If she hadn't been my sister, I would have wanted to kill her.
"It was just so amazing" she continued "Here we are in the Time Warner building with 4 stories of glass looking out over the lights of New York city - that's the back drop. There are just a select few cocktail tables in semi-circle. We're being served everything from lobster spring rolls to mini cheeseburgers, sipping on a Cosmo. And out she walks - it's just me, a select group of people and Sarah McLachlan, barefoot, with a grand piano."
Yup - it was a private performance by Sarah McLachlan. A select number of "press" people were invited to the event. It was the kick off of the CitiR/AAdvatageR cardmembers Private Pass concert series promotion. My sister, who works for several NY publications, was invited as a guest.
Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled for her because she's an even bigger Sarah M. fan than I am. I was considering letting her live, then she dropped the kicker.
"Oh - and the goodie bags? you open them up and guess what's inside" At this point she gleefully produces said goodie bag and pulls out a brand spanking new....Nano.
That hurt.
But while my face was greener than the witch in Wicked, I had to give credit to Citigroup. Their Private Pass cardmember concert program is nothing short of brilliant - private concerts with everyone from Mary J. Blige (not Mary K. Blige as my sister put it. I patiently explained Mary K. is a cosmetics company, Mary J. is an R&B singer) Dave Matthews, Tony Bennett and Aerosmith.
Only cardmembers can attend these concerts. This is a brilliant example of word of mouth advertising. Create something that is worthy of being talked about - tie it in with the brand (exclusivity, VIP status, hip musical acts) and provide a trigger for that word of mouth (private concert for Press people and online PR campaign).
Well, it worked. I heard about the event, I want to go see these private performances - but I have to get the credit card first. As luck would have it, I am not happy with my current credit card provider and am a prime candidate for the picking.
In the press releases online (Search engines love online press releases - you are using PRweb aren't you?) they have a url you can click to to learn more about the concert series -here it is
Here's where the brilliant strategy breaks down....