The View from Inside a Flashmob

I originally wrote this article for a Lead Generation company. Here is my original.

Staging an Event for Maximum Exposure

One of the best marketing strategies available is PR. Exposure that may go viral online, get reported in the media. Most of which would not be affordable if you were to pay for it. The following is an account by Jon Riley of Horsham Salsa of a Flashmob that ‘punched above its weight’ for publicity.

Looking around the Forum, a large open public space in Horsham, I could see a lot of familiar faces. We all acknowledged each other with slight smiles, nods and small hand gestures. We were on the inside. We knew what was coming next. We’d been planning this flashmob for several weeks. As I looked around, I thought that if I was a passer-by, all the people I knew would just be ‘another face in the crowd’. It was the first time I had run a flashmob. I’d seen quite a few on the internet and knew that done well, we could get a lot of viral impact on the internet.

I couldn’t believe our luck. We had extremely good weather for late May in England. I checked my watch. Two minutes to four. Best get ready. I unwrapped the Arcam rCube (upmarket ghetto blaster), plugged it into my Blackberry. Fired up Neutron for the best possible sound. Selected the right track and hit play. Turned the volume up to ‘11’ (check Spinal Tap if that doesn’t make sense).

My dance partner was nearby. We started off the basic forward and back of salsa. We were quickly joined by another 4 or 5 couples. I started the calls of Cuban Salsa – Rueda de Casino style. A format that involves a leader who calls out the name of the next move to all the dancers. The result is a circle of dancers all dancing the same move at the same time. Some of the moves are intricate, some are comical. The result is a group, all dancing the same choreography, yet it is ad lib. Partners are exchanged. More couples join the Rueda until eventually there are around 26 dancers all whirling around to the beat of up-tempo Cuban Salsa.

Outside the Rueda groups of people stop and watch. Cameras and phones appear. The people in the nearby café stop their conversations as they look over to see what’s going on. This was the on-the-day impact we had hoped for. Hopefully, these people are posting their films and pictures online.

As the last beats of the tune come to a close, the dancers all turn in random directions and walk off. We’ve done our best with the dancing, now the real work begins to capitalise on the event.

Time to maximise the upside to the Salsa Club business. I pull in the videos from as many sources as I can. Speed is important in cases like this. Over the next couple of days, I write press releases and send them to the relevant editors. Upload the video onto You Tube. Post links all over Facebook, our website, Twitter. Within a week, the first video we have posted on You Tube has gone over 1,000 views. Our Facebook Page receives an extra 30 to 40 likes. I gain another 20 or so Twitter followers.

Most of all, the dancers at our club had a great time doing it.

Not bad for a little dance club in a small town like Horsham.

However, to pull something like this off, takes work and planning.

To get this to work, I had to contact the local authority for permission. I had to persuade enough of the dancers at the club to come along, voluntarily on a Saturday, just for one dance. I had to submit a risk assessment to the council. I had a lot of trouble ensuring that the flashmob would be filmed. In the end, because of time restraints I release a single angle view. A great flashmob film cuts to the audience watching, has titles and end credits. However, sometimes in business, good enough will have to do.

I contacted both the local papers in advance. One was keen, the other couldn’t care less – thank you West Sussex County Times you were stars. I checked my public liability insurance. With the risk of a damp surface to dance on and the unpredictable nature of the public, I needed to be sure that I was covered if anyone got injured and blamed me. In the end, I had to purchase specific flashmob insurance cover – ouch. I had to find a boogie box with enough oomph to be able to be heard not just by the dancers, but further away yet didn’t require a power source. There was a crises when the person bringing the boogie box got the dates muddled. In the end, the dancing was the easy bit. In future, I’ll be better prepared to get the videos transferred to me much sooner. I will be ready to have them edited and made into a ‘mini-film’. I couldn’t afford professional filming, though if you have the budget, I would definitely go that route.

I actually got the press release about right. I wrote the story, gave them some background and pointed them at the pictures. They were able to edit my story into something that worked for them. The club got a nice online entry and a smaller entry in the local paper. The salsa club got the publicity and they had a story, which I keep posting  links to.

Although Salsa has the advantage that the end product is the dancing. It’s visual and entertaining, this doesn’t mean that your business can’t create a stir. Giveaway ‘stuff’ in silly costumes and film it. Do something for charity that involves appearing and disappearing.

Keep the film short. If the film ends up at more than 3 minutes, you will do well to have everyone watch the whole thing. Speed is of the essence. The film flashmob 1 has significantly more views despite the fact that Flashmob 2 is the better film. It was just two days later being posted.

All in all, flashmobs and staged events make great publicity and will gain you the sort of coverage and exposure you are unlikely be able to pay for.

Here are the links

Information about Horsham Salsa can be found here - www.horshamsalsa.co.uk

Flashmob 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KucvyTFrkEw

Flashmob 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbpQgQgD2eY

Coverage of our Flashmob in the West Sussex County Times http://ow.ly/vvN0Z

7 Reasons you should Trust Your DJ

Trust Your DJ

When deciding how to proceed with music for your event, you may consider whether or not to book a professional DJ or to use a mate. If your event is a special occasion you may want to consider some of the following before deciding whether to use a friend / mate.

1 - Widest possible selection of music.

When I first started running the disco, I thought I was probably already well set with a large collection of music. I had a number of CDs with 101 Hits of the 80s, 90s etc. and the last couple of Now! CDs. I figured I’d be well set for the evening. I had enough for the evening, but, I left a lot of requests behind as I didn’t have the music. I have since invested heavily in having the right songs. For example, when you look at a 101 Hits collection, there’s a lot of good stuff on there. Try looking for the real megastars of the age. Most of these collections do not contain Wham! Madonna, The Police, Robbie Williams, Take That, Beyonce, Michael Jackson etc. The megastars simply don’t get put on these sorts of CDs.

What you are briefed for isn’t always what ends up getting played. I was DJ’ing a party where I had been given a long playlist. The person who the party was for (it was a surprise) made a speech and then just as I was about to re-start the music asked ‘could you do an 80s disco?’ This was nothing that had been on the playlist. I grabbed the nearest start-off song I could find and then re-configured the playlist from there. Result - Happy punters! More warning would have been nice, but this is the job of a pro. In the end, it turned out what the dancers wanted was 70s disco.

2 - Your DJ knows which tunes work

I don’t have to like a tune to know whether or not it will fill the dancefloor. I’ve had brides insist ‘no Robbie Williams’ and I’ve turned requests away. The bride leaves and everyone screams every word of Angels. A party organiser says ‘no Macerena’, but you know what, everyone gets up and dances to it (and if you don’t know how, I do).

It is tempting to let your personal preferences get in the way of the right songs to make your party work. ‘Your mate’ will probably let his/her personal taste get in the way.

There are songs out there that will happily span the generations and there are songs that won’t. If you have a wedding or a family party, that really matters.

3- The Right Kit

I went to one wedding as a guest. The couple had elected to ‘use a mate’. He had one speaker which was horribly over-driven and was distorting and very harsh on the ears. He was selecting the tunes from his iPod, so there was a pause after every song and most times an abrupt cut-off. Everyone kept heading to the room next door to get away from it. The groom kept going round asking everyone to get back in the main room. As soon as he went off to round up some more guests, we all slid back to the bar again. In truth everyone hated the sound and the choice of music.

Sadly, the cost of using a pro would have faded by now, but instead the memories are of everyone trying to escape the ‘DJ’.

BTW – one of the key things I look for is if people are leaning in too close to talk, then I know the music is too loud.

Does your event need microphones? Most pro’s will be able to hand you one on request.

If someone has a song that I don’t have and they have it on an MP3 player or a Smartphone, I can hook things up to play the song without a break in the music.

4 - Backup Kit

When DJ’ing, I carry two sets of speakers, amps, CD players, etc. If it has a plug, it can break. You don’t get a second run at your wedding party. You could probably handle a 20 min break while I reconfigure the gear, but not having the music stop altogether. Would a mate have backup kit?

5 - Lights

It easy to forget how much atmosphere lighting adds. Lights, moving lights and projections can make. Depending on the venue, many DJs will able to add strobes, smoke and other effects. All can really make a difference. If you use a mate, will they have all the required lights?

6 - Requests

More often than not, there are one or two people at an event, who would love to dictate the music selection. As a pro, they don’t have any hold on you. I was DJ’ing at a family party and a teenage girl turned up with lots of make up and high heels and highlights. Her cousin asked all evening for me to play Barbie Girl. I knew it was a personal ‘get at’ so just told him I didn’t have it with me. If the DJ had been a friend with an affiliation to one side of this ‘dig’, the song may well have been played, no-one would have danced and the young lad would no doubt have worked hard to make everyone aware of what a great joke he had pulled. It could very easily have ruined her evening and upset those close to her.  

7 - Insurance

Finally, pro DJs will be insured. We will always do our best to ensure that our equipment is protected and that your guests are protected from it. If anything goes wrong and someone gets injured, we are covered.

Would ‘your mate’ go to that trouble?

Go Pro – you can relax and get on with your evening and let your DJ create the atmosphere.

Rueda is meant to be fun.....

Something that irks me is the etiquette of joining in with a Rueda or lack of understanding of it.

Rueda is a wonderful inclusive style of dance. I have often described it as 'Kaeligh meets Latin Dancing'. A lot of the fun is in the chaos. 

For those not familiar with this style, couples dance in pairs in a circle. The 'caller' or 'leader' calls out the name of the move to be danced. The dancers execute the move. It involves a lot of changing partners. Some of the moves are basic and could be executed by almost any dancer. Some are more complex and require a degree of competency in the dance and some experience of what is required. Some are flirtatious, even downright rude. Some moves it doesn't matter if you know what to do or not, others if you don't know it throws the whole group out. 

There is an undeniable thrill and excitement when a group gets flying and the moves are all danced well together. A certain amount of chaos and 'things going wrong' also adds to the flavour. 

I've even had Cubans watching Rueda's in our club comment 'some of the moves are going wrong'. 'Yes, but the dancer are all laughing and having fun, isn't that the point?'. 'Err, yes it is, we forget sometimes'.

However, there is a big difference between a few things going wrong and just plain messing it up for everyone. 

So, here are my etiquette points when it comes to Rueda.

Experienced dancers with no experience of Rueda should not join in. 

There is no way you should join a Rueda if you don't know what you are doing. It just ruins it for everyone else. It isn't enough to 'know how to dance salsa', you  need to know where your meant to be going and when. 

Only pair up with dancers who should be in the Rueda. 

Some nights I see dancers grabbing 'anyone' off the sidelines so they can join in. It is so awkward when a Rueda if forming up and I see someone - usually a man - on the side without a partner, grab a beginner or any bystander and charge over to the dance floor. It is just wrong - it ruins it for the beginner, it ruins it for the whole Rueda. 

Ladies DON'T lead

When someone doesn't know a Rueda move, the best bet is to dance casino until the time comes to move on. Why do some women insist on trying to lead men through the move? It invariably means that instead of being able to move on when the move ends they are all over the place uncertain of anything other than 'they can't do it'

If a Rueda is established, leave it be.

Sometimes it is nice to have a Rueda with top flight dancers who can really dance and the standard and complexity can be raised. Equally a Rueda can be made up of friends 'having a go' at calling their own Rueda. Half way through the track a couple join who really haven't the experience or the ability find a way in. Boom, the whole thing has to slow down to their level or the fun of dancing with friends has been sidelined. 

If you don't know a move, watch the caller like a hawk.

I've had strong Cuban dancers in my Ruedas that don't know all of my moves. Only a skilled observer would know this. They focus on the leader and they copy at great speed. If you aren't strong enough to copy on the fly, then just stick to Casino. 

Now don't get me wrong. You need to join in with Rueda's to get the experience. Just make sure that when you join, you aren't ignoring everyone else just so you can 'get in'.

Finally - one night when every guideline was broken, but it worked really well. 

There are nights when the whole room seems to join in and it just flies. Dancing with one other couple at a local club in Brighton, within 2 minutes it felt like the whole room had joined in. At the end of the tune, the DJ announced that the Rueda was to stay put and have another tune. If only I knew how to call over the club sound system cranked to the max. Still, it worked somehow and remains a special memory.

Jon 

20th August 2012

You've got to wear the right trousers (shoes) Grommit!

There have been many occasions when someone will phone me up and ask 'could you tell me a bit more about the salsa classes'. I quietly wish that they would read the FAQ page on the website where, I know, in reality every one of the questions they are going to now ask have been answered. I also know in reality, the potential new dancer is assessing whether I might be a front for a mad axe murderer or whether salsa classes are just out and out pick up joints. All fair enough, so I don't really mind answering. 


One of the questions though, more often than not is 'should I wear trainers'. I explain that trainers are made to hang onto the floor with maximum grip, dance shoes need to give a bit. You need to be able to turn. When starting I recommend an old pair of regular work type shoes for the guys and an old pair of court shoes with a bit of heel for the ladies. 


Where I get depressed is having explained this, seeing people turn up in trainers or worse, the ladies turn up in block heel shoes. High heels, sold form, with no give. Bless these ladies, they do their best to dance in these shoes, but it is never going to go well. 


I do my best to hint that large, solid, inflexible shoes really aren't great for dancing in. They usually smile and carry on. Next week, sure enough, same wrong shoes. 


I also talk to some dancers (and here it is much more the men) who tell me things like 'I don't want to get a pair of those dance trainers 'cos people might think I think I'm a better dancer than I am'. 


While I understand to a point, if you've been coming dancing long enough to notice that the best dancers wear some kind of bespoke footwear, the chances are the time has come to get a good pair of dance shoes. It makes it so much easier to dance. The grip is right. The support is right. Ladies in high blocks, the level of your heels is right in relation to your toes. It makes it easier to make the most of what you can do. 


There are plenty of golfers who buy the best clubs in the hope it will cure their hook/slice. There are plenty of club tennis players who get the best racket they can afford. Loads of kids buy branded football boots in teh hope it will give them an edge like the star player who endorses them. 


All the dancers on Strictly Come Dancing are kitted out in the right footwear - I assume in the hope that the pro's will get the best they can out of their 'celebrity'.


Ladies and Gentlemen learning salsa. Treat yourself to the right footwear. You know it makes sense.


Jon 
2nd July 2012

Congress Season - my love hate affair with them

Its that time of the year where I am getting more and more e-mails about the next unmissable congress. To those who aren't familiar, this is the term for a weekend of dance. 


The reason for my love hate affair is complex. 


Firstly, there is no doubt whatsoever, that it will improve your dancing if you go along and attend enough workshops. Total immersion in anything is bound to improve your understanding and technique.

There are (normally) a significant variety of classes to choose from. It is a chance to explore other dance styles. It is a chance to watch some of the finest exponents of the dance style in action.


The downsides though are there too. All too often, congress organisers will pack as many people in as they can regardless of what it does to the class sizes. 


Rarely does anyone monitor or enforce the standards of dancers going into a class. So all too often, a class billed as 'Advanced' is hamstrung by dozens of mediocre dancers joining in and not being able to complete the move. I have often found the best classes to be the ones labelled as 'Intermediate' as there are less egos in the class and the instructor can deliver the routine they had planned.


On the theme of planning, I'm not sure that all the instructors do plan a routine. 


I've never yet seen a feedback form for either the teachers or the congress. 


I've sat through hours of showcase dances, that frankly, just weren't worth the time or effort. Sadly, also, it seems these are compared by someone who's job is to get the crowd to cheer wildly regardless of standard. In the same manner as happens in many of the classes, those watching often just push right in front of you to get a better view. To hell with any decency about who was there first. 


Despite the many faults of the organisers and the lousy class ratios, there is still something essential and appealing about going to a Congress. I just wish they were more focused on the experience of the attendee and somewhat less on ensuring the promoters 'do well'.


Jon 
17th June 2012

We've got a campaign, we'd love to get you involved...

One of the things I didn't realise when I started running a salsa club was just how many magazine and brochure sales executives there are in the world. I place a small ad in the local paper to promote the club. Before long I was being called by people from all kinds of publications. Their pitch would be that they were running a supplement on subject x, y or z. Often Health & Fitness, sometimes Weddings. They'd using flattering lines like 'we'd love to get you involved with this'.


I have to say in the early days I fell for this flattery once or twice. I soon came to realise, that 'get involved' meant 'pay for an advert'. They exaggerated circulation numbers and the areas that the paper or magazine was in. I even am convinced that one paper didn't even publish. 


Over the years, as I got wiser and more savvy, I came up with a way to have fun with these calls. It would apply to pretty much any business and it goes along these lines:


Sales: blah blah blah, get you involved.
Jon: OK, so you want to sell me an advert?
Sales: blah blah blah, waffle, errr, well, yes.
Jon: OK, that's not a problem. Are your adverts successful in generating new business?
Sales: Definitely.
Jon: Great, here's my offer. How about, I pay you for every new customer your advert generates?
Sales: We don't work like that.
Jon: You said it works!
Sales: Yes it does, but we can't do that.
Jon: Why not?
Sales: We just don't. 
Jon: But if you say it works, surely you would be happy to be paid on results?
Sales: Err, that's not my decision. 




I could go on. You should have got the general idea. 


It is amazing how many people when asked to guarantee they deliver what they say they will bottle out. If nothing else, its a great way to get rid of advert sales executives.


In the meantime, over at Horsham Salsa, we guarantee that if you come regularly to our club, we will have you dancing salsa to at least intermediate level or your money back.


Enjoy the next call you get..


Jon 
24th May 2012
Horsham Salsa

Would you like a dance?

Back in the day when I first started my salsa club, I used to go to great lengths to explain the etiquette of asking for a dance. For a long time I've felt that it didn't need explaining any more as everyone just seems to 'get it'. More recently, I've noticed that people don't just get it any more, so time to put the record straight.


Anyone can (and should) ask anyone else for a dance. 


It means - can I have a dance. 


It doesn't mean could I have  a dance and hope that I can spend the rest of the evening with you. 


One dance. A conversation (assuming the track is slow enough to manage it). Thank you for the dance.


I know that for ladies, this is the hardest part of the salsa scene to get to grips with. Ladies, if you aren't getting enough dances, go and ask. Personally, I have only ever said no if I had something I had to do (like DJ) meaning I couldn't head straight off for a dance. Normally, I'd sort the immediate requirement for the club and then go and dance. There really is no reason for ladies not to ask men for dances. Men can be shy too and sometimes just need a nudge. 


In my book, it is also ok to ask someone to dance when they are stood at the side of the room chatting. Its a dance club, chatting is good, but dancing takes priority. IMHO. 


It can be worrying to ask someone who you think is a much better dancer than yourself. You find yourself thinking 'I can't ask them, they're too good a dancer, they wouldn't want to dance with me'. Well, we were all beginners once. If we never danced with better dancers, we'd never have got better. I don't know any experienced dancer who minds taking dances with less experienced dancers. OK, I know they do exist, but if they are too far up themselves to dance, they're not actually the dancer they'd like to think they are. 


Ever noticed how experienced dancers are never shy about asking less experienced dancers?


The final part of the etiquette is to thank your partner at the end of the dance and then to go and find they next partner. It is very poor etiquette to tie one person up for the whole evening. A large part of the joy of dancing is that chance to spend a little quality time with a lot of different people. 


So, next time you are watching the dance floor thinking you'd like to be out there. Go and ask someone nearby for a dance. 


Jon
14th May 2012