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Monday, 5 April, 2010 7:10 PM
Jo Dee Messina Broadens Marketing
Outreach with "Music Room Series Tour"
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Photo
by Stephanie Orr-Buttrey
Jo
Dee Messina greets a young fan during a “Music Room
Series Tour” Concert at Parker Playhouse in Ft. Lauderdale,
Fla., in October. |
| By
Bob Doerschuk |
| ©
2010 CMA Close Up News Service |
Many artists have their
own music rooms — places to relax and maybe entertain a few
friends. Jo Dee Messina has two: one at home and another that she
takes on the road.
Since breaking into the
spotlight as winner of the 1999 CMA Horizon Award, Messina has consistently
gone the extra mile in reaching out to her fans, even releasing
her mobile phone number and inviting the public to give her a call.
So it made sense for her to book a series of intimate shows in smaller
venues, where she performs with a trimmed-down version of her band,
takes requests and otherwise welcomes the audience from a stage
set modeled after her music room at home.
But why not take the
idea a step further and add more value to the experience for both
the artist and those who attend her “Music Room Series Tour”
of concerts? That was the question asked — and answered —
by Stephanie Orr-Buttrey, President, CountryWired Inc., which does
Web site promotion, marketing design and maintenance for Messina
and other artists.
“We decided to
give everyone who bought a ticket to these shows free membership
for six months in Jo Dee’s fan club,” she said. “That
allowed us to know everyone that bought a ticket and to put together
a large database of information about people who enjoy seeing her
live. With the new single and album coming, that gives us a much
larger database to market to.”
Annual dues for the Jo
Dee Messina Fan Club are currently $15. The free six-month membership
extended at each “Music Room Series Tour” show includes
most of the standard perks, such as access to her live post-concert
“Nightcap with Jo Dee” meet-and-greets on www.JoDeeMessina.com
and invitations to fan club parties. A few extra privileges act
as incentives to sign up for full membership once the complementary
period has elapsed.
“You know my history:
I’m a hard-core appreciator of my fans,” said Messina.
“They’re dishing out a little piece of their household
income for tickets, and I always want to give them more for their
money, so the ‘Music Room’ show is based on interaction.
We don’t wear ear monitors; we use floor monitors so we can
talk back and forth, make jokes, take requests and answer questions.
But giving them fan club membership lets them follow me beyond just
that night. They come to hang out, we spend the evening visiting
and then they get to see what I’m up to afterwards.”
The benefits work both
ways: As fan club members enjoy their special access through meet-and-greets,
Twitter and other channels, Messina’s people will be able
to reach back with targeted marketing for concerts, music and merchandise.
This gets the promotional ball rolling even before Messina’s
single, “That’s God,” written by the singer and
Brent Rader, drops in January, with her Curb Records album Unmistakable
set to follow in the spring.
“I don’t
have product in the stores, so I can’t tell you how it’s
going to affect numbers. All I’ve got is me,” she said,
laughing — but for her fan club members, that’s a great
start.
On the Web: www.JoDeeMessina.com
Photo
by Stephanie Orr-Buttrey
Jo
Dee Messina performs during a “Music Room Series Tour”
Concert.
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