Cut-through

In the career of every successful comic there is a tipping point after which the inclusion of his name on a bill creates additional demand for the show. From a paying customer's perspective the logic jumps from: -

I'd like to see some comedy tonight. The local club is advertising some somewhat familiar names with some cool quotes from reviews from well-known papers and magazines to assuage my doubts*

To: -

Eddie Izzard is touring. Let's get tickets!

The vast majority of (very decent) acts will always operate under the first dynamic and much of the art of promoting is understanding this.

Comedy promoters must keep their 'aficionados' happy because these guys are the bread and butter. They need a good reason not to turn up to a night because they're so passionate about comedy. They're hanging out for the chance to say that they saw so-and-so do ten minutes in a tiny room about five years before she got that hit TV show.

The problem is that most promoters are also aficionados** and their passion for The Next Big thing can blind them to the actual cut-through amongst non-aficionados. Wishful thinking prevails and money gets lost.

Last night I compered an out-of-town gig where the promoter misread the dynamic. The headline act is an astonishingly good comic with a well-earned reputation on the touring and festival circuit. He'd been paid over the odds with the expectation he'd put more bums on seats than an average night. As the audience was the usual size and the breakeven point had shifted the promoter recouped little, if anything, from the additional investment.

The alternative would have been a one-off price hike, a dangerous thing to do in these straitened times. And a price hike strategy is an admission that the act's brand is stronger than the club's own brand.

An audience rarely gets its money back. This is why branding is a such a core dynamic in live comedy.

* There is a dark art to 'pulling' usable grabs for promotional purposes from even the least sympathetic reviews

** Every promoter is full of stories of the famous names they booked way back when. The classier acts who 'make it' are gracious enough to always acknowledge this