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Essentials in
Valentines
Quick tips for Singing Valentines
Some further ideas on Singing Valentines.
Updated: 3/24/2006 3:44:06 PM
An action shot put this St. Cloud, Minn. quartet in the newspaper.How sweet it is!
It is a very simple process, really. A barbershop quartet arrives at a specified location, sings two songs to an often red-faced, sometimes tearful, recipient, presents a flower, card or candy to the person, perhaps a Polaroid photo is taken, and the quartet exits, heading out to repeat the process at yet another location. Total elapsed time, perhaps 10 minutes.
What is it that women (and many men!) find so endearing about receiving a Singing Valentine? The emotion of the day? The ingenuous lyrics of the songs? A little smugness as if to say, "See what my man did for me? Aren’t you just a bit jealous?"
Whatever it is, Singing Valentines can be big business and a big boost for the chapter coffers. The secret to success is planning … make that early planning. When Valentines Day falls during the week, it means businesses will be open and that’s good for SV business.
Now is the time to dust off that Singing Valentines Manual (www.barbershop.org/cb_00154). Don’t forget to check other resources at www.barbershop.org > Tools > Valentines.
The manual can help even novice chapters be successful. Be prepared to receive a lot of calls—return them all. Plan and plan some more. Scheduling and routing is critical … don’t have quartets crossing paths. Many chapters have found that assigning quartets to geographical areas smoothes out the deliveries. If you schedule a delivery at a specified time (most chapters charge a premium fee for this service), be on time.
Have a non-quartet driver drop off the quartet while he or she finds a parking place. The driver or a sixth person can serve as photographer. Have a cell phone to take late delivery orders (or to phone in the event of a breakdown). Quartets need to be well-rehearsed and auditioned. You have an obligation to your customers to provide the best performances possible. Start now. Pick the music and the quartets. Don’t just take four guys who say they want to sing. If your chapter is fortunate to have several volunteers, take the time to match the voices in each group. Pickup quartets can do a great job … the music team or music director should take an active role in helping the groups succeed.
Publicity
Of course, none of this works if no one knows about it. Publicity and advertising are critical to success. Naturally, the more creative you can be, the more attention that is drawn to your program. Keep a record of particularly touching or funny stories every year and refer to them in your press releases as the kind of thing that can happen during a delivery. (Good human interest angle, but no specific names unless it’s OK with the customer and recipient.)
Attend service club meetings (Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, etc.) early in January, and give away a Singing Valentine at the meeting. It is a great way to increase the orders.
Radio station giveaways are also great publicity and will usually get you on the air without any difficulty.
If you sing for a politician or other prominent person, arrange media coverage. It will help you the following year. Some chapters have surprised local television personalities on air. Tent cards, flyers or posters placed at the florist shop that supplies the chapter’s flowers, are very beneficial.
Finally, register your chapter online with SingingValentines.com, the Society’s national referral service.
It’s difficult to decide who’s having more fun, the recipient or the quartet. Many foursomes will find it difficult to sing if the emotion of the moment catches them off guard. But that, too, is part of the joy.
Tips
- Plan early
- Utilize online tools for Singing Valentines, including the manual, on the Society website
- Register with SingingValentines.com
- Select music
- Pick quartets
- Rehearse & audition quartets
- Pick an office crew
- Identify drivers & vehicles
- Advertise & promote
- Order supplies (cards, flowers, candy)
- Get cameras, film, batteries, photo holders
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