Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Rocke Society. Wanna be a part?


As is always the case when you own your own business, I have been thinking of ways to make Saint Rocke better...to make the Rocke product stand alone, and to entice people that I want coming to Saint Rocke on a regular basis to do so. I like to think (I know) that our regulars are not the typical Hermosa bar commoners. I like to think that they are more educated, more into quality over quantity, and that they love music and the vibe it brings along.

So for that reason I've been playing with a membership card to the Rocke Society. Something that if I was going to Saint Rocke, I'd wanna have. It will be a purchasable card, and will basically give the bearer a carte blance in at the Rocke. Free entrance, reservable tables, discounts, merchandise, meet the bands in the green room, etc.etc.

But who better than to ask then you what it should cost? what it should look like? what extra fun stuff it should have be a part of it. I mean, do you really care about meeting the band? Do you really care about being able to get a seat? Or is a food discount more important?

Help me help you (had to do it).
The more you help, the more likely it is that you get a card fa fa fa fa fa free.
Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving.
aj.s

16 comments:

Jason Weber said...

I think the card sounds like a great idea, however, it including free admission to all shows could make it slightly cost prohibited for most. Maybe something like a discount on admission would be a better way to go? Personally, meeting the bands would not be a big draw to me but that's just me. Being able to get a table and food and drink discounts are always handy. Also, maybe once a quarter there's a member's only party or something. People will always pay to feel exclusive. I think the card should be your standard colors with any of your logos. I'm kind of vibing on the new one with the hands making the horns. Cost is a tough one. It really depends on what will be included with the card and how long it will be good for etc. I would say if the purchaser feels like the amount of savings and perks and discounts pay for the card within say 5 visits, that's a deal. Hope this helps.

Anonymous said...

Excellent idea.
Deciding cost may be difficult because depending on the band/artist, the cost of admission varies. Cardholders may feel entitled to free admission when really they should pay for more popular shows. If the card becomes really popular, you wouldn't want to have your venue full of cardholders on the same night and not make any money. Discount per show may be a better idea for you and for fans bc I could see it being like my massage or yoga memberships~hardly ever use them even though you pay. Good for you, bad for me. All that said, an up front cost is not prohibitive for me, and probably not for a lot of people in the South Bay, and it would encourage me to go to SR more often (feeling of a loss if I don't use it). Maybe $100 for 8 show admissions, plus drink and food discount, plus somewhere to sit.

Meeting bands sounds good at first, but really living in L.A. and seeing/meeting famous people or someone you look up to is always really awkward and a little lame. So that is not a big reward for me most of the time, but maybe for certain bands or artists if they are cool.

The #1 perk for a card such as this (for me personally) would be a place to sit, particularly for singer/songwriter shows where the vibe is more mellow. You have good food at Saint Rocke and the thought of eating/drinking/sitting/listening all at once sounds good but sometimes there's nowhere to sit. So before I go, I think, 'what if there's nowhere to sit' and I eat at home or another restaurant before I go to SR. If I'm standing, I'm not going to order food. I realize seating is limited and that may always be an issue, but just a thought.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

So P.S. I tried about 10 times to post with a name and it wouldn't post...then I did it anonymously and it worked.

Anonymous said...

I like this idea. It's great way to create a sense of exclusivity. Perhaps offer tiers of services (St Rocke Silver, Gold, and Platinum Cards) to accommodate the diversity in your clientele's tastes.

You can release only a limited number of cards per tier to generate demand. This will also allow you to evaluate the effectiveness of your program without too much risk.

If I were to do this, I would make the cards really high quality and premium looking. Something substantial, not just a flimsy gift card.

Also, I would superimpose an image of a vagina with mayonnaise oozing out of it on your most expensive card. You could call it the "St Rocke Mayonnaise Vagina Card". This could allow entrance into *anywhere* in your club...including the vaginas of your female patrons.

Finally, you could put a picture of a dragon raping a lion riding a skateboard on a small piece of cardboard and sell it to only people who wear those tight black Affliction shirts.

Casey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

i would like to meet the bands aspect, although i already meet the bands anyway, but i know you guys have an upstairs area for bands to prepare, it would be cool to be allowed up there , through the door marked "private"....

I would also like discounts on food, drinks, free band CD's....

you guys could make money if you sell video recordings of your show from the jtv stream on CD/DVD

I got some more ideas too but I'll talk to derek or colleen.

sorry bout the double post i didn't think it showed up....

Anonymous said...

Sometimes when I tear the tops off the bunny ears I wonder why I'm sitting here typing this.
It's not that odd that I'm drawn to scrimshaw or jailai.
That shadow dancing behind my lawn gnome, it's just me vexing a quantum synopsis.
My ears, they don't move, yet they sell soft shell lemonade to my neighbors.
Fore and Aft and onward dear Euclidean's!
Rhombus to the right of me, Rex's to the right,
Geo's hit hard and bent,
Yet the mighty Parallelograms road onward!
Tennyson smoked turtle cock with moist dove.
I agree with the cards, it's an obsolete idea.
I'm a part, of exactly it and not that..
Thank you...

Unknown said...

I love the idea, I just recently started going to St. Rocke and I would definitely go more if there was a card I could purchase and get all the perks. I like all the perks you listed including meeting the band, if you want. I think in order to keep it within reason it should be cost wise around $50, then with discounts to shows maybe or as one other comment said $100 for 8 shows or so. I wouldn't want the bands to be short changed, obviously. Great idea though!

Anonymous said...

I heard you hire child molesters to perform at your venue? If this is true count me and all my friends out. we will start hitting up Brixton instead.

Anonymous said...

No people like him are the problem! You should always do a background check. Some people on parole shouldn't use fake names in order to doop others. Good luck with all your future endeavors :)

Allen Sanford said...

Your comments are astoundingly illogical and implausible. Do a background check on over 100 bands a month that comes to play, which would equal about 500 musicians? Call the Police and stress tax-paid local resources, and our Saint Rocke staff to maybe catch 1 guy in over 10,000 acts that have come in? Im hoping you are not in business...and from what it sounds like, you are emotionally tied to this. Keep your emotional baggage to yourself and stop harassing the public with it.

Allen Sanford said...

and stop hiding behind "anonymous" when you make comments. Annoying.

Anonymous said...

YEAH OK, since I am the only one posting as anonymous on this blog. I have no emotional baggage tied to this. That dude was married to a friend of mine. I have seen what he has done to a lot of people.

Background checks are impossible? Maybe catching that 1 person like you said could save you and your business a lot of headaches. I do run a business, and I make sure I always do a background check and everyone that has the ability to interact with my patrons!

You sound as if you have some emotional ties to this dude. What did he give you a heart breaking story and make you feel sorry for him? HA! you have been dooped sir.

Victoria Lynn said...

I say in the beginning ( @least a few months or so ) why not make the card priceless? A coveted element of desire and intrigue . Soon it will build worth based on that. Once seen with a selected few everyone is sure to want one ! Then make them available for purchase . Too pitchy ? Just an idea. Although it would give the club time to ease into the whole carte blanche idea with there being fewer cards in the beginning . Maybe cap the amount of cards issued/sold . That could work too . The phrase "SOLD OUT" always sounds good .

Unknown said...

Agree with Jason. A discount would be better than free. I <3 saint rocke and go often than most but picturing what the card would cost to get free admission... perhaps early purchase for popular shows or early table reservations might be a good card benefit.
what if the card tracks the # of visits and offers free shows that way? (like see 6 shows the 7th is free)

Vivek Khurana said...

Love the idea of the card. Thank you for maintaining a great venue and keeping music tangible in the south bay. Vivek