2017 - Marketing - Holly Race

Applicant Name:
Holly Race
Applicant Email:
Sabbatprincess@gmail.com
Home Chronicle:

Introduction and Background:

I began my LARPing career in Shadows of Cincinnati, playing Camarilla Vampire. It was 1995 when I met the motley crew of fellow nerds that I still (begrudgingly) call my friends. SoC is still running Camarilla Vampire and I try to not miss a game if I can avoid it. Even after 20 years. I have too many children, and too many cats.

My education is a veritable potpourri of subjects. I have studied Psychology, Sociology, Deaf Studies and American Sign Language, French, Emergency Medicine Basic and Advanced, Theater, Art History, Marketing, Anthropology, Business, Event Planning, Economics, Makeup Artistry and Theology. I'm certain I'm missing a few. I am a life long student, and I really enjoy school, so I go... a lot. Whatever strikes my fancy really. I can't count the amount of times someone has given me the “you're so full of shit” look. But, I'm willing to share my student loan debt with anyone who would like evidence.

Administrative Experience:

Over the years I have been a player, ST, Narrator, Player Rep and pretty much anything else you can think of. Currently I am HST of Pander's Playground, we are a Sabbat Chronicle based in Lexington Kentucky. PPG is now one of the largest Chronicles in One World by Night. I have worked in many areas as a supervisor, manager and technician. As I stated earlier, I have too many kids and that requires an ability to plan and schedule. I'm pretty sure all the kids and cats are still alive, so I probably did alright. I have no living plants though.

I have done marketing for my personal ventures, as well as professionally. I have a small business and have made that relatively successful through marketing. I am capable of saying no when necessary, and leading a team. I started the OwbN Mentor Society last year, wrote the New Player's Guide to the Sabbat, and I write a blog for the Mentor Society including 9 Ways to Create a Viable PC and Marketing Your LARP. I have been an Admin on the OWBN Facebook page as well as various OWBN Groups on Facebook.

Personal Statement:

I understand a fair bit of Macro Social Psychology, and Marketing. I have a lot to learn still. Continuing education is a requirement for Marketing as the nature of it is constantly in flux as technology continues to change the way we as a society live. When the Org became an Org the internet was still new, social media wasn't a concern, and cell phones were something the rich people had. The nature of marketing at that time was friends inviting friends and maybe some flyers in a game shop. With everything that we have access to today, we need to utilize it for our benefit.

I have a personal investment in the Org. I have literally grown up with it. My children have grown up with it. While most of us were able to grow up and move out of our awkward and rebellious phases the Org has been a tad stuck. Unlike us the Org didn't have older friends or parents there to help guide it toward a productive adulthood. That is what is necessary. A lot of changes are necessary. The one thing I can promise is that I love the Org very much, and I will do everything in my power to make it a fun place to be.

Goals:

I have a lot of goals for the upcoming year. I have already done quite a bit of research and data crunching so I can start out the term on the ground running. I don't want to spend the first 3 months collecting analytic data, I want to use every month as productively as possible. I don't promise loads of packets, kewl powurz, or amazing plot cause that just isn't what Marketing does.

 

I will make changes. I know, dirty word, we in the Org fear change. I say we because I'm right there with ya. But they will be subtle changes that most of you won't even notice or care about. Such as landing pages on our website, social marketing campaigns and font adjustments. A couple changes will be bigger.

 

  • Get most games listed on LARP Finder.

  • Assemble a team of people with a specific skill set to assist in furthering my goals.

  • Create an event calendar, to help with making decisions on the best time to run your event.

  • Create an easy to follow form with all necessary information to help advertise events.

  • Write Org specific information for Chronicles on how to advertise on a local level.

  • Continue my picture project for further Marketing campaigns and all around fun.

  • Fund raisers to generate revenue for the Marketing team, so that campaigns can branch out further.

  • OOC games and prizes throughout the year.

  • Add a member to my team, if possible, from Brazil.  I’d like to assist the Chronicles there as well in Marketing.  They do so much more in their games that many in the Org are aware of.  I’d like to see them get some recognition and be able to grow their player base.

  • … An additional goal that I have, I make no promise on as of yet, but I am going to try. In some of my market research surveys quite a number of people mentioned that they would like to receive Org information in an easy to read format. Like a newsletter. It is my hope that I can arrange for that to happen. Perhaps a monthly newsletter with any changes or updates and what has been going on in the Org. I have numerous ideas on how to do this, it will take me a little time to work out the specifics.

 

In addition to what is listed above, I will be monitoring the progress of our changes and making adjustments along the way as necessary. I already monitor the analytic data for the various OWBN web pages, and plan to use the information I have gathered thus far to make my initial adjustments. From a Marketing standpoint there is much we can do to make ourselves more visible to potential new players. Getting the attention of new players will be one of my primary goals this year. My other main goal is to rebuild the OWBN brand. Over the many years of the Org's growth our brand has gained some tarnish. With some polish we can get it gleaming, possibly to a lovely aged silver patina.

 

I won't make huge promises that I can't keep. I can promise to focus on the players we have, and work to getting new players. There are many things the Org is failing at currently, we can't hold it against it though. Like I said earlier, the Org never had anyone to show it how to grow up. This next year we are going to show it how to function as an adult, we will polish our brand and make our players proud (or at least not embarrassed).