As commercial requirements vary considerably, it is best to give Marvo a call.

Marvo often does balloon modelling at sales promotions, the latest being at Specsavers Ammanford.

He will be pleased to provide you with an invoice which can be used for tax purposes and a confirmation of booking if requested.

For larger corporate bookings, such as the major holiday parks, Marvo will insist on your booking through an entertainment agency, who will price accordingly.

Marvo does most of his agency bookings through Alan Phillips Entertainments, Llanelli, Tel 01554 750525 and Phillip Morgan Entertainments,Ystradgynlais, Tel 01639 843399.

Marvo has performed at Kiln Park Holiday Village, Lydstep Bay Holiday Park, National Botanical Gardens and many other large venues.

To check availability or book, telephone: 07877293844

For some ideas on how to promote a small business please scroll down.

 

 

 

 

 

 How to Advertise a Local Business Promotional Event using a Children's Entertainer - Tips

Timing

Identify a busy time of year and plan to have your family day or promotion just at the beginning of the rise in business. The reason for this is that the objective is to gain a bigger market share during the busy period rather than extend, or attempt to change the purchasing habits of your clients, a task that is very difficult indeed

Advertising

The form of advertising used will depend largely on the type of business and the client base. Failure to advertise properly is the number one cause of failure.

One of the most effective ways to advertise a family day is to simply design a flyer on Microsoft word or similar. It does not need to be complicated but apart from the obvious, the venue, the date etc the word "Free" should be emphasised. So "Come and see Marvo the Magician for Free on our family day" or something similar will go down well. You need to print off a couple of hundred of these. To make the leaflet cheaper, do it on landscape, then cut the A4 sheet in half so that you get two leaflets on one page. Coloured paper rather than white paper will usually bring in a better result.

Put one in your window, then go about town and ask small businesses such as shops and landrymats if they will be willing to let you put one on display take blue tac, not sellotape as the residual gum is hard to remove from windows. The vast majority will say yes, concentrate on those who already have some other adverts displayed. Try and place them at eye level where possible. Now take a few plastic see-through pockets, the ones they use in loose-leaf files, put your adverts in them with the closed end of the pocket on top. Fold and cello tape such that it becomes a waterproof holder with the open end on the bottom. Cut a few pieces of cardboard, hardboard or mdf and affix this leaflet to it. Make sure there is a little mdf or whatever above and below your leaflet to make screw holes. This small placard can be screwed using a power screwdriver, nailed or tied to various items such as telegraph poles, lamposts, etc within your vicinity. I am not sure about the legality of this, so be careful. If they are only up for a few days and you take them down quickly there probably wont be many, if any complaints. By the time the council gets to investigate any, there wont be any point because they will be down! Remember to drill holes in the mdf first, it makes it a lot easier. For metal lamposts you can use large cable ties, but you will need two holes on the top and two holes on the bottom of your mdf. Note that these large cable ties can be purchased quite cheaply from most pound shops.

Place all placards at the eye level of the average lady.

Be sure to put some placards on the routes parents take to fetch their children from school, there will be several to each school, some schools have rear entrances as well. The remaining leaflets should be given to parents whilst fetching their children from school, especially those waiting outside the gates, they need something to talk about and your family day is a good subject. Also drop some off for clients at the hairdressers (very good, leave a few), post office, library and local cinema. The queue outside the local cinema is also a good target for leafleting.

All the above should be done one week before your event, not so soon that they will forget and not too late that they will not have time to tell friends, relatives and neighbours about it.

As you are having a children's entertainer, be sure to leaflet houses with children's playthings in the gardens.

Try putting leaflets on the car windscreen wipers. I don't know if it is legal but it is a lot faster than putting them through letter boxes, be gentle with the wipers only lift them just enough to slip the leaflets in. Stay away from Rolls Royces and the likes! Of course don't do it if you think it is going to rain. Avoid council car parks, you have been warned by me, I have been warned by the council!

When leafleting, go yourself, don't ask your staff as you will get the chance to meet people personally, which is of course always a good marketing strategy.

A local newspaper advert, but only if it is cheap, get yourself a good deal, bargain with them.

Radio Advertising

This is a very effective way of advertising but can be expensive. It is, however, well worth giving your local radio station a call and explain what you are doing. They can sometimes give you good deals. It is well worth doing if you can get a decent price.

Charity Events

Some businesses host a charity event. This has some advantages. Bouncy castle companies, DJs and the like will often offer their services free, and radio stations etc may give free advertising. It can be done quite cheaply and even raise some money for charity. However, while this is good for charity I have my doubts as to its effectiveness for a business promotion because the customers will identify with the charity rather than the sponsoring business. In other words, it will not generally be seen as a goodwill gesture by the business.

Please Note:

Marvo only gives discounts to children's charities and then only one or two a year because he gets inundated with such requests. Marvo contributes regularly to Volunteer Services Overseas, a charity that sends doctors to third world countries.