Proposed course of action; July-September 2015

July - September 2015

TO DO:

-Focus and capitalize on 250 mile radius (antique shows, comic cons, car shows, sneaker events, weekly flea markets)

-Goal of signing up every 'collector' shop within these 250 miles (details, photos, etc) and building a specific dealer space on the site (optimizing mapping and search tools)

-Seek out KEY collectors / collections (individuals, museums, etc) thru instagram, etc and work with them to build a library of useful images and information.

-Work with local auction houses and stores to develop content / educate them on how to create their own original content.

-connect with local public broadcasting networks (PBS, NHPTV) and Comcast / Time Warner to develop content

NEED:

-Offer free listings to sellers / stores to compete with the likes of craigslist, ebay, 1stdibs, etc and reach out to these sellers along these various platforms

-Create incentives (gemr bucks, giveaways) for signing up, adding photos, etc; especially important for the sneaker and toy markets and small retailers.

-Daily emails sent to full subscriber list (gemr & goantiques) with multimedia content, articles, collector of the day and so on.

Proposed Video Content  for niche areas of collecting: Antiques, Sneakers, Toys / 

Pop Culture and Cars (primarily New England based and Viewer Created Content):

ANTIQUES:

Utilize local antique shows and events with interview based content (SEE 'The Antique Show' for over 2 hours of sample footage)

1. Long Form Interviews with Dealers, Artisans and 'Special' Buyers (set decorators, auction/store owners, famous antiquers)

2. Short Format Interviews:

'Questions for buyers' - 'What did you buy?', 'What are you looking for?', 'Why are antiques special?', 'What makes this particular show worth visiting?', etc.

'Unique Item Spotlight' - sellers discuss specific items of interest with history, provenance, value, etc (as we did in the sample episode)

'Personal Stories of 'Picking'' - Most every dealer has at least one amazing story of finding a diamond in the rough or something funny / interesting happening with an item. This is their opportunity to discuss that.

'Best thing I Ever Bought/Should have Bought' - Collectors and Dealers discuss that one item that they were either lucky enough to find or had the opportunity to purchase and missed out.

3. Fun & Games...testing the knowledge of buyers, sellers and collectors and having a good laugh along the way:

'What's It Worth?' - individuals are shown an image of a unique item that recently sold and have to guess what they think it sold for.

'Real Story / Fake Story' - individuals are shown an 'expert' giving the history of an item along with it's provenance, etc; some of which are actually by experts and are completely accurate, others of which are completely fabricated, and the individual has to choose whether they think the story is true or false.

'Antiques/Repro' - individuals are given the opportunity to see and touch an item and judge whether they think it's a genuine antique or a reproduction.

'What is It?' - blindfolded individuals have to guess what an item is based purely on touch.

'It's a...?' - individuals are shown an obscure, hard to identify item and have to try and guess what it is and what function it serves.

4. Profile Local Stores (near the show that we're visiting); as with 'This Old House' and 'Antiques Roadshow' when they venture off to museums to see collections.

5. Other Elements:

'The Rush' - Single shot following a fellow buyer as a show opens and everyone is speeding around, trying to see as much as they can in a short time with interactions with other buyers, sellers, history and value of items and so on.

'Before / After' - feature an individual that purchased an item with the intent of repurposing it and see the before and after.

'Good Buy / Bad Buy' - Buyers have the opportunity to ask an appraiser whether the items they purchased were a good value or whether they paid to much.

'Valuation' - Antique / Collecting game show; details at valuationtv.blogspot.com , as well as a complete episode synopsis, a full episode sampler, with lots and lots of wonderful visuals.

‘Dealer vs Dealer’ - the ultimate 'man's man' competition series.   Each episode features two professional dealers (or teams) that go head to head to see who can take $10,000 and buy and sell the most items to turn the biggest profit in a week's time.  Each episode would feature new teams as well as recurring dealers/teams (winners stay, losers walk).  The dealers featured would be from all walks of life - antique dealers, car dealers, storage locker buyers, artists, pickers and so on; real, tough, veterans of the business, with each episode not only showing how and where these dealers find and buy items, but also the intense race to turn them for a profit in a short week's time - not an easy task.

  

SNEAKERS:

'Kicks Collector in...Boston' - Tour local sneaker boutiques in a particular city, creating 3-5 minute piece for each.  In exchange for this service / free publicity we could potentially gain sponsorship for other projects (see below).

Boston sneaker stores:

Bodega

Concepts

At the Buzzer

AWOL

Laced

Sneaker Junkies

'Know Your Kicks' game show - jeopardy-format with 3 contestants and board of 20-25 questions in 4-5 categories such as 'launch date' (give date / year with 3 possible sneaker options), 'which came first' (2 colorways of same shoe or 2 different shoes), 'sample, custom or fake',  'retro'd' (shoes that have been retro'd multiple times with list of 3 possible years for this release), 'designer collaborations', 'retail price' (price when released), 'in 1995 this player wore...' (with 3 sneaker options),  'in college' (what players wore in college), 'to retro or not to retro' (shoes that have or have not been retro'd).  Each board would have 1-2 special 'gift' questions (free gift from sneaker boutique) and the winner of the show get a gift card from one of these stores (provided by them).

'Launch' - visit sneaker boutiques and chains to talk with individuals waiting in line for a big sneaker release (happens surprisingly often)

'Sneaker Showdown' - monthly custom sneaker themed challenges with prizes (Kicks Collector items, gift certificates, etc)

Sneakers Qs - Call for viewer created videos answering Qs to put together montages:

What is your Holy Grail pair of kicks?

First pair you had to have?

Interesting story of how you've acquired (waiting in line, etc)

If you had to wear one pair to wear for the rest of your life?

Favorite non-collectible pair of sneakers?

First pair that you spent $200 on?

How many pairs in your collection?

I wish nike would retro...

What does the future hold for the hobby?

TOYS / POP CULTURE items: 

Utilize local comic cons and events with interview based short form content:

'You Need Help' - 2 minute 'on the move' game played with the least nerdy people at comic con (booth babes, etc), where they have 2 minutes to answer 5 uber nerd questions.  How, you ask?  Well, the can get help from whomever they want.  We follow them as they run around and ask whomever they like, get as many different answers as they want and give us their final answer.  Answer 5 in two minutes, they win (a t-shirt or a piece of swag).

'Con Connection' - 35% of comic con attendees have dated someone they've met at comic-con' (nypost).  This segment would feature interviews with comic con singles and try to set them up in a 'love connection' type mock game show with three nerd-ettes vying for the heart of one lovable nerd.

http://nypost.com/2014/07/22/the-dating-scene-is-red-hot-at-comic-con/

'2 Minute Sketch' - Comic Con is full of talented artists, some aspiring unknowns and some known to all.  It's amazing how quickly many can work.  This segment would give these artists two minutes to draw whatever they'd like.

'Best.  Idea.  Ever.' - Pitch pre-existing, well known comic story arcs to uber nerds and ask for their feedback.  Expected reactions would be along the lines of, 'Are you serious, you know that's the origin story to the Fantastic 4?' to which the conversation would continue along the lines of 'No, I just thought of this, what are you talking about?  And, who are the Fantastic 4?'.

'Do you know...(the character that you're dressed as)?' - Cosplay is the most prominent feature of comic con.  Most that dress up know their character better than anyone, but there's a lot of people (especially attractive girls) that simply pick the sexiest costume available and know very little about that character.  This is an opportunity to test both ends of the spectrum on how knowledgeable they are.  The fun part is that all questions are completely made up on the spot with no basis in reality.  Telling someone their right or wrong about a ridiculous question can make them feel surprisingly good or bad about themselves. 

'Nerd Crush' - It's common for nerds to have crushes on characters from their favorite comic book, cartoon or video game.  This is their opportunity to pour their heart out to someone that doesn't actually exist.

'Marry, 'make love', throw off a cliff' - Take the classic middle school game and put forth the question with 3 heroes / heroines.  

For example: 'George Clooney's Batman, Brandon Routhe's Superman, Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern; who would you marry, who would you want to make love to and whom would you throw off a cliff?'

'I Collect...' - Simply asking those walking around the halls of comic con what it is that they collect and are passionate about.

'Casting Call...' - Write up a page of hilarious and ridiculous dialogue from a fake sequel (ex: Star Wars Episode 7) and have super fans audition for a role.

'Nerds Talk Sports' - There are few things more entertaining than asking individuals about topics for which they're not particularly informed.  Typically, those at comic con aren't the most avid sports fans, so to ask them about players and teams that don't actually exist is a recipe for hilarious  video content.

'One Superpower' - Ask individuals if they could have one superpower, what would it by, why and how would they use it (and for good or evil).

'Know Your Toys' - game show, based around the same format as 'Know Your Kicks' 

Toy Qs - Call for viewer created videos answering Qs to put together montages:

What is your favorite toy?

Interesting story (s) of collecting

What is your holy grail toy?

Keep in the package or play with?

Favorite era of toys?

Most you've ever spent on one toy?

How would you describe a toy collector?

CARS:

'My Classic'- Visit local car shows and auctions, spotlighting individual cars and their owners.

'Affordable Classic' - Driving and then auctioning off affordable classic cars (nothing over $25K).

Car Qs - Call for viewer created videos answering Qs to put together montages:

First car?

Dream car?

Car which you wish you had kept?

Favorite movie car?

If you had to drive one vehicle for the rest of you life?

Upcoming New England Events

Antiques:

SOWA Vintage Market - Boston - every sunday throughout the summer / fall

Todd Farm Flea Market - Rowley - every sunday through the fall

Brimfield Antique Fair - July 14-19, September 8-13

Vintage Bazaar - salisbury - September 26-27

Sneakers:

Boston Got Sole - Jul 11th

Sneaker Con NY / Sole Con - July 25th

Hype East - Boston - August 2nd

Take Flight Sneaker Con - Lowell - August 8th

Sneaker Showcase - Newton - August 15th

Sneaker Pimps - Boston - October 18th

Toys / Pop Culture:

Boston Comic Con - July 31 - August 2nd

Granite State Comic Con - Manchester - September 12th

Alternicon - Boston - November 21st

New Jersey Comic Expo - November 21st

Greater Boston Toy Show - December 6th

Cars:

Skip's Hamburgers Cruise in - merrimac - every saturday (mega cruise July 25th)

4th Annual SEMA Car Appreciation Cruise Night - Exeter - July 10th

Hampton Falls Cruise Night - July 16th

Misselwood Concours d'Elegance - Beverly - July 25-26

New England Dragway swap meet and flea market - July 26th, September 6th & 27th, October 25th

Cruisin the 50s - Newburyport - August 13th

New England Auto Auction - Owls Head, ME - August 22nd

Cruisin' New England Circle of Champions - west springfield - September 19th & 26th

Vintage Bazaar Motorcycle Show - salisbury - September 26-27

Cruisin' New England Super Wheels Showdown - boston - October 3rd

'On the Road' Proposal

Multimedia content should not be thought of as a mere marketing strategy; rather, it should be considered the single most important resource that can define Gemr's brand identity.  Personally, I'd like to see Gemr as the one and only site that people think of when they want to watch any form of content in the antique / collecting genre.  To that end, here is what I propose:

Objective:

To increase the user base & value of Gemr via original multimedia content

Logistics:



Events:

Whether traveling coast to coast or visiting local antique & collectible shows, these gatherings bring together more potential Gemr users in one day than might be reached via online marketing strategies in a weeks time.  These collectors and enthusiasts crave connectiving, interactivity and new forms of content.  Give them something that facebook, instagram and twitter cannot, notably original video content, and users will follow. 

For each day of shooting with myself and a crew of 2-3 (camera/sound, runner/release forms) I’d expect no less than 30 minutes of edited content, broken down into 8-12 short segments (as outlined in pitch for SD Comic Con).   

I’d be happy to put together a list of potential events for the month of August or September if that would be helpful.        

Eye toward TV: 

I’d like to see Gemr in 3-5 years as the go to source for all antique / collectible content, both web based and developed / produced for television.  Where I think the biggest opportunity in television lies is in the live auction format.  In the last 2-3 years, the number of hours of live collector car auctions has jumped from a handful each year to 10s of hours each week on at least two specialty networks.  I can’t help but think that the next wave will include live art, antiques and collectibles for the likes of PBS, the History Channel and Ovation.  If we could corner that market by signing on the top auction houses and prove the concept online, this could be Gemr’s ticket into the lucrative world of television, and more importantly bring millions of new users back to the website.

Of course, this can be a daunting, somewhat costly venture, but with risk comes the potential for great reward.  If not Gemr, another website or production company will eventually see the potential in this market and will capitalize. 

Another ‘made for tv’ concept that may be of interest to you is an innovative collecting game show that I developed, ‘Valuation’.  You can read more at ValuationTV.blogspot.com 

User submitted content:

When we first spoke, I mentioned my admiration of Current TV in it’s earliest years, airing viewer created content 24/7.  By incentivizing the creation of quality docu-style content, Current was able to amass an impressive catalog of content that would have cost immeasurable time and money if self-produced.  In a similar model to Current and ‘Funny or Die’, Gemr must first produce it’s own content (from above) to show potential filmmakers what is expected of them in the creation of their own original content.  If succesful, this is how you jump from a few hours of self-produced content each week and turn it into hundreds of hours of quality viewer created pieces which would then be curated for Gemr users.  This model would also lend well to a series for television.

Necessary Resources:

More important than money is man-power and recognition.  At present, if anyone google’s Gemr, one of the first thing that comes up is that you all raised $5M in venture capital.  The figure alone is impressive, but more importantly it legitimizes the business to event hosts, auction houses, production companies and all those that we’d want to work with.  This, plus a series of quality ideas, which I think I have, is half the battle.  Production is comparatively easy.  Post production is challenging and time consuming.  Promotion is where much of the man-power / money comes into play to make sure the right people know that your content exists.  This comes back to visiting countless events and connecting with collectors on other platforms and showing them the potential of Gemr.  

The cost of everything that i've put forth depends entirely on how far in you'd like to go.  With any business decision my father taught me to ask, 'do the ends justify the means?'  To this I would say, give me your support, give me your resources and my work will help pave the way toward Gemr becoming a billion dollar business.  The demand within the collecting world is for multimedia content; Gemr can pave the way. 

Sample Content Ideas

To give you an example of the type of content that is possible and could prove successful I thought it would be worthwhile to pitch you some ideas.  To start, being that  San Diego Comic Con is only a month and a half away and makes for the perfect backdrop, I figured what better place to start.  I first researched what videos had 1 million+ hits on youtube, and as you might expect, many feature attractive girls in cosplay as well as an elite level of nerdiness.  Most are very light in their tone, placing special emphasis on wit and humor, which I think is some of the most fun stuff to shoot.  With that in mind, I compiled this short list of segments, most running 1-3 minutes long and achieved using a method which has proved most efficient (which I'd be happy to elaborate on).       

Being a nerd myself, I used the term endearingly...

Segments:

'You Need Help' 

2 minute 'on the move' game played with the least nerdy people at comic con (booth babes, etc), where they have 2 minutes to answer 5 uber nerd questions.  How, you ask?  Well, the can get help from whomever they want.  We follow them as they run around and ask whomever they like, get as many different answers as they want and give us their final answer.  Answer 5 in two minutes, they win (a t-shirt or a piece of swag).

'Con Connection' 

'35% of comic con attendees have dated someone they've met at comic-con' (nypost).  This segment would feature interviews with comic con singles and try to set them up in a 'love connection' type mock game show with three nerd-ettes vying for the heart of one lovable nerd.

http://nypost.com/2014/07/22/the-dating-scene-is-red-hot-at-comic-con/

'2 Minute Sketch'

Comic Con is full of talented artists, some aspiring unknowns and some known to all.  It's amazing how quickly many can work.  This segment would give these artists two minutes to draw whatever they'd like.

'Best.  Idea.  Ever.' 

Pitch pre-existing, well known comic story arcs to uber nerds and ask for their feedback.  Expected reactions would be along the lines of, 'Are you serious, you know that's the origin story to the Fantastic 4?' to which the conversation would continue along the lines of 'No, I just thought of this, what are you talking about?  And, who are the Fantastic 4?'.

'Do you know...(the character that you're dressed as)?' 

Cosplay is the most prominent feature of comic con.  Most that dress up know their character better than anyone, but there's a lot of people (especially attractive girls) that simply pick the sexiest costume available and know very little about that character.  This is an opportunity to test both ends of the spectrum on how knowledgeable they are.  The fun part is that all questions are completely made up on the spot with no basis in reality.  Telling someone their right or wrong about a ridiculous question can make them feel surprisingly good or bad about themselves. 

'Nerd Crush' 

It's common for nerds to have crushes on characters from their favorite comic book, cartoon or video game.  This is their opportunity to pour their heart out to someone that doesn't actually exist.

'Marry, 'make love', throw off a cliff' 

Take the classic middle school game and put forth the question with 3 heroes / heroines.  

For example: 'George Clooney's Batman, Brandon Routhe's Superman, Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern; who would you marry, who would you want to make love to and whom would you throw off a cliff?'

'I Collect...'

Simply asking those walking around the halls of comic con what it is that they collect and are passionate about.

'Casting Call...'

Write up a page of hilarious and ridiculous dialogue from a fake sequel (ex: Star Wars Episode 7) and have super fans audition for a role.

'Nerds Talk Sports' 

There are few things more entertaining than asking individuals about topics for which they're not particularly informed.  Typically, those at comic con aren't the most avid sports fans, so to ask them about players and teams that don't actually exist is a recipe for hilarious  video content.

'One Superpower'

Ask individuals if they could have one superpower, what would it by, why and how would they use it (and for good or evil).

I hope that with this presentation you might get an idea of how passionate I am and how much I'd like to work with Gemr.  Of course, these are just ideas, of which I generally have more than I know what to do with.  I love bringing a great idea all the way to fruition.  That being said, I follow direction as well as any and if you were to hire me I understand fully that the final decisions would come down to you. 

Sample T-Shirt Designs

A few t-shirt designs I put together for, as an example San Diego Comic Con 

The Power of Video Content & How I can help you.

The more that I familiarize myself with the Gemr site and your overall web presence the more confident I am that I can add significant value to a site and a brand which I think has endless potential.  I know the idea of taking someone on to roam around the country creating web videos might sound crazy, but I think it's a very low risk, not particularly costly venture with more potential upside than any other marketing strategy.  The reality is that at a place like SD Comic Con or Brimfield, where the most passionate collectors for each segment congregate,  if we create a series of short videos and just one of them goes viral, the number of Gemr users could double in a week.  

A few months back you had put out an open call through youtube for someone to host the 'You Collect Whaaat?' series.  Had I known, I would have most certainly been in contact then, rather than now, but as I initially stated, I think it's kismet that I came across Gemr at Brimfield.  I love what you're doing.  I want to be a part of it.  I'm not a tech guy, rather I'm a lifelong antiquer and a collector with more experience than just about anyone you could ever come across in the antique & collectible genre of television / entertainment.  I have seen it all, pitched, been in front of the camera and behind, seen what works and what does not and have a clear vision moving forward.  I love the idea of going out on the road and it's important to note that I actually have the freedom to do it.  I could pack up and leave tomorrow for a six month journey without hesitation.  I can and I would.  And, the content that I produce would put Gemr in a league of it's own.  Not only does original video content have the potential to bring new users to the site; more importantly, it's something unique and fresh that will keep users coming back.