"you had to be there"

“There’s nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.”?

Now, I have never been to one.?

But I have heard that so many times over the years…?

That I wanted to know why.?

Admittedly, I have listened to the music a little and was never the biggest fan.??

Growing up in the Bay Area, I was around quite a few Deadheads.??

Their fandom could rival with the fiercest Swifties.?

But the conversation was always about the concerts.

“you have to go to one!”??

Anyway…

A few months back I interviewed Matthew T Grant .?

He’s a Deadhead.?

We talked about the famous “Europe 72 Record Album”?

And here is what he said:?

“Music on some level is a commodity. There are better musicians than the people in the Grateful Dead, there are better songwriters than the people in the Grateful Dead, especially now when you have Spotify and all those other things, your access to music is unlike anything I had in my earlier part of my lifetime. So you've got to give people something else. The music is almost secondary.? What they're really selling is an opportunity, or a space, for you to be yourself, or do your own thing, or be a freak, or be weird, or whatever, and it’s a non-judgmental zone.”?

I can pretend that I can understand what he is saying.?

I can listen to the 72 Album.?

But I wasn’t there.?

Whatever magic was created at each Grateful Dead concert… well… I missed it.?

That’s the whole point.

It happens once.?

And it never happens again.?

~

Each Grateful Dead concert was so unique that people would follow the tour and see every show.?

Because they knew they were getting something different every time.?

When they listen to the song later with their friends, they tell stories about what happened when they heard that song live.?

“But you had to be there”??

That’s a powerful message.?

And it’s how you build a loyal audience.?

Give them unique content.

And give them an event to celebrate it.??

~

And wouldn’t you know it… two of our customers, Wellhub and BambooHR , did that thing!?

This very week, in fact.?

Murder in HR Season 2 launched this week!?

And Wellhub did a premiere event.?

You heard that right…a B2B company hosting a premiere event for the launch of a fiction podcast…

It was a private murder-mystery themed party with CPOs and HR leaders.?

Costumes, actors, the whole shabang.?

Here is a recap video.??

~?

The event was a huge hit.?

Everyone will remember it for a long, long time.?

I would say more but I can’t…

…you had to be there!

- Ian?

P.s. we make cool content for B2B companies (like the Webby-winning Murder in HR).

Pps And we do executive videos for LinkedIn too! If you want to learn more check out Caspian Studios.?