Open Hole Soul

Open Hole Soul 2010

Chicago Groovecore band Open Hole Soul has announced that the main songwriting core of the band, Thomas Jaymes and Doug Spantikow, will be reuniting in 2010.The band was well known for their high energy live show, as well as their sing song lyrics, usually devil or girl related. The band plans to release a live album, that was recorded back in 2003, in July. They are also planning to release a digitally remastered version of their debut CD "American T & A" later this fall. Both of which are to precede the band's second full length studio album entitled "Chicago Style Hardcore", which will be recorded and released early next year on the band's own Psykosatan Records label. Aside from some random singles, it will be the band's first studio release in ten years.

With the band reuniting and making new music, a new marketing scheme will be needed. Back in 2000, when "American T & A" was released, things like MySpace and Facebook were nonexistent. There was no Twitter, nor were there music sharing sites like Napster or Tunecore. The band still sold a modest 1000 copies of the disc, mainly in the Chicago area. They used a grassroots marketing campaign, using hand drawn flyers and playing countless basement parties to get the buzz out. Friends would help distribute flyers and the band would hand out CDs and flyers as well. They picked up steam with the disc's first single, "Player's". The song spent two months at number one on Rebel Radio's local music chart's, and was played on several Chicago area radio stations. The second single, "El Diablo" also hit the top spot on Rebel Radio and became one of the songs that really helped launch the band. At one point the song was so popular with the band's fans, they would both open the show with it, and also close the show with it. The band released two more singles off "American T & A", "Can't Understand Normal Thinking" and "Losing You". Both of which did relatively well, and the band was named local band of the year for 2003 by two major Chicago radio stations.

The band intends to use the things that gained them popularity before to reestablish themselves now. Heavy merchandising, hand written flyers and grassroots marketing, along with a new social media blitz are what the band is counting on to regain success some five years after promoting issues tore the band apart. Lack of effort by some of the band's members back in late 2003 is what caused their initial downfall. Jaymes and Spantikow continued on under another name (Voyeur 13), but couldn't capture the name recognition they had achieved with Open Hole Soul, so the project was put to rest. In 2009 rumors began to swirl that a reunion was possible and it was well received. The band opened a MySpace account and the buzz was huge. The official reunion was announced in early 2010 and the reception has been very warm. MySpace adds continue to be a daily part of the band's routine. (www.myspace.com/openholesoul) The band is also on http://www.tunecore.com/, and will be on Facebook and Twitter by July. They have compiled an email list from all the fans who were on their original email list, and continually update those fans on their progress. They have come up with a whole new line of merchandise, which include t shirts, baby dolls, panties, girls camo pants, jerseys, stocking caps and much more. They will be doing a line of pink clothing for girls, and are planning a small line of child and infant clothing. They will be doing flyer drops as well, making sure all members of the band participate, and free stickers and CDs.

Anything and everything to get the band's name out and in your face. Through merchandise, print propaganda and social media, the word will spread. The high energy stage show and amazing band/fan relationship will re solidify their hold on the Groovecore genre they created. As the band has stated on their MySpace page, they're Bringin Satan Back!

Skin follow up

In April I posted a blog about Skin Industries, a Southern California based clothing company. I wrote about some of the marketing strategies the company uses, and what makes them stand out from other clothing companies. As part two of this blog, I will update what they have recently done marketing wise, and what I think they could do to make their marketing a little better.

Since my last post Skin has continued to post daily on MySpace and Facebook. They do well updating fans/friends of what they are doing. They have released their spring catalog, which was posted as a bulletin on MySpace. They are also updating frequently on new rider Mike Alessi. This is a good thing, as fans of Alessi can keep themselves updated by checking Skin's site. It's a good way to bring people in, and in turn see their merchandise. They are also adding pictures on MySpace and Facebook of more athletes and celebrities wearing Skin. Clearly anyone famous wearing your product is a boost to your brand name recognition. Social Media is a big part of Skin's marketing. They like to run different contests and giveaways through their socail media sites to make sure their fans keep visiting the sites. This is a great use of marketing. Currently they are running a contest where you can win $100 in Skin merchandise just for telling them what you're favorite Skin t shirt is. This is a way to advertise, and conduct market research at the same time.

With all this said, I feel Skin needs to work on keeping thier sites fresh and updated. They do great in sending out bulletins and posts on what's going on, but the sites don't change much. With Facebook this is a given. The site has a boring element to it anyway. It is used mostly to share information and not so much to be eye catching and draw new customers in. To that respect their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/skinindustries) does what it is supposed to do. It gives a lot of information, and provides links to their other sites. MySpace, however, is a different story. While they do a good job of sending out bulletins and posting info, the profile page has not changed for several months. It does not give the viewer anything new to look at, and thus no reason to go back there. I think adding minor things to the main page every couple weeks or so, gives the site (http://www.myspace.com/skinindustriesusa) a new energy, and a new purpose for people to view it. I understand that people feel that MySpace isn't prevelant anymore, but it is still a large social gathering place, and should not be ignored by companies looking to reach new people and keep people they alredy have.

It is my hope that Skin will continue to make quality gear and it will continue to become more acessible. Eminent Lifestyle Stores are carrying more and more Skin gear and accessories, and other stores are beginning to follow suit. This is the time for this great company to shine, and I think it is close if it just adjusts a few things with its marketing scheme.

Skin Industries blog project

Skin Industries is a California based clothing company, specializing in athletic wear for MMA and Motocross, but branching into sports of all kinds. The company was founded in 1998 by former X cross rider and fan Al Borda, who initially used the Skin brand name to make clothes for himself and a couple of friends. Today Skin is one of the biggest names in extreme sports, and a worldwide corporation.

Skin's marketing is second to none, and can be attributed to a lot of the company's recent success. Currently Skin can be found on MySpace (www.myspace.com/skinindustriesusa) and Facebook, as well as YouTube, Twitter, Blogger and even has an iPhone application. They also have an email fan list, and a newsletter. The company has retail stores in California and Pennsylvania, and is sold in many retailers throughout the U.S., such as Zumiez, Eminent Lifestyle and Tilly's on the west coast. The silhouette logo has become a recognizable logo throughout the sports and music world, as Skin continues to endorse athletes, musicians and adult film stars, amongst others. This is one of the tactics that has brought Skin to the forefront of the extreme lifestyle market.

In keeping with the companies roots, the they sponsor snowmobiler Ashley Chaffin, skateboarder Adam Taylor, and UFC president Dana White. However they have also branched out and have San Diego Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, and San Diego Chargers' players Jeromy Clary and Steve Gregory, as stars of more mainstream sports. But Skin goes beyond sports. They also endorse Djs and comedian Brad Williams. They also have models Brianna Banks and Gina Lynn, two of the adult film industries biggest stars. As well as many other popular models.

All of this could be called a gamble, and should put them in a very specific market, but the company has found a way to carve their niche into the mainstream clothing market and compete with companies like DC and Hurley. The company offers Men's, Women's and Children's clothes, the latter of which are offered without the silhouette logo, as not to offend anyone. Marketing strategies and flexibility like this is what separates Skin from competing extreme lifestyle brands.

Currently the company's MySpace has announced the release of the summer line. The company posts daily on MySpace and Facebook, and frequently runs contests and promotions using those social networking sites. The overall marketing of this company is spectacular, but I think the entertains they choose to work with and their use of social networking sites are what set them at a higher level than their competitors. Clearly with their logo and their company image they could easily be criticized, but Skin continues to grow in popularity. Their flexibility in their product line allows them to appeal to a wide range of people, while staying true to those who were with them from the start. Al Borda's vision for this company continues to expand and reach new people in new markets.

My only criticism of the company at this point is the availability of their products. They do have a very large selection online, however finding retail carriers in certain areas is not always easy. Accessibility of the product is obviously one of the most important aspects of any marketing campaign. In the Chicago land area Eminent Lifestyle is the largest retail carrier of Skin merchandise. They only have four stores in the area though, and Zumiez which also carries Skin, has a very small selection. I feel that as the company continues to progress, they will be finding better and more unique ways to get the products to new markets. The company's popularity has grown exponentially in recent years, and I see no reason for that trend to not continue. Increased popularity of extreme sports in general has helped to fuel Skin's rise in popularity, and I think that as their popularity continues to grow they will be able to open new stores in markets such as Chicago. Check out Skin for yourself at http://www.skinindustries.com/, or on MySpace or Facebook.