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Ventriloquism, Toys & Marketing
By Steve Hurst | August 4, 2008
My wife and I got up early Saturday morning and made the drive over to Pauls Valley, OK (Pauls Valley is about halfway between Oklahoma City and the Texas border… a four hour drive for us) to see a ventriloquist friend of mine perform, Bob Abdou (better known as Mr. Puppet).
We arrived early (show started at 11am, we got there about 10:20am) and Bob was already set up and ready to go. He brought his lovely wife June along, so we got to sit and visit with both of them before the show.
The people started arriving and once everyone was there, Bob was ready to start the show. The audience consisted of little kids and adults with over half of the audience being the kids.
Bob starts his show with laughs….and it continues throughout his performance. The show was a great success.
My wife and I wanted to check out “The Toy and Action Figure Museum” (these folks hired Bob). This place is wonderful. If you’re a kid at heart….you have to see this place.
Personally, I’m a Superman fan (I’ve collected some Superman memorabilia over the years)…and this place had Superman figures and toys, LOTS of Batman toys and action figures, plus tons of others, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, different sculptures and so much more.
If you’re ever in the Oklahoma City area or the northern central part of Texas, make the drive to Pauls Valley to check it out. Here’s the website for more information:
http://www.actionfiguremuseum.com/
After the visit to the museum, Bob asked the people at the museum if there was a good place to eat. So, the four of us went to have lunch at a fantastic BBQ place in Pauls Valley (I wish I could remember the name but it’s right off I-35) that was highly recommended. The food was excellent and it gave us more time to visit. After that, we said our good-byes and headed home. Even though it was a long day….it was a very enjoyable day.
On the drive home I thought about three marketing lessons of the day.
1. My ventriloquist friend Bob, had been to the museum once before. He had established a relationship with them, so when they wanted to hire some entertainment….who did they hire…Mr. Puppet. If he hadn’t kept up this relationship (through keeping in contact with them) this would not have happened. Make sure you keep in contact with all of your prospective customers.
2. While at the museum, they had a sign up to sheet to gather mailing and email addresses. They know the importance of “capturing” information so they can build a list and keep in contact with their prospective customers. Are you doing the same?
3. When Bob asked about a good place to eat, they recommended the BBQ place. We found out others said it was the “best place in town”. If someone asks about your type of business, will people say the same about you? Strive to be the “best” and the word of mouth will follow.
And one more thing…..if Mr. Puppet (Bob Abdou) is performing in your area, make sure you go see his show. Or if you’re looking for someone to perform for one of our events (he’s located in TX but does travel) here’s his website:
To Your Success,
Steve
www.spnmarketing.com
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Topics: Marketing |