Interacting with Dealers:
This is Gemr, this is GoAntiques (see talking points below)
We’d like your business featured on Gemr...here is what we’ll do for you:
1. Create an account
2. List 10 items on that account (showing the ease of use of the mobile app)
3. Profile their business on the website / sent out to users (record Q&As via video to transcribe later; make sure to get a good photo of dealer with items)
4. Featured 2-3 items on the ‘Gemr Brimfield’ page (with contact info, price, etc)
5. Free 4 months of selling on GoAntiques
Questions (for 3.):
How did you get started in the business?
What do you specialize in?
Are you a collector as well, or is everything for sale?
Do you have a favorite piece that you’ve owned?
What type of person buys (what you’re selling)?
Do you still do most of your business face-to-face or via the Internet?
What’s your most recent score?
How has the market for antiques changed over the last 5 to 10 years?
Is there an item which you sold which you wish you had kept?
What advice would you give to someone that is considering getting in the business?
What is your ‘holy grail’ piece that you’d like to find?
Is there anything else you’d rather be doing?
Talking points:
Gemr - NEW, Easy to Use and GROWING
Importance of recent acquisition of GoAntiques for both sites
Gemr = Collector Community, GoA = Marketplace (which will eventually all become one)
Stress desire to connect with LOCAL businesses and collectors face to face with the goal of building the most comprehensive directory of all Northeast dealers and collectors and their collections / inventory
Stress the potential upside that both sites can add to their business
App - user friendly, easy to use (make sure to show step by steps)
Exciting new educational original video content
To Do (weekend, prior to going to Brimfield):
Post to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (not just the Gemr pages, post to groups / anything antique related). Include details for GoAntiques deal, ‘stop by and pick up a free t-shirt’ and daily special giveaways (if we’re going to do that; could be fun)
Bring:
sunscreen
comfortable shoes
hat
lots of water
extra batteries / powerpack for phone, tablets, etc
Video Content:
SEE 'The Antique Show' for over 2 hours of sample footage as well as these Similar type or series from other genres:
This Old House profiles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXuuXdZ5PLE&feature=plcp
LXTV's 1st Look: http://lxtv.com/1stlookny/video/11152
and, here are some other Brimfield Videos To Watch:
Cool Hunting Collectors: http://vimeo.com/14308028
Cool Hunting Dealers: http://vimeo.com/14308072
Tommy Hilfiger at Brimfield: http://vimeo.com/25737982
Part& Parcel: http://vimeo.com/23172884
Vintage and Modern at Brimfield: http://vimeo.com/42273402 http://vimeo.com/42273401 http://vimeo.com/42273404 http://vimeo.com/42273004
One Kings Lane at Brimfield: http://vimeo.com/34802311
'Vintage' Brimfield: http://vimeo.com/42271450
Youth and Antiques: http://vimeo.com/17830546
Interesting 'Collection': http://vimeo.com/21503761
The Pier Antique Show: http://vimeo.com/23986938
What we’ll be filming & what we’ll need:
Need:
Handheld mic
We’ll be looking at potentially 90-120 minutes of footage, so hard drives, extra batteries, etc
releases (if deemed necessary)
Filming:
Interviews:
Long Form Interviews with Dealers, Artisans and 'Special' Buyers (set decorators, auction/store owners, famous antiquers)
'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.
Questions:
Dealer Specific:
How did you get started in the business?
Are you a collector as well, or is everything for sale?
Do you have a favorite piece that you’ve owned?
What type of person buys (what you’re selling)?
Do you still do most of your business face-to-face or via the Internet?
What’s your most recent score?
How has the market for antiques changed over the last 5 to 10 years?
Is there an item which you sold which you wish you had kept?
What advice would you give to someone that is considering getting in the business?
What is your ‘holy grail’ piece that you’d like to find?
Is there anything else you’d rather be doing?
Do you notice more people coming back to shows like Brimfield?
Do you cater to primarily younger or older buyers?
Where do you see the business going in the future?
How did you start specializing in what you're doing?
stories of picking?
General:
What do you collect?
What are you hunting for?
Have you always been passionate about antiques / old stuff?
What are some of your greatest finds?
What is your holy grail piece?
How did you get started collecting?
Why are antiques special?
Vintage vs New, why choose vintage?
Neatest thing you’ve seen here at Brimfield?
What makes this particular show worth attending?
Fun & Games:
'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.
And a few more things, not for this Brimfield, but hopefully September:
Fun & Games:
'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 (especially kids) are shown an obscure, hard to identify item and have to try and guess what it is and what function it serves (toaster, porthole, weight loss machine, doorbell)
‘What's it Worth?’
1. comparison asking people which of two items is more valuable
2. asking audiences each item with quick description and 4 possibilities (quick)
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.
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.
'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.
Additional Questions:
Can photos be transferred from other sites (instagram, facebook)?
Do we currently have a spot lined up?
If we could get something right on the street to park the truck (in front of francesco's or across from the Meadows) that would be ideal, but if not we could likely park the van at the Meadows for the week for $75-150 (Betty Christo, the owner of the field would be the one to contact).
How many people may be we able to pull away from the office to get out there for a few days?
In an ideal situation, 6-7 would be perfect. This would include two cameras (one on the move with me, one stationed at the truck filming Q & A's with people), myself, one person directing the 2nd camera content and manning the booth, 2-3 people going from field to field, dealer to dealer, pitching the concept face to face (gemr and GoAntiques) and signing these individuals up. The local photographer / videographer that filmed all of the most recent content with me at Brimfield is Myles Woodworth of SeacostFlash.com. He's a young, talented guy who works efficiently and having been out there with me for several days has a very good idea of what sort of content we'd be looking to get, what questions to ask and how to get the most out of those on camera.
Will we have room in the budget for 'give aways' / do we have the capabilities within the site(s) for users to 'enter a contest'?
I think a great way to get people signed up would be to offer something unique, custom designed and yet fitting into the Brimfield theme as a giveaway; something that could be advertised on the facebook page, twitter, GoA, craigslist and so forth, that collectors would genuinely really like to have and for which users could enter from anywhere, but they'd have to pick up at Brimfield. Original art really fits this bill, is easy to create (I love doing stuff like this) and and is affordable. I've attached a dot image of an eames lounge chair that I put together. This could be printed as a 24 x 36 poster and well framed all in for under $50 and would look like something worth several hundred dollars. I could do the same thing for something with a pop culture theme as well as something that would appeal to the man cave / americana demo (i've attached an Indian Motorcyle piece that I recently made as an example). For under $200 we could have 4-5 giveaways that, on their own could draw in hundreds of new users. In looking toward Sneaker Con, I think something similar could be worth doing (see next post).
Off topic, but suggestions for Gemr ‘new user’ intro:
site opens with 'sign up' page, followed by 'are you a buyer, seller or both'(3 boxes, check one), then pick areas of interest (either many or just something as basic as antiques & vintage, toys and collectibles, sneakers and automobiles / man cave, then pick recommended groups based on these interests.
