FAQ

While it’s tempting to answer this question with a simple ‘the earlier the better’, the time that you start to promote your event will depend on a number of factors.
Some things to consider are:

• size/capacity of venue
• type of admission – e.g. ticketed; door sales; free entry
• geographical location of venue
• target audience
• name recognition of artist/event and established fan-base/audience size
• any historical precedent for similar event or artist
• calendar date of event, with regard to season
• other promotional campaigns employed – e.g. print, radio, TV, online, outdoor
• budget !

For example*:

Indie-Hipster-Folk-Dubstep Band ‘X’ are launching their debut album in mid-January at a 400 capacity well known venue in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. They have been getting regular airplay on local community radio and minor national airplay through Triple J. They will run a ¼ page ad in one of the street press mags a fortnight out from the gig and again the week of the show, with the magazine publishing a feature article on them as part of the deal. As a ‘subscriber band’ they have also taken out a free radio ad with 4ZZZ FM and been allotted a time for an on air interview.

Entry to the show is $15 at the door and there are two other well-regarded groups on the bill, one of whom is a known crowd-puller who have not performed for some time.
The band have allotted $600 for distribution and have produced 300 A2 posters to advertise the event.
As the gig is at a time of year when things are a bit quieter, there is a little less competition, but most people have returned home from the Christmas/New Year holiday season and are ready to get back in to the swing of things.

Distribution was booked to commence mid-December, about 4 weeks out from the event, and prior to Christmas, with further rounds of replenishment distribution planned for 2 weeks prior to, as well as a week before the show. A booking of 300 posters will mean good saturation of the Brisbane CBD and the inner-city and some extra palpable penetration into the wider metropolitan area, particularly in the city urban fringe suburbs like Paddington, Toowong, Kelvin Grove, Annerley, Stones Corner etc.

The Outcome:

The gig was a success! The show attracted 350 punters, of which about 35 were on the ‘guest list’.
At $15 a head, the group recouped their costs, was able to pay the other two bands a respectable fee and made some coin themselves. Oh, and they sold a bucket-load of CD’s and merch and got a couple of positive reviews in the press, growing their audience and furthering their career. Yay!!!

*While many of the factors highlighted in this example are based in reality and are components of many similar scenarios happening in the entertainment world day-in, day-out, Pinpoint can no more predict the success of your event (based on your own factors), as it can transform Tony Abbott from an ardent monarchist to a staunch republican.
Please note that this example is a guide only, though a pretty (real) good one, and that for the best, detailed advice relating to your particular campaign needs, hit us up nice and early and we’ll help you get prepared.

Again there is no set answer to this, and you should refer to FAQ No.1 for the aspects that will influence your marketing plan. However, your budget is probably the overriding factor, as it will determine how many posters or flyers you can afford to print and distribute.

Some very basic guide quantities are:

• 100 posters/4000 flyers = single distribution run in BRISBANE NETWORK (CBD, INNER-CITY & METRO)
• 50 posters/2000 flyers = single distribution run in IPSWICH CENTRAL
• 75 posters/3000 flyers = single distribution run in IPSWICH CENTRAL & SUBURBS
• 125 posters/4500 flyers = single distribution run in IPSWICH CENTRAL & SUBURBS + SPRINGFIELD & ROSEWOOD
• 50 posters/2000 flyers = single distribution run in TOOWOOMBA CENTRAL
• 350 posters/10,000 flyers = single distribution run in COMPLETE SEQ NETWORK (BRISBANE, IPSWICH, TOOWOOMBA, SCENIC RIM (BOONAHSHIRE), LOCKYER VALLEY, SUNSHINE COAST & GOLD COAST)

At Pinpoint we pride ourselves on ultra-high utilization rates that minimize and often eliminate waste.

Put bluntly, when you supply us with your materials, we distribute them! Sure, for larger long term campaigns it is better to be safe than sorry and it may transpire that there are some surplus materials. We don’t however, operate the business inversely like some other distributors – booking jobs that far exceed capacity and effectively making profit on the materials they throw away.
Instead we aim for a 90-100% utilization rate on poster campaigns under 150 units and an 80-100% utilization rate on larger jobs. Flyers and brochures are guaranteed to be 100% distributed within the life of the campaign. No ifs and no buts. Want us to prove it? Request a comprehensive photo report

This is usually just a matter of common sense but also requires that you have some idea of your target audience. For instance, if you are putting on an indie rock & roll gig in a small venue in say, West End, then it would follow that, as well as West End itself, you would most likely target your distribution around the Brisbane CBD and other parts of the inner-city (Fortitude Valley, New Farm, South Brisbane, Highgate Hill etc.), with the depth of coverage determined by what your operating funds allow.
(You would benefit from Pinpoint’s ability to prioritize the placement of your materials in relation to your audience demographic, whatever your budget.)
In another example, you may be staging a show for young infant children in a Community Hall in say, Indooroopilly. This would be an ideal scenario for you to take advantage of our Custom Distribution service, where we would distribute your collateral throughout Brisbane’s western suburbs, to relevant venues like child care & play centres, public swimming pools, major shopping complexes and libraries. If you are unsure of the best geographical focus for your particular marketing material, we will be only too happy to help – it’s all part of the Pinpoint service.

Your valuable marketing collateral is neatly placed in a variety of largely retail establishments such as cafes, restaurants, bars, delis, record stores, music shops, fashion outlets, hotels, hairdressers, cycle dealers, antique shops, booksellers, fitness centres, juice bars, cinemas, liquor stores, drycleaners, Op Shops, backpacker hostels, dance studios, rehearsal spaces, live music venues, tattoo parlours, radio stations, launderettes, bakeries, convenience stores, greengrocers, snack bars, health & well being stores, florists etc.
As well as non-commercial civic venues like Council libraries, art galleries, museums, community noticeboards, medical centres, public swimming pools, educational institutions (universities, TAFE’s, colleges), sporting clubs, child care centres, community organizations, youth clubs and information kiosks etc.

At Pinpoint we take accountability seriously. Every placement* is photographed and each location visited, logged. A sample number of photographs are provided free of charge on completion of the campaign. For a full, comprehensive photo report of your materials ‘in situ’, in PDF and MPEG video formats, an additional fee of $25 applies. This is to cover the administrative costs of producing the report. Preferably, please request this when booking, but rest assured you can order a full report at any time after completion of your campaign as photographs are kept on file for at least 12 months. Location Reports are also available on request, and come as standard with any Custom Distribution booking.

*Some circumstances do prevent the taking of photographs – e.g.: the position of customers or patrons and ‘Delivery Only’ outlets such as Council libraries.

Aah, that thorny question!
Of course, the nature of this service means that nobody can guarantee any set display time for any poster, anywhere…..but the general rule of thumb is that high traffic areas (Brisbane CBD/inner-city etc.) usually afford 1-2 week’s exposure, with display life increasing, sometimes dramatically, as you move through to the outer suburbs. For Ipswich, exposure can be considerably longer than Brisbane but bear in mind there are many factors that can determine the ‘wall innings’ of a poster, such as the number of other concurrent campaigns, interior changes at host outlets, non-professional distributors ‘breaking protocols’ etc. The unit fee you pay for your poster, flyer or brochure effectively guarantees a display life of one distribution cycle – 2 weeks – however this can be longer depending on the number of campaigns in the field at the time. For longer term campaigns you should allocate one unit per fortnight to ensure continued exposure to the date that you require.

The short answer is ‘NO!’ as this is usually illegal and will mean our business won’t survive very long!
There are however, a small number of approved or tolerated exterior spots in certain places, West End for example, where we may occasionally place collateral alongside other existing materials.
Taping posters to telegraph poles/traffic light posts/road signs/public rubbish bins is not part of the way we roll, and you would be well advised to avoid trying it yourself, lest you wish to see your entire promotional budget, and indeed entertainment venture, disappear down the gurgler faster than the intro to a Ramones song. And we mean a live version.

Absolutely YES!! Pinpoint offers 10% discount for students, pensioners and 4ZZZ subs – just present the applicable validating card when booking and it’s locked in! We will also consider discounted pricing for not-for-profit campaigns if the intention aligns with our values.

Oh, and remember, as mentioned at FAQ No.8, you may be up for a discount if we think your not-for-profit campaign rocks!