Retail Outside the Box:
Achieving Success
Through Unconventional
Advertising, Video
Content & Store Culture
With Myrna Sislen,
Middle C Music
CMT: In terms of what you plan to
talk about, what do you mean by
“unconventional advertising, video
content, and store culture”?
Sislen: I will be sharing examples of what
we have done in our in-store advertising,
out-store advertising, and social media
advertising that is unusual. I mean, that’s
my sweet spot – things that are completely
different that maybe seem like they don’t
have anything to do with music at all, and
yet it strikes a chord or it’s funny or it gets
people’s attention.
Really, it’s all about having fun and get-
ting the idea across, but doing it in a way
that is non-traditional. We’ve had ads on
television. I did those and there was music
and dancing and they were very effective.
I have to be honest with you, I got
the idea at an NASMD convention
probably 10 years ago. They had this
guy who owned a furniture company
in Chicago. I thought, “What has this
got to do with anything?” Anyway, he
showed the TV ads that they made and
spent a lot of money producing. The ads
had really nothing to do with furniture but
they were hilarious. I looked at that and
thought, “Wait a minute, I can do that.” It
was seeing what he did that sort of gave me
permission. From then on, anything is fair
game and we do it across all platforms. As
I say, the more out-of-the-box that you’re
thinking, the better it’s going to be. People
see the same thing over and over again
and everybody loves it when you try to do
something a little bit different.
Let me give you an example, and this
is my own personal favourite one. This is
one having to do with the capos and ca-
pers – capers like you’d put on bagels and
lox. So, we got a little dolly thing and
went across to the capo on a banjo and
strummed that and then go back to the
bagel and lox with the capers on it. Then
go back to a guitar with a capo and then
back to the capers on the bagels and lox.
We did it with every instrument and it
ends with somebody taking a big bite of
the bagel and lox with capers. I thought
this was hilarious, I have to say.
So, it’s that kind of thing that we do
and we share everything. Of course, we
have a YouTube channel, so everything
goes there and on our website. We put
things on Facebook and all of the normal
places, but it’s really the content and
having fun with it, and all of it involves
the staff that’s in the store and, again, it
costs nothing to do this.
CMT: And most of it can now be done
on the newer phones.
Sislen: Absolutely. It’s the simplest thing
in the world. It’s just, how do you think
about it? And maybe giving people per-
mission to go outside that box. It doesn’t
have to be: “Here is the guitar and it costs
this much.” It can be more colourful.
We had a [starts singing a jingle],
‘Ain’t no use in stressin’, come on down to
Middle C and take a music lesson,’ and
it goes on from there. That was a great
commercial and one of our best. Again,
I have to stress that it is using the talents
of the people who work in the store.
They absolutely love doing it…
You can, in fact, have an ad on
television and it doesn’t cost very much if
you put it on a non-rated station. That’s
one where they don’t do the ratings. I
think mine were $25 for a 30-second ad.
It’s true that if you do it three times a
day and do it three times a week, it adds
up, but it’s not $100,000 for 30 seconds.
The one I used was MeTV and it was
a station that played Perry Mason and
TV series from the ‘60s and ‘70s. I did a
little market research myself to find out
whether people watched that station and
they said, “Oh my god, I watch it all the
time. That’s the only thing I can watch
with my kids. I love it.”
So, it takes a little bit of research to
find out where you can put it to have the
most impact, but it’s relatively easy to do.
It’s just about thinking outside the box.
CMT: Involving the staff in coming up
with ideas and executing them, is that
part of the “store culture” aspect you
mention in the title?
Sislen: Absolutely. Every person who
comes to work, in the very first interview,
I make it clear to them that I want every-
one to be part of it. The culture is what
the culture is. The culture is that we are a
true community music store. The goal was
to have a place where people can come in
and they feel safe, and they feel nurtured,
and they really feel good. It happens may-
be a couple times a week where someone
will come in and go, “Gosh, it really feels
so good in here.” That’s when I go, “Yes,
that’s what we’re all about!”
That is all created by the staff; they’re
all part of the creative process. For
instance, we have a contest in our little
neighbourhood at Christmas time for
which store does the best windows. We
have won twice and the windows are
done by the staff and it’s their creation
and they’re amazing….
I want the staff to feel as if they are
part of the creative process, because that’s
part of the culture as well. Also, feeling
like “I am not just selling stuff here. I
have ideas and am encouraged for my
ideas to be used.” Even if they’re totally
off the wall, we try them anyway. I rarely
will say “no” if someone comes up with
something. Everything is worth trying.
Michael Raine is the Senior Editor of
Canadian Music Trade.
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE
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