Street Team Info Sheet

Thanks for volunteering for the Hothouse Flowers Street Team! Your participation and enthusiasm means a lot. We’re always ready to hear your ideas and suggestions, so please, when you wake up with a brilliant idea at 3 a.m., don’t hesitate to shoot it over to us via email (because we need sleep too!) at mail@hothouseflowers.com.
This is a brief outline of some of the things a street team member can do - as we build our team, we’ll be getting creative - and again, we encourage you to get creative as well! Just run it by us so we can make sure it fits in with The Grand Plan…

WHAT IS A ‘STREET TEAM’?

Street teams are grassroots publicity teams - people who want to help promote their favorite band in any way they can. Street teams work locally, in the area where they live and work, distributing flyers, calling radio stations, checking out stock in local record stores, writing letters - all sorts of things that keep a band’s name in front of the public.
A street team is not just on the street, either. Members can be part of email/letter campaigns as well. If you are thinking of volunteering, but not sure how much time you can commit, remember that even a few emails a day - a little bit of time out of your day - can help a lot. We appreciate everyone’s efforts!

FAQ

What are some ways to help promote the band where I live?

1. Distribute flyers, handbills, etc. before or after local Hothouse Flowers gigs or gigs of similar artists.

2. Hang flyers up in various locations - for upcoming gigs, record store appearances, etc.
a. Pubs
b. Coffeehouses
c. Local colleges
d. Internet cafes
e. Bulletin boards/kiosks
f. Bookstores
g. Music stores
h. Places you would hang out, or expect to find potential Hothouse Flowers fans
*Always make sure to bring your own stapler and tape - double-sided works well. Some places will allow you to put flyers up yourself; others will want to review/get permission from management.

3. Call local radio stations and request Hothouse Flowers.

4. Checking out the local music store for Hothouse Flowers stock/promotional material, etc.
a. Keep track of the stores you visit and how many copies of the new record they have out.
b. Do they have Hothouse Flowers posters, etc., up in the store?
c. Is the new record in any of the listening stations?
d. Ask the staff to play the latest Hothouse Flowers record.
e. Let your regional coordinator/Street Team HQ know the results of each visit.

5. Ideas Always Welcome! Look out for publications/writers who might be interested in stories on the band, radio shows/television shows, etc., and report back with as much info as you can gather.

6. Online promotion - add a link to the Hothouse Flowers website in your email signature.
a. Talk about the band on your message boards.
b. Talk about the bands on related artist’ websites.
c. Review Hothouse Flowers on your website.
d. If you have a website, please include a link to the official band website.
e. Search out websites that might be interested in information on the band and report back to Street Team HQ.

Do I have to be a certain age to join?

Yes. To be a full-fledged Street Team member, you must be at least 16 in order to join.

Where do I get materials?

The official website has downloadable flyers, handbills, etc. If other materials become available, they will be distributed to the regional coordinators, who will distribute to local team members.
See links above.

STREET TEAM MEMBER RULES OF CONDUCT

1. ALWAYS BE POLITE. You are representing the band when you are out there flyering, or writing letters, or emailing. Be polite, don’t badger or spam people, and if someone tells you not to put flyers up, thank them very much for their time. We’re here to make friends for the band, not enemies.
2. DON’T DO ANYTHING ILLEGAL. Check your local laws for where you can post flyers legally. If you’re too young to enter an establishment, don’t try and sneak in - at least not with Hothouse Flowers flyers in hand! We don’t have the money to bail you out of jail…
3. ALWAYS ACT PROFESSIONALLY. We reserve the right to remove and/or ban any member who is unruly and/or disruptive from team lists, the online forum and any other activities.
4. CHECK WITH YOUR REGIONAL COORDINATOR/STREET TEAM HQ FIRST. You may have a brilliant idea. Someone else may already be working on that idea, like the publicist for your country. It can get sticky if more than one person calls or tries to set something up. Ideas need to get approval first.

REWARDS

When we say we’re working on them, we mean it. We want to sit down with the band and get their ideas on special things to do for the street team members. As you know, this is a band that enjoys getting to meet their fans, so we’re always going to be looking for some great ideas that are really special. Stay tuned on this - we promise you won’t be disappointed!
Again, we thank you for your interest in helping the band get noticed. This Street Team is a new effort, and we’re looking forward to making it a fun, exciting, and effective group of people. Thanks for coming in on the ground floor!