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?