Media and Location

I had the privilege of attending this past weekend's Police concert at CommonWealth stadium in Edmonton. The atmosphere was great and the music was electric -- or is that supposed to be the other way around?

What I noticed however was that when the Police took the stage the 'show' left much to be desired. Not unlike any kind of event or experience (including advertising) there are several components to a concert such as this: the music, the venue, the atmosphere, the people and, especially of late, the show.

The show is the culmination of the whole concert. It is why people are willing to pay $400+ for seats right up front. It is to see not only the musicians but to get the whole of the concert's visual experience. On Saturday night what the designers of this concert didn't anticipate was that on June 2 in Edmonton Alberta at 8:45 PM it isn't dark.

The light show that backed the trio was an expensive array of new technology providing a 'flash-back' experience back to the late 70s (more on this in a later blog). All this grew in impressiveness as the show went on and its full effect was there at 10:30 PM when the concert closed.
Why is this important? As a small business you need to investigate the location whenever you plan on placing any kind of media. In the winter we Canadians are often faced with the opposite since we are so far north, the fact that it is dark very early. Is the location well lit? Is the media appropriate for the location you've selected? There is nothing less effective than something someone has to strain to see -- 'cause they won't.