Our Take: Livestreams…Our Newest Connection

It was the Summer of 2000 when we began to advertise our first cruise program, The Jazz Cruise 2001. We went to some office supply store and used their mimeograph machine to churn out 1,000 copies of a flyer. Sometimes I can still smell the ink. I would share whether I liked that fragrance or not, but it might disclose too much information!
 
The front of the flyer listed the cruise dates. the name of the ship, the ports-of-call and, of course, the names of the musicians. The back listed the staterooms, the prices, and the reservation procedure for completing a reservation. No art. No logo. Just the facts!
 
We folded each flyer in thirds, placed it in an envelope, sealed, it and labeled it with our return address and the address of the guest. Or, in this case, the “hoped for” guest. The mailing list was a compilation of names and addresses gathered during many years of participating in NCL’s Jazz at Sea program. Never a full ship charter, the cruise did attract more than 1100 patrons each year.
 
For those in the know, you must be scratching your head as to my use of the word “we,” a reference that would seemingly include myself and others. Yes, I was there for the start of that program. I’m not sure what I was doing and I am certainly sure that I did not know much. My mother ran the show then and she was in her element.
 
In 2000, a standard first-class U.S. postage stamp cost 33 cents. If we mailed out 1,000 flyers, that would have been a cost of $330. If we mailed out 1,000 flyers, that would have been a cost of $330. Our labor force were the folks in Mom’s travel agency, Traveline, Ltd. A nice dinner and some cocktails made that happen. I certainly was not being paid The mailer worked. The cruise sold out in weeks. Pretty simple and certainly cost effective. 
 
Times changed. As the number and size of the cruises grew, so did the marketing efforts. Radio spots and print ads were the next level. Our relationship with the Sabin family, owners of Jazz Times, became a significant factor in our advertising. On a cost of sale analysis, this method of marketing was the most expensive in our history. Even today, the cost of print ads and radio spots are very high, despite their reduced effectiveness and popularity.
 
We became firmly entrenched in the digital world of marketing, using emails, social media, and other forms of communication as are the vehicles for “getting the word out.” The actual transmission of the information is fairly priced;, but the real costs lie in is what you need to do to create a good plan and the people you need to hire to implement it. Even so, the effectiveness of digital marketing can be difficult to discern.
 
One thing for sure, the very best advertising is to make sure that our cruises are top notch and that our guests are treated well and believe that our cruises are good values. We try to maintain a personal connection with our guests whenever possible. When asked why we do not issue “surveys” or “questionnaires,” our response is that we do not have to, we know what they are thinking because we talk to them.

In recent years, we have added that level of connection to our pre-cruise activities. Livestreamed conversations have proven to be a great addition to our panoply of touchpoints, ranging from introductory and informational forums aimed at guests considering a sailing to addressing booked guests with key tips and updates on particular cruises. 
 
Not only are we able to present information in an organized and consistent manner, but we can field questions in real time. Even when there are hundreds of folks on the call, the livestreams have the feel and impact of talking to each other on a one-on-one basis.
 
We have three Livestream presentations coming up. One each for Chris Botti at Sea III, Journey of Jazz ‘27 and David Foster: The Hitman Cruise ’27. The first two are on the same day, April 23, featuring Journey of Jazz in the late afternoon (4 pm ET) and Chris Botti at Sea III in the early evening (7 pm ET). A cruise program version of a day/night double header. (One baseball reference per edition of The Weekender: Our Take is mandatory!)
 
For more information about the Livestreams, check out “Livestream Update” below.
 
As for keeping in touch with us, we include my email address in each edition for a reason. Anytime you have a comment, criticism, suggestion or question, feel free to contact me. Regardless of the subject matter of the note, I love hearing from you, learning from you, and simply connecting with the music fans of the world.
 
Talk soon?

By Michael Lazaroff, Executive Director of The Jazz Cruise, The Smooth Jazz Cruise, Chris Botti at Sea, Journey of Jazz, David Foster: The Hitman Cruise and Top Shelf Country Cruise. Feel free to express your views or pose questions to him at michael@scecruises.com.

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Livestream Updates

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Jazz Appreciation Month

SCE Artists on Jazz

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Jazz Memorial for Ken Peplowski

Ken Peplowski’s friend Pamela Stark (with help from Loren Schoenberg and Mark Lopeman) has organized a memorial service and concert to be held on Tuesday, May 19 at 5:30 PM at Saint Peter’s Church in NYC.

This celebration of Ken’s life will feature many artists who performed with Ken on The Jazz Cruise, including John Pizzarelli, Jessica Molaskey, Catherine Russell, Terell Stafford, Shelly Berg, Tierney Sutton and others. Admission is free, but to attend you must get a ticket from the EventBrite site by clicking below. The event will be streamed and also made available for viewing on YouTube. In lieu of flowers, Ken’s family encourages people to donate in Ken’s memory to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation here.  

To honor Ken’s 25+ year contribution to its programs and guests, Signature Cruise Experiences and The Jazz Cruise are responsible for the burial expenses for him to rest in the famed “Jazz Corner” in Woodlawn Cemetery, along with Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Fats Waller, among many other jazz greats.

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Jeff Hamilton’s A New Chapter

Jeff Hamilton, a longtime favorite of The Jazz Cruise audience, has released A New Chapter, a new album from his trio featuring pianist Tadataka Unno and bassist Jon Hamar. The album, Jeff’s 24th as a leader, was recorded live in Memphis, TN and mixes original compositions by the trio with classic songs that the group has reimagined.

“This recording captures the swinging energy of the trio and a new level of freedom in the ensemble,” Jeff says.

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Peter Cincotti’s In Color: Part One

Singer-songwriter and pianist Peter Cincotti, who sailed with us on the David Foster Hitman Cruise earlier this year, has just released In Color: Part One, which features numerous guest artists performing music composed by Peter and lyricist John Bettis. Joining Peter on the album are Marcus Miller, Angélique Kidjo, hip-hop artist IAMSU! and French vocalist Anne Sila.

“This project is about melody and storytelling, above all,” says Peter. “By collaborating with artists from different cultures and genres, we’ve been able to color these songs in ways I never imagined when John and I first sat down to write them.”

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Signature Cruise Experiences Upcoming Programs

Sailing in the Next 12 Months

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Sailing in 18 Months

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