2011 Business Track

Get Media Savvy and Get Known
Joy Neighbors of A Grave Interest
www.agraveinterest.blogspot.com
Business Session 1 – Friday – 9:00 am – 10:00 am

Add impact to your marketing at little or no cost! Become media savvy and learn the systematic approach to presenting your story to journalists worldwide. Discover the essential elements of communicating with online, traditional and social media. Utilize the fundamentals of public relations in order to ratchet up your exposure, and your bottom line.

Find your niche market
Understand what journalists consider newsworthy
Write killer press releases
Update your social status
Develop an online media room
Manage your message
- And attain it all for free!

The Social Network: How to Make It Scream
Eric Striffler of Existence Media
www.eric-striffler.com
Business Session 2 – Friday – 10:15 am – 11:15 am

Social Networking is vital for any business running today, and that includes your haunted house. It can be an amazing tool for interacting with patrons, enhancing the overall experience of your haunt and promoting your show, both globally and to a targeted audience of your choosing. Twitter and Facebook are the two core websites that should be used as your social networking platforms, and they’re very easy to use. Eric will help attendees get launched into the social network.

Budgeting For Your Success
Brandon Whitaker of Evilution Unlimited LLC
www.toxicityhaunt.com
Business Session 3 – Friday 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

As fun as running a haunted house can be, it is a business: if you don’t have the money, you can’t play anymore! Preparing a budget can help you project your expected expenses and anticipated revenues. In this session, attendees will learn how to draw up budget, what items should be included and how to operate within a fixed budget. Budgeting is a key element in running a successful haunted event, and Brandon will walk attendees through this important first step, drawing attention to potential pitfalls along the way.

Advanced Advertising & Media Buying:
How and Where to Buy Advertising for Your Haunt
Sanjay Syal of Blue Star Productions
Business Session 4 – Friday – 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

In this advanced session, attendees will learn how to maximize their advertising dollars in order to reach their desired customer base. Your customer base is out there waiting, but your event may not yet have the tools to grab their attention amid the vast field of publicity. Sanjay holds the keys to your success, and they include strategies for where to place advertising, what to put in advertising and, most of all, how to negotiate the best price for advertising.

All media types will be covered, including: radio, television, billboards, internet and more. Advertising can make or break any event, and this information is a must for all Halloween event owners and owners-to-be.

Note: This is an advanced class. Attendees are expected to understand basic advertising terms and jargon.

Panel Discussion: Better Safe than Sorry
Industry Experts
Business Session 5 – Saturday – 9:00 am – 10:00 am

Safety is crucial in the haunt industry, but it’s easy to lose track of safety concerns amidst the chaos and excitement of running an event. Even the most seasoned haunted attraction veteran can occasionally get overwhelmed by the intricacies of organizing a safe show. Take advantage of this opportunity to ask safety-related questions of a panel of industry experts. You’ll be glad you did, for your crew, for yourself and for your patrons. Have questions? Find out now, or learn the hard way that it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Moderation will be provided by Dick Terhune.

The Queue Line Starts Here:
Haunt Advertising That Brings Them Screaming to Your Door
Dick Terhune of The Voice From Hell
www.VoiceFromHell.com
Business Session 6 – Saturday – 10:15 am – 11:15 am

What if you could build your audience’s anticipation, ratchet up their tension and push them to the edge of fear – before they even reach your queue line?? “The Voice From Hell,” Dick Terhune, returns with a brand-new session on highly-effective traffic-building techniques: Haunt advertising that primes the audience and draws them irresistibly to your door! Dick’s work has increased, doubled, even tripled attendance for great haunts all over the US and UK! Want to find out how? Don’t miss this session!

Creating an Icon Character Video and Making it Work on the Web
John LaFlamboy of Zombie Army Productions
www.zombiearmyproductions.com
Business Session 7 – Saturday – 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

What is it?
An icon character video is the equivalent of a movie trailer, featuring your haunted house’s main character.

Why have one?
1. Your video is a ticket-selling tool that brings your show into the homes, work places, schools and cell phones of your customers.
2. Unlike overpriced radio and print advertising, your video content can be used year after year.
3. With the majority of your customers finding their information on the web, your video is the first impression that leads to profit from excited consumers.

John LaFlamboy will show you how it’s done.

Rated R: The Risks and Rewards of Running an Adult Themed Attraction
Lucas Godfrey of Chambers of Horrors
www.chambersofhorrorsatl.com
Business Session 8 – Saturday – 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Lucas Godfrey will show how an “adults only” haunted house worked in his market, and share what made his attraction an adult haunted house. Chambers of Horrors catered towards a newer generation of haunted house lovers, those that are growing up on the more extreme horror movies of current times. In a day where Frankenstein and the Mummy are relics of the past, Lucas and his team bring real horror to your front door with content and themes similar to Saw/Hostel/80′s slasher films. Like those horror movies, this attraction wears its R rating proudly, and now Lucas will help attendees decide if the R rating is right for them, too. All of the facets of an adult themed attraction will be examined, including less-considered topics like the pros and cons of running a haunt with a bar. Find out what this kind of approach can do for your business.

Haunting Your Haunt: How to Increase Revenue and Brand Awareness
Dana Martin of Dana Martin Writing
www.DanaMartinWriting.com
Business Session 9 – Sunday – 9:00 am – 10:00 am

This presentation will focus on the haunted back story, i.e., the fictional history of how your haunt came to be haunted. Dana will provide examples of back stories, instructions on how attendees can write their own, thoughts on areas to avoid and ways to use the completed back story in marketing and social networking. She will also explain how back stories enhance the overall guest experience and aid in the construction, marketing and acting of a haunt.

Insuring Your Success
Ken Donat of Westland Insurance
www.westlandinsurance.com
Business Session 10 – Sunday – 10:15 am – 11:15 am

No mumbo jumbo here, just straightforward information and answers to help assure your success. Questions are strongly encouraged. This session will cover the many considerations in insuring you and your haunted attraction. Not knowing what you need to know can be SCARY stuff. Make the most of this opportunity to ask those questions you’ve been afraid to ask in this highly interactive session.

The 30 Year Road to Becoming a Top Haunted Attraction
Ed Terebus & Jim Terebus of Erebus Four Story Haunted House
www.hauntedpontiac.com
Business Session 11 – Sunday – 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

A large-scale haunted attraction project, like most other major ventures, has a complex life cycle: Growing Pains, The Crowds, The Fire Marshall, The Building, The Sacrifice, The Burn Out, The Record, The Reward…The Future. Ed and Jim will share the steps of their progress, as well as the pros and cons of each progression. Attendees will hear stories of the conflicts and challenges involved in creating Erebus haunted attraction, and will learn the solutions. Join Ed and Jim, and benefit from the valuable lessons they have learned about the haunt business. See the evolution of the scare.

The Paranormal For Profit
Scott Morrow of Haunters World
www.fearlessghosthunter.com
Business Session 12 – Sunday – 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Scott will show attendees what is and is not paranormal, based on photos and investigation materials. Along with this, he will explain the types of hauntings, and the basic equipment used during investigations. With a little planning, any haunt can make extra money by allowing people to do simple paranormal investigations at their haunted attraction. The increasing popularity of ghost hunting shows on television makes this a wonderful way to open your attraction to a new group of fans. Halloween means different things to different people, and Scott will illustrate that delving a little into the paranormal will help your show broaden its fan base immensely.