How To Increase Your Turnout For Cody's Family Fun Night Magic Show!

This year Cody has been setting record numbers for his Family Fun Night Magic Shows. This years largest crowd for a Family Fun Night was just under 1,000 people! This particular school in Katy, TX hosted Cody's show in conjunction with a membership drive and was able to add 300+ new PTA members in one night!

Here are few tips that you can use to help increase your audience attendance for evening PTA events:

• Set up a Cody Fisher’s Magic Show posters in the cafeteria, gymnasium, front lobby, or other suitable locations in the school. Make sure the date and location of the show is clearly visible so parents are able to get this information from a simple glance.

• Have each advance ticket numbered for he draw on a door prize.  Tickets purchased at the door will NOT be eligible for the prize draw! You would be wise to select a really worthwhile prize, something of value that people would like to win.  This prize could be something that has been donated by a local merchant or benefactor. 

• When sending flyers or TICKET REQUEST FORMS to homes in your community, clearly specify that you are making a limited number of Family Passes available in advance. There should be a deadline for response to this offer, to encourage families to “act now to avoid missing out on this savings opportunity”.

• Preferred Seating! Advance tickets are numbered, each ticket number corresponding to a seat number in the auditorium.  The tickets are sold in order, from best seating to the less desirable locations.  “The sooner you buy your ticket...the better seat you will have!”

PROMOTE THE DAY! Take advantage of any obvious publicity angles that present themselves, such as seasonal holidays and / or events. Examples of perfect magic-related show dates are…

• FRIDAY THE 13TH (superstition and magic are closely related)
• APRIL FOOL’S DAY (magicians “fool” you)
• HALLOWEEN (witches, magic)
• Other seasonal dates may also be highlighted to create more impact for your magic show…
• MOTHER’S DAY…
• “Make MOTHER’S DAY magical for mom!  After you’ve conjured-up breakfast in bed for that special lady, treat mom to a truly magical experience by bringing her to Cody Fisher’s Magic Show...magic and fun for the whole family!”
• Even a regular day of the week can be enhanced as a special day for your magic show…
• MAGIC MONDAY
• TWO FOR TUESDAY
• WIZARD’S WEDNESDAY
• THURSDAY-NIGHT THEATRE
• FRIDAY FOOL DAY
• SPELLBINDING SATURDAY
• SUNDAY FUN DAY

SIMPLICITY 3-STEP PROMOTION: Many of our Elementary school sponsors with a large student population (300 or more) have been successful with this approach:

• Put POSTERS up in the school 2-3 weeks before the show
• Make  school PA announcements
• Send a note home with each child

• COLORING CONTEST PROMOTION: Coloring Contests are always popular with children.  This makes for a highly effective way to get word of Cody Fisher’s Magic Show out to the family market. The COLORING CONTEST can be run in schools, through the newspaper or hand-delivered flyers delivered directly to homes. The concept is simple:  Kids color the contest page and entries are judged for prized, such as front row seating to Cody Fisher’s Magic Show.

• CELEBRITY GUEST SAWING IN HALF: Audience-involvement is a key element of Cody Fisher’s Magic Show. This means that we involve members of the audience in some of the presentations onstage.  Examples include SAWING-IN-HALF ILLUSION! This gives you the opportunity to pre-select a “celebrity” volunteer...someone who you feel the public in your area would really enjoy seeing as a SAW-IN-HALF victim! This could even be your school principal!!!!

• THE MAGICAL DOOR PRIZE: Here is a great way to create EXTRA-VALUE to your show tickets which will in turn improve sales.Offer a magic-themed door prize and / or door prizes donated by local businesses.  By numbering your tickets, or having people write their names on the backs, you can make a draw from the tickets you collect at the show. 

By using just a few of these ideas you can dramatically increase your parent turn out for evening PTA functions! Good Luck!