poster pillars about town

[Guest MDP]

Is it just me or is flying one of the most completely inefficient and ineffective ways of advertising something? I hate it.

Pretty much i'd say. Mind you, handing flyers out outside of a similar gig to what the flyer is for can be quite effective

[soundian]

I could write one now I'm all PHP trained.

Not that I'm offering, but you know, I could...

Mysql has a built in search function so there's no need to use php if you're using a database.

Just thinking about coding a search in php makes my brain want to crawl out through my ears.

[Chris]

Mysql has a built in search function so there's no need to use php if you're using a database.

Just thinking about coding a search in php makes my brain want to crawl out through my ears.

I'm not sure what you mean there. Of course MySQL has a search function, it's a database. The main reason a database exists is so you can search it and do things with the results. You're still using PHP to build and execute the query then output the result to the browser.

[soundian]

I'm not sure what you mean there. Of course MySQL has a search function, it's a database. The main reason a database exists is so you can search it and do things with the results. You're still using PHP to build and execute the query then output the result to the browser.

php does not execute the query, php is used to pass the information on to the database server, which executes the query and returns the results to the php server. At least, that's how I understand it.

Thinking about it, it would be fairly easy to write a search using reg exp (the reason my brain wants to crawl out my ears) in php, but having to load ALL the info into a php array before searching would take longer, the search would probably take longer, and why bother if the database already provides what you need.

FYI, It goes something like this:

SELECT * FROM table WHERE fieldname LIKE "%string_entered_in_php%"

[Guest onlynik]

I respect this last post much more than the previous one. I don't believe we are at saturation point otherwise we would be busy every night of the week. We're aware that some people who are about town alot will see our posters and get handed flyers everywhere but there's a large percentage of the population that don't. That's why these pillars are ideal for catching the weekend shoppers, 9 to 5-ers, etc. who aren't exposed to our publicity because at the end of the day we can't afford to have Northsound 1, Grampian/STV and Evening Express glossy adverts. We make use of what we can afford in the best possible way.

It's quite possible for someone, in an average day, to be given a flyer on Belmont Street, see posters when they go shopping in One-Up, more posters when they have a coffee in Kilau and then maybe get given another flyer in the evening when they're out. That person might think "Fucking hell, all I see is Snafu!". Then again, the person that drives from the suburbs to work, parks in the office car park, drives home at night, watches TV and only goes to the West End at the weekends will see none of our promotional material. That's who we're after with these pillars. I know not all these people are our target-market but some of them are.

Why not sponsor/advertise on Aerdeen Music then, that way you'll hit all the office workers who frequent the site during the day, then you wouldn't have to use the pillars, I nearly fit into your second demographic there, but i don't watch TV, most of the gigs I find out about are via here or word of mouth.

[Chris]

php does not execute the query, php is used to pass the information on to the database server, which executes the query and returns the results to the php server. At least, that's how I understand it.

Thinking about it, it would be fairly easy to write a search using reg exp (the reason my brain wants to crawl out my ears) in php, but having to load ALL the info into a php array before searching would take longer, the search would probably take longer, and why bother if the database already provides what you need.

FYI, It goes something like this:

SELECT * FROM table WHERE fieldname LIKE "%string_entered_in_php%"

Yes, sorry when I said execute the query I meant pass it to the database to be executed, but I was trying to keep it simple.

Don't worry about the regex stuff and keep your brain between your ears. The way you tihnk it should be done IS the way it should be done. Dumping everything into a massive array would be most inefficient.

What myself and Neil were discussing was writing a search function which would probably take a search string from text box on the calendar, query the database for the gigs matching the string and take it back to PHP to output the results on Aberdeen Music. PHP is the language used to code it all which is why we said we'd write the search in PHP rather than write the search in MySQL, even though that's the database that we were searching. We were talking about the function as a whole not just the SELECT query.

I already know how a SQL query is written, but thanks for refreshing my memory anyway

[soundian]

Yes, sorry when I said execute the query I meant pass it to the database to be executed, but I was trying to keep it simple.

Don't worry about the regex stuff and keep your brain between your ears. The way you tihnk it should be done IS the way it should be done. Dumping everything into a massive array would be most inefficient.

What myself and Neil were discussing was writing a search function which would probably take a search string from text box on the calendar, query the database for the gigs matching the string and take it back to PHP to output the results on Aberdeen Music. PHP is the language used to code it all which is why we said we'd write the search in PHP rather than write the search in MySQL, even though that's the database that we were searching. We were talking about the function as a whole not just the SELECT query.

I already know how a SQL query is written, but thanks for refreshing my memory anyway

Sorry, it's so easy to get the wrong end of the stick when you can't just ask a simple question and get the confusion cleared up straight away like in real life.

Yeah, interfaces are the bugger. Although on the surface this one seems fairly simple because the software used is a "one size fits all" kind of thing I imagine there's a pile of code to wade through to get to what you want.

[TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH]

...that's meant to be a nightclub yeah?

I thought Exodus was a nightclub. ?(

[Jim Stax]

Nearly

My thinking on the pillars is the advertising, so far, is too big leaving little room for smaller promoters/clubs to get thier tuppence worth in. I don't want to see a massive poster for the Sapphire club or any other club, but rather several smaller posters showing the choice that is available. Nothing better for giving the perception of a vibrant city than viewing in one place everything that is going on. Big step in the right direction but Council still playing safe perhaps? They have only taken about 4 or 5 years to come to fruition I believe. ACC, our longstanding leading lights o_O

[Hardcore Mel]

Is it just me or is flying one of the most completely inefficient and ineffective ways of advertising something? I hate it.

I disagree. It's our main source of promotion for Obedience School and each night we seem to put more effort into flyering, and our numbers have grown accordingly. It has to be something eyecatching though. I'm more likely to pay attention to a flyer with cool artwork or bright colours than just a simple black and white bit of paper with some band names on it.

[french_disko]

So, let me get this straight - new advertsing pillars have been put up around town by Kef in order to advertise SNAFU gigs (because Exodus is bigger) and, to add to it all, you can use MySQL to search for events on them.

Glad I've cleared that up.

[Wax]

Why not sponsor/advertise on Aerdeen Music then, that way you'll hit all the office workers who frequent the site during the day, then you wouldn't have to use the pillars, I nearly fit into your second demographic there, but i don't watch TV, most of the gigs I find out about are via here or word of mouth.

We do advertise/post on here. Again though, the percentage of the second demographic who use this forum regularly is in the minority.

In all honesty, if Exodus, etc. had the opportunity, they would have done the same as us. Not forgetting that Triple Kirks/Exodus is part of a multi-operator, we're an independent with only one site. Scream/Mitchells & Butlers could buy those pillars and us many times over. Don't see what the problem here is anyway, Exodus is an indie/rock/retro club, we're an electronic club.

[Neil]

Just out of interest. Does anyone know how much does it cost to stick a poster on one of these pillars?

[Hardcore Mel]

Not yet but I'm gonna find out. Not that the council are likely to allow our kind of advertising on the shiny pillars, but we're gonna damned well try!

[Teabags]

The pillars are shit.

Fuck the pillars.

[Stripey]

Sorry, it's so easy to get the wrong end of the stick when you can't just ask a simple question and get the confusion cleared up straight away like in real life.

Yeah, interfaces are the bugger. Although on the surface this one seems fairly simple because the software used is a "one size fits all" kind of thing I imagine there's a pile of code to wade through to get to what you want.

PHP, Perl and other CGI languages all have database abstraction libraries for interfacing with mysql/oracle/most major relational database engines. Performing a search of an SQL database in PHP and then doing stuff with the result is, to use the technical term, a piece of piss and only takes a couple of lines of code.

regex is awesome.

[Stripey]

Regarding flyers and poster pillars, I'd rather see the attractive, well designed Snafu promotional material everywhere than the 5 minutes in msPaint crap used by promoters of certain venues and gigs up here, which lets face it, would just make the place look even grottier than it already is.

[Wax]

Hear, hear.

[Steven Milne]

club promotion

i havent even seen the pillars yet, i must be blind , or too drunk on belmont street

I rather like the snafu promotion. I know there's a lot of posters but as someone that's morphed into a 9-5pm monster I find it rather handy when I'm skipping down the stairs of Kilau and then go (example), "Oh wait, Chicks on Speed. YAS!" because to be honest, I don't go out a lot so don't really get flyered these days. I do tend to pick up flyers for stuff I'd like to go to and I do check out the DHC posters etc etc... from my angle, it's great.

I miss great gigs at Tunnels etc all the time because I have no clue what's on asides from checking the posters when I'm actually there or standing in haze in the belmont chipper going, "Wah.... Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly" and completely forgetting the date. Etc Etc.

Summary: It works for me.

i have done the same - missed the little ones at the weekend at moshulu and none of my mates knew about "get cape..." or the fact that brakes are playing drummonds in february!

so annoying sometimes

i honestly believe exodus will never have to advertise massively! not only is it perfect location (stumbling distance from the union, and belmont street is prime), it has ridiculously cheap drink deals and its got the whole student market sewn up to a tee.

And good luck to it.theyve done well to get to that stage, similar to liquid that its always always busy every night and now theyve done it (exodus that is - i hate liquid) up again its apparently even better than before.depending on your disposition, ive not been in yet!

snafu is heavy on their marketng because they sometimes need and choose to be.They arent as city centre as other clubs and dont have the luxury of doing quite as massively cheap drinks as other places so they have to push to make sure people know about their existence.Also, their acts and music are often catering to a different market each night.

Its because of their strong marketing and constant work that they do well. any business needs to advertise and everyone has the right to do so.

plus , 70% of the time, snafu is putting on acts and DJs which have a large fee or costs and maybe wouldnt come to aberdeen without these fees. These acts may be of interest to a minority sometimes and snafu have to make sure that they reach all bases as they have costs to cover (just like everybody else who puts on live music) and in order to keep putting on these kind of good acts in future (even on weeknights) they have to make sure they get maximum exposure.

I can think of heaps of examples of this where they have had to push real hard cause they believe a lot in an act being great and want to get them in the city but it maybe clashes with another big event elsewhere or is a normally quiet night.

for example

MSTRKRFT (dfa1979s jess keelers new outfit was on a tuesday and clashed with a sold out gig at the Exhibition Centre)

Every touring DHC act is a gamble and potential stress as we have to meet costs so e.g The View, Errors and the RumbleStrips all got extra exposure ( flyering and postering to the max!)

Giles new monday night will have really good high profile bands and guests too and that will be somthing snafu will be wanting to push so that people know about it!

Im glad theres no exodus/ snafu divide (the thread initially read as so) as I love going to both places and its good to see the decent clubs doing well ( apparently tiger tiger is shutting down? so looks like the people with decent taste are winning)

Its kinda a venues responsibility to their acts to push for a crowd. Nothing worse than turning up as we have done many times to out of town venues and there is no advertising evident for your gig and then the promoters pay you 0 and try and justify it coz of their promotion costs! (at one gig, in london, a promoter actually put the posters out in soundcheck in front of us and then docked our pay to a 1 and blamed "promotion costs".Even the barmaid agreed it was shitty and said he doesnt flyer or pster outside the venue and often ripped off bands)

I think every venue should be touting themselves to the max otherwise you never know when you may suddenly lose somewhere you absolutely love ( RIP - drakes)

[Guest TheOffice]

Where are they all

Pretty much i'd say. Mind you, handing flyers out outside of a similar gig to what the flyer is for can be quite effective

flyering works for night clubs but unless you offer a promotion (free entry etc.. so you get them back) how will you know the staff are even handing them out and not just launching them into the nearest bucket and going to the pub? There doesn't seem to be a lot of flyering happening recently, pearl lounge and liquid have been out the last couple of weekends but that seems to be it! as well as myself!

The pillars that are around are a good idea yet pointless, they are supposed to minimise the amount of postering in unofficial places, like empty shop windows etc..... I dont see how putting a pillar up can stop this problem, it will still happen.

They can also be potentially dangerous to the drunk people pouring out of the bars who didn't realise they were there! I see the council didn't think of this or they would be bright yellow!!!

[Guest TheOffice]

Just out of interest. Does anyone know how much does it cost to stick a poster on one of these pillars?

i heard its around 35 a month i will check, there is one right outside blu bar, sorry Tonic! stupid name (i really don't like change btw;))