Some of these ideas are Hideout-specific, some are AIC-wide. Either way, this is just a brain dump of the stuff I've been thinking about and talking with some other folks about. All comments are welcomed!
- Banner outside Hideout for ALL shows, not just Ka-Baam
- Table tent-like things for the coffeehouse with hideout/AIC website
- Allow renters of downstairs space to add their own flyers to these as well
- Mix-and-match of mainstage, friday night and maestro. All improv flyers should link to websites for classes
- Group ticket options if made in advance
- Frequent-watcher discount card - see 10 improv shows, get a free t-shirt. Same opportunity cost as a free ticket.
- Experimental improv slot: Laboratory show, like blank show but a defined 2-week run
- Complete deck upstairs, use for special shows, rental space, party location. Is this even legal?
- sponsor for every mainstage show
- Ka-Baam: Austin Books
- Cochise: Donut shop
- GGG: Rock & Roll Rentals, Austin Karaoke
- Start Trekkin': BookPeople, Austin Books, HobbyTown, role-playing stores
- Shakespeare: Shakespeare's Pub
- Custom-branded free/discount tickets per troupe - every troupe gets a certain allotment printed for free by the AIC. The more that come back, the more get printed. Used as a metric of marketing prowess. Possibility - use as free drink ticket ($3) with $10 ticket purchase. Makes our fans more happy, they still pay for seat, coffeehouse gets dough. $4 comes out of troupe cut of door - 3 for drink, 1 for advertising budget. Usable for any show with troupe playing (DB, TM, CM, mainstage? Maestro?)
- Buildup of some kind of online community, specifically with reviews and audience comments
- Ideas for troupe branding - IFE: give free custom-branded tickets out as prizes to be given away at Karaoke Apocalypse, Nat'l Karaoke League shows. Give out at metal-type places. Bird's Barbershop? Free ticket with haircut? Define target audience first, cross-promote second.
- Sponsorship ideas for Cochise: I Luv Video/Vulcan Video, Ken's Donuts, Round Rock Donuts, Dunkin Donuts,
- Free ticket to any actual police officer
- Once Hideout logo created, have shirts available a la Coldtowne.
- Stock AIC, Hideout, Coldtowne, and troupe merchandise at ALL venues. Theater chooses which shirts/merch to display/feature.
- At Hideout, have stock of displayed t-sirts available in the box. Pimp shirts/merch in hosting.
- AIC presence at all 'weird' Austin events, with free tickets. Examples:
- First Thursday
- Eeyore's Birthday
- Keep Austin Weird 5K
- BatFest (do a Bat!!!)
- Spamarama
- ACL
- SxSW
- Improv is a local business. How do we get involved with the Keep Austin Weird folks? Why isn't waffle fest on their list?
- Second festival at the Hideout to complement Waffle Fest if OOB will no longer be at the venue.
- Some form of Anniversary set of shows every year to highlight how the Hideout is the granddaddy of the current improv venues
- Get OOB back at the Hideout in one form or another
- Improv tickets as a de facto radio giveaway prize
- Free tickets to anyone who works as a concierge or other person who can refer downtown visitors to the Hideout
- New lights for the theater - our cheap-ass light board isn't even full. We have capacity for new lights, is $ the only thing holding us back?
- Ideally, I'd like a light with booth-selectable color gels
- Motorized spotlight with booth controls
- at least ability to highlight (not just wash) three or four regions of the stage independently
- Disco-ball effect
- LED lighting was mentioned at the AIC meeting - would Kacey be a good resource for this?
- Fully-equipped sound computer with sorted, categorized music and sound effects
- Improvisors well-trained on how to use sound in shows
- Defined curricula at the various places that offer improv classes, central place to get info on all of these classes (sounded like Roy already did this on austinimprovclasses.com).
- Get better pictures than the old rose pic. Please.
- Update current pictures in Hideout staircase. Order them somehow by historic troupes up to the present day
- Consolidate various troupe mailing lists to the AIC
- Have public information on website, along with easy process, to donate money to the AIC and get a tax deduction.
- Reach out to the UT market. We have a marketing intern coming up with ideas for us - I suggest a roundtable-type meeting where she can share her ideas with anyone who wants to come and listen.