(08-07-2009, 12:18 AM)VAMPS + American Street Team + Wrote:

(08-06-2009, 07:53 PM)VAMPkito Wrote: There were a few things that needed to be worked out better. Particularly, I think we should have spread the word more as to what "VAMPS" is. I talked to a lot of HUGE-ASS J-Rock fans and asked them about the VAMPS tour, and they said they didn't even know who VAMPS were. I told them it was HYDE's new side project with K.A.Z. and they were like "O_O OMG REALLY?" Look at this forum for example. It's the only official English forum of HYDE (excluding MySpace and shit like that) and on a matter of scale, only a small portion of the fan base actually use it because they don't know about VAMPS.

Just so I don't get a bunch of comments on that paragraph, I am NOT criticizing the decision to form VAMPS as opposed to staying under HYDE's solo name. I think it's very good that K.A.Z. is getting the credit he deserves as opposed to staying in HYDE's shadow. I'm just saying that the band itself was poorly promoted. Most fans are currently under the understanding that HYDE hasn't released anything new for three years. When Gackt formed S.K.I.N., everybody knew about it... and as a result, even though we have yet to get so much as one god damn single from them, they continue to get good ratings. The primary reason for everyone knowing about S.K.I.N. being that Gackt was used as promotion. (That and Yoshiki from X-Japan is in it) - Whereas with VAMPS, it was advertised similar to a new, independent band consisting of young musicians with little band experience. Like one user said, if we used HYDE's popularity to the advantage a bit more, the VAMPS alertness would probably skyrocket.

Another thing I didn't particularly like was the choice of venues. I know this has nothing to do with the fan promotion, but I just want this to be heard or something. I believe topic was about things that did/didn't go right in the tour as opposed to just rpromotion. Anyway, I don't know about all the other shows, but the security was extremely limited in New York as we all know, and in Baltimore, there were only two guards whose primary goals were simply to check for cameras and other recording devices. To be fair, this was only a major problem in New York. Still, to prevent further New York incidents, I'd recommend looking into how the security functions when booking a venue. If not, maybe putting up signs such as "Violent dancing and fighting will not be tolerated in tonight's VAMPS concert. Anyone caught will be escorted from the building." - Not to mention SONAR never answers the freaking phone. =x - My father and I got lost in Baltimore looking for the damn place. We found it completely by accident. I don't want to rely on that kind of luck again, so in the future, I'd like it if they booked more reliable venues so that we can call for directions if we end up getting lost again.

Not to mention, the autograph session was a tad tyrannic. It shouldn't have mattered where we got the tickets as long as we can prove they're legit.

Back on the subject of actual promotion, things I did like, as others have said, is that we advertised them as MUSICIANS, not as JAPANESE rock stars, not as something that Anime fans will like, not as J-Rockers, but as simply rock stars. That's how J-Musicians -should- be advertised. As MUSICIANS. I'm sorry if it's bending the rules by talking about other bands. I'm using them as a comparison, though. When the Japanese Goth band, BLOOD, came to America on their final tour earlier this year, they were promoted as a Goth band, not as a Japanese Goth band, which is how it should be and that's how it was for VAMPS too. Another thing I'm glad about is that they weren't advertised as "Visual Kei" simply because they're not. A lot of people would probably use the term "Visual Kei" as a term to bring in profits from obsessed fangirls, rather they are VK or not.

As far as everything else, everyone pretty much already said it in detail, so I've no need to repeat it.

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VAMPkito, I agree with you entirely. VAMPS ARE IN FACT musicians, not just some product from Japan. I noticed that on all their promotional materials, it said, "From Japan," however, while it's true that they are from Japan and they do often sing in Japanese, they are first and foremost musicians. I think people forget that fact sometimes. My only concern is: how can we reach out to people who do not know about VAMPS? Any suggestions? It's hard because it's not like these people are just in one specific location, you know? I have been having difficulties locating people who are unaware about VAMPS' awesome music. Even though the tour is over, *lol* it seems as though we're back to square one, doesn't it?

Yep....because after the initial excitement and ticket buying anxiety was over with, we all concentrated on promotion. And here we are again.....they haven't even announced a new tour and we are already trying to promote them. Is this dedication or what? lol