Promotional ideas: calendar, prom mags...

[Celeste]

One always wishes that Chloe would receive even more PR in the mainstream press, and a while ago, I thought of at least two ways in which othe young starlets garner popular publicity, and which would suit Chloe really well.

First, an idea that was posted on the Chloe Agnew forum was that of a Chloe Agnew calendar for 2008.

One sees calendars for teen stars all the time (Hilary Duff comes to mind), and Hilary is more or less the same age as Chloe. I'm sure that Chloe's fans -- many of whom are young themselves (as are Hilary's fans) -- would love to have a calendar of one of their idols, to hang on their walls, or in their lockers at school. It's a "teen" thing to do. And parents could buy them for their daughters.

The photos could be concert stills -- or better yet, a proper photoshoot in Ireland, in the kinds of gorgeous locations that appeared in the Walking in the Air DVD. It seems to me that it would be a useful type of merchandising, and would have considerable publicity value all by itself.

The other idea came to mind more recently -- Chloe on the cover of a prom magazine.

It's prom season right now, and many youth-oriented magazines feature photo layouts of teen stars modelling prom fashions. In fact, there are even several annual fashion magazines exclusively devoted to promwear.

We all know that Chloe looks gorgeous in dresses -- she would be the perfect prom-dress model (better by far than other teen starlets, who have probably seldom donned elegant gowns before their magazine appearances).

Again, it would be a marvellous bit of publicity, and would help spread Chloe's (and Celtic Woman's) fame even futher, among the youth. It works for the modern pop stars, so it would work twice as well for an elegant beauty, such as Chloe.

Just a few thoughts...

[Western_Rose]

Even just a Celtic Woman Calender would be good but a Chloe one would be nice too

[Western_Rose]

Yeah really I would love to hear them on the radio or have a CW music video 

[Celeste]

Yeah really I would love to hear them on the radio or have a CW music video 

I've always thought this myself. At least two of the videos from Chloe's DVD, "Vivaldi's 'Rain'" and "Sigma," deserve to be in rotation on the new-style arts channels, like Bravo here in Canada, or whatever the U.S. equivalent is. These stations play music videos by classical artists and crossover artists (e.g., Sarah Brightman) all the time...

[Western_Rose]

Yeah and I think they have a Claassical MTV I'm not sure I just saw a logo on the side of one of Hayley's music videos, could be a english channel.

[Cash]

Even just a Celtic Woman Calender would be good but a Chloe one would be nice too

I think they need a new younger marketing manager on their team. There are 100's of ways they should have been promoted as a group and Individually in the United States over the past several years.

Yes Yes Yes...this could be such a great discussion (being careful not to be critical of their staff & management though). I also thought about the calender idea. But, then again, it seems they try NOT to be too American mainstream. We don't really want to see them gyrating half naked on MTV videos. Most of us like them because they are talented and gorgeous BUT not mainstream and slutty. So calenders are clearly ok, BUT, where do you draw the line? Perhaps their marketing people have been a bit overly cautious in some ways, but maybe its ok to market them slowly over a few years, building audiences little by little?

[Kelli]

Their marketers and PR people are obviously doing something right (as are David and the Girls!!) or we wouldn't be wanting more, more, more!  And to think they haven't been doing this very long...it's just amazing.  That said, I'm sure anything the marketers would come up with would have buyers.

[Meldy]

The calendar is a good idea.  I wouldn't want them to be on MTV either, but I do wonder how we are supposed to know about classical crossover, or classical artists?  I mean, I discovered classical crossover online and if I didn't know the right place to go to, then I would've been lost forever.

[Cash]

Their marketers and PR people are obviously doing something right (as are David and the Girls!!) or we wouldn't be wanting more, more, more! 

I am not so sure. I got hooked on CW because I stumbled onto ANJ while it was on PBS for the pledge drive. Whoever made that video, selected Slane Castle as setting, selected the music, etc was pure genius. And the great musical talent of the women helped out too! Thats why we want more and more. Plus, to be honest here, we guys find the ladies to be attractive. That may factor in as well.
But as far as marketing, to me anyway, it seems they are very cautious, perhaps not wanting to offend current fans while trying to gain new ones. This may not be bad strategy though. Current fans seem to be very loyal and provide an excellent foundation for future shows, on PBS or in person. Thats why I think its so interesting. You can make a case for both sides: more aggressive marketing and remaining more cautious.

[melle mel]

Why would they appear on MTV? When was the last time music videos were played on that channel?  Even then, MTV, pop radio wouldn't bother touching their music as they know what sells for them the best: Sex, drugs, materialism, and image. It's the stuff that is regulated to PBS on weekend nights, classical and adult contemporary stations that play Josh Groban every hour.

It's refreshing to have a nice throwback of young, under-30, classically-trained sopranos singing old traditional songs in the sea of bubblegum pop Madonna and Britney-wannabes. We need more of them and nothing wrong with reaching-out to a wider, and younger, audience. I'll agree, the last thing I'd want from these women are over-saturation and over-exposure of themselves on all corners of the (tabloid) media landscape to the point of boredom and even worse, public backlash, selling-out, and alienating their core fanbase that helped them get where they are in the first place. (See: Charlotte Church.)

I'll be honest here too, the ladies stunning appearance drew me in first, then became much more beyond candy-coated good looks. It's... The music. I like the low-key approach of how the management and PR people are treating this, more of a showcase of individual talent than a big marketing scheme.

Edit: One suggestion to marketing, how about hiring some better graphic designers and photographers? Some of their PR photos look amateurish, IMO.

[Celeste]

No one said MTV itself, but rather, a classical music equivalent. These do exist.

I believe that the distinctions between classy promotions and bad marketing are more easily drawn than one might think. The "slippery slope" argument presupposes a lack of taste and judgment. If those qualities (taste and judgment) are in place, then the publicity can enhance, rather than diminish, Chloe's (and CW's) appeal.

The marketing need not be "aggressive," but it can be pro-active.
It need not be "cautious," but it can be tasteful.

For example:
Videos on MTV? No.
Videos on a a station that plays classical music videos (e.g. Bravo): Yes.

Maxim magazine? No.
Calendars with elegant photography; prom magazines; bridal magazines? Yes.

You see what I mean? I think it is possible to determine what is appropriate, and what wouldn't be, and to think of various examples of good publicity; things that would be true to the Celtic Woman spirit (Romantic, Old World, timeless, beautiful, feminine, elegant, etc.).

[Cash]

ok but what I am trying to get more at is the overall marketing plan. For example, I only saw one ad in our local Sunday paper for the local show. I did not see any tv ads, beyond the PBS stuff. I assume thats because they figured, correctly, that the girls' music sells itself to the loyal fans via the PBS special, enough to sell out a small venue and no other marketing was needed. However, what if they had used a larger venue, AND used more marketing in the area in addition to PBS? They sold out 2 nights at a venue of 2800. Ad a little more advertising, and could they have sold out one night at 10,000? That may have made more people know of CW, but is that a goal? Do they really want to do that? If their goal is to gain a broader appeal, it seems they could go about things differently. If the goal is more modest, they are doing good.

[Meldy]

That's true, I didn't see any promo shots in the local newspaper or other advertising, but I guess it has to do with PBS and all.  Maybe after the tour they'll focus on marketing a little more.

[melle mel]

One thing is for sure, was that the local Borders book store near me did have a prominent display of CW CDs and DVDs in plain sight a few weeks ago. It was right in front of the 'rock/pop' section.

Surprising how the ladies are able to sell-out shows with very limited marketing. I'd say it is good ol' word-of-mouth going around with fans recommending their music to others.

[fireyred09]

Personally, I think their marketing strategies are working out just fine.

The girls do have families back home/on tour with them. Maybe they don't want to go overboard with the promotions so that they can still have personal lives. Note that we don't get a play-by-play of what goes on every time Meav or Hayley goes off-tour. I suppose that we really have to consider just what kind of group Celtic Woman is. They are a group of 6 incredibly talented, poised, classy, and, for the guys onboard, attractive ladies. They have more class than the vast majority of performers today.

That being said, the girls and their music appeal to a different audience than most other singers/performers. In general, this audience is the same that will be watching PBS or will be into Celtic/Irish Music or will have some sort of access to Celtic Woman performances/promotion.

Not sure if this makes sense anymore, but what I'm trying to say is that maybe with the marketing strategies put in place as of now, they are reaching their target audience more than efficiently. They are attracting the kind of people that normally enjoy this sort of music.