GrooveBoston—Pioneers of the Mobile Club » Ramblings

Pack Your Events: 5 Tips For Boosting Attendance

Ben — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:58:42 +0000

At GrooveBoston, we live for packed houses. There’s nothing like a sold-out, energy-filled event that leaves those lucky enough to get in begging for more. We know you student activities and programming groups work your butts off to put together great events, so we want to share a few of our tips on how to get ‘em packed!

1. STICK WITH IT
You know your campus — whatever you’re already doing to promote your events is probably a good start. Take a second put yourself in the shoes of the average student. Are they really reading the flyers around campus? Visiting the school web site? Identify the promotion method that works best for you and spend twice the amount of time on it. Get rid of one method that isn’t so great.

GB can help: Want a second opinion? Give us a call and we’ll help you evaluate your promo strategy

2. GET NERDY
Facebook and other social networking tools are great for getting the word out. Be sure to make groups, post ads, and send those messages. The key is to have it all lead somewhere. Whether it’s a Facebook event, Evite, or a separate web page, always provide a link where students can find more event info.

GB can help: We’ll build a custom grooveboston.com mini-site for your event where students can get info and request songs!

3. HIT ‘EM AT HOME
Instead of just flyering around campus, post info on all the housing doors you possibly can — dorm rooms, suites, off-campus apartments. No party-hungry student will miss a message delivered ten feet from where they sleep.
TIP: Print doorknob hangers instead of flyers to make this a piece of cake.

GB can help: We can design custom branding for all of your print materials and ship right to your door. Door hangers rule!

4. ROLL VIP
Everybody loves special treatment. Create a “VIP experience” for a select group of students at your event. This could mean special access to an exclusive area, free swag, or (wait for it… ) nothing at all! Just the chance to wear a VIP pass can be enough for students to talk up your event on campus.
BONUS: Use VIP passes as prizes for a campus contest or raffle them off at the ticket booth.

GB can help: Need VIP passes? We’ll make ‘em! Super-nice plastic ones with lanyards that would get you backstage at even the most secure concert.

5. MAKE FRIENDS
Tap into social networks that already exist. Have a popular band, dance, or other performance group on campus? Offer them up an opportunity to showcase their latest stuff. Their name will help draw student fans, and they’ll be pumped to help you promote — even if their performance is just a few minutes long.

GB can help: There’s no better place to showcase as a student artist than a venue that’s packed with crazy sound and lights. Mobile Club anyone?

Print out the PDF version as a handout. It’s really pretty.

Rest Up

BobbyD — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:05:20 +0000

With a nice long Turkey Day weekend approaching, I’ve got to admit that some down time will be nice. The GB crew has their mobile-club-o-meters at ELEVEN since the September launch of our current tour. We’ve carried TONS of gear, driven THOUSANDS of miles, and rocked at LEAST a hundred billion faces. …OK, at least ten thousand faces.

It’s been an AWESOME run of back-to-back shows, but energy drinks can only take you so far. It’s time to sit still for a little while, to wrap up a couple of days before 4:00am, and to re-charge our dance party batteries.

This fall, GrooveBoston is stronger than ever. And to everyone who has been a part of the GB experience, THANK YOU.

Rest up, enjoy the holiday, and we’ll see you next week.

New Face-Rocker: Matt “Hamma” Duhamel

BobbyD — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:11:50 +0000

GB would like to welcome Matt “The Hamma” Duhamel to the front lines, with his debut performance as a headlining resident DJ just a week away. Here’s what he looks like in the dark:

Photo: Jax Andersen

No stranger to the GB stage, Hamma has been opening for the past year, and has been known to drop some very cool jams, including lounge mixes of Oasis and Collective Soul, as well as proven favorites like Bell Biv DeVoe’s Poison — mainly to get Ben and me fired up backstage, while we pound energy drinks, do some push-ups and dance like Turk from Scrubs.

Hamma has also been working the Boston club scene, billed as “DJ MD,” or “DJ Matty D” (though with a name that almost contains “hamma” I don’t know why you’d even consider any other). He’s made appearances at Suite, Felt, and Revolution Rock Bar. The winner of the GrooveBoston Golden Hammer Award for Excellence in Party Rocking (GBGHAEPR), Hamma will be heading up the mix on October 30th at Sarah Lawrence College in NY, and future stops along the FaceRockers tour.

It's About To Get Crazy

BobbyD — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:23:46 +0000

There will be no trick-or-treating for the GB crew this year.*

The Face Rockers tour will continue with three standout shows over Halloween weekend. We’ve been working on some TERRIFYING poster designs, and coordinating some VERY cool elements to set these shows apart. Think lasers, gargoyles, hellish infernos, and… oh yeah, giant dance parties.

How’s that for a treat?

* if anyone wants to bring a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup by the booth, I wouldn’t turn it down.

Face-Rockers Tour ‘09-‘10

BobbyD — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:25:29 +0000

Weeeeeeee’rrre BAAAAACK!

Everybody loves summer. Beach trips, epic BBQs, sunshine — it’s almost perfect. But there’s one thing missing: FACE ROCKING.

This fall, GB returns to the college ultra-party scene with a BANG. You may have noticed that we don’t really focus on “having a pleasant time” or “creating a memorable event.” Don’t get me wrong; those are important too, but they’re just byproducts of our true objective: Rocking your face off.
What is face-rocking you ask? Well boys and girls, allow me to ease into my Mr. Rogers cardigan and enlighten you. Having your face rocked is that special feeling you get inside from dancing so hard that you lose your breath. It’s screaming at the top of your lungs to that special ditty that makes your heart flutter. It’s wiping your shoes when you come in the house and doing all your chores ahead of time so you can play ball with your friends.

Ok that last part isn’t face-rocking, but hey it’s just good sense.

So that’s what this year’s campus tour is all about. It’s official… we’ve got T-shirts and everything.

Game Time

BobbyD — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:15:29 +0000

It’s 7am, and the land of GroooveBoston is BUSTLING. You’d think we’d be resting up, as our Friday workday has been known to go well into the wee hours. Not the case today. We’re off to an early start for a BIG weekend. It’s officially Spring, and you know what that means: Put the sweaters away and get ready to watch some neighborhood kids almost land kickflips on their skateboards, because its time for spring concerts and DANCE PARTIES.

And THAT is why we’re in here blasting Pitbull’s Krazy while we sip iced coffee (the neighbors love us). A BIG weekend is off to a good — albeit early — start.

After wrapping up the video design for Sarah Lawrence, we’ll get the gear ready to roll and send a crew down to NY. Another one will be heading over to BC tomorrow for the Athletics Banquet after party.

Let’s ROCK.

GB Rocks Cancer’s Face Off!

Ben — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:48:30 +0000

As you may have noticed, this blog isn’t about a dance party. Sorry. It’s still cool though. We hope. Ok, ok. We’ll keep it short.

This year GB fielded a team at the Relay For Life of Tufts University. We were pumped to get involved with the American Cancer Society fundraiser to give back to the campus of one of our MVP clients, and to fight back against the biological anti-dance-party: cancer.

Turns out we raised a considerable chunk of change and had an awesome time in the process! A HUGE thanks to everyone who supported us!!

From all of us at GrooveBoston…

BobbyD — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:26:33 +0000

2008 has been an amazing year in the magical world of the Mobile Club. As we settle in for a little holiday down time (and the fabled GB Holiday Crew Party), I want to thank everyone with whom we’ve crossed paths with over the past twelve months. In our craziest year yet, you’ve given us the opportunity to work on some amazing projects, in an incredible industry. We have the best job in the world. Thank you!

With some BIG new projects already under way for 2009, I’m confident that GrooveBoston will continue to rock you guys like never before.

See you on the other side.

The GB Crew

**For those of you playing the home-game of “Name the GB Crew” the faces on the card are (drum roll): Matt, Ed, Jason, Ben, BobbyD, Springer, Jordan, and Chris

If you got them all right, feel free to get as excited as this guy when he guesses the exact value of his showcase on The Price is Right.

Top 6 Things Overheard At The GB Offices During Busy Season

Ben — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:47:30 +0000

Things get a little crazy here at GrooveBoston during the Spring. In case you passed through the “O” before the summer started, we thought we would take a minute to clarify a few things you could have overheard:

1. “Dear Mariah Carey, no thanks.” — In direct response to Mariah’s springtime hot track Touch My Body, which has the most off-target title since Everybody Loves Raymond. I mean, come on… she’s like 50 now, right? Props to the kid who plays Kenneth on 30 Rock for making it into the video though.

2. “Yo Bobby, can you turn down Miley Cyrus for a second? I’m on the PHONE.” – Thousands of teenage girls across the country are HOOKED on their Miley… so is our Operations Director, and his sound system gets piped through the whole office.

3. “Did you see the new ____? We should probably buy like 12 of those.” — It doesn’t matter what the thing is. We LOVE new toys that can make your parties bigger and cooler. And soda. We like soda in the fridge.

4. “What if we skipped the hotel, and just parked a tour bus on the lawn?” — We’re always trying out creative solutions to problems, especially when they involve tour buses and hot showers within 100ft of the stage.

5. “[Answering the phone] GrooveBoston, this is Ben. Yes, we do need that much power.” – Big dance clubs need LOTS of power… ’nuff said.

6. “SHHHHAAAZZZZAAAMMMM!” – Not really sure how this one started. I haven’t seen a magic show in years. Nevertheless, we usually shout this bad boy to express excitement, announce a completed project, or just to make a bold entrance into the office. Yeah. It’s been a long spring…

Bigger Than A Breadbox…

Ben — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:01:59 +0000

Whenever a school calls up and asks about the Mobile Club for the first time, the first questions we get are usually along the lines of “How big is it?” or “What do you bring?” — good questions.

But for you Mobile Club veteran schools out there, you know that it’s tough to put into words. It’s especially tough when someone asks us to describe the difference between the Mobile Club and a system that your typical mobile DJ might bring in.

BUT we did it anyway… because we love you guys. Check out this video to see what it looks like when we put one of these “DJ in a box” setups inside a GrooveBoston Mobile Club.

Any questions?