You've just been named Marketing Director for 100 Years US

[classicstyxfan]

So we have a release date of 4/1/09, and you've just been given the job of promoting the CD, unfortunately, you have a limited budget. You get a large bonus for reaching 10,000 units sold. What is your strategy ? Who is your target market ?

Discuss.

[bugsymalone]

OK, classic, here goes.

First, the release date has to be Tuesday, so drop that April 1, crap. April 7.

Don't even try for the Katie Perry/Lil' Wayne demographic. Go a bit older. OK, maybe a lot older.

Get my client, Mr. DeYoung, on as many TV programs and into as much media as possible.

Try for:

Morning TV, Regis and Kelly, The View....ok, not The View, Ellen. Get him cooking with Martha and Rachel.

For sure get him a spot on CBS Sunday Morning.

Perhaps, maybe, one or more of the nighttime talkfests. He has been on Jimmy Kimmel before. Why not again??

In a dream world, a guest spot on Dancing With the Stars. HUGE audience and right age group.

Some kind of storytellers thing on VH1. Between all the reality, stuff, you know. Or on Vh1Classic.

Lots of radio spots. Hopefully some spins of one or more of the songs from the album on AC radio.

Print media reviews: People, Rolling Stone; Entertainment Weekly. Ok, maybe I am dreaming here since all those publications seem to hate all things Styx and Styx-related. But perhaps we can try to work something out.

His record label needs to step up and work on promotion. DEP did a decent job, at first, in Canada and it reaped him some rewards, then they fell apart. Rounder needs to keep at it.

His music and voice with Styx has provided backdrop to some popular TV shows, so maybe that could happen again? We'll get on it!

Any mention is a good mention and may help with sales.

The album is a solid piece of work and has already garnered good reviews in Canada. Work that angle.


Bugsy

[styxfansite]

OK, classic, here goes.

Get my client, Mr. DeYoung, on as many TV programs and into as much media as possible.

Try for:

Morning TV, Regis and Kelly, The View....ok, not The View, Ellen. Get him cooking with Martha and Rachel.

For sure get him a spot on CBS Sunday Morning.

Print media reviews: People, Rolling Stone; Entertainment Weekly. Ok, maybe I am dreaming here since all those publications seem to hate all things Styx and Styx-related. But perhaps we can try to work something out.

Bugsy

Get him a guest spot on Fox and Friends also.


Since Jann Wenner is the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine and doesn't really care for Jy, maybe he might do an article for Dennis just to take a jab at Jy. I am not sure if Wenner's hatred is toward all of Styx or not so he might be ok with DDY.

[Rocker Chic]

So we have a release date of 4/1/09, and you've just been given the job of promoting the CD, unfortunately, you have a limited budget. You get a large bonus for reaching 10,000 units sold. What is your strategy ? Who is your target market ?

My thoughts, as I held it in my hands, would probably be: "Aw, shit! What the hell do I do with this thing???... Damn, why do I get all the sucky jobs???"

Sorry, but 100 Years did absolutely nothing for me. I love Dennis and all, but a lot of times he just leaves me sayin "eh" to myself. Played it a couple of times and haven't played it again. :::shrug:::

[Toph]

OK, classic, here goes.

First, the release date has to be Tuesday, so drop that April 1, crap. April 7.

Don't even try for the Katie Perry/Lil' Wayne demographic. Go a bit older. OK, maybe a lot older.

Get my client, Mr. DeYoung, on as many TV programs and into as much media as possible.

Try for:

Morning TV, Regis and Kelly, The View....ok, not The View, Ellen. Get him cooking with Martha and Rachel.

For sure get him a spot on CBS Sunday Morning.

Perhaps, maybe, one or more of the nighttime talkfests. He has been on Jimmy Kimmel before. Why not again??

In a dream world, a guest spot on Dancing With the Stars. HUGE audience and right age group.

Some kind of storytellers thing on VH1. Between all the reality, stuff, you know. Or on Vh1Classic.

Lots of radio spots. Hopefully some spins of one or more of the songs from the album on AC radio.

Print media reviews: People, Rolling Stone; Entertainment Weekly. Ok, maybe I am dreaming here since all those publications seem to hate all things Styx and Styx-related. But perhaps we can try to work something out.

His record label needs to step up and work on promotion. DEP did a decent job, at first, in Canada and it reaped him some rewards, then they fell apart. Rounder needs to keep at it.

His music and voice with Styx has provided backdrop to some popular TV shows, so maybe that could happen again? We'll get on it!

Any mention is a good mention and may help with sales.

The album is a solid piece of work and has already garnered good reviews in Canada. Work that angle.


Bugsy

I like all this - the more spots on TV the better. Try to make this an AC play and only an AC play. Pick the right song as the first single - it probably isn't 100 years from now.. Save Me seems to be appropriate given the country's general mindset - it could also be dual promoted at Religious Rock stations. Heck, maybe even have some DJ put voices over the musical parts ala Show Me The Way....
Hit every morning show on the radio. I would love for him to do a storytellers...that would be awesome.

[yogi]

Add a few more lines( dealing with the economy, Barack, etc) to Turn Off CNN.

Release it first, and get Dennis on CNN Morning, Fox News Morning and MSNBC in the morning performing it. Hit every morning news type show possible and perform CNN.

Release Rubicon second & Save Me third.

Get his voice back out there.

This is a SOLID/ SOLID CD. With some EXCELLENT songs.

[brywool]

Denny, baby! Here's our plan for you- take notes- Wanna cigar? No? Cool, have a seat!

Okay, here's our marketing strategy for you and your album:

First, DON'T focus on radio. Radio is now a wasteland and it can do NOTHING for you. Radio's day has passed. It's compartmentalized and programmed way too much to be interested in anything new from an older guy like yourself. Even a God like McCartney can't get airplay these days. Even classic rock stations can offer you NOTHING. We need to focus on getting your music into malls and supermarkets and commercials. Journey did the mall thing with some of the first Perry records and it helped them immensely. It's largely an untapped area, let's tap it.

I should qualify my remarks above, stay away from COMMERCIAL radio. Let's talk Sirius Satellite and Stern. Let's get you together with him.

Now, as far as Regis- stay away from him like you would Larry King. If it ain't Steve and Edie, these dinosaurs have NO idea who you are. Focus on Ellen. She likes classic rock, she's funny, reasonably hip, and to her, your career with Styx probably matters and she most definitely remembers you. Get on Ellen, Conin and also we should book you on some Sports talk shows. You're a baseball freak, let's get you into some baseball arenas this year doing "Star Spangled Banner". It will help the new album in a way where people go "Wow, great voice, where can I hear more of him??" This will drive those peeps to the Internet. The Internet? It's a thing that has basically replaced a lot of media outlets Dennis (Jeez, try to keep up will ya?). Also, you're a political-minded guy, I want you on both The Daily Show AND The Colbert Report. These are hip shows and they're also funny. You would do well there.

Next, your web site- It looks like it was done by a kid. You need something new, something groovy and futuristic but that is tailored to YOU and not some wanky template. You need to be more active there. Also, let's talk downoads. You NEED to be able to download the album from Itunes, Your Site, Amazon, etc.. Impulse purchases are a BIG deal. Make it available to the casual fan as well as those diehard freaks on Melodic Rock (Dang, what the hell is with that Froy dude??? Your sister? Oh, okay then). You might pass that on to your buddy Glenn Burndick... what? Oh, Burtnick, sorry, must be a typo. Get it out there so people can actually purchase it online and at the drop of the hat. Their local store most likely will NOT carry your album because you're the wrong demographic that sells albums. BUT- the Internet can sell a buttload of stuff for you. USE it. Welcome it. Hell, slap it on the a$$ and call it Mr. Roboto if you like, but use that as an avenue to sell your music AND communicate with your fans.

Now, these Canucks... they really like your sh*t. Lets FOCUS on Canada. Tours, appearances, Hocky Games, etc. Have you thought about changing your citizenship? If we got you up there and you won a couple a Junos, they'd have to open up a bit more in the US. They'd have to pay attention. Jeez, they got dudes up there that couldn't play at McDonalds down here. You'd clean up up there and be their Elvis. Sing Suite Madame Blue, Come Sail Away, and some of your new tunes on TV. They'll love it. Oh, and you gotta drop the "We Had Dreams" deal. Most of your fans have heard that too many times. Just go out and kill on the songs and you'll be great.

Finally, I've noticed that you're a very scattered cat. You can either produce plays, or you can work on promoting your album. You can't have it both ways. Put the Broadway stuff on the back burner until the album has run it's course. Don't worry, it won't be that long. The record buying public has the attention span of a gnat. What's that? Oh, about 6 weeks is all I need. Okay.

Hey, the secretary will show you out. What? Oh, it's a picture of a large carrot that hangs over my desk. You don't wanna know! Now get outta here and go make me some money ya sonuvabitch. Oh, and "Domo Ariagoto!" to you too. Ha, you slay me ya silly bastard! Best to the Mrs.

[Toph]

Denny, baby! Here's our plan for you- take notes- Wanna cigar? No? Cool, have a seat!

Okay, here's our marketing strategy for you and your album:

First, DON'T focus on radio. Radio is now a wasteland and it can do NOTHING for you. Radio's day has passed. It's compartmentalized and programmed way too much to be interested in anything new from an older guy like yourself. Even a God like McCartney can't get airplay these days. Even classic rock stations can offer you NOTHING. We need to focus on getting your music into malls and supermarkets and commercials. Journey did the mall thing with some of the first Perry records and it helped them immensely. It's largely an untapped area, let's tap it.

I should qualify my remarks above, stay away from COMMERCIAL radio. Let's talk Sirius Satellite and Stern. Let's get you together with him.

Now, as far as Regis- stay away from him like you would Larry King. If it ain't Steve and Edie, these dinosaurs have NO idea who you are. Focus on Ellen. She likes classic rock, she's funny, reasonably hip, and to her, your career with Styx probably matters and she most definitely remembers you. Get on Ellen, Conin and also we should book you on some Sports talk shows. You're a baseball freak, let's get you into some baseball arenas this year doing "Star Spangled Banner". It will help the new album in a way where people go "Wow, great voice, where can I hear more of him??" This will drive those peeps to the Internet. The Internet? It's a thing that has basically replaced a lot of media outlets Dennis (Jeez, try to keep up will ya?). Also, you're a political-minded guy, I want you on both The Daily Show AND The Colbert Report. These are hip shows and they're also funny. You would do well there.

Next, your web site- It looks like it was done by a kid. You need something new, something groovy and futuristic but that is tailored to YOU and not some wanky template. You need to be more active there. Also, let's talk downoads. You NEED to be able to download the album from Itunes, Your Site, Amazon, etc.. Impulse purchases are a BIG deal. Make it available to the casual fan as well as those diehard freaks on Melodic Rock (Dang, what the hell is with that Froy dude??? Your sister? Oh, okay then). You might pass that on to your buddy Glenn Burndick... what? Oh, Burtnick, sorry, must be a typo. Get it out there so people can actually purchase it online and at the drop of the hat. Their local store most likely will NOT carry your album because you're the wrong demographic that sells albums. BUT- the Internet can sell a buttload of stuff for you. USE it. Welcome it. Hell, slap it on the a$$ and call it Mr. Roboto if you like, but use that as an avenue to sell your music AND communicate with your fans.

Now, these Canucks... they really like your sh*t. Lets FOCUS on Canada. Tours, appearances, Hocky Games, etc. Have you thought about changing your citizenship? If we got you up there and you won a couple a Junos, they'd have to open up a bit more in the US. They'd have to pay attention. Jeez, they got dudes up there that couldn't play at McDonalds down here. You'd clean up up there and be their Elvis. Sing Suite Madame Blue, Come Sail Away, and some of your new tunes on TV. They'll love it. Oh, and you gotta drop the "We Had Dreams" deal. Most of your fans have heard that too many times. Just go out and kill on the songs and you'll be great.

Finally, I've noticed that you're a very scattered cat. You can either produce plays, or you can work on promoting your album. You can't have it both ways. Put the Broadway stuff on the back burner until the album has run it's course. Don't worry, it won't be that long. The record buying public has the attention span of a gnat. What's that? Oh, about 6 weeks is all I need. Okay.

Hey, the secretary will show you out. What? Oh, it's a picture of a large carrot that hangs over my desk. You don't wanna know! Now get outta here and go make me some money ya sonuvabitch. Oh, and "Domo Ariagoto!" to you too. Ha, you slay me ya silly bastard! Best to the Mrs.

Gotta give credit where credit is due and this is pretty damn good...

[ChicagoSTYX]

Happy Happy Joy Joy

[Toph]

Be the last one to buy this 3 year old CD. Comes with a $5.00 off coupon good at all hair club for men locations. Buy 2….they make great coasters!! Torture your friends, annoy your neighbors, and hang out with Froy while you play it loud and proud. Call now and we’ll include 10 free copies of his live CDs that are collecting dust in DDY’s basement! Comes highly recommended by Stevie Wonder and endorsed by the society of the hearing impaired.

Disclaimer… Not responsible for negative medical reactions, hearing loss, loss of coolness, spouse desertion, or embarrassment felt at the checkout counter while the clerk laughs her ass off at you for buying it.

And then on the other side of the spectrum we have the asshole post...

[pinkfloyd1973]

So far i'm loving Brywool's angle lmao


Robin

[bugsymalone]

Be the last one to buy this 3 year old CD. Comes with a $5.00 off coupon good at all hair club for men locations. Buy 2….they make great coasters!! Torture your friends, annoy your neighbors, and hang out with Froy while you play it loud and proud. Call now and we’ll include 10 free copies of his live CDs that are collecting dust in DDY’s basement! Comes highly recommended by Stevie Wonder and endorsed by the society of the hearing impaired.

Disclaimer… Not responsible for negative medical reactions, hearing loss, loss of coolness, spouse desertion, or embarrassment felt at the checkout counter while the clerk laughs her ass off at you for buying it.

I wondered when we were going to hear from planet Suolaej.


Bugsy

[Rockwriter]

OK, classic, here goes.

First, the release date has to be Tuesday, so drop that April 1, crap. April 7.

Don't even try for the Katie Perry/Lil' Wayne demographic. Go a bit older. OK, maybe a lot older.

Get my client, Mr. DeYoung, on as many TV programs and into as much media as possible.

Try for:

Morning TV, Regis and Kelly, The View....ok, not The View, Ellen. Get him cooking with Martha and Rachel.

For sure get him a spot on CBS Sunday Morning.

Perhaps, maybe, one or more of the nighttime talkfests. He has been on Jimmy Kimmel before. Why not again??

In a dream world, a guest spot on Dancing With the Stars. HUGE audience and right age group.

Some kind of storytellers thing on VH1. Between all the reality, stuff, you know. Or on Vh1Classic.

Lots of radio spots. Hopefully some spins of one or more of the songs from the album on AC radio.

Print media reviews: People, Rolling Stone; Entertainment Weekly. Ok, maybe I am dreaming here since all those publications seem to hate all things Styx and Styx-related. But perhaps we can try to work something out.

His record label needs to step up and work on promotion. DEP did a decent job, at first, in Canada and it reaped him some rewards, then they fell apart. Rounder needs to keep at it.

His music and voice with Styx has provided backdrop to some popular TV shows, so maybe that could happen again? We'll get on it!

Any mention is a good mention and may help with sales.

The album is a solid piece of work and has already garnered good reviews in Canada. Work that angle.


Bugsy

Those are all very good ideas. And this might seem a bit unorthodox, but I would actually try to sell this through a series of snippets over YouTube; clips of each song, interspersed with interviews with Dennis talking about the writing and recording of each song, each clip with a link to the web site to purchase the album. I would intersperse it with some live clips of Styx tunes performed by Dennis to remind people why they've liked him in the past, and of course I would send out a press release to all classic rock/AC media to get people talking about it.

Another thing is, I would have Dennis do live in-studio, piano-only versions of some of his hit songs that come off best in that setting, and I would advertise that by buying '100 Years From Now' you would be able to get a code to a web site that would permit you to download those tracks. This would be the only way to get those tracks, which I would stream small excerpts from on Dennis' website and snippets on YouTube to get people excited. Using the past to promote the present is what works for classic artists.

I hope all is well.


Sterling

[Ehwmatt]

Those are all very good ideas. And this might seem a bit unorthodox, but I would actually try to sell this through a series of snippets over YouTube; clips of each song, interspersed with interviews with Dennis talking about the writing and recording of each song, each clip with a link to the web site to purchase the album. I would intersperse it with some live clips of Styx tunes performed by Dennis to remind people why they've liked him in the past, and of course I would send out a press release to all classic rock/AC media to get people talking about it.

Another thing is, I would have Dennis do live in-studio, piano-only versions of some of his hit songs that come off best in that setting, and I would advertise that by buying '100 Years From Now' you would be able to get a code to a web site that would permit you to download those tracks. This would be the only way to get those tracks, which I would stream small excerpts from on Dennis' website and snippets on YouTube to get people excited. Using the past to promote the present is what works for classic artists.

I hope all is well.


Sterling

That second idea is a great one. Burton Cummings did a piano only live album like that and it's great. Dennis's songs would come off well in this format, especially with his great voice. I'd go a bit extra and make sure he has a few backing singers on there with him.

[bugsymalone]

Those are all very good ideas. And this might seem a bit unorthodox, but I would actually try to sell this through a series of snippets over YouTube; clips of each song, interspersed with interviews with Dennis talking about the writing and recording of each song, each clip with a link to the web site to purchase the album. I would intersperse it with some live clips of Styx tunes performed by Dennis to remind people why they've liked him in the past, and of course I would send out a press release to all classic rock/AC media to get people talking about it.

Another thing is, I would have Dennis do live in-studio, piano-only versions of some of his hit songs that come off best in that setting, and I would advertise that by buying '100 Years From Now' you would be able to get a code to a web site that would permit you to download those tracks. This would be the only way to get those tracks, which I would stream small excerpts from on Dennis' website and snippets on YouTube to get people excited. Using the past to promote the present is what works for classic artists.

I hope all is well.


Sterling

That second idea is a great one. Burton Cummings did a piano only live album like that and it's great. Dennis's songs would come off well in this format, especially with his great voice. I'd go a bit extra and make sure he has a few backing singers on there with him.

That would be so cool for him to do, but .......... I doubt we would see that happen. Another nice thing would be for him to record one or two or more album-only tracks to post on iTunes. I think it is a good way to sell an entire album download. God knows I have bought whole albums that way, to get those bonus tracks.

Bugsy

[kansas666]

Have Denny get a spot playing the lead singer in a Styx tribute band in an Adam Sandler movie.

Or, we've got a great public access music program in Madison, WI

[blt man]

How large of a bonus can you get for 10,000 copies sold? Thats not even 80k in revenue for the label.
The most likely option is to collect my salary and do nothing since this CD is not going to sell.

Otherwise:

You do what you can to get Dennis on Idol for its Rock week or love ballad week or late 70s, early 80s high-school make out week or band break-ups week or whatever. Hitting this audience is the only chance that this thing will ever sell any type of copies whatsoever.

Second option is to try and get a song featured in a blockbuster summer flick as a last min replacement song.

Third option is to add a remix of Roboto to the CD and try and sell it on that.

[brywool]

Get Dennis and Styx involved with the next version of Guitar Hero or RockBand. Those have hugely helped bands careers in the past few years.

[classicstyxfan]

interesting ideas..........I wonder if any of them have occured to Rounder, or if they even have a promo plan or budget ???

finally, I wonder if DDY even cares about any of this ????

time will tell.

[hoagiepete]

As much as I like DDY, I would punt...as unfortunately...he is not relevant in today's market. Only opportunity would be to have him rejoin the boys in Styx. That would be a bump, but only a temporary one.

He came to my town a couple of years ago and sold less than 500 tickets in a 2000 seat theater. It was a great concert, but sad turnout.

[KWH17]

As others have said, to reach as wide an audience as possible, making an appearance on Idol would be essential. Maybe an appearance on some morning or late night talk shows would help as well [as someone said above, an appearance on both The Daily Show and Colbert Report would probably work as they'd probably get along very well, and plus all of the viewers who watch those shows could generate a lot of interest]. And why not a VH1 classic appearance as well?

I would not push it towards radio, with maybe the exception of AC stations.

Youtube is the way to go. Clips from the songs would be posted online, maybe with tidbits of Dennis discussing that particular song, or the songwriting process in general, just to get people interested in him. Not only this but fan made music videos would be a great medium as well; specifically AMV's [Anime Music Videos]. If you choose a popular anime and put together clips from that show that coincide with a songs lyrics, then you have the potential for instant success. Really, AMV's are a VERY popular thing right now, and if done right, can attract thousands of viewers, who could all potentially be interested in buying the album. The best thing is these AMV's are free to make, and only cost time [and energy], so no need to worry about the budget there.

Finally, some exclusive add-on that comes with the release. Demos of songs from the album, or of his earlier work/Some unreleased live stuff/an alternate of 100 years where he actually does do a duet; these would all be good incentives to buy the whole album, and not just one or two songs.

If all of these tactics were to be employed Dennis would be being marketed to every age group. He wouldn't win everybody over, but if he had that kind of exposure he could easily sell over 10,000 copies.

[froy]

So we have a release date of 4/1/09, and you've just been given the job of promoting the CD, unfortunately, you have a limited budget. You get a large bonus for reaching 10,000 units sold. What is your strategy ? Who is your target market ?

Discuss.

No question

I Believe In You and This Time Next Year are the first ones out of the gate.

His concerts need to be special shows

First special show

Perform the entire cd with Kevin as a back up singer
Suzanne goes off the stage
Bad look all the way around.
Do the entire cd all the way through.

Film the show and release it.
Do that show at The Milwaukee Theater.

No more accapella Show Me The Way do it original or don't do it

No More Grand Illusion into Lady into Desert Moon setlist

Dump GI and Desert Moon

Add This Is The Time instead.

The rest are all here.

[froy]

He came to my town a couple of years ago and sold less than 500 tickets in a 2000 seat theater. It was a great concert, but sad turnout.

[/quote]

Bullshit

[KWH17]

He came to my town a couple of years ago and sold less than 500 tickets in a 2000 seat theater. It was a great concert, but sad turnout.

Bullshit[/quote]

That was good for a laugh.

[Monker]

He came to my town a couple of years ago and sold less than 500 tickets in a 2000 seat theater. It was a great concert, but sad turnout.

Bullshit[/quote]

He came to my town during his PBS "I Wanna Do Hunchback" tour and played the local theater. It was MAYBE half filled. The last time he played the rib fest.

It's NOT 'bullshit'.

[ChicagoSTYX]

[
Happy Happy Joy Joy

[ChicagoSTYX]

Happy Happy Joy Joy

[pinkfloyd1973]

Be the last one to buy this 3 year old CD. Comes with a $5.00 off coupon good at all hair club for men locations. Buy 2….they make great coasters!! Torture your friends, annoy your neighbors, and hang out with Froy while you play it loud and proud. Call now and we’ll include 10 free copies of his live CDs that are collecting dust in DDY’s basement! Comes highly recommended by Stevie Wonder and endorsed by the society of the hearing impaired.

Disclaimer… Not responsible for negative medical reactions, hearing loss, loss of coolness, spouse desertion, or embarrassment felt at the checkout counter while the clerk laughs her ass off at you for buying it.

And then on the other side of the spectrum we have the asshole post...

And you can BITE ME!!! DDY Sucks. He has no idea what is good and what is bad! He is real bad these days! He was good about 31 years ago and has done nothing but crap since then.

Opinions are like a$$holes...everyone has one


Robin

[ChicagoSTYX]

[

[pinkfloyd1973]

Be the last one to buy this 3 year old CD. Comes with a $5.00 off coupon good at all hair club for men locations. Buy 2….they make great coasters!! Torture your friends, annoy your neighbors, and hang out with Froy while you play it loud and proud. Call now and we’ll include 10 free copies of his live CDs that are collecting dust in DDY’s basement! Comes highly recommended by Stevie Wonder and endorsed by the society of the hearing impaired.

Disclaimer… Not responsible for negative medical reactions, hearing loss, loss of coolness, spouse desertion, or embarrassment felt at the checkout counter while the clerk laughs her ass off at you for buying it.

And then on the other side of the spectrum we have the asshole post...

And you can BITE ME!!! DDY Sucks. He has no idea what is good and what is bad! He is real bad these days! He was good about 31 years ago and has done nothing but crap since then.

Opinions are like a$$holes...everyone has one




Robin

ChicagoStyx sez:Yes and the truth hurts sometimes!![




There I fixed it for ya