A RECAP OF 2007 FOR FRIENDS OF ICONIC
It has been an amazing year for us and for a lot of our good friends. This year especially seemed to peace out way too quickly, but we managed to fit in a lot of big moves and made some great strides as a business. We recently found out that ICONIC Marketing was ranked #10 (out of over 150) for Phoenix Marketing Firms by RANKING ARIZONA (comes out in February)… not bad for our first year of doing business as marketing consultants! Thank you all for voting! And ICONIC Entertainment, of course, remains the top nightlife promotions company so no movement on that front! But a pat on our back would be out of line, because you loyal effers brought us here.
It continues to be amazing to us to think back 2 1/2 years when a couple of youngins armed with a helpful internship, gift of the gab, and a knack for marketing - with the major help of two other legendary original partners - decided that a new promotions company was needed and set out to build one from scratch… During a car ride home from who the hell knows where, we picked the name ICONIC from a short list of about 50 that we had narrowed down to… Our next order of business was to call on every friend and call in every favor in an effort to rally the troops to show up to our damn events… Shortly after that, we had a ginormous flop for ICONIC Entertainment’s inaugural party at which the staff outnumbered the guests… very embarrassing and very humbling (do you remember where that inaugural party took place? NEXT Nightclub / Do you remember what the theme was? LINGERIE)… We experienced some serious ups and downs that first year with an up being the creation of our legendary ‘Mid Week Chic’ Wednesdays at Myst (our very first gig in the industry thanks to EEG), which came to an end this past September after an unheard of 2+ YEAR RUN (average life span for a promotion is three months), and some downs being the struggles we had to go through to prove ourselves as a legitimate new business and not just another schmuck promoter who exists one month and is gone the next … We even went from four original partners, down to two, and now just one (all of the original four remain very good friends, ask them, I swear!). The promotions staff has changed often as happens in nightlife, but some have stuck around for the entire stretch, one of which is Jordan Smith our promotions director… good effing work J! We’ve always been proud of having the most talented staff of promoters; standup guys and gals that have helped further the brand and, in turn, got some sweet perks and pay in return. Our next big task is to search for quality employees to help carry the workload that comes with the more mainstream marketing that we are now doing; hire #1 in that department was Cyrus H. a few months ago who has turned out to be a valuable part of the team. I have no doubt when all is said and done that this side of our staff will be the best of the best as well.
It is definitely worth mentioning that some energetic bastards who were at event #1 continue to attend ICONIC events which is simply incredible; one such guy who is now one of my closest friends is Willy Godsil, thanks brosky for the support and good luck in NY!
Our clients have been amazing to us. Each project, through thick and thin, has left us with more experience and more contacts than we know what to do with (well not really, we know exactly what to do with it). Some clients we learn from every day… some are more glamorous than others… and some are a whole new ballgame for us. Nevertheless, each project is super challenging and very exciting!
Most have known us as ‘promoters’ since that’s how we got our start and built the brand for the longest time, but 2007 was about expanding and diversifying and getting people to recognize us also as ‘consultants’ or mainstream ‘marketers.’ I think we did a pretty good job at that given that our client list is impressive and fast growing. After SuperBowl (during which ICONIC will host one of the premier parties of the entire week… to be announced soon) we will turn our full attention to closing significant marketing deals with a few big-time companies that we have our sights set on while continuing to design, plan and host the best events Scottsdale has to offer. Our current weekly nightlife schedule includes Mondays and Thursdays and we will very soon be introducing a brand new ICONIC promotion on Saturdays; the first time ICONIC has had a Saturday night, ever!!! Don’t forget our ‘one-off’ or ‘one-of’ events (industry term for events thrown once a month or once every few months with a client)… next up is the Sutra Sushi Grand Opening at Barcelona on Friday, January 18th which will be an insane party!
Oh and if you’re wondering what about the dream initiatives that we have talked about in the past like the clothing line, expanding promotions to other cities, and the interactive website, hold tight cus those are all on their way.
We get asked a lot what really goes into promoting or what really is marketing consulting. I think it makes for great conversation so if you run into us, please do ask. I bet you we will have a few questions for you as well, like “Do you want an autograph?” or “Did you ever think you would be standing next to a legend?” or “Do you want a damn shot or not?” KIDDING. Seriously though, we want to get to know you better as a friend, as a client, as a guest, so effing introduce yourself and let the legendary times roll!!! Here’s to 2008 and all of the great things we will accomplish with you by our side…
(sidenote: I use the term ‘we’ interchangeably with ‘I’ because I am speaking on behalf of the staff & close friends and want to be clear that there is a well-oiled machine behind all of this ICONIC madness and not just one silly bastard with an ego… so the answer is NOPE, I don’t speak like this just for shits and giggles)
