74th British Ring IBM Convention
22nd - 26th September 2010, Eastbourne
Update 7, May 2010
Bob Hayden, British Ring PRO

It is the policy of the Convention organisers to include a Brit in the International Close-up Show. This year it is Sean Carpenter to fill this place as he did in 2005. He is well qualified to appear in this prestigious show having been the winner of the Zina Bennett trophy in 2001 and the British Close-up Champion in 2003. Before that he had been a finalist in The Magic Circle’s Young Magician of the Year competition when he was 17. Not a bad achievement for someone expelled from the British Magical Society Junior section.

What makes Sean such an award winning magician? Most will say it is his outstanding technical skill. That is not the only reason. He is an entertainer by having made the decision to study drama for two years after leaving school and having good magical heroes and influences from the likes of performers and writers Bro. John Hamman, Harry Lorayne, Juan Tamariz, Karrell Fox and Paul Daniels. It was Paul Daniels that sparked his interest in magic in the first place. Before seeing him he wanted to be a zookeeper!

‘Magic with a difference is a fitting description for Sean Carpenter. He is slick and entertaining working brilliantly with an audience’. This is how The Stage and Television Today viewed Sean’s performance while a BBC website carried the following ‘Seeing Sean in action and the amazing response of his audience tell you he has a very special gift. He leaves them dazzled thinking how on earth did he do that! Remember the name Sean Carpenter….he might just know yours before you tell him’.

For the past 15 years Sean has been providing close-up entertainment at weddings, banquets, corporate events product launches and trade shows adapting his magic to virtually any event or venue. He has performed with great success in boats and trains, in castles and car showrooms and many times to people who spoke a completely different language.

Sean will be in distinguished company in the Close-up Gala when he performs alongside Rich Bloch, Martin Eisele, Matt Johnson, Charlie Frye and Manuel Muerte. This will be a show none of you will want to miss.

How do you market your services as a magician? Some of you may continue to do so by distributing your business card or by an advert in the local paper. Some of you have now moved on and rely on a good website, an eye catching advertisement in yellow pages or a flashy video on You Tube.

The question is how do you plan to make your income from magic grow in 2011? Do you pro-actively shape the type of engagements you receive or do you let fate decide? Are you dependent upon repeat bookings and the limited success of haphazard prospecting activity? Are you tired of enquiries seeking the lowest priced performers? If so, a thought provoking lecture has been designed for you by Bob Yelland and will be given at the Convention.

Bob is adamant you should have a strategic marketing plan if you derive income from Magic. This plan will identify target markets and the actions required to develop your act, your branding and your communications to succeed in those markets. The use of websites, yellow pages and You Tube videos are less effective if you have not first determined who you are trying to talk to and what you are trying to achieve, with the result that you could waste a lot of time and money.

Your lecturer Bob Yelland is responsible for a multi million dollar marketing budget for a large multi-national company. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He is also a keen amateur magician. In his lecture he will apply the marketing techniques and strategies used by successful companies to a one person magic business. He’ll look at how a magician might go about getting more profitable bookings, increase their fees and attract the right customers for their services. This is a business lecture with no tricks which will challenge you to think seriously about your own business aspirations and potential.

Some of the most interesting lectures at our convention have been such non trick ones covering a variety of subjects. This years lecture ‘Strategic Marketing for Magicians’ by Bob Yelland is the first of this subject to be given not only at a British Ring Convention but possibly any Magical Convention worldwide. This is but one of the 13 lectures that will feature this year. They alone are worth the cost of a Registration.