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  Celebrity Appearances February 10th, 2010 Posted by Hunter Wilson

  MTV's Jersey Shore

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  MTV's Jersey Shore

  The recent rise to stardom and subsequent media craze for MTV’s Jersey Shore cast rose my interest into looking at celebrity appearances at nightlife venues and how it affects business.

  The Carolinas are not known for having random celebrity sightings too often. If you see them out and about, more than likely they are being paid to be there. On a few occasions I have ran into celebrities that were freely checking out our humble nightlife. I bumped into Rick Flair at The Sunset Club (Charlotte, NC), Pauly Shore at Suite (Charlotte, NC), Ben Roethlisberger at Trio Club (Charleston, SC), Michael Jordan at The Forum (Charlotte, NC), Charles Barkley at ESS Lounge (Raleigh, NC), and a few others.

  For the most part, every celebrity has a manager that handles his or her appearances and the venues deal directly with them, not the celebrity. The manager is in charge of booking their appearances and the associated contracts. Very rarely do venues deal directly with the celebrity prior to them showing up on the day of the event.

  In the past I have seen some very successful celebrity appearance events and some very unsuccessful events.

  Successful:

  MJ from MTV’s 2004 Real World Philadelphia was probably the best appearance I have seen to date. This was years ago at Time Lounge in Charlotte, NC (now closed). MJ was not in a vip booth and isolated from the crowd. He was dancing, taking pictures, hugging and shaking hands, bartending, running the door, etc... He did it all. He was the most engaging and accessible ‘celebrity’ I have ever seen in the nightlife. Usually the celebrity will show up sometime past midnight, stay in an isolated booth away from the guests, might say a few words on the microphone, and leave before the venue closes. NOT this guy. He was there way after they closed hanging out with the staff and having a great time. It was a huge success for the venue.

  Unsuccessful:

  Tommy Lee at HOM in Charlotte, NC (now closed) on Valentine’s Day 2008. To say that this was an expensive celebrity to book would be an understatement. He was VERY expensive. HOM attempted to book Lee on Valentine’s Day which is traditionally a couples night out. Attendance was on the lower end. Due to contract confusion, Lee was late arriving at the venue as well. The upside to the event was that Lee was going to DJ that night, not just be a celebrity appearance. The added talent that he brought to the table was a bonus for the crowd.

  I spoke to nightclub owners across the Carolinas to get their opinion on what makes or breaks a celebrity appearance and their thoughts were all fairly similar. Brandon, owner of ESS Lounge in Raleigh, NC put it bluntly, “Right celebrity, for the right type of venue, at the right time...”

  Getting the ‘right’ celebrity is key. Venues need to make sure that the celebrity they are bringing in represent their venue genre and clientele. Skip, manager of Wild Wing Cafe on Market St. in downtown Charleston (and a past reality star himself) says, “You have to be very careful about the people (celebrities) you have appearing at your club or bar. You wouldn’t want the cast of Real World invading your, say, martini bar”

  Time is everything! This old saying stands true with celebrity bookings as well. Catching an up and coming star is a golden ticket to big profits down the road. Venue owners who watch the trends of popular culture and know what is becoming famous are able to contract celebrities at lower rates before their booking fees explode through the roof. “The Jersey Shore cast is now getting five times what their original fees were due to the growth in their celebrity status”. Kevin Marcusee, owner and operator of Town Tavern in Charlotte said “booking a celebrity appearance can be good for business if you can book someone who is hot and you can get them at a good rate. It is key to book celebrities months out before they are really popular”.

  In my opinion, to make a celebrity appearance work well for a business, the celebrity has to be more than just a sight to see. They must be accessible to the guests, engaging, friendly, and of course, affordable. In the end, any business wants their guests to walk away from the event thinking ‘that place (club/bar/whatever) just introduced me to [celebrity name]’.

  Here are a few other thoughts from influential nightlife venue owners and event makers around the Carolinas:

  Wayne Evans: Tunnel ultralounge. Myrtle Beach, SC

  “While there is an additional cost associated with bringing in talent, a carefully selected host can be great for business. A properly planned and executed celebrity hosted event allows a club owner to make additional profits as well as build the reputation of the business, while providing something new for club goers to get excited about.”

  We asked Wayne to comment on whether these promotions should be used as a tool to build a night or to sustain an already established night. Here is his thoughts:

  “Both! If you are looking for a way to build a night, a host that is identifiable with your target demo can really help. For instance, if you are working on a college night promotion, bringing in a relevant host that appeals to the college aged demographic can be a valuable crowd pleaser and help to establish credibility with your customer. Likewise, an established ‘regular’ night can get stale and bringing in some sort of low-cost special host is something new and exciting for your established patrons and be a tool to help bring in new patrons as well”.

  Kevin Frazier: City Limits Saloon. Raleigh, NC, Wilmington, NC, and Charlotte, NC

  “I have brought in a few reality stars and it adds a little bit but it is not a money maker for our venues. The Jersey Shore cast will draw people into the bar but I could book a national band for the same price and see twice as much sales”.

  John Sharkey: Sharkey’s Pub. Greenville, SC

  “Celebrity appearances quickly make your spot ‘buzz’ worthy. If you do the research and know your demographic then the cost is worth it”.

  Tony: Infuzions. Charleston, SC

  “Celebrity appearances are good for your venue because it brings a lot of business to you but also leaves everyone with a good impression about your spot. Just make sure you book a celebrity that will actually show up”.

  Constantine Mouzakitis: Sleeping Giant Productions. Charlotte, NC

  “As opposed to NYC or other large cities where the potential for spotting celebrities is high and they walk in off the street, Charlotte has to import them. It adds value to an event and makes it fun. Strong buzz is what drives events and what better way to create a buzz than one of your favorite celebrities participating, performing, or even just appearing”.

  “Its always tougher dealing with agents or managers so making and building the relationships with the celebrities personally is important. Celebrities can be DJs, actors, performers, and even popular people in society. Be conscious of events that are solely driven by the celebrity appearance. Without the presence of great entertainment and service it won’t matter who is there. The experience needs to meet overall expectations".

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  Hunter Wilson

  Owner, CarolinaNightlife.com1 Posts

  Charles is the Executive Director of Carolina Nightlife and very involved in the nightlife industry in NC and SC. He has been working with venues of all sizes, different brands and products, and countless events across NC and SC for over 8 years.

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