Premier Guitar Festivals

Premier Guitar Festival is the first-of-its-kind “surround sound” event where attendees can listen to some of the world's top guitar players live on stage; learn how to beef up their rhythm, lead, and improvisation chops; participate in workshops, clinics, and jams sessions; demo the latest guitars, pedals, amps, and recording gear; buy or trade vintage instruments; and connect with players, artists and educators—all in one event. A collaboration between Premier Guitar Magazine, a monthly publication dedicated to the serious and accomplished guitar player, Premier Guitar Festivals, and TrueFire, an interactive and educational guitar consortium made up of over 450 artists and educators, this festival is, according to Premier Guitar Festivals’ Director of Operations Shelby Kraus, “A celebration of the guitar.”

The Challenge

The client sought PAN’s assistance in driving attendance and awareness of this new hybrid concept of guitar festivals bringing together education, entertainment, as well as guitar collectors. The PAN team had a mere two weeks to capture the imagination of the public and bring traffic to this unique festival. And, on top of time constraints, the kickoff festival in Boston was held on a fall weekend competing with a Red Sox/Yankees game, the Boston Home Show, and numerous other popular events.

The Approach

The PAN team immediately set in motion an aggressive outreach campaign to local dailies, weeklies, TV, radio, blogs, online and entertainment publications. The team also reached out to local TV producers—focusing on Boston as the choice city to kickoff the Premier Guitar Festival due to the city’s strong musical influences including the likes of J. Geils—a featured entertainer at the event. The team immediately followed up each pitch with an engaging press release describing this unique event for guitar players, collectors, retailers, and enthusiasts.

The Results

Despite having just two weeks to conduct outreach, the PAN team was able to secure outstanding coverage in nearly every publication it targeted. The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix, Weekly Dig, Boston NOW, Boston Herald, and Modern Guitars Magazine all dedicated space to the story.

• The Boston Herald ran a feature story, complete with glowing quotes from Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton about the event: "It's like a dream about Christmas."
• Boston Magazine‘s online newsletter ran a story on the front page of its weekly “Go To” guide, which offers scoops on things to see and do during the coming weekend.
• The Boston Globe ran a major piece in the Friday edition entitled “Muriel Anderson Brings Star Power to Guitar Festival”, complete with multiple photos and a link to watch the acclaimed guitarist perform the tune “Angelina Baker.”
• Boston NOW featured a photo of festival performers, The Frank Vignola Quintet, as well as a collectable guitar.
• The Boston Globe's SideKick section highlighted the festivals’ "Little Kids Rock" session for children interested in developing their music skills.
• GOING Boston enticed visitors, stating “If you just can’t get enough Guitar Hero, then this fest is for you.”
• Boston University’s Daily Free Press featured a post-event wrap-up.
• NECN covered the first day of the show, interviewing the publisher of Premier Guitar Magazine, Trent Sulter, and displaying footage of beautiful collectors-edition guitars.
• Fox TV provided pre-show coverage, complete with stock footage of a young J. Geils performing.