Ever Had Too Much Publicity?

[jim6918]

First year here as many of you know. Been up and running since Thanksgiving with absolutely no glitches, except I am not that crazy about my "Tune To.." sign. I live in a subdividion where houses are pretty close together and am concerned about causing traffic problems for neighbors and getting complaints. So far traffic has been light but steady; seems to be increaing a little every night.

One of my admiring co-workers sent an e-mail to the local newspaper and now a reporter wants to do a story with pictures, etc. One one hand I am very flattered and proud of the 100's of hours, plus $$$$ I spent putting it together; on the other not sure if I really want or need the surge in popularity and traffic. Plus, I work in a branch of law enforcement and although I have lived in this house for 20 years without problems, I am also not sure if I want the bad guys to know where I live. 'Course most of the bad guys I deal with can't read anyway. It's more the possible increase in traffic I am concerned with.

Has anybody ever received too much publicity?

[Don]

Well, Carson Williams received too much ....

There are a number of us on the forums who skip the publicity for a number of reasons. I skip because of traffic (already have people honking in the street, don't need more.)

Just my two cents, but if it's a concern now, I would go ahead and skip the article...

[Mike Cole]

I'd say don't do it. A few years back, I was swamped with media requests to do a story on my display, and I eagerly excepted. Big Mistake! At first, after the front page story in the paper came out, I was excited. Then it happened.......bumper to bumper traffic the rest of the season. Friends and I had to do traffic control every night,and that just wasn't worth the stress. Telling people to "move along, don't block driveways, turn down your radio, get back in your car,....it was just too much. Let word of mouth be your advertising, and they will come......and you will enjoy the fun much more..............................Mike

[jimswinder]

My two cents...

We do this to bring Christmas Joy to people...so the more people that see it the more Christmas Joy that is spread...

Which one has greater weight for you?

The desire to spread the "Joy of Christmas", or the worry of PERHAPS some negative effects?

[awarner]

I was concerned about this year as well since it's my first year and don't want to anger my neighbors. My plan is this, I'm not giving out the radio frequency to anyone except friends and neighbors. I'd like to have 100's of people seeing it live (as opposed to YouTube), but I'm on a court in a quiet community and I think everyone here likes it that way. I know I do. I'm also only playing songs infrequently. THis is as much to control the Electric bill as it is to control traffic. I am doing 20 minute song shows on the hour on weekends, but during the week, it's 4 5 minute shows total per night. I supect that this is a work in progress.

-Al-

[-klb-]

awarner wrote:

I was concerned about this year as well since it's my first year and don't want to anger my neighbors. My plan is this, I'm not giving out the radio frequency to anyone except friends and neighbors. I'd like to have 100's of people seeing it live (as opposed to YouTube), but I'm on a court in a quiet community and I think everyone here likes it that way. I know I do. I'm also only playing songs infrequently. THis is as much to control the Electric bill as it is to control traffic. I am doing 20 minute song shows on the hour on weekends, but during the week, it's 4 5 minute shows total per night. I supect that this is a work in progress.

-Al-

If you are doing static between animated segments, you might be surprised how much the static consumes relative to the animated, unless you are really doing a sparse static display.. If your static is through LOR, plug the numbers into the power calc sheet, and see if you are really saving anything with the static segments.

We try to publicise the city park show, but I am actually dodging publicity on the home show this year... The house is sort of out of the way, so it is building traffic slowly year to year, but I would rather spread the word slowly to techno geeks, locals, and word of mouth, than have any measurable percentage of DFW try to view the show. I don't want my house to be one of those that has built up to the point where even without new publicity, they have a half hour waiting line to see the show. If the city one gets to that point, at least it is (hopefully) not my problem, unless they ask me to shorten the content to help traffic move...

[Bret LeFevre]

My first and second years I wanted all the publicity I could get. Newpapers, TV, friends, etc... were contacted. I had alot of traffic. Buses, limos, you name it, they showed up. I live on a street that traffic doesn't affect my neighbors so I thought it was great.

I didn't get any publicity last year and traffic was down. I thought this year would be worse. I've been running since Thanksgiving and traffic is WAY up without any publicity at all this year.

Take a look at your neighborhood, talk to your neighbors, then decide what to do. Can your street handle 10+ cars lined up plus your neighbors coming and going? If your neighbors get upset, then it's not fun doing your display.

Just my $.02

[shfr26]

I live on a major street, but on an intersection, just off another major street.. My plan is to put a sign at intersection and pray for the best. I can take the sign down if needed, but then it is too late. I also have three other roads that will get them here less than two blocks away. maybe put your sign on a less used route?

[jim6918]

Thanks for the variety of answers. Though provoking to say the least.

I live in a typical middle class neighborhood. 75' frontages so really only room for about 3 cars directly in front of the house. Best approach is from the west, and to complicate matters you would think the two neighbors across the street run used car lots so no room in front of their houses either.

Think I just answered my own question.

Merry Christmas everybody.

[Tim Fischer]

You are right to be concerned-- once you get the publicity, there's no taking it back (for many years) short of shutting down.

For a number of reasons, I decided not to get listed in the paper this year. So far, you'd never know it by the traffic-- it's about the same as it normally would be had I been listed...

Anyway, I digress - one thing I've done, mainly with TV, but it could also work with the paper, is to tell them not to list my home address, but instead list my website. This does 2 things: 1) makes people go through one step of indirection to get to my address. This seems to keep me from getting overwhelmed, but maybe it's just coincidence. 2) You can put up a list of rules, etc. that people have to read before getting your address. And if all else fails and hell breaks loose, you could remove the address from your site.

A number of other factors:

1) Are you the "best display in the region?" For a number years I was the only animated display around, but there were plenty of bigger and better static ones around. This helped take the pressure off of us.

2) Do you have places for 10,20,50 cars to park and watch the show? I can comfortably host 10-15 at once, but above that it makes me nervous. I've been able to keep it down to that level most of the season-- on a typical night I'll have 2-7 cars at any given time, but it picks up right before Christmas. (2 of our neighbors, on the other hand, will bitch and call the city if a single car is watching...)

[jim6918]

Tim Fischer wrote:

2) Do you have places for 10,20,50 cars to park and watch the show? I can comfortably host 10-15 at once, but above that it makes me nervous. I've been able to keep it down to that level most of the season-- on a typical night I'll have 2-7 cars at any given time, but it picks up right before Christmas. (2 of our neighbors, on the other hand, will bitch and call the city if a single car is watching...)

Boy I wish I had room for that many cars, but its around 4 or 5 tops, and thats only is my neighbor directly across puts his cars in his driveway.

Guess I need to go shopping for a bigger house on a longer street.

[Tim Fischer]

Well, 15 would be pushing it for me... We're in a neighborhood with 150-200' frontages, wide streets, and the street curves away from us a couple houses down, so people can park along the side and get a pretty good view of the show. I saw 7-8 cars at a time last night and it didn't affect neighborhood traffic flow at all, so I'm just guesstimating that 15 would be the upper limit...

[Joe Noe]

I'm laughing as I type this. The answer is YES!

I actually came on here tonight to start a thread called "How long would you wait in line"... Because I have a line that's 1/4 mile deep tonight (this is not any kind of fish story), and that translates to about an hour and a half based on previous experience. 3 cars out of the cul-de-sac at the end of each song, and I'll still be running until Midnight.

We were busy last weekend, but hadn't gotten the media coverage for the year yet. Line was a steady two blocks deep last Friday and Sat night. Then this hit on Thursday night:

http://www.keloland.com/news/eyeonkeloland/NewsDetail6403.cfm?Id=93544

and "Ta-da!", we get slammed.

The publicity is a big deal for our charity drive though, so I hesitate to stop, but I'd sure like to have a line only 20 or 30 deep so I could not stress as much.

[jimswinder]

Hey...if they want to wait in line, why are you stressing?? LOL

Sounds like all your "stress" is benefiting a great cause.

Keep up the GREAT work...and let the people enjoying your show do the "Stressing".

[jim6918]

Well, the local newpaper did a full page color layout of the top 8 decorated houses in town and guess whose house was right smack in the middle of the spread? The paper came out Saturday morning, and that night the traffic doubled if not trippled. It has been pretty orderly, with a line of cars patiently waiting up the street with their flashers on. Every place I go, people I know, some only casually stop and tell me how kewl it is. Even my daughter, who is a wait person in the local Chilis heard a group of women talking about the display. My daughter was pretty proud to tell them that, "Thats my Daddy, he's a nut."

[George Simmons]

We have room for 15 or so cars in the block. Fortunately, driveways are sparse since most neighbors on both sides of the street access their garages from the alleys. Last year, our first, traffic was never an issue. This year it gets pretty clogged up between 5:30 and 8:00 most nights and until after 10 on Fridays and Saturdays. We sent a lot of press releases out this year and almost everyone ran PSA's to help publicize the food shelf collection in addition to the light show. And word-of-mouth has been nothing short of awesome. So far there have been no incidents or fender-benders, but I'm guessing that's only a matter of time. A sheriff's deputy (of all poeple) almost got T-boned last night at the intersection a hundred feet to the north by someone who was watching the lights instead of the street. I think it's going to be a problem next year for sure, but we'll just have to deal with it then.

[bhays]

George Simmons wrote:

A sheriff's deputy (of all poeple) almost got T-boned last night at the intersection a hundred feet to the north by someone who was watching the lights instead of the street. I think it's going to be a problem next year for sure, but we'll just have to deal with it then.

I had my first wreck a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately the driver who rear ended the other was drunk and the cops were happy to catch her.

[jim6918]

Jeff Millard wrote:

jim6918 wrote:

...in the local Chilis heard a group of women talking about the display. My daughter was pretty proud to tell them that, "Thats my Daddy,...

That's the best this hobby has to offer right there! I once overheard some folks chatting about my display at a store. I couldn't stop smiling for about 4 days or so...

Jeff

And who says LOR'ers are modest, shy people? You're right Jeff. Afraid I might be starting to brag a little about the accolades. We can't walk through our favorite grocery story without one, or more of the employees, telling us how they love the lights. I overheard one of the managers telling a customer about it, and when I walked by he pointed me out. I had a lady the other day at a liqour store tell me her daughter makes her drive by every night, and they don't even have a working FM in their truck. LOL If she was that excited just watching the lights, I might have gotten the beer for free if she had a working radio.

The Rotary even called the other day, but of course this time of the year they get desperate for speakers.

Already making plans for next year; 96, 112, 128, 144, my God the sky's the limit!

[jldavis1969]

jim6918 wrote:

Already making plans for next year; 96, 112, 128, 144, my God the sky's the limit!

No Jim, 3,840 is the limit!!!!!:cool:

[Salts]

I only have 32 channels this year. Last year was my first year with only 16 channels. I only heard compliments on my display from people who drove by to see it when I went out to speak to them. This year people at my kids school have come up to me to tell me how much they like it and to ask how to do it. I have been so suprised how many people have come by this year. The only advertising I did this year was to my friends on Facebook and my church put it in their midweek email. Word of mouth has been good too. I still don't want it to get to congested though.