#BrandManagerMonth - Sophie Doherty of Big Concerts

What is it like managing such a well-known South African brand?

It’s fun, exciting and very, very busy.

What have been some of your highlights while working for Big Concerts?

One of my big highlights was the One Direction on-sale. We’ve had high demand ticket sales in the past, but this took it to a new level selling out 183,000 tickets in an hour. The whole office was abuzz and our phone line broke from fans trying to get GC tickets.

Tell us about a day in your work life.

It’s definitely not a usual nine-to-five job. My usual day involves plotting marketing strategies, briefing on new campaigns, tracking ticket sales and social media. In the evening LA wakes up, so I deal a lot with the different agents and artist management teams to discuss announcement and current campaigns. Then, once a tour starts, I travel round the country working with the media partners and venues.

What does brand management mean to you?

In one word: perception.

What do you see currently as the main challenges and/or opportunities for your brand sector?

Live Nation, the biggest promoter worldwide, has recently acquired Big Concerts, so it’s a very exciting opportunity at the moment and one that can lead to South Africa being included in global offers and competing on a global scale. However, we still need to submit offers against a depreciating rand, so the exchange rate is a massive challenge for us at the moment in order to get the big artists to promote under our brand name.

What is the brand marketing budget usually split across - ATL, BTL, digital, content marketing etc.?

It depends on the artist and timings. Luckily, we have great content - especially with the mix of artists we promote.

Does your brand still see the value of TV, print and other mainstream media?

Very much so, but our digital assets are growing stronger.

What do you love most about the Big Concerts brand?

I love the fact that our brand lives through live music. Our brand is synonymous with first-class international artists and the experience of seeing them perform live.

What do you love most about South African consumers?

Their passion! They will tell you exactly what they want and how they feel about their experiences. Music is such an individual opinion and someone’s musical taste is so different from the next person’s, so we often receive a lot of zealous feedback. I don’t think we’ve announced one artist that has pleased everyone.

What are your own personal favourite brands?

In the music industry I’ve always loved the Live Nation brand, so it’s a great opportunity now to be a part of their time. Artist brands that I think have been managed fantastically are: Justin Bieber, Adele, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Beyoncé.

What’s on your wish list for Big Concerts brand objectives for 2016?

Making sure we get biggest global tours, which then live under our brand name.

www.bigconcerts.co.za