THE GRACIOUS FEW GREEN LIGHT EVENTS TO BEGIN THEIR FORMAL INTRODUCTION ON THE MUSICAL LANDSCAP
May 10, 2010 by Jim Baltutis · Leave a Comment
THE GRACIOUS FEW GREEN LIGHT EVENTS TO BEGIN THEIR FORMAL INTRODUCTION ON THE MUSICAL LANDSCAPE
A NEW SINGLE TITLED “HONEST MAN,” INDY 500 RELATED APPEARANCE AND SUMMERFEST DATE HIGHLIGHT THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS FOR THE BUSY ROCK ENTITIES
Los Angeles, CA – May 10, 2010 – The Gracious Few release their first single, “Honest Man,” this Tuesday, May 11. The song is from their upcoming self-titled debut, due later this summer on the bands own imprint, Questionable Entertainment. The Gracious Few was formed from the remnants of 90s’ rock juggernauts LIVE and Candlebox in mid 2009, both bands having achieved worldwide adoration and fame for their albums, live shows and musical craftsmanship. The Gracious Few was produced by Jerry Harrison of the band Talking Heads, his production credits include LIVE, Violent Femmes, No Doubt and more.
Over the past decade and half, the two groups have enjoyed an assortment of musical career highs, robust concert attendance and wildly successful album sales. Leaving some to wonder why the collective members of The Gracious Few (TGF) would tackle a new band project in such musically trying times. “Simple,” says Chad Gracey (TGF co-founder and drummer) “it’s what we love to do, and what we do best.”
As the members for the seminal 90s’ band LIVE, Chad Taylor, Chad Gracey and Patrick Dahlheimer understand what it means to do your “best.” The trio made their mark in music to the tune of 20 million albums sold and touring incessantly to packed amphitheaters and concert sheds around the globe. During the last two years, the three have broadened their breadth with other creative interests. “It would have been easy for us to abandon music for film and television opportunities,” says Taylor. “Instead of living the typical rock n’ roll lifestyle; we started Questionable Entertainment to further our interests in the arts,” says Dahlheimer. But that is only a portion of The Gracious Few story.
Just as LIVE was a phenomenal success in the early 90s, TGF frontman, Kevin Martin, also experienced multi-platinum success with his tour-de-force rock outfit Candlebox. “We were the first rock band signed to Madonna’s label at the time,” says Martin, “Our success as a band helped to launch the label and now we find ourselves beginning again but this time we’ll be able to help young artists with our own label. I brought Sean with me for a front seat ride on this roller coaster!” referring to Candlebox guitarist, Sean Hennesy, who rounds out The Gracious Few. Taylor continues, ”It was time to take a break from LIVE. We come from a blue-collar town where people work hard for a living. They simply don’t quit their jobs, so it was very hard to walk away from our success. I think we reflected this feeling in our first single, “Honest Man.” Moreover, the single tells the tale of the everyman. With the country experiencing some gut-wrenching lows at the moment, its tough for the honest man to make a living.” ”Honest Man,” currently on the airwaves at rock radio, is the driving force behind the momentum of The Gracious Few.
TGF will make their public debut at Summerfest in Milwaukee on June 25. And, keeping with the fast pace, also in the mix is a private event for IZOD Indy Car team stand out Andretti Autosport preceding this year’s Indianapolis 500.
Questionable Entertainment helped to develop a reality show based on Michael Andretti, his Playboy playmate wife, Jodi Anne Patterson & driver Danica Patrick. TGF will provide the high-energy soundtrack.
…and for The Gracious Few the fast track to success is where they are headed, once again.
Upcoming The Gracious Few dates:
25 – June Milwaukee, WI Summerfest 2010
29 – June Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
www.thegraciousfew.com <http://www.thegraciousfew.com>
ARE TELECOMMUNICATION GIANTS DRIVING DIGITAL CONTENT SALES?
April 30, 2010 by Monique Moss · 6 Comments
There are numerous factors driving the move toward digitization – the conversion of traditional printed words into electronic formats – beginning with consumer demand. As digital reading devices become more affordable as well as easier to use, digital content becomes simpler to access. Consumer attitudes are evolving nearly as quickly as advances in digital technologies which aim to perfect the process that allows any laptop or mobile device to be “transformed” into a virtual e-reader.
While digitization of books opens up new avenues of strategic partnership, perhaps nothing lends itself more to collaboration than mobile telecommunications companies. While the popularity of e-book readers is steadily increasing, there are many people, including industry heavyweights, who believe that the growth of simple, dedicated devices used to read books electronically, may not be sustainable without advanced mobile technology. For example, more than 12 million e-books have been downloaded by the 18-month old Stanza e-reader iPhone application, which converts a cell phone into a small-screen e-reader.
It is a given that one of the biggest challenges for the entire digital reading market has been the price of these new devices ($189 – $829) plus the cost of digital content ($2.99 – $14.99), which in a perfect world is delivered via wireless modem (e.g., $30 monthly for iPad 3G connectivity). Considering the necessary delivery mode, major telecommunications companies are beginning to develop their own digital readers or, at the very least, exclusive access to specific partners (for high-speed connectivity) as is the practice with “smart phone” applications. It is logical, many believe, that smart phones and 3G data networks will become the most important drivers of digital content sales. Eventually, we may see the e-reader without two-way connectivity go the way of the eight-track tape player.
The availability of choices the e-book consumer has today is staggering. Each of the leaders – the Kindle, iPad, Sony Reader, Barnes and Noble Nook and PC – offers its own set of strengths and weaknesses. While one offers the ultimate portability, another allows for interactivity. Nevertheless, there is a vast and growing supply of increasingly savvy online users who are adept at operating multiple devices and can maneuver easily through free content, no matter the device. The answer may lie in consumers operating multiple devices with an integrated content flow from platform to platform: the right e-reader device for the corresponding end user with appropriate content for the specific electronic platform and/or device.
Differential rates of digital adoption by certain demographics require a need to explore both the various platforms on which readers can access content and the way segmented audiences’ prefer to consume content. The challenge, then, is finding the most efficient ways in which traditional and non-traditional publishers can reach consumers effectively while providing the widest variety of content at competitive prices in a fluctuating marketplace. Integrated technologies are allowing the consumer to access content efficiently (e.g., Kindle released a free application for MAC users to turn their laptop into an e-reader last month). Digital content consumption may vary from one demographic to another, dependent on need, usability, access and preference but the fluidity of digitization is opening creative channels to a multi-pronged approach – which includes strategic combination of publicity and marketing tactics – impacting diverse, segmented audiences toward increased book sales.
For more, email: monique@integrated-pr.com
The Art of Personal Branding
April 12, 2010 by Stacey Pokluda · 3 Comments
Personal branding is a process that could have a big impact on your career. It’s not just big brands that deal with reputation management anymore. Regardless of your career, age or position, everyone needs to understand the importance of branding. You are the CEO of your own company and that company is YOU. It’s time you took a lesson from the big brands if you want to stand out and prosper.
Anyone can have a website and everyone does. Not only should your website be integrated with your social media outlets, but it should also incorporate a blog. If you’re not much of a writer, you might try a video blog. Improving your online visibility and keeping your visitors engaged and coming back for more will help grow your audience. These days, ordinary people can create a brand for themselves just as easily as celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears. Personal branding is simply the process in which you market yourself.
When it comes to personal branding, the first name that comes to mind is Gary Vaynerchuk, the wine guru and founder of Wine Library TV. Gary has built a small empire on his obsession with wine, the internet and business. I had the pleasure of meeting with Gary when I was at B|W|R Public Relations. We met to discuss publicity as he was in discussions for a TV deal based on the success of his video blog. He turned his family’s small New Jersey liquor store into a wine empire that grosses over $60 million a year; more than 100,000 viewers watch his daily video blog; he’s a sought-after speaker; he released his first book, Crush It! last year and he’s signed on to write nine more business books for Harper Collins.
Check out Gary’s interview in Business Week.
Also, check out Gary’s appearance at Web 2.0 Expo NY where he discusses Building the Personal Brand Within the Social Media Landscape.
For further reading about personal branding, we recommend these articles:
http://mashable.com/2009/02/05/personal-branding-101/
http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/10/29/personal.brand.internet/index.html
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html
Do you REALLY know how to market yourself online?
March 27, 2010 by Stacey Pokluda · 1 Comment
Did you know that you can link your Facebook and Twitter account? Did you know that there is an app that allows only certain things you Tweet to post on Facebook? Did you know that if you are a business, celebrity or brand, you should have a Fan or Business Page rather than a personal profile page? Did you know that a profile on Facebook is only allowed 5,000 friends? Did you know that you can link your Facebook & Twitter pages to your YouTube account?
If you are an actor, comedian, musician, business, guru, service or product and you are not taking advantage of all the internet has to offer, maybe you should watch this video.
At Integrated PR, we understand how to leverage the power of social media as a viral marketing tool and we build campaigns that reach targeted demographics.
Why is Twitter important?
Twitter is a RELATIONSHIP building tool. it is meant to generate exposure for your website and your other online entities and to engage in 2 way communication with your followers. If you are a guru in a certain area, it can help establish you as an expert in your field and extract benefits from a core group of influencers who are relevant to your business. It’s about networking with the right Twitter users… talk to them, spread their links, give them feedback, support their content. BE A PARTICIPANT IN YOUR TWITTER EXPERIENCE.
Do you have a YouTube channel?
The secret to success on YouTube is the power of the subscriber. The more subscribers you have the more people get to see your video via their subscriptions window. A flip cam should be an essential part of your tool box for creating short form viral videos.
Did you know that you can create playlists in YouTube? The advantages of creating playlists are so that you can gather clips into a targeted niche so that viewers can find related content quickly and easily without having to search for the individual items themselves. Furthermore, you can gather your own videos by relevance, or as part of a series. For example, you might have your performance clips in a separate playlist than your video blog.
We create customized campaigns to help you build and manage your online presence. Feel free to contact stacey@integrated-pr.com to schedule a meeting to discuss what might be best for you.
Need more Twitter followers?
- We create Twitter contests to offer incentives to followers
- We pitch Twitter influencers with items relevant to their interest
- We get other users recommending their followers to follow you
- We teach you how to use Twitter to engage in conversation and network with the right Twitter users
- We create events such as Twitter Q&A, with numerous tweets leading up to as well as encouraging followers to retweet, in order to encourage conversation and increase interest and awareness
Need more Facebook Fans?
- Connecting your Facebook site to other social platforms, such as Twitter, YouTube and Flickr, as well as your website will increase exposure
- We create contests that include participation
- We can target specific demographics based on location and interests
- We encourage fans to share photos, videos and post comments
Need more YouTube subscribers?
- We target content by account type (Director, musician, comedian, guru)
- We work with you to create short form viral videos on a regular basis
- We set proper categories and tags for videos
- We create niche-targeted playlists
- We promote videos with YouTube email and bulletins
- We leave video comments & responses on other user’s clips
- We join or create YouTube groups
- We chat in the streams about you
Below are some additional services that we provide as part of our campaigns:
- SEO
- Link Building
- Blog commenting
- Create posts in Social Bookmarking Sites (i.e. Digg, Reddit, Mixx, StumbleUpon) that link to MySpace, Facebook & Website pages
- Create discussions/ posts in Blog Discussion Forums & Groups with links and embedded videos to online media, videos social media sites and website
Did you know that you can link your Facebook & Twitter pages to your YouTube account?
The OCTOPUS Theory, the Bridge between Digital & Traditional Books
March 20, 2010 by Monique Moss · 2 Comments
By the end of 2010, it is estimated nearly 10 million Americans will be reading books digitally. Whether it’s the Kindle, Sony Reader, iPAD, B&N Nook or a laptop that uses an app which coverts it to an e-reader, the digitization of books is here. As experts in public relations representation of a wide range of authors and as a firm known for effectiveness in helping titles reach bestseller status, we are now incorporating new strategies in our marketing campaigns.
The fluidity of the digitization of publishing encompasses layered strata of issues – from content to technology – evolving at an alarming speed. Just as e-books enlist both content and multimedia to reach the reader, the survival of books—both nonfiction and fiction—is best approached with a multi-pronged strategy that identifies the targeted consumer, the most suitable delivery mechanism for particular content and the promotional bridge that connects the two.
The multi-pronged OCTOPUS Theory that will perpetuate consumption of books – in traditional format as well as new media—includes:
Obligation to publish across multiple platforms
Cost-effectiveness of print on demand (POD) publishing
Technological syncing of digital content readable over multiple devices
Orchestration of direct communication between authors and readers
Pricing structure regulation for digital and print content
Uniform availability of content and e-readers at competitive prices
Strategic combination of publicity and marketing tactics
To speak with Monique Moss or learn more, email monique@integrated-pr.com
B&N’s newly named CEO says “Digital Books are the Key to our Future”
March 18, 2010 by Monique Moss · 1 Comment
The world’s largest bookseller said Thursday that it was replacing Chief Executive Steve Riggio with William Lynch, the head of its online division, in a move many saw as a sign that the company was embracing the changing nature of the book business. Lynch, 39, joined the bookseller a little over a year ago as president of its website, Barnes & Noble.com.
As many of us believe, the digitization of books — fiction and nonfiction — is key to its survival and clearly, a vital part of the changing landscape of publishing. Combine this with consumer preference as the driving force fueling the evolving book business and it’s logical that B&N would promote a technological savant from within to helm the entire company.
to read more on this topic, go to: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-barnes-noble19-2010mar19,0,3703405.story
YouTube – Social Media Revolution
February 18, 2010 by Stacey Pokluda · 1 Comment
This video has been online for a while, but in case you haven’t seen it, Socialnomics created this about Social Media: Is it a fad or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution? We love this because it details out social media facts and figures that are hard to ignore.