Rock on the Range: How State Your Cause used social media and gorilla marketing

In addition to being a developer here at dynamIt, I’m also the manager for the Columbus-based band State Your Cause. 2010 has been a phenomenal year of progress for SYC - opening for national acts Saving Abel and Smile Empty Soul, recording in the Orlando studio of Brett Hestla (Creed, Dark New Day), and most recently, playing on this year’s Rock on the Range. As I begin to look back on Rock on the Range and analyze our execution, I thought of sharing an inside look at what we did through each step of the process.

Leading up to the live performance

Coming off of a few national shows, we were contacted about being part of a "Battle of the Bands" held at the local music venue Alrosa Villa. Just with all other opportunities, we analyzed the cost/benefit of the event and decided to participate. The total bands turned out to be 28, including a number of notable competitors.

After we committed to the show, a full-force push began. While I left all things musical up to the band, I laid the framework for our social media campaign and offline marketing efforts. During this time I planned out the procedures for our messaging life cycle - what message, how often, and what channels for each stage. Ahead of the performance we populated the expected online outlets - MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube.

Our message was simple - We need EVERYONE in attendance. We discounted tickets, made combination deals, and in some cases even offered transportation. A body in the crowd had more value than the price of the ticket. The energy and appearance of a large and excited crowd is invaluable - even more so when you’re being judged. Beg, borrow or steal, we did everything we could do to maximize the crowd.

Secondly, we helped the crowd feel more energized by providing props. The day before the show I bought poster-board, markers and a large number of white shirts. It’s amazing how great a crowd looks when part of a "white-out" and holding hand made signs (college basketball anyone?). Total cost for maximizing the crowds appearance? Less than $50.

Day of the performance

All live performance set times were randomly determined and we were given the first set on day 2 (of a total of 3 days). We didn’t receive any favors - having our set begin before 6:00pm. We began the day making a round of calls to those fans we had yet to get confirmation from, continuing to maximize attendance. In the couple of hours ahead of the performance, updates were sent through all online channels and the core fan group began distributing stickers, signs and posters to be decorated.

Everyone with the band felt that we had a solid performance which represented some of our best work. We cleared our equipment off the stage and then went to meet both our existing and newly made fans. Feedback from everyone was positive. We left the venue feeling content with whatever outcome may be delivered to us.

Text voting period

After the performance we began the push for first-round voting. Voting for this round was done by cell phone text messaging. We’ve all seen/heard it – "text XYZ to 555" to vote for your pick. The demographic for which this is the most likely (about 16-35) was our target fan base. Call us lucky, call us a good fit – we were positioned well for moving on.

Text messaging is an interesting medium. There’s undoubtedly large overlap with those who understand text-based voting and those who use social media. That’s something we knew we could take advantage of and would be a big advantage.

Semi-finalists announced

As results were announced on ABC 6 / FOX 28, all team members of SYC stayed glued to the TV. When we heard our name, the flood of phone calls and text messages began. Selected to advance, we started two additional promotional pushes.

First we quickly realized that distributing the Fox 28 contest URL, the medium used for final voting, was cumbersome at best. I quickly registered a handful of domain names that would be easy to communicate to fans and would forward the visitor on to the voting page. These domains, led by vote4stateyourcause.com, would be crucial to us mobilizing those people we engaged on the street.

Secondly, we designed a recognizable Rock on the Range themed poster to distribute to local businesses. This poster clearly communicated the ROTR event and also included State Your Cause and the previously mentioned domain name. We distributed these to everyone in our collective network. While this primarily included bars and music venues, we also expanded the list to restaurants, coffee shops and a music store. All high traffic, long duration sites were considered.

Winner Announced

As with the previous announcement, everyone was glued to their TV sets. We knew that the competition was strong and we were unsure if the competition had out hustled us. We felt confident that we’d done just about all we could, but not if it was enough.

Then the announcement came - State Your Cause was going to Rock on the Range. When the word came, we all were left speechless. Everything we did worked. While we may not have executed perfectly, it was enough to beat out the other two bands.

Leading up to Rock on the Range

With the competition over, our attention was now focused on maximizing our exposure ahead of the ROTR weekend. We were given the opportunity to perform on FOX 28′s "Good Morning Columbus" as part of winning the contest. We set up our equipment, rocked the house and was subsequently asked to return to the show later in the week.

While it would have been easy to coast into Rock on the Range, we did not. One of the floated ideas we acted on was to capitalize on our tickets with backstage access. Rather than giving them to a select group of fans (and hurt our relationship with others), we did what we felt was fair - raffled them off. This was not the only motivation however. In quickly setting up a contest site, we enabled ourselves to collect contact information from entrants nationwide. Anyone who wanted the chance to win the tickets would provide their name, email, mobile number, and address. All information collected can be used to target communication to them in the future. Total cost? Just $10 for the domain name.

Rock on the Range weekend

Being given access to some of your favorite bands can be an overwhelming experience. Getting access all at the same time even more so. Instead of getting completely wrapped up in personal objectives, I set the ground work for things to come. The level of access to key people within the industry during this weekend is something that we may never have again.

Media outlets flowed throughout the grounds, but most also had a presence in the dedicated media tent located backstage. It was here that I set up live interviews for the band with stations throughout the country. While we’re progressive in our approach to promotion, the level of exposure from traditional radio is still unmatched by most outlets. We spent a number of hours circulating each station and spreading our name.

In addition to engaging radio outlets, we also generated leads from suppliers, potential sponsors, and band management contacts. With a number of the relationships currently in development, the weekend has already proved to be one of the most important milestones in our short history.

We left the weekend with more than we could have imagined. Access to 30,000+ music fans, pockets full of new contacts, and an experience none of us will forget.

Dynamit was honored as one of the “Best Places to Work” in 2010 & 2011 by Columbus Business First newspaper and Interactive Agency of the Year. Times are even better in 2012 and we’re hiring a Web/Graphic Designer for our aggressively growing team.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on cutting edge projects for well-known brands in a dynamic, entrepreneurial and highly creative environment. Please email resumes/cover letters and portfolio information (documents or links to online examples) to Gary Moneysmith via gmoney@dynamit.us.

A web/graphic designer on the Dynamit team will:

• Be well versed with Adobe Creative Suite: Strong knowledge of Photoshop, experience with Illustrator and InDesign.
• Have a strong understanding of Usability & Web Trends: Experience with user interface design, knowledge of best practices & examples of this in a portfolio or live site/application design. They will also be up-to-date on web trends and design tactics with examples.
• Have experience in user experience design (UXD) designing application and system interfaces. This experience is crucial for this position.
• Have Basic Programming Knowledge: We’re not looking for a developer here, but the designer should have the ability to design for web with a knowledge of the boundaries and how to design for execution by a programmer.
• Have a Strong Portfolio: We’d like to see much more web work than print.
• Be eager to learn, with a passion for design & the web. The designer should have a strong internal drive for industry knowledge and be committed to furthering the craft.

Experience is important, but personality is key. Our culture is what drives us, and we’re looking to build our team with someone who both fits and contributes to it.

The position is full time at our office in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package as well as a fun, high-energy, intellectually-stimulating work environment.

Benefits Include

• Competitive salary (compensation will be based on skills and experience)
• Fully paid medical/dental insurance for employees
• Paid parking
• Unlimited vacation time (within reason)
• Office bar + climbing wall — not recommended together

Don’t sit back. If you want to work in a fast paced work environment with great people who love what they do, apply today.

About Dynamit
Dynamit is a digital agency based in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We work with clients and brands on digital initiatives that include strategy, design, user experience and development. We influence communication and commerce. Client work includes Hilton Worldwide, Charley's Grilled Subs, McGraw-Hill, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), E-Z-GO, American Electric Power (AEP), Columbus College of Art & Design and the Ohio State Medical Center (OSUMC) to name but a few.