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Sweet marketing music

Tanner Montague came to town from Seattle having never owned his own music venue before. He’s a musician himself, so he has a pretty good sense of good music, but he also wandered into a crowded music scene filled with concert venues large and small.But the owner of Green Room thinks he found a void in the market. It’s lacking, he says, in places serving between 200 and 500 people, a sweet spot he thinks could be a draw for both some national acts not quite big enough yet for arena gigs and local acts looking for a launching pad.“I felt that size would do well in the city to offer more options,” he says. “My goal was to A, bring another option for national acts but then, B, have a great spot for local bands to start.”Right or wrong, something seems to be working, he says. He’s got a full calendar of concerts booked out several months. How did he, as a newcomer to the market in an industry filled with competition, get the attention of the local concertgoer?

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by Andrew Tellijohn
March 2006

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Communications


Maccabee Group’s
coupon book makes
unusual holiday greeting

Many companies send holiday greeting cards to clients and friends. The Maccabee Group in Minneapolis sent a booklet in January to about 400 people, filled with coupons good for discounts at a dozen places around town where its staffers like to hang out.

It’s called “Maccabee Group’s Holiday Coupon Book of insanely generous stuff from the places we love to explore when we’re not at work.” Each coupon features a different staff member, complete with photo and title, and a short blurb about a favorite store that also reveals something about the person.

Gwen Chynoweth, vice president, for example, cites Midwest Mountaineering, where she shopped before her and her husband’s trip to Iceland. A $10 gift certificate to the store is included. Paul Maccabee, president, likes Twin Cities Magic. Deanna Boss, office manager, likes Pacifier, the trendy baby goods store in Minneapolis.

The coupon book was the product of an annual brainstorming session, in August, when everyone at the agency gets together to come up with an original idea for the public relations agency’s “We don’t want our holiday greeting to look like everyone else’s,” she says. The book “not only reflects who we are as an agency, but also gives them something they can use.”

How did they get the discounts from vendors? “We have a very intrepid office manager, and she’s great on the phone,” Chynoweth says. “She collected all our favorite places, and then started cold-calling them. We got a great response.”Gwen Chynoweth, Maccabee Group: 612.337.0087; gwen@maccabee.com; www.maccabee.com