Note – Well, When I first wrote this back in 2008, it appeared completely plausible that this could indeed occur. Then, however, I began doing research for the Griffin Lake project and realized that the economic model may not alone allow for the creation of this sort of strategy. And yet, I’ve decided to re-post based on the idea that someone may find it of some educational use. Good Times!

I was going through the forums at AcaNetwork [Great network, email me to get in], and a topic piqued my interest. There was/is a discussion centering around whether there could ever be a millionaire artist originating in the church of Christ. Well, my first thought was of course, what about Brandy? Okay, seriously, my thought was, there is always that possibility, and then, my immediate thought led me to research [that's just what we do here].

Well, first a quick lesson in Marketing:

The first thing you’re taught in business school, or even high school marketing classes for that matter is the Marketing Mix; Product, Price, Place & Promotion. Now, for the purposes of this article, we’re going to just assume that all things are equal here, that being, the artist is of magnificent quality, that the overall market can bare another music artist, and that there is indeed an audience for said artist.

I previously brought up the idea of the Marketing Mix because there is an inherent lacking in one area that would prohibit the millionaire artist idea; Place. Place, that is, the proper distribution channels necessary to accommodate demand for the product being offered. Once a clear barrier for any artist outside of the industry model, now not so much. But, once again, for the purposes of this posting, I’ll assume that this could be worked out.

So, you want to be a millionaire Christian acappella music artist? Well, let’s play with some semantic ideals first. Let’s assume:

1. This entire journey is going to take place as a mechanism for one album – We’re not counting cumulative success, nor are we looking at the basis of longevity.
2. The Million Dollars is Gross – I think it gets confusing when we start looking at the US Tax Code, or if we look at post expense net capital functions [see, that already sounds drawn out]
3. We’re looking at a single artist – Groups are great, but a little research will uncover the fact that in gospel music the biggest acts are solo artists who generally hire local nightly talent while touring.

There are so many that assume that the road to a million dollars is going to come by selling a million albums. Not Gonna Happen. The reality is that the road to building a million is going to begin with an immaculately planned strategic ground game, meaning, there is going to have to be, somewhere in your organization, an immensely talented marketing strategist working in the background along with a worldclass support team.

Alright, let’s get to it.

Album Sales

More realistic is thinking plan first. There are fifty states in the continental United states, but we’re only going to work with 40 of them. Any 40, you pick. Now, in each state we’re going to concentrate on selling 1000 albums which is going to give us a total sold of 40,000 albums sold. Now, if we look at the going rate in the church of Christ of $15.00, the, let’s look at the numbers:

40,000 albums sold x $15.00 = $600,000.00

Well, we’re already 60% of the way there. This is all assuming that you hit your maximum amount sold in every state. In every state you would have had to have sold 1000 cd’s.

$1,000,000 – $600,000= $400,000 remaining

Gate Revenue

Now, this is where the real work begins. Remember, we’re looking to build this million with this one album campaign, so, we need to create supplemental income around the album. The most likely route is the touring route. The idea here is to be proactive and plan the concerts yourself, controlling the gate and setting your own revenue model.

For this model, we’ll suppose that, of the 1000 in each state who purchased the album, around 56% end up attending the concert.

1000 x 55.56% = 555 attendees

Now, it doesn’t matter how the 555 get broken down, be it 2, 3, or 100 concerts in each state, but, the price must be set at a constant $15.00 rate. At this rate we’ll be looking at a gate of $8,325 in each state.

555 attendees x $15.00 admission= $8325.00

Quantify this in the 40 states and it adds up rather quickly.

$8325.00 (gate) x 40 states = $330,000

Now, if we’ve been good stewards and haven’t been dipping into the cookie jar, you should have a substantial amount of income from album sales and touring.

$600,000 (album sales) + $330,000 (touring)= $933,000.00 gross

Okay, so now we’re at $933,000 with a somewhat modest base (by general standards) of 40,000 fans. Let’s see where we’re at on the road to millionairedom [new word!]

$1,000,000.00 – $933,000.00 = $67,000.00

Merchandise

With $67,000.00 left to accumulate on the road to millionaire status, merchandise is the most viable route and also the one least sought after in the real market of Christian acappella music. Sure, every artist puts out the $15 cd, and everyone goes out on the road, but, how many actually have extension items [souvenirs] ready for distribution? Looking back at our concert formula with 555 attendees in each state, we need only 66 of those to purchase a souvenir t-shirt at the ever modest rate of $15.00 each.

$15.00 T-shirt cost x 66 purchasers = $990.00

We can expect to generate $990.00 in each state we tour in, but remember, we’re quantifying this by the 40 states we tour in.

$990.00 shirt revenue x 40 = $39,600.00

After we add these numbers up, we are now even closer to achieving our stated goal.

$933,000.00 gross + $39,600 added revenue= $972,600.00

And then we subtract….

$1,000,000.00 – $972,600.00 = $27,400

27,400! This is where it get’s kind of interesting. Why? simply put, if we were to reverse things and follow the current standard of pressing a thousand albums and selling them at the standard rate of $15, and if we did a concert say, every other weekend, covering costs and taking home a tad less than $500 for each show, then this is the number we’d be looking at come years end, and in truth, this is more realistic than the million dollar number, but, since we’re here to build a model, let’s look at the last component.

With 27k and change left to generate, we look to the time tested tradition of the poster. I mean, when I was a kid I had nothing but Four Christian Stars posters in room, but then again, I got them for free and i generally drew on the back of them. But, for most people, the Poster is a great way to commemorate the experience.

At the current industry rate, we’re going to say that 18% of all concert attendees will purchase a poster, or about 100 in each state. If we set the price at a very marginally sound $6.00, then we can expect about $600 at each location. Once again, we’re looking to quantify here, so..

100 sold x $6.00= $600.00 x 40 (states)= $24,000

Current tally

$972,600.00 current gross + $24,000= $996,600.00

And Furthermore, The remaining amount.//

$1,000,000 – $996,600.00= $3,400.00

Money left on the table

Well, we end with $3,400.00 needing to be accumulated. Why haven’t I build a function to gain this money? I think we should leave a little amount that would most likely be gained through appearance fees or some other function not seen here. One would have to suggest that If you came this close to $1 million dollars in a year, that you would probably end up finding a bevy of ways to accumulate other revenues, be it through the sale of ringtones, of through licensing or publishing, or most likely through extended album sales.

Conclusion

So, what have we learned throughout this whole thing? Well, the question of whether it can happen is an astounding yes. The more realistic question is whether it would happen given the fact that it hasn’t been done. The more appropriate question, even still, is whether there will be an artist who will take the time and effort to actually attempt to build a grassroots effort that would bring any legitimate amount of success?

What Do You Think?

The first foray into full-fledged Infographic development.

If you have a music ministry, then it’s time for you and your group to get out there and start making things happen. With all of the resources out there, there is no excuse for your group to lag in these particular areas.

This particular list is simple a starting point, as I intend to continue to push forward with ways in which every ministry can thrive and become what they envision themselves being.

On to the List…

1. Start tracking your sales

This is probably going to be the easiest of all the things to do this year, but it is also the most essential to your particular ministry. Sales tracking is important to ministry management because, when done correctly, it can provide a snapshot of the ministry at any given point. Tracking can be as simple as writing on a sheet of the paper the following:

1. Date
2. Location
3. Name of Product (in the case of multiple products)
4. Number of Products sold.
5. Price of Products
6. Net Profit

Now, the key to keeping good records is to take the data as it is collected and input it into a spreadsheet that can keep track of various sets of information. The Type of information collected will determine the scope of the research you can do in the future.

2. Build an Identification System

One of the great things about your music ministry is individuality. I’ve personally gone to concerts where two groups can sing the same song but sound totally different. Individuality is what makes your ministry what it is, and there is nothing more impor-tant to the cause of being seen as an individual than to have an identity system.

For the local group, an identity system is essential as its components are basically the first things that people will see when looking at your brand. A standard identity system consists of a coordinated letterhead, envelope and business card. In expanding upon this idea, you could go ahead and develop a logo to really bring home the nature of your brand.

3. Develop an Internet Presence

Now, there was a time not too long ago when having a web presence meant just having a website. These days, with the emergence of social networking sites, it is not that necessary to have a top-level domain site of your own [i.e. nacama.com], in-stead, there are a number of options available so that you can have a genuine presence on the internet. Sites like myspace© and facebook™ are perfectly alright when used properly, but, with a little more research, you can find plenty of niche sites that offer ample space to host photos and other things. The Key is to put together an internet strategy for your group beforehand and don’t be quick to just post a profile on every site you see. A simple plan to follow to get started is this:

• E-Mail Address – This can be as simple as yourgroupname@host.com, or for a little money, management@yourgroupname.com. The second can be achieved by purchasing a domain name and utilizing free services like google apps to host your dedicated mail. The Best thing about having your own domain name is that every member of the group can have their own personal email address pointing to your-groupname.com. Gmail.com is probably the best for groups to use. They’re free and offer basically limitless space to save your email.
• Personal Website – Blogs are really big these days, and actually, for groups, this is probably the best way to go. You can keep fans informed by posting photos from concerts as well as info on future concert dates, and ticket information. With a little help, you can also setup a shop to sell your products online directly from your site.

  Perhaps the best thing about a blog is that most are free to host and simple to maintain. Sites like wordpress.com and blogspot.com offer free websites and for a little extra, you can have the blog point to yourgroupname.com. For those who are a little more advanced, there’s wordpress.org and joomla that offer DIY solutions for groups that want to produce their own site. Whatever you choose, look at what best fits in to your overall strategy.

• Photo Sharing – These days, it’s not good enough to just be heard, people want to see the action also. You can host all of your photos online for fans too see and comment on at various site. Flickr is a site that offers the ability to group photos and connect with other users. They offer a free service that allows you to post up to 200 photos, or a premium service for $24.99 annually that allows for unlimited uploads and also the posting of short videos. Other sites for sharing photos include:

  SmugMug – fee-based photo sharing site [smugmug.com]

  Flickr – Offers free and Premium photo sharing solutions [flickr.com]

  Snapfish – offers free image hosting and sharing [snapfish.com]

• Video Hosting – Pretty much everyone knows of Youtube™, the site that allows for posting and sharing videos, but there are many others out there that are infinitely better.

  Youtube – Offers video hosting and broadcasting. Strong emphasis on video channels. [youtube.com]

  Vimeo – Offers hosting of HD quality videos. [vimeo.com]

4. Start A Fan Club

This Is the Year to start a fan club for all your fans. Now, it’s fairly easy to dismiss the idea of having a fan club if you only think in terms of young pop star fan societies. But, the reality is that a ‘fan’ club is an intriguing marketing opportunity that will allow you to engage fans on a more intimate basis. Another thing to consider is that this doesn’t have to be a paid fan club, no, you’re simply trying to stay connected and relevant in the mind of those who follow you.

One good place to get started is at the community portal site, ning.com. At ning.com, you can start your very own social network, allowing members of your particular network to have their very own profile page that ties directly into your network. The good thing is that this will allow you to disseminate information across a more broad cross-section of followers.

Now, you’re probably asking how this is different from just having a website. Well, while a website is a great promotional tool, they tend to be static in nature, that is to say, they don’t tend to be updated as often as maybe even a conventional blog would. This creates a problem in that sites that don’t generate content as often are generally unable to continue to draw fans back in after the initial visit. A social net-working site, on the other hand, has the built-in feature of allowing interactivity through the creation of fans individual profiles. So, while your content may not change for a few days or weeks, or even months, the fans investment into the network will continue to bring them back to the site. Add to this the ability to host the network at a top-level domain, say, club-mygroup.com, or some other neat name, and you have the continuous stream of people who, every time they visit your site, pay to you the name recognition that you’ve built. That’s equity!

5. Start Planning A Tour

Note: Since the publication of the Music Ministry Guide back in March, I’ve decided to rename this “Start Planning a Tour”, instead of Plan a Tour. The Start planning change is reflective upon the fact that it is tough work attempting to travel the road, much more difficult than I gave credit to initially. As Such, I plan to devote an entire article to tour planning as well as introduce some tools that will hopefully assist in the execution of the tour. Ok, as you were…

The Last thing you should be doing this year is planning to go on tour. Touring is a time honored tradition that dates back to, well… I have no idea, and yet still, touring is something that every group should aspire to do at some point.

Now, planning a tour involves a number of factors, not the least of which is building a budget for your excursion. A lot of your planning will deal with the aspects that you can control;

• Housing Expense
• Food Expense
• Travel Expenses – Including Gas and vehicle rental if necessary.
• Outlay for Promotional Materials – Written in the previous section was the idea of producing your own promotional materials.

Well then, I hope this was informative and that someone was enlightened by these simple nuggets of info. I am currently planning to expand on each one of these areas in a future post, providing links to even more resources and ideas for your ministry.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know; leave a comment.

Good Times

I wanted to write a post on the idea of congregational branding. Now, the idea of Branding, even as it is with marketing, a congregation is one that many people object to on the basis of misunderstanding. They look at the word marketing and automatically think in terms of people who are trying to pilfer and sell bills of goods to members; likewise, people look at the word Branding and feel that the product must be inorganic if it can’t sell itself, which is completely understanding. The exact opposite, however, is the case here. In branding, a very strategic subset of marketing, the local congregation has an opportunity to have their message at the forefront of their audiences mind. With the plurality of congregations who basically look the same on the outside, the proper exposure is important for congregations who want to present the truth.

Now, the concept of congregational strategic marketing involves defining the resources that are available to you and building a strong set of practices around those resources that will greatly enhance the perceived profile of your congregation.

There are a few necessities that every congregation should have in building this strategy;

1. Identity system – For the local congregation, an identity system is essential as its components are basically the first things that people will see when looking at your brand. A standard identity system consists of a coordinated letterhead, envelope and business card. In expanding upon this idea, a visitors card, usher name tags, and weekly bulletin shell can all fall in the category of identity system.
2. Brand Logo – In addition to the identity system, the congregation may decide to build for themselves a logo – nothing elaborate, simply a stylized spelling of the congregations name or otherwise.

3. Website – A web address is essential to todays congregation as many people look for congregations on the web. Consider looking into building a web presence, and notice the word presence, for the congregation. There are many open-source website platforms that are free to use and hosting is very reasonable for congregations.

   WordPress, Joomla, Google sites, Blogger – all are good platforms to get started with, and best of all, all are free to use.

4. Dedicated E-Mail system – There was once a time when getting your own hosted e-mail was cost prohibitive for most people. The same can not be said in 2008. With services like dreamhost for hosting, and Google Apps, every congregation can have their own top level domain e-mail address. Which means… No more congregation email going through a Yahoo address. The systems that are in place now are so advanced that they allow you to set up many users instantly. Simply put, all of the leaders at your congregation can have their own e-mail address at your congregations domain.
5. Use the Bulletin as a source of ministering – There is no reason that a bulletin can’t be used as a tool for ministering to lost souls. If designed right, a Sunday morning bulletin can house all of the announcements, as well as a message from the minister and even steps to becoming a member. If there is a monthly bulletin it’s even better.

Identity System

In today’s environment, any great marketing system has to first address the overall identity of the congregation, and what better way than to have an identity system as the cornerstone. Now, an Identity system, at its core, is simply a stationary set that provides identification for your congregation. In most instances an identity system consists of a coordinated letterhead and envelope set and a business card. In more substantial cases, there are various labels and note cards and other collateral pieces that are used. The key, however, is the seemless transition from one piece of stationary to the next. This is achieved through 2 specific factors; The Logo and the color scheme.

The Logo – The logo, while important, is as simple to create as utilizing a stylized font in spelling out your congregations name. The key is consistency in usage, the fact that every time people see your name at your congregation it is always neatly displayed with the same characteristics, be it the same color and font, or any other way that generally sets your logo apart. At the Magnolia Park Church of Christ, there is both a primary logo and a secondary one. The Primary logo consists of a stylized spelling of “The Park”, the congregations name, with the title Magnolia Park Church of Christ directly underneath. This is done with the specific purpose of people associating the both the nickname and the congregation name. The nickname presents a friendly feel and is, in a sense, welcoming when seen and disarming, but at the heart is always the congregations name as to always remind people that The Park is a church. The Primary Logo is used mainly in-house for the members on all publications and there are plans to utilize it more on information that goes out to visitors and others.

The secondary logo is a much simpler logo that is just a styled capitalized M & P that appears on everything from the church bulletin to announcements and visitors cards.

The Color Scheme – It’s important to have a set of colors you work with when designing congregation materials. For one, with a defined color scheme, you’ll be able to always achieve a level of familiarity with those that receive your materials. Also, as an added bonus, you’ll not have to spend a lot of time with colors that may not work well. One of the prime points of creating a color scheme is great color usage. Think about it; on your bulletin board, which bulletins stand out? And which announcements wash out with their bland black and whites. Even if you’re pressed for money, a pre-designed letterhead with spot color will achieve both recognition and consistency in presentation.

Keep this in mind – The more time and effort that is spent on creating a smooth and consistent image for your congregation in print, the more likely it is that people will respond positively when your name is presented to them.

Good Times

Admittedly, it has taken a while to get things where I want them this particular CAMA year. There have been a number of things that have prohibited me from really putting forth the full effort I had planned on presenting for this years program. However, the good thing about strategic work is that you generally have an idea months in advance and just allow it to simmer for a while until the time is right to deliver a completed product. In the case of the parameters for the 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards, much of the heavy lifting was done long ago on various evenings when a thought would come to me and I would do some jotting. In that it’s now August, the show is starting to come together the way it was initially envisioned, save for the production company whom we have yet to decide on. But, with essentially 3 months to go, we’re pretty much where we want to be from a program/weekend management standpoint. And so, I’ve decided to go ahead and present the parameters for the show in whole.

Good Times //

2010 Performance Criteria

Performance slots for the 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards are based on the following criteria for each of its 17 openings.

1. 3 performance slots are given to new artists who have never performed at Christian Acappella Music Awards, regardless of nomination in the program.
2. 1 performance slot is utilized for the Grand Finale, where all artists performing at the 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards will be asked to perform a song to be chosen by NACAMA.
3. 4 performance slots utilized for previous recipients of awards at Christian Acappella Music Awards.
4. 6 performance slots utilized for nominees for 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards.
5. 3 performance slots to be distributed by NACAMA at its discretion.

Running times

1. 2010 CAMA Thursday Evening Concert – 135 Minutes
2. 2010 CAMA Friday Evening Concert – 150 Minutes
3. CAMA Matinee One (Friday) – 115 Minutes
4. CAMA Matinee Two (Saturday) – 121 Minutes
5. The 2010 CAMA Pre-Show – 28 minutes
6. The 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards – 180 minutes

Start times

1. 2010 CAMA Thursday Evening Concert – 6:00 pm et
2. 2010 CAMA Friday Evening Concert – 6:00 pm et
3. CAMA Matinee One (Friday) – 12:35 pm et
4. CAMA Matinee Two (Saturday) – 12:15 pm et
5. The 2010 CAMA Pre-Show – 5:55 pm et
6. The 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards – 6:25 pm et

Performance Slots

1. 2010 CAMA Thursday Evening Concert – 10 Performance Slots
2. 2010 CAMA Friday Evening Concert – 12 Performance Slots
3. CAMA Matinee One (Friday) – 4 Performance Slots
4. CAMA Matinee Two (Saturday) – Closed Program
5. The 2010 CAMA Pre-Show – 3 Performance Slots
6. The 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards – 17 Performance Slots

Time Allotted Per Performance

1. 2010 CAMA Thursday Evening Concert – 12 Minutes
2. 2010 CAMA Friday Evening Concert – 11 Minutes
3. CAMA Matinee One (Friday) – 25 Minutes
4. CAMA Matinee Two (Saturday) – Closed
5. The 2010 CAMA Pre-Show – 6 minutes
6. The 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards – 5.5 minutes*

*CAMA Performances are limited to 1 song

2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards Categories // Final

1. The NACAMA Excellence Award
2. Acappella Pioneer Award
3. Song of the Year, Choral
4. Sharon Tolliver Exemplary Faith Award
5. Song Leader of the Year
6. NACAMA Service Award
7. Male Vocalist of the Year
8. Male Group of the Year
9. Choral Director of the Year
10. Female Vocalist of the Year
11. RUBAL Lifetime Achievement Award
12. Contemporary Artist of the Year
13. Performer of the Year
14. Female Group of the Year
15. Youth Artist of the Year
16. New Artist of the Year
17. Video of the Year
18. Choral Group of the Year, Contemporary
19. Producer of the Year
20. Artist of the Year
21. Choral Group of the Year, Traditional
22. Record of the Year
23. Songwriter of the Year
24. Song of the Year
25. Traditional Artist of the Year
26. Album of the Year

2010 CAMA Show Order – Subject to revision

1. Performance 01
2. Song Leader of the Year
3. Performance 02
4. Male Vocalist of the Year
5. Song of the Year, Choral
6. Performance 03
7. The NACAMA Excellence Award
8. The NACAMA Service Award
9. The Sharon Tolliver Exemplary Faith Award
10. Performance 04
11. Acappella Pioneer Award
12. Performance 05
13. Male Group of the Year
14. Choral Director of the Year
15. Performance 06
16. Female Vocalist of the Year
17. Performance 07
18. RUBAL Lifetime Achievement Award
19. Contemporary Artist of the Year
20. Performance 08
21. Performance 09
22. Performer of the Year
23. Female Group of the Year
24. Youth Artist of the Year
25. Performance 10
26. New Artist of the Year
27. Performance 11
28. Video of the Year
29. Performance 12
30. Choral Group of the Year, Contemporary
31. Producer of the Year
32. Performance 13
33. Artist of the Year
34. Choral Group of the Year, Traditional
35. Performance 14
36. Record of the Year
37. Songwriter of the Year
38. Performance 15
39. Song of the Year
40. Traditional Artist of the Year
41. Performance 16
42. Album of the Year
43. Performance 17

Well, it finally came. Recently, the Magnolia Park church of Christ officially rolled out the One capital fundraising campaign for the congregation. After months of first planning, then sitting on our thumbs, then really picking up the ball and running with the fundraising idea, we finally got to present the message to the congregation. I had been developing a giving campaign outline for some time and it was great to see it finally get to play out as I had initially thought it up.

Now, the reality is that the campaign, as it was presented today, was more in line with the way I had initially thought it up a few years ago; a folio, presentation graphics, and a giving pledge card. This had always been my plan in terms of the best way to present the campaign to a smaller congregation. We also have the component of the giving report which will be delivered once we’ve actually begun the full-fledged giving campaign. I’ve already built the system for tracking information and also reporting on the giving that i developed initially for general layby collecting.

We made the plans for this 5th Sunday to present the plan because this is traditionally our friends and family day where we generally see our largest crowds of the quarter. Everything went as planned with a short presentation complete with background information on the congregation, our short and long-term plans for growth and the final plea to the congregation as we look to begin the campaign in earnest in late summer.

I ended up developing a presentation based on the information found in the booklet which ended up serving as a rather simple solution to the problem of being unable to develop a serious video presentation at the last minute. I believe that, moving forward, I’ll be able to work on a more refined presentation or at the least be able to take a more formulaic approach to developing a more complete package. Until the next time I’m asked to work on anything of this type though, i’ll be looking develop new strategies for the system.

Of late, I’ve been developing a system for managing the reporting of layby for our members.

The Layby Package [i'm just going to go with that name] is a really a set of database and merge document that allows a congregation to deliver to its members an overview of their giving, either quarterly, bi-annually, or annually.

The key to the whole package is the record keeping. At The Park [The Magnolia Park Church of Christ], the leadership was planning on implementing a giving campaign to coincide with the already existing building fund plan. The result was a system that was first implemented at the Hallandale Beach Church of Christ – the Victory Campaign. Their plan included a campaign brochure, a presentation, and a pledge card. For The Park, I designed a campaign folio, a presentation, a pledge card, a reminder card, as well as the quarterly statement which outlined each individuals giving for the quarter as well as where they stood in relation to their initial pledge.

Now, the Quarterly statement really began in December, 2007, as we were trying to roll out the official yearly statements for members. We decided that in addition to giving them the official statement with the church seal and everything, it would be nice to let each member see exactly what they gave each week. This, in turn, was well received, as many people were surprised to see the peaks and valleys in their giving throughout various times of the year. At the start of 2008 a decision was made that the initial statement would be developed further to include many elements that would be useful to the member. The Following were added for the first quarter statement:

1. My Statement Summary – The statement summary includes an overall synopsis for the quarter, letting the member see their Total given, the congregations giving total, Their total given shown as a percentage of overall congregation total, their Weekly Average, their ranking amongst all givers, and finally, The Forecast of their giving for the remaining three quarters, based on current weekly average.
2. My 13-Week Report – A charted representation of the quarter with the date and corresponding amount given.
3. My Total Amount Given – Pretty much self explanatory.
4. My Average Per Week Giving – The average given as a funtion of overall total divided by the 13 week quarter.
5. My Personal Rank – We show a ranking that allows the member to see exactly where they stand numerically. We based the number on qualifying givers.
6. My 52 Week Forecast – The 52 Week forecast is a total number for the year based on their current weekly average spun forward for the rest of the year.
7. My 13-Week High – The 13-week High shows the Largest amount given in any one week. No provision is given for same high given in multiple weeks.
8. My 13-Week Low – The 13-week Low shows the Lowest amount given in any one week. As with the 13-week high, no provision is given for same low given in multiple weeks.
9. Congregation Total – The congregation total is a whole sum of givings for the quarter by all members for all collections.
10. My Percentage – The percentage function is a showing of the members impact on the overall total given for the quarter.
11. The Top 10 Givers – The Top 10 Givers for the quarter shows just that – The Top 10 Givers; No totals, just names.
12. Graphical Overview – Lastly, we give a graphical overview of the quarter in terms of congregational giving, the overall average per Sunday, and the Per Sunday total. In the future we plan to make use of the Google Charts API to build individual graphical representations for each member, as well as an internet application for congregations.

In the Future, we look to build an internet application that shows the same information for each member.

What do you think? Is this something that you think your congregation could use? What, if any, layby reporting mechanisms do you use?

I’d been planning on developing a single page dedicated to the Christian Acappella Music Awards for some time, and perhaps now I’ll finally get around to preparing that page as a followup to this particular post. Having recently decided that my main desire for the Christian Acappella Music Awards is to be a program that is self-managed, I’ve been looking for solutions that will allow such a thing to occur; that is to say, all of the pre-planning that is done in the non-CAMA years lends itself to smooth sailing in the year of each CAMA program. So, while I understand that situations arise that are out of the control of the planners and those who execute those plans, to this point, we’ve been blessed to be able to handle chaos pretty well; and not even chaos, but rather the minor occurrence here or there along the way.

For the Christian Acappella Music Awards, the most important aspect of the operation is the marketing of the program. For a show that moves around for every show, the reality is that we have to run as tight a marketing operation as possible to see that the show will be a success from an attendance standpoint. From there, everything else would flow smoothly as long as the numbers were there.

Pricing the Weekend

One of the biggest elements of the marketing process for CAMA is the pricing strategy for all events and subsequent revenue sources [i.e. souvenir booklets, vendor space]. Now, before we can look at the pricing of the 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards, there are a couple of things that are important to understand in the management of events. First, you never want to have a price set so as to need to reduce it later on after setting it in response to a lack of sales. It is important that we price the show so that we can live with the result from the time tickets go on sale in Mid-August to show night in Late-November.

We ended on a price point of $67.50 for the entire weekend which basically breaks down into the following:

1. The 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards // $35.50
2. CAMA Friday Night Live // $9.00
3. CAMA Saturday Matinee, presented by Trinity One Studio // $7.00
4. The CAMA Pre-Show // $6.00
5. CAMA Friday Matinee Concert // $5.00
6. CAMA Thursday Kickoff Concert // 5.00

In terms of ticket prices, our plan is always to run campaigns throughout the year that will allow people to purchase tickets at reduced rates right up to the release of the nominees in Late-August, when our ticket price will officially stand at $67.50. In addition to the reduced ticket prices throughout the first half of the year, we also run group sales for both performing artists and attending parties of 10 or more people.

Campaign Management

For 2010, we wanted to try to better understand where sales were coming from. In 2008, we were able to move tickets based on our various ad campaigns that dictated the price of tickets at any given time. For 2010, we wanted to further build upon that strategy by utilizing our ability to marketing to certain segments and distributing discount codes that would allow the customer a reduced rate, while also allowing us to see exactly where our ticket purchases were coming from.

1. Campaign 01 // February – Our kickoff campaign. We asked people to input the code “february” at checkout to receive a discount of 40% on their tickets to the 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards. This campaign lasted from February 5-28.
2. Campaign 02 // Spring – Our March campaign. After the
3. Campaign 03 // Previous Purchasers – Utilizing our database of past year ticket purchasers, we produced an e-mail campaign that would allow them to purchase their tickets at a flat rate of $40.00 for the month of March.
4. Campaign 04 // Ladies Retreat – The code of “ladies” brought a 35% discount at checkout. We printed 500 postcards with this promotional code for the 2010 Ladies Retreat
5. Campaign 05 // Rogersville Homecoming – The code of “rogersville” brought a 35% discount at checkout. We printed 500 postcards with this promotional code for the 2010 Southside Church of Christ Homecoming in Rogersville
6. Campaign 06 // Summer – Our Summer campaign that we are currently running through the month of August. A discount of 30% on tickets purchased with the code “summer” through the online store. This is the most far-reaching of the all the campaigns as we have advertised this particular code in all of the souvenir booklets for events taking place during the months of June-August.

Early-Year Marketing

Marketing is a huge part of any program, but especially so with a program that moves around to different locations, while only occurring every two years. I have been privileged over the past few years to handle much of the marketing of the event and much of it has involved finding ways to develop a report with people, while striking the correct chord that will allow us to accomplish our set sales goals.

In January, we created a campaign to kickoff our marketing efforts in Los Angeles for an Acappella music workshop. We created postcards, as well as a promotional poster for the occasion. The Los Angeles afforded us a unique opportunity to begin marketing the program to a new audience in a new location. I had done some marketing work in Los Angeles in 2004 at the National Singles Lectureship, but the scope was rather small, and we hadn’t geared the campaign towards them. The promotional materials weren’t printed specifically with LA in mind, but rather as a beginning point in our overall marketing program. At the same time we produced the printed collateral, our early-year website was created and an online store was opened for ticket sales.

Part 1a – Our Internet Marketing Strategy

// Website – nacama.com

A rather large part of our marketing strategy is our internet strategy, consisting of our website, our online store, as well as a small social networking strategy to coincide with the website. The website is a static site that houses the archived information of past recipients, audio and video from select shows, as well as information concerning the 2010 weekend.

Campaign Management // Redux

In March we began planning for both the Ladies Retreat and the Homecoming in Rogersville, Alabama. We produced postcards, as well as supplied the promotional video that was played at all events.

There is a whole lot more to be said about CAMA Marketing, so i’ll probably produce another article, but in the mean time, I hope this provided at least a little insight into the marketing practices of the National Academy of Christian Acappella Music Artists

Okay, before you think i’ve gone crazy, hear me out. I’ve been looking at the whole plethora of prognosticators who would have me to belive that This election is closer than I, you, or anybody thinks. Now, I know people are talking a lot about the Bradley Effect, named for Tom Bradley, the african-american politician who lost the 1982 govenors race despite being ahead in all the polls leading up to election, but, I just don’t see that happening this year. Instead, I think the following possibility could occur, The Papa Smurf Effect. According to, well, me, I explain the Papa Smurf Effect as such;

The Idea that each individual voter would forsake voting due to their belief that the one running will have an overwhelming response otherwise.

In laymans terms, People take it for granted that their one vote won’t be missed in the grand scheme of things, and so they don’t vote. Only problem is, everybody else thinks the same thing, and so, no one votes. It happened to Papa Smurf when I was a kid, and It can happen to Obama.

Now, In Papa Smurf’s case, there was simply reelection and Papa Smurf was rightfully given his spot among the others Smurfs. But, if there is a Papa Smurf Effect with Obama, he won’t be so lucky.

Good Times //