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Maidstone Music is a Kent County Council initiative in conjunction with the Hazlitt Arts Centre. It aims to promote Maidstone as a hub for all types of music.
The Brief
Maidstone Music was only a name when Pillory Barn were first asked to pitch for the account. There was a vision shared by several people within the council and Hazlitt Arts Centre to create a hub for music within Maidstone, in turn promoting the county capital as the place to come for a large variety of musical events. With something to suit all ears, Maidstone Music would offer a central place for music lovers to go to find out all the latest information and event listings, a place to network and for musicians to find like minded people. How this was achieved was completely open ended…
The Answer
Pillory Barn quickly decided the best, and most accessible way to achieve a centralised hub for event listings and networking opportunities would be via an easily navigable website. It was envisaged that the website would mirror the look and feel of the newly relaunched Hazlitt Arts Centre website for continuity purposes, giving a strong brand presence and immediate identity to the concept Maidstone Music.
We put together a quarterly printed publication to bolster the online offering, that ultimately lead traffic back to the website. With a run of 10,000 copies per publication it was designed to be a free publication to be found in the leading boutique retail outlets in the county town, along with being used as a give-away for musicians to not only feature in but take to their events.
The Guide showcases local and nationally recognised musicians and events, along with increasing the breadth of music types that the reader comes into contact with via informative articles and thought-pieces.
Pillory Barn event managed and co-ordinated a Maidstone Music launch event, with the Mayor, counselors, and key music-aficionados from the region in attendance. Musicians representing a wide variety of musical genres entertained the crowds throughout the night.
To bolster all of the other offerings we put together a strategic publicity plan, a mountainous PR achievement with a pint-sized budget.
The Results
The Maidstone Music website continues to draw in event listings and continues to be the place to visit to find your next big night out. With over 30 new events listed on one day alone the site is a clear success.
The Maidstone Music quarterly guide continues to gain great interest with each edition with the 10,000 copies being distributed across a variety of outlets across the County.
The launch event was a great success with over 200 dignitaries in attendance. The musicians who performed on the evening all did an excellent job of were well-received. The Bull Inn at Benenden became a main sponsor for the event due to their love of music, including their very own performance venue. They kindly donated champagne and sparkling wine for the evening, to really get the party started.