Street Stencil

So after hours of hard work creating the stencil in Illustrator so it would work on the Laser Cutter at school, I finally finished the street stencil for the project. I originally tried to do the street stencil with a thin mylar plastic but the Laser Cutter melted and warped the plastic in a way that ruined the design. I then used chip board which turned out amazingly well. The downside is when I went to test it, my chalk mixture obviously didn't work and it almost ruined the stencil. The next step would be to try a thin sheet of acrylic for the stencil but I have run out of time and finances. For now I'm going to have to leave it up to future research. This experience has shown me that creating stencils are difficult and costly. I got a quote from a company that specialized in creating stencils (http://www.stencilsonline.com/) and the estimate ranged from $100 to $200 for my stencil, way to expensive for up and coming bands to pay for one show. I also tried to cut the stencil myself with a razor blade and I found it impossible to do. Even the simplest parts of the design were extremely difficult to cut. Without access to a Laser Cutter like the one I have at school, the street stencil doesn't currently appear to be a viable way for up and coming bands to promote their show. Though my research shows that there are others who are doing it very successfully. Here are some photos of my stencil and experiment.

Final CD

This CD is what will be handed out to promote the show. It has the band names, their website, images for each group, the venue name and address, and the day, date, and time of the show. Along with having all this information, the CD also contains one song from each band.

Concert Poster Inspiration

After browsing through hundreds of concert posters for ideas and inspiration, these were a few that stood out to me. Mainly for their eye catching concepts and stencil like qualities. All the effort I put into designing the stencil really made me understand the amount of work that goes into these posters and how they are absolutely pieces of art. This research and work has given me a great appreciation and respect for the people who create these posters.

Street Stencil and CD Stamp

After getting the approval from my Graphic Design Expert Gerry Labadie from Labadie Produtions, I  completed the design for the solution of my study. A street stencil that will be used to promote shows visually and a CD stamp that will be used to create a free CD that will be handed out to promote the band's music, website, and upcoming concerts. Both forms of promotion are to be used to create Word of Mouth promotion for up and coming bands. I used the concert my band is playing as a way to gain first hand experience and to test the solution in the real world. The CD stamp with the ink pad and ink cost $70 ($40 for the stamp, $20 for the ink, and $10 for the pad) and the CD's cost 15 cents a piece. The amount of ink needed for the CD stamp is so small that the cost per CD is basically nothing. There was just the upfront cost which is very inexpensive compared to buying burned and printed CD's which cost 79 cents a CD plus shipping (discmakers.com) . The stencil was based off of the 1970's poster above. I'm still waiting for the CD's I ordered to show up so I can take a picture of an actual stamped CD but here are the graphics for the stencil and CD.

Stencil

CD Stamp

What the CD will look like

Images used to make Street Stencil

 

Free CDs

So far, my band has handed out 400 CDs for concerts we've done in San Francisco. We handed them out after shows of established bands that sounded similar to ours. People have been very responsive and happy to take the CD's. At the first show we handed out CDs for, we saw a noticeable amount of unfamiliar faces, around 40 to 50 people. At the next show, the show the CD above was promoting, we saw only a small amount of new faces, around 10 to 15 people. But October 27 was also one of the last games of the Giant's World Series so it's very understandable why the turnout wasn't as good. Our next show is December 10th at the Red Devil Lounge. We plan on handing out 600 CDs and street stenciling two weeks prior to the show. I should have the results just in time to include them in the study. The CD's are very inexpensive only costing 15 cents to make. The stencil will only cost around $5, which includes the stencil and chalk. I'll upload an image of the next CD and stencil when they are finished. The free CD is great because it allows people to hear our music almost instantly and it promotes our next show along with our website. 

Panel of Experts Advice

I asked my Panel of Experts "What advice do you have for local bands about how they can increase their fan base and get shows at larger venues," and this is what they said:


1. Keep playing locally. Don't turn down free gigs, keep your fanbase up to date, play places other people won't.


2. Play as often as possible. Start an email list. Really it's that simple, obvious things. Make friends with the in-house talent buyers at venues. Try to get the opening slot at a big show. Play the poster room at the fillmore, etc.


3. Play less and make sure every show is good. A lot of bands take as many shows to get out there but the buzz of a cool local band that can draw on a Tuesday does travel amongst local bookers.


4. Start where ever you can and consisitently bring 40 people. Build the amount of people from that.


5. Don't play every week. Spread your shows out and creat a demand that way/ Keep playing the smaller venues until your draw builds so that when you do approach the larger vennues, you can say you have sold out the other rooms. Never lie about draw as we have ways of finding out. Don't book a show at one venue and then try to get a support slot at another venue. Shows should be at least a month or more apart so that each show can draw the most people.


6. Keep playing and get good.

Survey Results

The survey results of come back from my Panel of Experts and it corresponds with my literary research. Word of Mouth marketing does appear to be the best way to develop a fan base for an up and coming  band. Here are the survey results.