Here are a sampling of some of the best ideas of how to promote a successful family concert. We are just starting this page and we need your help! Please share your ideas with others. Send them to us at mail@judyanddavid.com and we'll post them.

In no particular order...

1. One of our favourite concert presenters is from a small town in Ontario. Every year he creates one colour poster with a picture of Judy & David and all the concert details in the middle. The poster is framed with business-card-sized ads which he sells to local businesses for a manageable amount of money ($100-$200). In this way, he manages to cover most of his concert expenses before he has sold one ticket!
   
2. Make sure you take full advantage of all of the promotional materials we have available for you. More info here.
   
3. Find print sponsors to cover the cost of flyer printing, or civic-minded company that will provide use of their photocopy machine.
   
4. Never underestimate the desire of some people to buy the most expensive, best seats. We usually find we can sell the first few rows for about 50% more than the rest of the house. It substantially increases your revenue.
   
5. Sponsorship... There's no easy way to cover this quickly. But here are the basics: First, you have to be able to answer these questions: Who in your community wants to reach young families? Who is sponsoring other, similar events? How much are they spending to do so? What can you offer them in return for their sponsorhip (the opportunity to do something good for the community is important, but no longer enough to get the big bucks!). Can you find a way to get their staff involved in the show? In a recent concert we had a summer camp sponsor a show. Their counsellors were the ushers. They had a booth set up in the lobby with a camp video playing and free information. We even piggy-backed onto their existing promotional activities to help promote our show. Bottom line: KNOW YOUR SPONSOR.... know what the possible synergies are BEFORE you get them on the phone!
   
6. Use our colouring sheet flyers (more info here) as part of a colouring contest with a local store, etc. For example, a grocery store could hand out the flyers, kids could colour them in and put them up in the store, a randomly-chosen flyer could win a prize.
   
7. Non-profit groups: Use our CDs or DVDs to do a fund-raiser for a few months before the show. You would purchase product from us at wholesale and sell it at a mark-up. This helps raise funds (helpful for paying the concert expenses!) and has the added benefit of spreading the word about the upcoming show... and spreading the music!
   
8. LOCAL CHOIR: With most of our shows, you have the option of supplying a local children's choir (must be fairly good... and accustomed to dancing). We send the choir the music and videotapes of the choreography in advance, then work with them at a dress rehearsal before the show. This increases local involvement and gets more moms, dads, cousins, etc. in seats!