Advanced Internship Final Report

Advanced Internship Research Paper,

ADVANCED INTERNSHIP RESEARCH PAPER

Prepared by

Mackenzie Hussman

A course paper presented to Programs for Business Administration

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Bachelor of Science Degree

Advanced InternshipFranklin Pierce University

November, 2009

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Table of Contents

Organization.........................................................................................................................4 Description of Organization............................................................................................4 Description of Products...................................................................................................5 Organization Philosophy and Practices..........................................................................6 Organizational Structure.................................................................................................8 Human Resource Management.......................................................................................8 Analysis of Target Markets.............................................................................................9 Analysis of Marketing Mix...........................................................................................11 Financial Statements and Analysis of Financial Data...................................................14 Summary of Firm’s Strengths and Weaknesses............................................................14 Implications for Strategy Development........................................................................15

Environment.......................................................................................................................16 Economic Conditions and Trends.................................................................................16 Cultural and Social Values and Trends.........................................................................17 Technological Trends....................................................................................................17 Political and Legal Issues..............................................................................................18 Raw Material Availability/Trends................................................................................19 Ecological and Green Trends........................................................................................20 Summary of Environmental Opportunities and Threats...............................................21 Implications for Strategy Development........................................................................22

Industry..............................................................................................................................22 Classification.................................................................................................................22 Description of Industry.................................................................................................22 Analysis of Existing Competitors.................................................................................23 Analysis of Substitute Products....................................................................................24 Analysis of Suppliers....................................................................................................24 Analysis of Buyers........................................................................................................24 Industry Opportunities and Threats..............................................................................25 Implications for Strategy Development........................................................................25

Employer Supervisor.........................................................................................................26 Length of Service/Experience.......................................................................................26 History with Company .................................................................................................26 Education Level............................................................................................................27 “If I had to do it all over”..............................................................................................27

Description of Duties.........................................................................................................27 Reiteration of Goals and Objectives.............................................................................27 Quality of Instruction....................................................................................................28 Self-Start or Directed....................................................................................................28 Problems Encountered..................................................................................................29 Methods Used in Problem Solving...............................................................................30

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Realities of the Internship as Compared to Preconceptions..........................................30

Conclusion.........................................................................................................................31 Goals and Objectives Achieved....................................................................................31 Learning Experience.....................................................................................................31 Most Valuable Experience............................................................................................31 Person(s) Most Helpful.................................................................................................32 Application of Skills and Knowledge from Undergraduate Course Work...................32 Impact of Internship......................................................................................................33

References..........................................................................................................................34

Appendixes........................................................................................................................36 Appendix A...................................................................................................................36 Appendix B...................................................................................................................42

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Organization

Description of Organization

Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion is New Hampshire’s leading outdoor

amphitheater. Their goal is to provide a quality musical experience to all who visit. With a slogan

of “Lovin’ it live!,” they cater many concert enthusiasts with a variety of music genres.

Meadowbrook is located on Rout 11A in Gilford, New Hampshire, which is a very centralized

location. Starting with just a handful of people when it was founded, Meadowbrook now employs

approximately 500 people seasonally and eight people annually. Sales are made by selling tickets

to people that want to hear various artists and bands play live music. There are also fourteen

vendors within the pavilion’s grounds that sell merchandise, food and beverages. VIP parking

closest to the stage is just one more way that Meadowbrook conducts sales and make profits.

Starting with more humble beginnings, Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion used to be called

Meadowbrook Farm. When Meadowbrook was founded in 1996 by Bob Harding, it only had a

temporary stage with 2,500 portable seats and the capacity to hold 2,000 people on the lawn.

Today, the venue has evolved into a permanent stage with a covered pavilion that seats 3,097

under the roof, 540 reserved benches and 2,850 general admission lawn seats. In 2005,

Meadowbrook set up what they call the Second Stage. This is where local bands come to play

before and after the main show and by doing this, they are enriching the every viewer’s

experience. Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion is a privately held company. It is ever-changing

and making improvements because it is still a rather young venue. In 2007 Meadowbrook happily

accepted the award for Best Venue of the Year by the Academy of County Music (Meadowbrook,

2009).

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Description of Service

Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion provides a music service to its customers. They

hire a variety of bands and individual performers that can suite just about anyone’s musical taste.

From metal and rock to acoustic and country, Meadowbrook hosts an array of genres. The

amphitheater is New Hampshire’s midsized venue with the Manchester Verizon Wireless Area

being the largest and the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom being the smallest. By being a

midsized venue, Meadowbrook is able to provide a large show and still maintain a somewhat

intimate feeling between the artist and the fans. It is that balance that keeps customers coming

back year after year.

Due to the variety of music styles, Meadowbrook tailors its services for each concert.

For the Rock On Fest, an on site tattoo artist was hired because that was something desired

demographic of rock music listeners. When a country singer comes to perform, venders set up

tents with cowboy hats and boots. At the MVT Music Fest, teens were the main attendants and

Meadowbrook hired more ice cream vendors and “Rock the Vote” tents were set up to encourage

teen and young adult voting. If there is a concert where mostly women are in the audience,

Meadowbrook will have a “Ladies Night” theme where they can have manicures and pedicures.

Having different experiences at the same venue makes Meadowbrook’s service very unique to the

area.

Each concert may provide a different experience, but Meadowbrook also offers a few

services that are consistent no matter who is performing. Meadowbrook houses its own ticket

taking service. All the tickets ever sold are either through the Meadowbrook website, ordering

over the phone or in person at the box office. They could sell tickets through Ticketmaster, but

customers appreciate being able to buy straight from the source and it also gives Meadowbrook

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more control over their ticket sales. Meadowbrook also offers season passes as well as the option

for individuals to become Inner Circle Members, which allows members to purchase tickets before

the general public. Once inside the gates, there are food and beverage vendors, The Citizen

newspaper representatives, and employees playing interactive games with customers for a chance

to win prizes.

Meadowbrook also has added the extra service of dinner and a show. They have what

is called the Center Stage Café where people can arrive before a show and have dinner in a private

hall overlooking the stage. All meals are provided for by the Boston Culinary Group. This is just

another way that Meadowbrook provides a whole experience to the customer.

Organization Philosophy and Practices

Meadowbrook has a strong philosophy that everyone that walks through their gates

should have an exceedingly enjoyable experience. They believe in fairness to all of their

employees and they also realize the impact that they have on the community. The atmosphere

there is very professional, yet light hearted. The owner of Meadowbrook and his wife, RJ Harding

and Bridget Harding, make it feel like a family oriented business while still keeping the

professionalism. In fact, the box office was once a home and has been made over to accommodate

about fifteen workers and their offices. There are only eight full time workers, many having been

with the company from the start. Due to the years of experience with each other, they are able to

have a relaxed attitude while still getting their work done. This makes for a very enjoyable work

culture to interact with.

There are seasonal workers that do not work in the box office. These positions

include, parking attendants, ushers, bar tenders, security guards, sales personnel and maintenance

workers. Each category of workers has their own supervisor to instruct them on their tasks during

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a performance. Most supervisors have been working with Meadowbrook for several years, while

many other employees are students working summer jobs. Their role in the company is vastly

different than working in the box office. These employees are interacting face to face with all the

customers where as the box office does more behind the scene work and works directly with the

bands.

Meadowbrook is aware of the impact they make on society, specifically central New

Hampshire. Not only does Meadowbrook deliver quality music to its customers, but it also

provides employment to hundreds of local people over the summer. It is important to the company

that they give back to the community that has embraced them so willingly. This is why they have

created the Meadowbrook Performing Arts Charitable Foundation. Their mission statement is,

“To enhance the educational and cultural well-being of the community through scholarships and

other programs designed to expose citizens to a wide array of music and other performing arts”

(Meadowbrook, 2009). With these beliefs, Meadowbrook has created the Ronald A. Taranrino

Scholarship Fund and the Robert L. Harding “Rock On” Scholarship Fund. The Taranrino

scholarship is awarded every year to a Gilford High School senior planning to attend college. The

“Rock On” scholarship is given to a Lake Region High School senior who is continuing their

education in the arts. Meadowbrook fundraises these scholarships by hosting a charitable golf

tournament and holding online charity auctions. In 2004, Meadowbrook also presented the Gilford

Village Bandstand Concert Series, a free summer concert series given to the town to promote the

enjoyment of music. This company is very much involved with its community and supports it in

multiple ways.

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Organizational Structure

The owner of Meadowbrook, RJ Harding, is at the head of all major decision making.

This means that Meadowbrook has a centralized organizational structure. Like the spokes of a

wheel, the rest of the full time workers stem off of RJ with their different departments. RJ is the

one to work directly with the talent managers and coordinate time and price for shows. He does

this over the winter months, well before the summer series begin. Once he has worked out a series

schedule then the other departments follow. The marketing department begins to work out how

many radio and television ads will be necessary. The public relations department starts to inform

people who is coming for the season. The graphic artists design billboards, posters and cards. The

web is updated, finances are balanced, ticket sales are being made and summer workers are being

hired. All jobs flow from the initial work of the owner. The heads of each department hold

weekly meetings so that everyone will be on the same page going forward with the week. RJ

instructs any tasks that need undertaking and the heads of the departments then go and pass that

message onto all part time workers if necessary. This structure works very well for Meadowbrook.

Human Resource Management and Development Practices

Meadowbrook is a smaller company and the entire Human Resources department is

run by the ower’s wife, Bridget Harding. Most tasks are carried out by Bridget, but the different

divisions of Meadowbrook are responsible for the hiring process. When jobs become available,

Bridget makes them known to the public and informs the different divisions when the hiring

process begins. Bridget has the final say over all the seasonal staffing.

The training needs of seasonal employees are carried out by the heads of the different

divisions. For example, the head of food and beverages will train the bar tenders and the head of

security trains the bouncers. Employees working in the box office have to have a good deal of

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training because need to know the ticketing program as well as the general information for every

show. All training in the ticketing booth is done one on one with an experienced employee.

Company policies are all put in a handbook that employees receive when they first

begin work. This handbook includes job expectations, Meadowbrook’s ethical beliefs and dress

code. This handbook was created by Bridget and was approved by RJ. At the beginning of each

concert season, an orientation is held so all employees start work on the same page. The day

before each concert, emails are sent out to all employees from RJ informing everyone of any

specific changes.

The most important job that Bridget has as the Human Resource Manager is making

sure all departments are operating smoothly the day of a concert. She checks in with the heads of

all departments and they convey any messages back to their employees. Keeping employees

focused during a concert is one of the major responsibilities of each department. It can be all too

easy for an employee to stand around and enjoy a free concert. By hiring attentive employees,

Meadowbrook strives to have an active and happy staff.

Analysis of Target Market

Target markets can be divided into gender, age, location, income and education.

Meadowbrook tends to focus their efforts on age, gender and location. For every style of music,

there is a different target market. In the past, Meadowbrook has housed music styles such as

classical, rock and roll, punk rock, jazz, pop, folk, rap and reggae. These are just a few, but

country music is by far Meadowbrook’s biggest genre they cater too. This makes country music

listeners Meadowbrook’s main target market. This is because of the popularity of country music

in New Hampshire and other New England states. Country radio station WOKQ out of Dover has

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over 110,000 listeners making it by far the most popular radio station in New Hampshire and

Boston area (WOKQ, 2009).

Gender, age location and income are important factors to the overall target market of

Meadowbrook. Both men and women enjoy listening to live music, but women are the ones with

the most buying power. In a recent study, it was found that 80 percent of all consumer purchases

are made by women (Shafer, 2009). Meadowbrook does not ignore the buying power that women

have. To better target this gender market, Meadowbrook caters a portion of their marketing to

appeal to women. By targeting many hair salons across the state, Meadowbrook was able to put up

concert series posters, leave flyers and give ten dollar gift cards to salon employees. The reason

behind this being, that women going to get their hair done will see the posters and flyers and

become aware of the concerts. Salon employees receive gift cards as type of reward for housing

the advertisements. Meadowbrook also hosts a “Ladies Night” when women are expected to be

the majority of viewers for the night. An example of this would be when the singer Blondie gave a

concert. Meadowbrook sponsored a “Ladies Night” where different salons came and pampered the

women there. By having events like this and advertising in salons, Meadowbrook’s concerts are

able to appeal to women.

Targeting a specific age varies for each concert. When Meadowbrook is hosting a

concert that will appeal to a younger audience, they will advertise more heavily on the Internet.

Creating Facebook and Myspace ads is an effective way to target a younger demographic.

Facebook was originally developed as a social network for college students, but in September of

2007 it opened its web pages to all ages. The number of users ages twelve to seventeen increased

149 percent in no time (Davis, 2009). When targeting to an older audience, Meadowbrook uses

numerous forms of print advertising. An older demographic is more likely to pick up a newspaper,

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magazine or flyer and receive information that way. Meadowbrook puts more of its efforts into

these forms of advertising when it is expected that an older crowd will come to a show.

Location is another factor when targeting potential Meadowbrook customers. With

close to 75 percent of New Hampshire’s population living in the southern end of the sate,

Meadowbrook has to put a great deal of effort into drawing some of that population up to them

(New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning, 2008). Overall, Meadowbrook targets all ages

and both genders in all of New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. They do not specifically target

Massachusetts because Boston has so much to offer. Radio and television ads are an affective way

to reach Vermont and Maine, but New Hampshire is targeted much more heavily. The majority of

the posters, flyers and billboards are within the state, specifically the southern half, due to the

higher population.

Lastly, the amount of disposable income a person has is important to Meadowbrook’s

target market. Paying to go see a live concert is a novelty, so Meadowbrook tends to target those

people who can afford to spend extra money for a concert. This is done through online

advertising, television commercials and posters of the concert series in places like malls,

restaurants and movie theaters.

Analysis of Marketing Mix

Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion is very conscious of its marketing mix. They pay

close attention to their products, place, prices and promotions. It is important that all four factors

of the marketing mix work fluently with each other. Meadowbrook’s products are the concerts

they hold in their amphitheater, but it is not just the music they are selling, it is the whole

experience. It is a goal of the company that every customer feels like they are at an event with

much more going on than just a concert. This is done by offering a dinner at the Center Stage

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Café, having outside vendors come and Meadowbrook staff interacting with customers. Having a

personalized experience at Meadowbrook is key to the company. They sell all their tickets in-

house, so if anyone has a question or concern they are welcome to call or come into the box office.

Meadowbrook also sells their tickets at the Tanger Outlet Center Mall in Tilton, New Hampshire

and the Alton Traffic Circle General Store in Alton, New Hampshire. By having these two

alternative locations to sell tickets, Meadowbrook is able to sell their products to more consumers.

When booking concerts before the season starts, it is best to not have the same genre of music in

the same week or weekend. By separating like performances, Meadowbrook is able to offer their

similar products all throughout the season and keep fans coming back repeatedly.

The place where Meadowbrook is located is important to the marketing mix because it

can be both a positive and a negative. Being located in central New Hampshire, Meadowbrook

can be easily accessed from anywhere in the state as well as Vermont and Maine. On the negative

side, most of its market is located to the south and it can be difficult at times to draw customers up.

The actual Meadowbrook pavilion is kept very clean. After every show, workers clean the

grounds the following morning. Free parking in spacious lots with walking paths to the pavilion

make for a pleasant transition from the lot to the stage. Once inside the gates, customers can

choose from a variety of activities to enjoy themselves with before the main attraction.

Meadowbrook puts in calculated effort when it comes to the price of their concerts.

When the owner RJ Harding begins to have contact with an artist’s manager, a range of prices is

given to him. Meadowbrook then compares this price range to past performances and they also

ask the radio stations their opinions on whether they think the tickets will be in demand and sell.

A price is finally settled on where RJ believes he can sell the most tickets and still make a profit.

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With so many entertainment options for consumers to spend their money on, attending

live concerts receives the least money in the entertainment industry. With television, gambling

and the Internet taking up a large portion of the industry, live music is the smallest with only 1.0

percent of the industry (Rapino, 2006). Meadowbrook looks at this as an opportunity for growth.

With such a small share in the entertainment consumer spending market, promotion is a top

priority for them. Radio is one of the biggest areas of promotion for Meadowbrook. Radio

listeners already show an interest in music and are therefore more likely to make a connection with

an artist coming to Meadowbrook. Television commercials are tailored to the type of audience

that will watch a particular television station. New Hampshire’s local news network is WMUR

and Meadowbrook promotes the majority of their ads to this station. In trying to target specifically

women, Meadowbrook might have a commercial time slot on the HGTV station because the

majority of those viewers are women.

In keeping with promotion, Meadowbrook put a lot of effort into drawing in

consumers and trying to expand that 1.0 percent of the market. When gas prices reached a record

high in the summer of 2008, Meadowbrook came up with a unique promotional idea that kept

concert sales up. Whatever the national average for a gallon of gas was at the time, Meadowbrook

promised to deduct that price from the sale of a single ticket. At one point in time over that

summer, the national gas price average got as high as $4.10 a gallon for regular grade (Energy

Information Administration, 2008). Meadowbrook advertised that they would pay for the first

gallon of gas it took people to get to the show. Consumers thought this was a great gesture and

value and ticket sales never suffered despite the rise in the cost of gas that summer. Other

promotions that Meadowbrook does on a year-to-year basis are three to five dollar discounts on

tickets after two weeks, chances to win a meet and greet pass with the band and free giveaways on

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the radio. Consumers see all of these as added value, which is the point behind Meadowbrook’s

promotions.

Financial Statements, Profits, and other Financial Data

Meadowbrook US Cellular did not make any of their financial data public knowledge.

Summary of Firm’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion has many strengths that will ensure the future of

the company. Meadowbrook thrives on being independent. Independence is one of their greatest

strengths because it allows them to give direction to the company however they see fit. By staying

private they are able to have an in-house ticketing system and not answer to another larger

corporation such as Ticketmaster for example. Meadowbrook is environmentally cautious and

they care about the impact that they have on the surrounding area. This is a strength to them

because people care about how a company operates and the impact that is has on the environment.

By going “green” they are able to appeal to those people who have a genuine interest in the

environment. Another strength is that Meadowbrook has grown to the perfect size. They have

reached that perfect balance of fitting the maximum amount of people while still maintaining an

intimate feel. If it were any smaller, they would not be able to book some of the more well known

artists and if it were any larger, people would loose that connection they feel while attending a

concert. By being New Hampshire’s midrange concert venue, they are able to be the perfect

setting to host the shows that they do. Finally, Meadowbrook’s location can be seen as one of its

strengths. They are located in close proximity to Interstate 93, which makes it an ideal location not

too far from Boston. New Hampshire is the only state with no income tax, which appeals to

consumers purchasing tickets.

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Meadowbrook’s location can also be viewed as a weakness to because Gilford is a

very small town. Many of the surrounding towns are small in size too, which makes more work

for Meadowbrook to draw in its customers. Most of New Hampshire’s population resides south of

Concord and a lot of effort is put in trying to get those people to drive that distance to see a show.

Another weakness that they have is not being able to offer their customers a place to set up camp.

Anyone from out of state has to stay in a hotel and there has been great interest for an onsite

camping ground. Meadowbrook has plenty of land to house a seasonal camping ground, but the

town of Gilford restricts them from doing so. If they were able to offer a camping ground on their

property, it would not only be another source of income, but they would be filling a consumer

demand.

Implications for Strategy Development

Based on the previously stated strengths and weaknesses, Meadowbrook needs to

remain true to the company and stay independent. If they were ever bought out, they would be

jeopardizing what makes them unique. Meadowbrook should not take what they have for granted.

When addressing their weaknesses, Meadowbrook should continue to try and draw people up to

them because that is where the majority of the population is. The fact that the live concerts hold

such a small percentage of the entertainment market is a weakness to Meadowbrook. They have to

keep a close watch on the types of shows in demand for the area to ensure that the maximum

amount of tickets will be sold. They could do this by analyzing how each show went in

comparison with the sales. By doing this, they should be more prepared each year to hire new

artists or bring back returning performers.

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Environment

Economic Conditions and Trends

There has been a downturn in the United States economy. In the winter of 2007, the

economy entered a recession and people are still feeling the effects of that today (Leonhardt,

2008). “In ways both large and small, Americans are doing without” (Aversa, 2008). Due to

several crises like the housing market, car manufactures and loss of personal credit, the national

unemployment rate has climbed to 5.1 percent (Aversa, 2008). Americans started to be more

frugal with their money and try to spend less. This in turn puts less cash flow in the economy,

only worsening the issue. The US gross domestic product, or GDP, is a measurement of national

economic activity. In the second quarter of 2009, the GDP decreased 1.0 percent, meaning that the

economy is still in a down turn (GDP and the Economy Advanced Estimates for the Second

Quarter, 2009). With the unemployment rate up and the GDP down, consumers are holding onto

what money they have.

In contrast, the current state of the US economy is better than where it has been in the

recent past. Even though the GDP is down 1.0 percent, that is still better than the 6.4 percent it

was down at the beginning of the year (Averse, 2008). This only reflects the good news that the

Federal Reserve Bank released. The policy-making committee of the Federal Reserve released a

statement saying that they believe the recession is ending (GDP and the Economy Advanced

Estimates for the Second Quarter, 2009). This does seem to be the case because real disposable

personal income increased 3.2 percent this past summer (Leonhardt, 2008). This means that

people are slowly putting their money back into the market. This does not mean the US economy

is back to normal though. Unemployment is still expected to rise a little, causing the recovery to

be a slow one (GDP and the Economy Advanced Estimates for the Second Quarter, 2009).

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Cultural and Social Values and Trends

Meadowbrook is very aware of the cultural trends of New Hampshire and New

England. Today, people value an eco-friendly business and they support those trying to make a

difference in the quality of the environment. Meadowbrook has “gone green” and has taken the

steps to be as environmentally friendly as possible. To let customers know about this,

Meadowbrook has what they call Greenerpalooza. This is a concert that involves all aspects of

protecting the environment and customers respond very well to this.

Meadowbrook is an establishment that does serve alcohol to those who are twenty-one

years old and over. They are aware that some customers like to have a few drinks while watching

a show. They are also aware that others do not drink and therefore have designated areas where

people can enjoy their alcoholic drink while not exposing others to it. This is a trend that other

venues have taken on as well because it respects the needs of everyone.

Technological Trends

Technology is a huge factor in making any modern business function smoothly.

Meadowbrook uses up-to-date technology to ensure a seamless transaction for their ticket sales.

Currently, Meadowbrook is dealing with new technology in several areas. Their box office is

exploring paperless ticketing. This is not only a green effort, but more a deterrent to scalping and

after market ticket sales. There are several factors to consider in this decision. Will the ticketing

system add to the cost of the ticket? Will this actually reduce the amount of aftermarket ticket

purchasing? Will concertgoers be receptive to a paperless ticketing system when many people like

to keep their physical tickets as a keepsake of the concert? Meadowbrook is currently spending

about $10,000 per year to compete against aftermarket ticket companies through various search

engines. This new ticketing program has the potential to be saving the company a lot of money.

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Meadowbrook is constantly trying to utilize the latest technology for marketing. This

includes using social networking sites to spread the word about the venue. Social networking

medias are constantly evolving and require continuous attention. Meadowbrook’s presence on the

web is a crucial component to their business. Over 98 percent of all ticket sales are generated via

the web. They have a very developed website that is easy to navigate and buy tickets.

Political and Legal Issues

When running a business, there are bound to be some legal issues that need to be

addressed. There are several pieces of legislation that are potentially troubling to

Meadowbrook right now. On the state level, there is an idea being considered which consist

of taxing entertainment. This tax would be an extension of the rooms and meals tax and, in

theory, could mean paying tax on things like show tickets, ballgames and the movies. This

proposed entertainment tax would call for 10 percent of their revenue to go to the state. That

would be devastating to many companies. However this effort has temporarily been stalled

due to the difficulty in defining what businesses would be included as entertainment (WMUR

New Hampshire, 2009).

The Performance tax is closer to becoming a reality. This would be a tax

that radio stations would have to pay to record labels for playing their artist’s music. The act

is designed to create more revenue for record labels and artists due to the decline in sales of

physical albums. Internet downloads both legal and illegal have lead to drastic down turns in

the record labels traditional revenue streams. This has lead artist to increase prices on live

performances as well. This tax would radically change the face of radio. “Labels and big

name acts are the only ones who will benefit from PRA. The losers will be radio, any

musician who is not an established headliner, and fans of both music and music on radio”

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(New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters, 2009). Meadowbrook has media relations with

98 radio stations in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. The marketing director of

Meadowbrook, Chris Lockwood, predicts that only 11 of those 98 stations could survive this

added expense and the rest would have to close. This would greatly reduce the geographic

area and number of listeners that Meadowbrook could reach through their primary media

outlet. The existing stations could increase their rates exponentially because of the lack of

competition and need for more revenue. This would leave Meadowbrook having to pay

heavily increased rates to reach much fewer listeners.

The potential merger between the largest concert promoter Live Nation

and the largest ticketing agency Ticketmaster is the most troubling issue in Meadowbrook’s

industry. If this merger were to be allowed by the Department of Justice they would have the

ultimate monopoly on the industry. RJ Harding believes that Live Nation, who controls 75

percent of the artists and tours, would only book shows in venues that have Ticketmaster as

the ticket agent. Independent venues like Meadowbrook would have to either pay more for

the acts to offset the potential loss of ticket selling revenue through service fees or not book

the more popular shows. Meadowbrook would be left with either higher ticket prices or

shows no one would want to see. In turn this monopoly would have no competition in a very

short amount of time, which would allow them to charge whatever they wanted for tickets.

Raw Material Availability/Trends

The performers that Meadowbrook hosts on their stage are considered

their raw material. The price that each performer gets paid can vary greatly depending on

their popularity and how high the demand is for people to come see a show. According to the

owner, RJ, performers are asking for more money because of the lack of album sales due to

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the high percentages of single songs sold online or illegal downloading. This is bad in some

ways for Meadowbrook, but it is also good because there is now a wider selection of

performers going on tour than ever before. By booking more shows, artists hope to make up

the difference from the lack of album sales in the stores.

Ecological and Green Trends

Meadowbrook is very aware of the current green trend that businesses are

taking. Meadowbrook is proud to say that they have “gone green.” They are making every

effort to conserve energy, find alternative energy solutions, recycle and create less waste.

Their goal is to, “Have the least amount of negative impact on our environment”

(Meadowbrook, 2009). They strive to work with all the performers and their fans to achieve

the green goals that Meadowbrook has. Meadowbrook can offer their artists the option of

producing stage shows completely green and environmentally friendly. They do this by using

a new generator that is completely fueled by biodiesels. It is capable of producing enough

power for even the biggest shows, while burning cleaner and more efficiently than any other

petroleum products. Meadowbrook also offers the tour buses and tractor-trailer trucks the

option of filling their tanks with biodiesel, which can be hard to find while traveling.

Meadowbrook is also helping the environment by only purchasing recycled materials for as

many office supplies as possible. They also recycle all their paper and plastic.

The number one way that Meadowbrook pollutes is

by having all the fans drive their cars to come see a show. Over 80 percent of their carbon

footprint is from the fans’ commute (Meadowbrook, 2009). To try and limit the amount of

carbon being polluted by all the cars, Meadowbrook has implemented a Fan Carbon Offset

Program. This is a program designed for when fans purchase a ticket, they have the option of

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donating additional money to organizations committed to renewable energies and the

environment. Summary of Environmental Opportunities and Threats

Based on the stated trends that Meadowbrook is currently dealing with,

there are some key opportunities and threats that they should pay close attention to. One of

the biggest threats that Meadowbrook faces are the possibilities of change the industry

situations are out of their control. There could be an influx in the cost of tickets due to the

Entertainment Tax and lack of artist’s album sales. The New Hampshire Entertainment Tax

threatens Meadowbrook ticket sales because people may be less likely to purchase tickets if

there is a significant amount of tax they have to pay.

In some ways, the digital age of music downloads is a blessing to the

concert business and this is the outlook that Meadowbrook has taken. Artists need to tour and

perform to make up for the decrease in revenue from album sales. So, there will be no

shortage of performers for Meadowbrook to chose from, but the price the artists are asking

will be higher. This is somewhat of a threat to Meadowbrook. Additionally, the market for

venues is spreading out. Due to tough economic times, many venues have closed and very few

new ones are being built according to RJ Harding. Meadowbrook is currently in a cycle of

decline in concert attendance. While overall attendance has increased in 2009, it is due mainly

to a handful of large tours such as U2 and AC/DC. The reality for 99 percent of the acts is

their attendance is down dramatically. This is potentially a positive thing for a venue of

Meadowbrook’s size. They are now able to have access to many more acts that used to fill

much larger venues. The down side is that their larger competitors can still offer cheaper

tickets and have resorted this giving huge discounts in order to continue drawing their

expected audiences.

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Implications for Strategy Development

Based on the above opportunities and threats, Meadowbrook is going to

keep what they are doing the best and that is bringing a live music experience to central New

Hampshire. Even if bills are passed that harms radio stations, Meadowbrook should adapt and

find different ways of advertising, possibly more television commercials for example. If the

price of tickets rise due to the fact that performers are demanding more money, Meadowbrook

will have to offer more promotional discounts to get people to buy. Meadowbrook could also

expand their target market by bringing in even a wider variety of music.

Industry

Classification

The independent live music industry’s North American Industry

Classification System (NAICS) Code is 711130 (North American Industry Classification

System, 2007).

Description of Industry

The live music industry consists of, “Musical groups and artists may perform in front

of a live audience or in a studio, and may or may not operate their own facilities for staging their

shows” (North American Industry Classification System, 2007). The live music industry provides

a musical experience to concert viewers in different genres of music such as rock, classical, rap,

jazz and country. As a whole, this industry falls under the arts, entertainment, and recreation

industry as a form of leisure. This entertainment industry includes about 122,000 establishments in

the United States. The arts, entertainment, and recreation industry provided about 1.9 million

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wage-and-salary jobs in 2006. The performing arts employs 6.3 percent of the entire entertainment

industry (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006).

Analysis of Existing Competitors

Meadowbrook has two major competitors in New Hampshire, the Verizon

Wireless Arena and the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. The industry already differentiates

Meadowbrook from their closest competition because they are an amphitheatre with better

sound quality, but they are at the mercy of the weather. Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom,

located in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, is the smallest venue of Meadowbrook’s

competition. They only have 2000 seats, which limits quality of talent. This particular venue

has a long history and has been holding events since it was build in the early twentieth

century. They offer their guests musical performances as well as stand up comedy. Due to

the fact that their stage is located inside, they have an extended season, which starts in April

and ends in November. Like Meadowbrook, the height of their season is in the summer as

well. Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom boasts that they were, “Recently, placed in the top 30

for worldwide ticket sales in venues under 3,000 seats” (Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom,

2009).

The Verizon Wireless Arena, located in Manchester, New Hampshire, is

the largest and can house over 11,000 people for a concert, but the sound quality is

dramatically reduced. The Verizon also has 34 suites, 5 party suites, and 542 club seats

(Verizon Wireless Arena, 2009). This arena offers a more versatile stage. It can be

converted into an ice arena for hockey or a basketball court and football field. Therefore, the

Verizon offers a different service to the people of New Hampton because it can house several

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different sports. The Verizon has labeled themselves as “New Hampshire's premier sports and

entertainment facility” (Verizon Wireless Arena, 2009).

Analysis of Substitution Products

Any other form of entertainment can be considered a

substitute product to attending a live concert. People have numerous entertainment options

like movies, casinos, amusement parks and going out to dinner. According to the 2007

Entertainment Statistics Market, the average adult American spends $850 a year on

entertainment (Motion Picture Association of America, 2007). Due to the fact that people can

listen to music via many different forms, the radio, an ipod or a CD can all be considered

substitute products to live music. Technology allows people to even listen to music on their

phones. People no longer have to attend a live concert to listen to music.

Analysis of Suppliers

Meadowbrook works with the Creative Arts

Agency (CAA), an entertainment agency that, “Serves as the access point thought which

artist, consumers and global brands intersect to create, acquire and sell entertainment

properties, and to enrich entertainment and brand experience” (Creative Artists Agency,

2009). CAA works with the hundreds of band’s agents for scheduling tours worldwide. It is

their responsibility to work like a liaison with agents and venues like Meadowbrook.

William Morris Endeavor

Entertainment Booking Resource Center (WME) is another talent and literary agency that

Meadowbrook works with to schedule shows. WME provides, “News, information and online

tools for buyers interested in scheduling WME talent for music and theatre events, comedy

performances and speaking engagements” (William Morris, 2009).

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Analysis of Buyers

The buyers at

Meadowbrook are the people who pay money to see a show. The demographics of each show

vary greatly because different types of people like different types of music. Both men and

women attend shows, but ages always vary. Buyers must have some sort of disposable

income because attending a live show is a novelty. Overall, anyone could potentially be a

buyer because music appeals to almost everyone. Industry Opportunity and

Threats As long as

there are people singing or playing instruments, there will always be a need to give live

performances. This is an opportunity for the industry because they know it is not just a trend

and that makes it a safe investment. Artists will always want to play their music for people

and therefore there will always be a need for a stage.

A threat to the industry is the rising cost of ticket prices. Artists are getting greedy and

want more money to make up for the loss of sales due to illegal downloads of songs. If the

cost of tickets get too high, then people might not be willing to pay which would result in less

sales. There is a fine line that should not be crossed because it could hurt every aspect of the

live music industry. Implications for

Strategy Development

If Meadowbrook is forced to raise the price of their tickets because of artist’s demands,

then they will have to work even harder to give them more for their money. They will have to

give their customers more of an experience to make it worth their money. This could include

having more free give-away items at shows or offering discounts for multiple ticket

purchases. Meadowbrook is a mid range concert venue and their prices should reflect that and

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they will do everything they can to keep tickets at the right price point that suite everyone’s

needs.

Employer Supervisor

Length of Service/Experience

My supervisor for my summer internship was Chris Lockwood, director of

Marketing at Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion. He is going onto his third season with

Meadowbrook. Before that he worked for seven years as a Media Relations Specialist for

Elms College in Chicopee Massachusetts.

History With Company

Chris moved back to New Hampshire to be closer to his family when he heard a radio

ad for the Director of Marketing position at Meadowbrook. He thought this wouldbe an interesting

position that would also challenge him, so he began to research about the position online. When

he left for college, Meadowbrook still had a temporary stage and folding chairs in the middle of a

field. Now it has grown into the largest amphitheatre in New England. Although He had no

experience in the musicindustry he still thought he had the right tools to be successful on the job.

During his interview he pointed out that if he was able to sell a four year commitment

to a Catholic Liberal Arts Education with a price tag of over$100,000, then he could easily sell a

$65 ticket to someone's favorite band. Looking back now, Chris believes it more than ever. He

certainly had a huge learning curve when he started at Meadowbrook. He began educating himself

about all genres of music as well as all media outlets in Northern New England and trends in the

industry. He will never forget the Friday before his first ticket on sale, it was Jethro Tull and Peter

Frampton. He had never been sworn at so much in my life, their agents were absolutely brutal. His

boss then informed him that "Every Friday for the rest of my life was going to be like today." He

26


was wrong, the next week it happened on Thursday, then on Wednesday, then Monday and then, it

didn't happen anymore. It certainly is not a job for the faint of heart, but Chris persevered. He

absolutely loves what he does now. Being an independent venue makes him feel like the underdog

all the time. Meadowbrook does not have millions of dollars to throw around like other

companies. They have to fight the competition with limited resources and Chris helps them do

that and more often than not they win.

Education Level

Chris Lockwood has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and Sociology,

Since he did not know exactly what he wanted to do in life, he thought this would give him the

most options because everything is a business and everything has to deal with the interactions

between people. He then received a Master of Arts in Media Studies, which primarily revolved

around communications and live performance management.

“If I had to do it all over”

Chris is pretty happy with where he is today and cannot imagine things much better. In

college he would have liked to have taken more web design and English classes though. He feels

that is where the future is and it would have been beneficial to him to have taken more of those

classes. If you can write and have web skills you will always be able to find rewarding work.

Description of Duties

Reiteration of Goals and Objectives

My goal for the internship at Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion was to learn how the

marketing division functioned in the New Hampshire live music industry. Going into this

internship, I knew some of the responsibilities that would be giving to me and it was my goal to

strive for my personal best for each responsibility given to me. Two months prior to beginning my

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internship, I was told that I would be in charge of the company’s Facebook and Twitter account,

forming media connections with other New Hampshire businesses and getting out of the office and

promoting Meadowbrook’s summer concert series to the public. My ultimate goal was to

accomplish all the tasks given to me while fully grasping the concept of the marketing process.

Quality of Instructions

The quality of instruction that was given to me during my internship at Meadowbrook

is an invaluable step to me learning the marketing field. My supervisor always gave me clear

instructions on whatever task needed to be done. He would give me just the right amount of

information that I needed to feel confident in what I was doing, but still gave me room enough to

learn on my own. There were many occasions where I would develop my own technique in

accomplishing a task. If there was ever a time when I was unsure of what to do, I never hesitated

to ask Chris or any other coworker a question, as long as I got the information I was seeking. I

received instructions from almost all of the divisions at the box office. This included the divisions

of marketing, promotions, sales, human resources, pubic relations and working directly with some

of the bands and performers. I feel that by receiving instructions from not only the marketing

department, I got a more well rounded knowledge of the inter-workings of the industry.

Self-Start or Directed

All throughout the internship, I was receiving directed guidelines of how to do my

work. I would usually receive an email every morning from my supervisor Chris informing me of

how to do a task and what was expected of me. If I ever needed more information, I would go to

his office and ask him questions. Once I had been given my tasks, I would be on my own in

accomplishing them, while still being checked up on every so often. As time went on, I would

need fewer and fewer check ups because I knew what was expected of me. An example of my

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work that was more self-started would be when I would drive around to various locations

throughout the state and hang posters and leave flyers and coupons. I was never told exactly

which establishments to go to, I was just given the general outline of what places would most

likely be best for Meadowbrook’s promotional pieces. A task that I did that was very directed was

when I made several Facebook ads online. I was told exactly what to write, what picture to place

in the ad and exactly how much money to spend on the ad and how long it would run for. In both

instances, self-started and directed, I learned how to receive directions and successfully carry out

the tasks.

Problems Encountered

The overall internship ran fairly smoothly, but there were a few problems that I

encountered during the time that I worked there. One of the biggest problems I encountered was

lack of preparation. There was one instance where I was supposed to go sell tickets at Motorcycle

Week, but the table, chairs, tent and ticketing system were not properly prepared for me to

effectively sell tickets on the first day and therefore, Meadowbrook lost out on one whole day of

selling tickets to bikers. Once we were set up, there was a problem of getting people’s attention

and letting them know what we were offering them.

A problem that occurred more often would be when I was supposed to go and hang

posters and leave flyers at different locations around the state. Whenever I would go out and leave

flyers, I would always take over 1,000 flyers with me. I would leave 30 to 50 flyers at each

location, depending on how much traffic would pass by. Meadowbrook does all its own printing

and to print 1,000 flyers takes a little over an hour. Waiting and hour for printing before I would

drive to Manchester or Nashua was not a good use of time because I would not be able to go to as

many locations in the further away cities.

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Methods Used in Problem Solving

In solving the issue with not being prepared to sell tickets the first day of Motorcycle

Weekend, I asked for help and eventually found everything that I needed. When I was all set up

on the first day, it was just time to pack up and head home. The following morning I knew more

of what to expect and was set up much sooner than the previous day. In trying to get people’s

attention and notice Meadowbrook’s tent, I had made a sandwich board out of two large posters

and placed it where there was the most foot traffic. Many people stopped and read the board that

listed all the concerts for the season. I still wanted more to attract people to our tent, so the next

day I brought the Plinko board game where people could play for different Meadowbrook

promotional prizes. This was very successful in bringing in people out our tent and eventually

selling tickets.

Towards the end of my internship, when I was doing the most traveling and passing

out flyers, my supervisor and I developed a good system of printing the 1,000 flyers the day

before. Who ever was answering ticketing calls that day would be the one to send the flyers to

print and prepare them for me for the following morning. This way I was able to clock in, pick up

the flyers and immediately start distributing them. I was able to make it to many more locations

by doing this.

Realities of the Internship as Compared to Preconceptions

When I first started the internship, I thought I might be calling radio and television

stations and working our schedules for advertisements to air or placing ads in newspaper and

writing press releases. I also thought that I would be working directly with many of the bands and

singers that play shows at Meadowbrook. I knew that I would get to see all the shows for free all

summer and that was a big bonus. When I finally began my internship, I realized that some of my

30


preconceptions were wrong. I did not get to work with various forms of media other than

Facebook and I only got to work with performers for one show. I still got to go to as many shows

as I liked to free of charge, but my day-to-day duties were different than what I first thought. I

ended up working in many different aspects of Meadowbrook’s business. I did focus on

marketing, but I was also able to sell tickets, work with employee files for human resources and

interacting with customers to give them a memorable Meadowbrook concert experience.

Conclusion

Goals and Objectives Achieved

I achieved my goal of learning how the marketing division works at a New Hampshire

live music company. Not only did I learn the marketing process and what is required of the

marketing division, but I was able to learn about several other areas of business as well. I was

exposed to a lot during my time working for Meadowbrook and I achieved all the objectives that

were given to me or that I had set for myself. I achieved my ultimate goal of wanting to know the

marketing process and I walked away with that knowledge and much more.

Learning Experience

I feel this was a great learning experience for me that opened my eyes not only to

marketing, but to other areas of business as well. In receiving a degree in marketing from Franklin

Pierce University, I am required to take classes in other areas of business as well, and this

internship provided me the opportunity to be exposed to other divisions other than marketing.

Most Valuable Experience

My most valuable experience by far was calling various attraction in New Hampshire

to see if they would be willing to participate in a cross promotion with Meadowbrook. I had to call

the head of marketing for Water Country, Story Land, Six Gun City, Whales Tale and Canobe

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Lake Park and talk to them about doing a cross-promotion. Meadowbrook had ten dollar off

coupons for the first time this year, and it was my job to ask other establishments if they would be

willing to pass them out in return for Meadowbrook passing out any coupons they had to offer. In

calling these other amusement parks in New Hampshire, I had to know exactly what I was going to

say, be able to answer any questions they might have and stay vigilant if they wanted me to call

back at a different time or answer emails. This was my most valuable learning experience because

I was proud to work with these other companies. In the end, I got four out of the five to participate

in a Meadowbrook’s first cross-promotion.

Person(s) Most Helpful

The person most helpful to me was defiantly my supervisor Chris Lockwood. He was

the one who would give me the tasks that allowed my to put my marketing skills to work. When I

had accomplished any task, he told me why it was important and how is effected Meadowbrook.

He allowed me to grow on my own while still providing basic structure. Chris would also push me

to think more creatively. Some of the tasks he assigned me I would have never thought of doing

on my own. An example of this would be when he asked me to make sure that every New

Hampshire website that could list Meadowbrook’s concert series did and had the most updated list.

Application of Skills and Knowledge from Business and Related Course Work

I was able to apply many of the courses I have taken at Franklin Pierce University to

my internship at Meadowbrook. My knowledge from all of my marketing classes like Consumer

Behavior, Marketing and Advertising was applied to my internship during various points in time. I

also used my knowledge of Excel from my Spreadsheets class. I was very confident in using the

program when asked and went above and beyond what was expected. I strongly grasped the

concept of teamwork in the workplace in my Principals of Management class. The many team

32


building exercises in class prepared me for when I was working in a hectic atmosphere during

some of the concerts. The golf tournament that Meadowbrook hosted to raise money for

scholarships was a huge part of their public relations. I learned in my Public Relations course that

holding a charitable event like Meadowbrook did puts them in a good light and brings positive

publicity too. Overall, I feel that my experiences at Franklin Pierce and my internship at

Meadowbrook went very well together. Both provided me with a concentration in the field of

marketing, yet allowed me to gain knowledge about other fields of business as well.

Impact of Internship

Throughout the duration of my internship at Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion, I

knew that the experience was having a positive impact on my education. This internship only

confirmed that marketing is the right field for me. I have a strong interest in advertising too and

this internship exposed me to some of that as well. I enjoy listening to many genres of music and I

knew that this internship would keep my interests well. Having the chance to see how New

Hampshire’s largest amphitheater operates was a privilege and this experience helped me to focus

my marketing career goals.

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AppendixesAppendix A, Daily Log

5/19 (8hrs) Today was my first day. The work setting here is kind of relaxed, but everyone still dresses nicely though. I started by printing flyers with all the dates of the concerts on them. I then spent several hours driving to local restaurants, gas stations and stores and posting the flyers. This is definitely a good way to attract local business and also let tourists know about the concerts too. I went to about 60 different places in all and all but 2 places let me post flyers.

When I came back, I received my work T-shirt to be worn at concert events and my employee ID card. It was a very successful first day, even though I worked independently for most of it.

5/20 (8hrs) Today, I used my knowledge of the Excel program. I took the Electronic Spreadsheets class last semester and that really helped today. Chris asked me to make up an info sheet of 8 different local restaurant’s phone numbers, address and hours. I then had to call all the restaurants to ask what the latest time they could stay open in case bands wanted to order food from them after their concert. After that, I drove to all these places to go and get 10 menus from each of them so that we may keep them for bands to order from when they come this summer.

Today I also made a Facebook account under a false name so that I may friend the bands that are coming this summer and promote the concert they will give at Meadowbrook. Social networking is a great tool use because it is so interactive. I learned about this in my Advertising class.

5/21 (7.5hrs) Today, I helped to get ready for our first concert of the season. It is a Rock Fest with 28 different bands coming. Some bands are on the main stage, while others are on the second stage. Each band emailed in their roster of members and I had to create a packet for each member by writing their name and band on it. This took a while because there are so many people coming.

For the other part of the day, I helped to organize all the different radio slot times that Meadowbrook has for the whole summer. I learned that for each performance, Meadowbrook has bought different time slots on different radio stations. I had to update each chart that organized all the time slots for the whole summer.

5/22 (8hrs) Today, I continued to write on different band’s Facebook accounts saying things like “I can’t wait to see you at Meadowbrook.” Also, different groups have been made on Facebook for each concert this summer. People can join these groups if they plan to attend and I also uploaded some pictures to each of those sites.

In preparation for tomorrow’s Rock Fest, I alphabetized all the band members packets after I entered in all the names into one big roster. I then printed passed for all of them with the times they would be playing during the day. I saw that this was rather stressful for some workers because different band members were calling in or emailing with complaints about the time slots they were getting. Some bands wanted to be on the main stage and not second stage too. It all depends on the amount of tickets sold. With

36


everything set, I stuffed the info packets with all that is needed so we can just hand them out at registration tomorrow.

5/23 (4hrs) Today was the first big concert of the season. I worked in the box office helping band members and giving them their packets that I put together the night before. Everyone knew what they were doing even though it was the first concert of the season and everything went smoothly.

5/26 (7.5hrs) Today, I began to look up different Laconia Bike Week websites. Each website had a list of weekly events and it was my job to contact the websites with our 4 Bike Bash concerts. By the end of the day, I was able to see the corrected information posted on a site, which was great. In continuing with the 2009 Bike Week, I found tattoo shops in southern New Hampshire, where I will most likely put posters up to try and draw in bikers from the southern part of the state. A tattoo parlor is a great place to advertise to our target market for that week.

The second part of my day was spent doing some Human Resource work. I entered in all employee personal information into the database. I also had to delete files of people who no longer worked there. Doing this kind of work reminded me of part of my Principals of Management class, which is good.

5/27 (6.5hrs) Today, I worked all day on entering in employee personal information into the computer system and I left an hour early when I was done.

5/28 (8hrs) Today, I put almost 200 miles on my car driving around to tattoo parlors in southern New Hampshire and posting Bike Bash flyers. We are trying to target the biker market who get tattoos as a trend. By posting down south, we are trying to draw people up to our venue. By segmenting the market like this, we hope to successfully target the biker crowd or people who come to bike week to come to our concerts. This kind of thinking and techniques is something that I learned in my advertising class.

6/1 (7.5hrs) Today, I updated news on Facebook and commented on different band’s websites. I gave promo codes on some of them too for fans to win a chance for a meet and greet with the performers. The code was “facebook” so if someone uses that code upon purchase, we know where they found that it. It’s good to keep track of where people find what information and it lets us know what works and what does not.

The second part of my day was spent finding different contact information to other New Hampshire attractions who might want to do a cross promotion with Meadowbrook. I have to email a few, but I plan on calling more people tomorrow. Finally, I began to make a list of different hair salons in southern New Hampshire where I could post flyers and also give $10 off cards for people to give away.

6/2 (7.5hrs) Today, I continued to follow up on contacts from places like Canobie Lake Park, Story Land, Six Gun City, Whales Tale, Water Country and Santa’s Village. It is really important that this cross promotion follows through because this will be constant promotion through the whole summer. Some of the other attractions will be handing out our gift card and in return we will hand out their coupons.

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The rest of my day spent calling the salons that I had made from the list yesterday. I did not get much luck, so I am going to broaden my search to pretty much any salon in cities like Concord, Manchester, Nashua, Salem, Derry, Londonderry, Exeter and Rochester.

6/3 (7.5hrs) By searching online, I found the name and numbers of all the salons I needed. At the end of the day I had 23 salons willing to promote Meadowbrook’s venue. On average, that was about 1 in 4 salons. I also connected with a few more of the New Hampshire attractions and followed through with the ones that have agreed with the cross promotion.

6/4 (7.5hrs) Today, I distributed information that I had collected over the past few day about who I had been calling. I got in touch with the marketing director from Water Country and she agreed to do a cross promotion with us, which is fantastic because Water Country can see up to 10,000 people on a good summer day. I also made a list of different gas stations in the area so that one of our other employees can head out on Monday and hang up big 3x4 banners. Finally, I went to 5 different locations in the Tilton/Laconia area to pick up gift cards that businesses donated for our scholarship golf tournament on Monday.

Meadowbrook has never done any type of cross promotions like this before and we are hoping that it is very successful in keeping a steady flow of people all summer long instead of audiences trailing off towards the end of the summer. It will be interesting to see if this make any difference later on in the season.

6/8 (7hrs) Today was the scholarship golf tournament and I was at hole 17 giving away free Rockstar Energy drinks because they were one of our sponsors. It was fun and I got to sell raffle tickets for some Bose speakers too.

6/9 (7.5hrs) Today I called gas stations around the area to see if they would be willing to have some 2x3 posters of our concert series this summer. I made a list of 20 stations from Plymouth to Gilford, so that was quite successful. I also up dated on Facebook for a few hours.

6/10 (7.5hrs) Today I spent a little time printing flyers and cutting them. I then headed out on the road to distribute the posters, flyers and gift cards to the salons I had called earlier last week. They were all very receptive and they started talking about the concerts. I went all the way down to Rochester, Portsmouth, Salem and Derry.

6/11 (8hrs) I continued on my rout of different salons today. This time I went to Nashua, Manchester and Concord. Hopefully this can get continue to get people coming up from the southern part of the state. When I got back to Meadowbrook, I updated a few radio station accounts, making sure that we have paid them and what not. Also, I have been hearing a lot of ads for our concerts on the radio, even one on a Boston station. It is good to hear this and know that I have helped organize the radio files at work.

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6/12 (6hrs) Today I went out with the other intern Brad to the gas stations in the area and hung up big posters of our concert series. This way people will be able to see the list as they pump gas. This is perfect for getting the word out.

6/15 (8hrs) Today, I finished driving the posters to the gas stations. At noon, I had to get things together to set up a ticket tent outside of the Harley Davidson store in Meredith. Not everything was ready for us to start selling tickets immediately. We had to find all the supplies that were needed. Once we set up a tent, table and banner to be able to sell tickets. I handed out Bike Bash flyers so they could see what we had playing during Bike Week. We did not sell any tickets because by the time we settled down, we had to leave.

6/16 (8.5hrs) I went to go set up the system at the Bike tent at noon today. We sold some tickets, listened to some live music and saw many bikers. It was fun. I set up a wedge board outside the tent that people see as they walk by and that brings a lot of attention. I’ll be doing this, working from 12 to 8 all week.

6/17 (7.5hrs) I worked from noon to 8 again today at Bike Week. We sold 4 more tickets, which was pretty good. I think the best thing that we are doing is just getting the word out about Meadowbrook. On our way to Harley-Davidson, we stopped by a parking lot for bikers at the Weirs to drop off some coupons for attendants to give way. This parking lot is right next to our billboard. When I got back from the Weirs, I helped with promotions and played games of Plinko to people coming in for the concert tonight. We would ask them questions about the band CCR and if they got it right we would give them the chance to win a t-shirt.

6/18 (8hrs) I worked all day at the tent today handing out Bike Bash flyers and answering people’s questions.

6/19 (6hrs) Today, we showed up at 11 because 8 was too early yesterday. We brought the Plinko board for people to win free stuff like cup holders and bracelets. This worked really well because it generated much more interest than just two people sitting at a table. I also went to the Live and Candlebox concert tonight. It was a good show.

6/22 (7.5hrs) Today, we picked up the table and tent from Harley-Davidson. I drove around with Brad to the rest of the gas stations on our list and put up the big 3x2 posters. We found that privately owned stores are more likely to put them up than the big chain gas stations. For the rest of the day, I looked up different cafes and book shops in the north and south west towns of New Hampshire. I made a route and printed all the flyers I would need to hand out and post.

6/23 (8hrs) Today, I started my posting in Meredith, went up to Plymouth, Waterville Valley and Lincoln and worked my way up all the way to Littleton. I then headed over North Conway. The purpose of going to these towns and finding different cafes and book stores was to not only post our concert series, but leave some Diana Krall flyers too. She is a jazz singing and places like cafes and book stores are more likely to have people who listen to jazz. I put 251 miles on my car today.

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6/24 (7.5hrs) Today, I started my posting in Keene and Peterborough. I not only went to cafes and book shops, but I also found a few music stores and posted in them as well. I then made my way over to Milford, Nashua and Manchester. Pretty much all places were very receptive of what I had to offer. I put 197 miles on my car today.

6/25 (8hrs) I started this morning by getting more flyers from work and driving to the Salem and Derry area and putting up more posters and flyers. I also stopped by Canobe Lake Park with 10,000 $10 gift cards that they will pass out to their customers. We have been receiving brochures and coupons from all the locations that have agreed to do the cross promotion with us and it is really great to see my worked followed through. I drove 166 miles today.

6/26 (8hrs) The beginning of my day started with updating on Facebook. I am refining my social networking tools by looking at the fan clubs of the different bands and finding the people who live in the New England area and inform them of when we are showing a concert of who they are a fan of, It does take some time, but doing this could really bring some attention to Meadowbrook. I drove 59 miles.

The second part of my day was spent driving to Portsmouth and putting up more posters and leaving more flyers. Many stores were more than willing to take them, so I hope this kind of advertising brings in people from the sea cost.

Even though I have done a fair amount of driving this week, getting a good coverage of the state is important. Meadowbrook is still rather new and even though a lot of people know about it, there are still those who are unaware of what we have to offer.

6/29 (8hrs) The first part of the day was spent printing over 1,000 Diana Krall discount flyers. There are four other bands on the flyer too that the discount can be applied to, so we are hoping that these help sell more tickets. I then spent the rest of the day driving to every location in Concord and Ffranklin that would take them. It is time consuming driving in and out of parking lots, but it is important to be getting to the locations where people will see the information.

6/30 (8hrs) Today, I drove 150 miles putting up flyers in the western part of the state. I went to towns like Lebanon, Hanover and New London. Sometimes when I go to a place, I can strike up a conversation about a particular band or singer we have coming to Meadowbrook and this can get people excited about who is coming. It is good to have the person to person interaction.

7/1 (7.5hrs) Today. I looked up different places where car cruises are. Places like restaurants and dairy bars have old car shows once a week and we would like to pass out the $10 gift cards to them. Almost every place I called said that I could come and hand them out. I made up a schedule on Excel of when and where all these care shows are located and I will be driving to them next week.

I also looked up and called different boat marinas around the Lakes region to see if they would like to hand out our gift cards to people who buy boats, but also people who fill up their boat’s gas tank. I got five different marinas to commit and the locations ranged from Alton to Meredith, which is a good coverage.

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7/2 (8hrs) Today, I drove all around Lake Winnipesaukee giving the different boat marinas their $10 gift cards. I had special posters made up with each company’s names on them, so they would be more likely to hang them and keep them up. I drove 86 miles around the lake.

The second part of my day was spent being taught the ticket taking program. We are anticipating many phone calls coming up next week when a special concert, not yet announced, goes on sale.

4 Day 4th of July Weekend

7/7 (8hrs) Today, I worked on developing my circle of friends on Facebook while I waited for more flyers to print. These flyers have $3 discounts on them for all the shows. I then drove 149 miles up to North Conway.

7/8 (6hrs) Today, I went into work at noon hoping to stay later and drive to some car shows in the evening and hand out the gift cards, but I was out of luck. I called many of the places that hold car shows on Wednesday and many canceled because of the rain. The two places that were going to do the car show, Weirs Go-Kart and Tilt’n Diner, were planning on having shows, but the rain brought no one. I guess I will have to try next week.

The earlier part of my day was spent researching the best ways to use Facebook and Twitter. Today I made a Twitter account under my same Facebook name and I will be developing that some more in the future. I also went on NH.com and email someone about updating our concert information. It is good to have correct information on a site like this because many tourists could use that site to plan their trip and we want them to at least know about Meadowbrook’s concerts.

7/9 (7.5hrs) Today, I updated Facebook pages for the next 4 concerts. I added many more friends and was chatting online to a girl about 3 Doors Down. So far, I have had 3 people tell me on Facebook that they are planning on attending concerts that I had suggested to them. It may take time to find a band’s friends and go through them to see who lives near central NH, but it seemed to have worked for a few.

The second part of my day was spent handing out stacks of flyers in Goffstown, a place I had not yet been yet. This time, the discount code is linked to my name, so if someone uses it, Meadowbrook will know that person got their flyer from where I put it. This will be valuable information for Meadowbrook, but I wish they had started doing this from the beginning.

7/10 (6.5hrs) Today, I updated Facebook and Tiwtter. I try to leave a status that catch people’s eyes and so far it seems to be working. I post little fun facts and trivia and people comment on them which means they are taking an interest. I also tried to go to two cars shows to pass out promotion cards, but because of the rain no one showed up.

7/12 (6.5hrs) Today, I helped get ready for the Staind concert tonight. In addition to getting ready, I updated Facebook about how we just booked Tim McGraw on September

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5. Today was the day that we released that information and I added many new friends on Facebook that are McGraw fans to inform them of the upcoming concert.

Next, I went to the entrance gates and as people came in I was offering to sell them Offspring tickets for $10 each for tomorrow night. I sold 130 tickets total, much more than was expected.

7/15 (7hrs) Today, I came in a little later to work later and pass out $10 gift cards at a car show in Londonderry. I passed out a few cards, and informed some people of them Tim McGraw concert, but most were elderly people interested in cars. I left a few at the Diner too.

7/16 (8hrs) Today, I printed 1,000 more flyers and passed them out on the back side of Loudon Road in Concord. I also drove down to WMUR in Manchester to drop off a Gordon Lightfoot DVD. I also made a special Tim McGraw at Meadowbrook Facebook page an so far 11 people have joined, which is a larger number than groups in the past.

7/17 (8hrs) Today, I printed a few more flyers and drove down to the Durham area to pass out flyers down there. Even though college has not started back up yet, there were still a lot of people out and about.

7/18 (8hrs) Today, I drove to Concord Main Street to pass out MTV Fest flyers to younger kids. It is market day on Main Street, so the whole street is shut down and stores come out onto the street. There were lots of people there and I was able to hand out a lot of flyers.

7/19 (8hrs) Today, I continued to flyer, but the most important thing that I did was make four Facebook ads for the bands that are coming this weekend. Those four bands appeal to the younger population, so having ads targeted to them is perfect. This is also something that we talked about in Advertising class. Meadowbrook has a limit of $40.00 a day for pay-per-clicks ads on Facebook.

7/22 (8hrs) The Facebook ads are doing quite well. There has definitely been a lot of activity on them. I also went around Meredith and Plymouth to update and pass out flyers.

Appendix B, Example of Work Results

FACEBOOK ADVERTISMENTS Boys Like Girls The Veronicas Gym Class Heroes Academy isBudget/day $40 $40 $40 $40 Time 2.5 days 2.5 days 2.5 days 2.5 daysClicks 251 105 90 206Impressions 394,719 163,724 189,827 740,428CTR (%) 0.064% 0.064% 0.047% 0.028%Avg. CPC $0.47 $0.45 $0.53 $0.66 Spent $118.84 $47.34 $47.71 $136.37

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Advanced Internship Research Paper,43

Advanced Internship Final Report

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