An Online Portfolio
BY: Zack Fijal
Volunteer Event Promotion (V.E.P) Project
The Wild Buffalo has given me the task of helping them promote the events and shows they hold and produce. In order to do this, I put together a team of individuals, as of now about 10 full time with a few more part time, that promote these events on social media platforms as well as in person. The in person promo involves putting up posters and as passing out hand bills down town as well as on Western's campus. This team is entirely incentive based. Each volunteer that undertakes in this promo recieves free entrence to any show(s) at the Wild Buffalo, with line free-entry as well as exclusive drink specials.
V.E.P Project Objectives
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Increase the awareness and presence of shows and events held by the Wild Buffalo on Western Washington University's campus, as well as in the general Bellingham community.
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Increase the attendence rates of patrons to these shows and events, generating higher ticket sales and revenue generated from bar sales.
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With a larger target base, the Wild Buffalo will be able to bring in more, bigger named talent.
Overview of the Project Process
Here is an example of a handbill, front and back, that I printed off and handed off to numerous volunteers to hand out on campus and down town.
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I am constantly monitoring each individual's contributions to promotion. Keeping tabs on the amont of promotion each volunteer has undertaken - viewing their posts on social media. As well keeping track of the "hard promo" they disperse.
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I send volunteers personal reminders to promote specific shows if i notice they are not promoting adequately.
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I create the V.E.P guest list for each show & event the Wild Buffalo has, reasoning for ensuring each volunteer is continually doing their part.
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I handle any individual and group issue or comlaint that arises within the team.
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I constantly meet up with individuals in person to hand them "hard promo."
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I help print off and create the "hard promo" - again, mainly handbills and posters.
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I continually re-check the amount of people whom have filled out the survey for chance to become part of the team, possibly adding new members to the team.
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I also run the Wild Buffalo's official snapchat, in which I take pictures and videos of the shows and events I am able to attend, posting them directly onto their social media.
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In the near future I am planning on shadowing, dabbling in the production and sound work for the venue as well.
There were a number of tasks that needed to be accomplished in order to get the promotional team up and running.
The first step was setting up the infastructure for these volunteers - an outline of their roles & responsibilites, their benefits of becoming part of this team, our common goals, tricks & tips to succeed, and other things of that nature. This was accomplished through creating a V.E.P volunteer packet, which I created under the guidance of my supervisors.
The second step was making it visible that the Wild Buffalo was looking for volunteers to help promote! We knew we didn't want anyone and everyone to help with promotion, so we created a survey, with questions that would easily allow myself to filter through the respondents choosing those most fit for the job. This survey was posted along with a very brief description throughout various outlets - the Wild Buffalo's website, many social media platforms, as well as on craiglist.
The third step was going through and choosing the volunteers that I deemed would be a good fit for the job. I had my own set of criteria, and chose individuals accordingly, making sure to pick different kinds of people I felt would adequaltely represent the different styles and genres of music and shows the Wild Buffalo holds. We had a total of 62 people, as of now, fill out this survey. Of those, about 25 were contacted to become part of the time. I met with these individuals in person, or talked with them over Facebook about becoming part of the team. I also sent them a copy of the V.E.P Volunteer Packet, so they were able to get a better grasp on the team as a whole. After contacting those 25 or so individuals, 13 have became part of the team!
The fourth step was creating a private Facebook group. In this group I post daily reminders as to what to shows to promote and how to promote, as well any thing else that arises that needs to be brought to the group as a whole - issues, complaints, team meetings, new shows that come up, changes in the infastructure of the team, new documentation and many other things of that nature. In this private group I also post when I recieve "hard promo" - posters and handbills for individual shows, prompting the members to get in touch with me if they are planning on attending of the upcoming shows.
Since this team has been established, and I have created relationships with each member, there are still a multitude of tasks I undertake daily or weekly to ensure the stability, focus, and purpose of the team.
Project Outcomes
As of now it's hard to directly measure how much the attendance rates have increased for the shows and events. There are many other external factors such as - day of the week, type of show, price of ticket, conflicting shows & events, and many other things of that nature that play into attendance rates. However after speaking with the owners of the Wild Bufallo they have emphasized many times again that they believe the attendance rates of shows and events have increased due to the increased presence the Wild Buffalo has on campus.
This project doesn't have a specific means to an end, there is always promotion to be done. Thus the outcomes will be ongoing, continuously changing.
