Getting the Word Out

Getting the Word Out

In addition to working on press releases to announce the new shows every week, sometimes we need to give shows a boost to help them sell better. The way we do this is through individual press releases. I have been put in charge of completing these. Normally there are 2 to 3 of these that need done every week, and they will highlight a certain show that has just been announced, or that goes on sale soon. Much like the larger scale press releases, they go out to over 100 recipients from the Pittsburgh media. These releases tend to focus more on the artists themselves and provide information and links to the artist’s site. Because these are done separately, it also helps to make sure that these shows receive coverage on the media outlets’ sites, whereas they may be overlooked if they are thrown in with bigger names on the larger release. This week has been particularly difficult for me personally, as I have managed to contract the flu. Luckily, the majority of my internship work is completed from my computer, so I have still managed to stay on top of things for the most part despite being bedridden for the last several days. 

Observe and Report

Observe and Report

As I have settled into my duties with Drusky over the last few weeks, I have become more and more familiar with the different types of shows that we promote, and what goes into each of them from a marketing standpoint. One project that I spent a considerable amount of time on this past week was looking into promotions on sites for local radio stations and other media outlets around the city. Drusky puts a lot into making sure that our shows receive as much coverage as they possibly can, so it is really important to keep up with the different media outlets and make sure that they are promoting our shows accordingly. When doing this, I have to do a lot of research into the different acts, find where they might and should be listed, and compile a report. This report contains information about each media outlet, and a listing of all our shows that are listed on that site. I also make observations if a show is missing from a certain site and why it should be listed. Forming this report has probably been one of the more time consuming tasks that I’ve been assigned to so far, but it is an essential one that serves a vital role in our business’ marketing campaign. 

Great Responsibility

At the beginning of this week, Josh contacted me and said that he wanted me to start learning how to do weekly press releases for Drusky. Using a screen-share video chat session, he walked me through exactly what goes into a press release and how to do one in the correct format. The press releases consist of the announcements of new shows with all their info, as well as a listing of all shows to which tickets are available for purchase. The First press release that I was assigned to do was rather lengthy and took me a fair amount of time to complete. These press releases are also sent to 105 different media outlets throughout the city, so it becomes even more crucial that the information I include is both correct and formatted well. Time management has definitely become one of my stronger suits since starting my internship. These projects need to be completed in a timely fashion and I have to schedule accordingly so that I can get them finished. Because i don't work in a formal workplace environment, it becomes all the more important that I remain self-driven to complete my work. By this time, I have now become relatively fast and efficient at completing my weekly emails to reps, so I now have more time to budget towards completing the press releases. I look forward to hopefully attending some shows in the upcoming week to work at the venues with the production managers as well. 

The Real Work Begins

As the following week passed, I completed all the necessary paperwork so start my internship and in doing so, was asked by Josh to meet again so we could discuss the first project that I would be working on. During my meeting with Josh, he explained to me that I would be contacting all reps for local bands playing at our shows on a weekly basis. I would be providing them with information to help them promote their shows, as well as gathering information from them regarding the number of tickets they had sold for the show. Given that Drusky is Pittsburgh's largest concert promoter, I didn't realize right away how big of a task this really was. While learning the correct way to correspond with the band's reps, I had to set aside a considerable amount of time every day to work on the emails and make sure that they were clear and that all the information included in them was without fault. This project definitely forced me to step outside of my comfort zone a little bit. Communicating with all these people and dealing with important information was pretty daunting at first. However, as the days passed, I became more and more comfortable in my correspondences and also found ways to work on the emails more efficiently so I could still dedicate plenty of time to my coursework. 

The Opportunity

 As I began the school year this fall, I knew that I wanted to take any possible chance I could to start an internship. Because I am a transfer student, I came into the program a year late and I'm trying my best to get caught up in the SAEM program. Last semester, I did a shadow with Drusky Entertainment and I got to see for myself what goes into working in the live entertainment industry. I loved every second of it and I knew from the experience that it was definitely something that I wanted to make a career out of. One advantage that I had coming into this semester is that I personally know many of the people that work at Drusky and I knew they were searching for interns. I contacted Josh Bakaitus, Drusky's VP, and we met over coffee to discuss me interning with them. The interview went really well and I was brought on board to intern for the semester. Josh told me that the scope of my duties would cover the marketing and promotions side of the business, and that my work would be done on my own, from my computer. Although I was very excited, I knew that starting this internship would prove to be a massive commitment and that I would have to learn to budget my time as effectively as possible in order to keep up with my work.