Day in The Life: Promoter

Live music events don't just happen overnight... Behind every club night is a hard-working promoter trying to build an atmosphere, bring people together and create something memorable. For this article, I spoke with the one and only Fat Security, who is currently growing their own club nights and bringing new energy into the Scottish club night scene. From spotting a gap within the market to organising their very own events, they are sharing what it is really like to run and promote live events from scratch, alongside the challenges that come with it.

Interview with Fat Security

Starting Fat Security

We began by asking what had first inspired the creation of Fat Security and how the idea of events came about.

What inspired you to start running your own events under Fat Security?

After attending a few club nights myself and seeing the atmosphere of events like this, it inspired me to venture into the business on my own.

I originally came up with the idea of ‘Teen Beach Party’ as I saw a gap in the market for this theme in the ‘throwback night’ realm. There were so many club nights of the same two themes going around at the time and I saw that as a perfect opportunity to throw something new into the mix.

Preparing for an Event

Promoting and preparing for an event takes a lot of planning, and even more so in the weeks and days leading up to the event.

What does a typical day look like when you're preparing for a club night or event?

On the lead up, we need to continue to push our events as much as possible, whether that is on social media or displaying new posters in cities. 

We are always keeping an eye on ticket sales and analytics. If we find that ticket sales aren’t going too well, we need to look into amending the price or offering promotions.

Challenges in Live Event Promotion

Running events such as club nights can be exciting, however it also comes with a number of challenges.

What are some of the biggest challenges that come with promoting live events?

The competition in live events is at its peak. Some key challenges are finding available venues, pulling in a crowd, and doing something different that will stand out.

Money is also something to take into account. With costs rising, venue fees may be out of reach at times. With these financial challenges, you also need to keep ticket prices low to attract customers. It is all about taking risks.

The Role of Social Media

Social media has grown to be one of the most important elements when it comes to promoting and marketing events.

How important is social media when it comes to promoting your events and building an audience?

Social media is vital in planning any sort of event in today’s age, whether that is live music or a funeral. It is an easier and more effective way to spread the word.

Social media reaches users locally and worldwide. It is important for us to reach users in the areas of which we are hosting our club nights. To ensure we do this effectively, we utilise hashtags, location tags, and paid advertisements. 

Paid advertising gives you the option to select a radius in which you want your posts to appear most. This way, we can show up on locals' feeds.

What Makes a Successful Event

With so many events competing for attention and ticket sales, creating a successful event requires the correct promotion and audience engagement.

What do you think makes a club night successful?

Following on from the last point, social media is definitely the most effective tool in hosting a successful event. Making sure the target audience is reached is the most important factor. 

Word of mouth is another key element to a successful event. In the case of a club night, one person sees the advertising of an event and alerts their friends, so one ticket turns into two or three.

As important as ticket sales are in the success of an event, taking feedback from customers so that your events can evolve is critical. Without feedback, you don’t know what is done right and what needs extra work next time.

Fat Security So Far

Running events often bring memorable moments. We asked Fat Security which event has stood out the most so far.

What has been your favourite event you have organised so far?

The first-ever Fat Security event, held on 21st May last year, was my favourite of the two so far. This was because it was a challenge I took on completely blind.

As this was the first event we ran, we had no idea what the turnout would be like, especially because we used a weekday rather than a weekend.

In the end, the turnout was great and it gave us the push and confidence we needed to keep on doing these events.

Advice for Aspiring Promoters

Finally, we asked what advice they would have found useful when they were just beginning, for anyone who is thinking about getting involved in event promotion.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to get involved in live event promotion?

It is definitely scary, but if that’s what you want to do, just do it!

Live events are such an important part of the world, and being part of that is amazing.

The Future of Fat Security

With the great success of their first events, Fat Security already has plans lined up for the future.

What are your plans for Fat Security?

We definitely have some plans up our sleeves for the near future. 

We are looking into hosting a couple of nights through the summer of this year, so keep an eye out!

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Fat Security has shown us how much passion and risk it takes to create a live event. From spotting gaps within the club market to taking the risk and organising your own events - it's clear that dedication, creativity and solid marketing go a long way to build something that the public wants to engage in. With many events planned for the near future, Fat Security is definitely one to keep an eye on.

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Follow along for updates on upcoming club nights, announcements, and event promotions.