made three (at the least) major mistakes. 1) putting the show on in Denver. 2) doing it on a holiday weekend. 3) doing it at a venue just to big for the size of the event.

Denver is an *awesome* city and had the best weather of any show you will see all year in the IFBB.

Mother's Day weekend did present an obstacle or two, but didn't dramatically hurt attendance.

The venue is gorgeous and perfectly suitable for an event of this stature. We're talking about the #3 event on the pro league calendar (in terms of prize money) and one for which there is only upside.

When the GNC show bombed in 2002, everyone said, "Oh, it was really bad, but it was just their first year - they'll get better", but at the Colorado Pro, NO ONE WHO WAS PRESENT had a bad time. Those of us who paid to attend had a great time and I guarantee many of us will return to support this event in 2007.

Stavios · « **Reply #36 on:** May 14, 2006, 03:38:42 PM »

Awesome, maybe next year I'll fly to denver to see the show

240 is Back · « **Reply #37 on:** May 14, 2006, 03:46:28 PM »

Quote from: Hurricane Beef ! on May 14, 2006, 03:09:33 PM

Wow, marketing advise from an MBA . . . 240 you have an MBA from Gulf Coast University, was it an attended study program, or did you go the online route?

Also, now that you have finished your MBA ( assuming you have ) you should update your site to reflect that.

Yeah, I need to remodel my own site. Every time I get a spare minute, I have an idea I want to grow. I usually have a week or two line to start websites, so I don't stress it too much.

I finished the MBA in dec from FGCU. It's an accredeted state university, http://www.fgcu.edu/cob/accreditation/

I took 3 of the classes online, and the other 15 in the classroom. Making money in the real world is WAY easier than finishing the MBA was. Those Finance and operations mgmt courses were tough. If you got 3 C's, you were withdrawn from the school automatically. Tough. A good 1/5 of the MBA's didn't finish thanks to this rule.

Captain Equipoise · « **Reply #38 on:** May 14, 2006, 03:50:13 PM »

Quote from: Shawn Ray on May 14, 2006, 02:04:24 PM

The DVD is coming soon...........Stay tuned to: www.coloradoproshow.com
I had a Blast!
I'd like to thank the Academy, as well as the Sponsors and Athletes butmost of all I'd like to thanks the FANS!
All 3 of them! You guys are the reason I will be pulling out all the stops for the next 2 years as we signed on the dotted line last night!

1st Weekend of June 2007!

My review will be detailed in Flex Magazine, Muscular Development and on my web site: www.shawnray.com
Peace,
S. Ray

I still don't get why so many people hate on you Shawn (namely onlyme and 240) I think you're doing an awesome thing, it's very classy that you're giving back to the bodybuilding community you came out of, without this show a lot of up and coming bodybuidlers would have been screwed since the IFBB cut back on shows recently, props.

Tre · « **Reply #39 on:** May 14, 2006, 03:54:59 PM »

Shawn - I want a free ticket in the 2nd row for next year, bro.

The seat I paid for was too far back this time.

Great event, bro - you and your team deserve all the props in the world. To put it in perspective, I'd rather pay the money to fly here for this show again than to drive 60 miles to Pasadena for the FitExpo and Ironman.

240 is Back · « **Reply #40 on:** May 14, 2006, 05:00:12 PM »

Quote from: Captain Equipoise on May 14, 2006, 03:50:13 PM

I still don't get why so many people hate on you Shawn (namely onlyme and 240)

Damn, equo... I toss around ideas and engage in discussions... but I respect Lift, Jeff, and especially Shawn for working their asses off for this show. Seriously. I am not blindly criticizing. I am tossing out ideas for how it can improve next time. I have (albeit a rocky one!) a relationship with Lift and Shawn that could presumably open door some day, who knows. I could have a booth at the expo next year, who knows... I want them to succeed, and any ideas I toss out there for discussion are only to make next year's recipe for success a better one.

I don't worry about tact and being buddy buddy- there are a million people out there who specialize in that! Results are what matter.

Jujoshu · « **Reply #41 on:** May 14, 2006, 05:10:26 PM »

Who did you have in mind exactly?
Larry the Cable Guy?

davidpaul · « **Reply #42 on:** May 14, 2006, 05:13:47 PM »

u cold get sarcasm onstage with some monster triceps gags, followed by the rest of the ~~fags~~ squad

onlyme · « **Reply #43 on:** May 14, 2006, 05:15:44 PM »

Yes great show Sean

You are the best

As you and Issac posted sometime ago, hopefully all promoters will model themselves after you

If they did the PDI will be successful that much faster. Anyway, just because you booked the show for the next two years does NOT guarantee youare doing the show. Don't start pulling everyones chain already for next years show. You are sounding like Kamali fans do before every show on how great he looks then comes in looking like crap. The Charolette Pro too was booked for the next 2 or 3 years. And look at where it is. And Mike used his own money for most of it. The thing you can at least be proud of is that you did the show. You said you were going to do it and you did it. Of course what you told people was allot different than what actually happened but at least you did something. So now you can wallow in all the glory that you finally did a show.

Also, how can you say you sold more tickets than an established show in LA, New York or San Fan can. Anyway, hope you are doing good you are the best and a living IFBB legend. You Da Man!

davidpaul · « **Reply #44 on:** May 14, 2006, 05:16:44 PM »

Quote from: onlyme on May 14, 2006, 05:15:44 PM

Yes great show Sean You are the best As you and Issac posted sometime ago, hopefully all promoters will model themselves after you If they did the PDI will be successful that much faster. Anyway, just because you booked the show for the next two years does NOT guarantee youare doing the show. Don't start pulling everyones chain already for next years show. You are sounding like Kamali fans do before every show on how great he looks then comes in looking like crap. The Charolette Pro too was booked for the next 2 or 3 years. And look at where it is. And Mike used his own money for most of it. The thing you can at least be proud of is that you did the show. You said you were going to do it and you did it. Of course what you told people was allot different than what actually happened but at least you did something. So now you can wallow in all the glory that you finally did a show.

Also, how can you say you sold more tickets than an established show in LA, New York or San Fan can. Anyway, hope you are doing good you are the best and a living IFBB legend. You Da Man!

your life must be really shit

WOOO · « **Reply #45 on:** May 14, 2006, 05:17:14 PM »

Hugo Chavez · « **Reply #46 on:** May 14, 2006, 05:17:39 PM »

Quote from: 240 is Back on May 14, 2006, 09:52:07 AM

I bet that would lighten things up, would end those awkward pauses, and would increase attendance.

I mean, I'm sure we all enjoyed the uncomfortable banter of Bob Chick's ad-libbing last night, but imagine a poor man's Chris Rock up there, making jokes about the obvious aspects of the show. Would the egos in attendance allow them to take things a little less serious?

Why don't you wait until you've gone to some shows before spouting off. Nobody want to sit for that long. Between shows its time to give your ass a rest I don't care if Seinfeld sp? is there. My ass is out of the seat. If you don't know, just STFU already...

onlyme · « **Reply #47 on:** May 14, 2006, 05:23:46 PM »

240 gotta go against you on this. I was thinkning about having a semi-top name comedian come in and be my entertainment for my show. The cheapest I found was Carlos Mencia at $10,000 plus expenses. Howie Mandel is over $20,000. The Amazing Jonathan was $15,000. The Regurgetator was $10,000. I wanted to bring in those two brothers from Vegas who do the balancing act and are really built. They are very expensive too, $10,000 apiece. Plus expenses for all. You need to find the most popular local person who the local audience just loves and have them be the emcee. It may cost a few grand but you save in travel expenses. He can emcee and during any down time entertain. Quick witted and fast talking guys are the best.

240 is Back · « **Reply #48 on:** May 14, 2006, 05:26:54 PM »

Quote from: onlyme on May 14, 2006, 05:23:46 PM

240 gotta go against you on this. I was thinkning about having a semi-top name comedian come in and be my entertainment for my show. The cheapest I found was Carlos Mencia at $10,000 plus expenses. Howie Mandel is over $20,000. The Amazing Jonathan was $15,000. The Regurgetator was $10,000. I wanted to bring in those two brothers from Vegas who do the balancing act and are really built. They are very expensive too, $10,000 apiece. Plus expenses for all. You need to find the most popular local person who the local audience just loves and have them be the emcee. It may cost a few grand but you save in travel expenses. He can emcee and during any down time entertain. Quick witted and fast talking guys are the best.

barter barter barter!! You make it worth somebody's while in terms of free advertising and other things that $ just can't buy

onlyme · « **Reply #49 on:** May 14, 2006, 05:33:10 PM »

Quote from: 240 is Back on May 14, 2006, 05:26:54 PM

barter barter barter!! You make it worth somebody's while in terms of free advertising and other things that $ just can't buy

240 wrong again. Dude you are making me do this when I like supporting you. No one but no one knows how to barter better than me. You do not barter with these guys. Money is what talks. These guys get publicity everywhere. They EXPECT it and at times get it without wanting it. What can you give to someone like Chris Rock, Howie Mandel, etc that they don't have already. You are talking about a BB show. Something none of these people would ever think twice about going to in the first place and especially be a part of. Bartering works allot of times. But when you tlking to people who have just about eveyrthing, unless they are in a charity mood it won't happen. Trust me I know. I knwo allot of people and called alot of them. And as much as they wished me good luck and hope I kick ass I couldn't get them here.

Author Topic: Shawn Ray's First Experiences as a Promoters (Read 21523 times)

Stavios