Hidden Gems: Meet Brandon Mills of Crew Marketing Promotions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Mills.

Hi Brandon, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I would say my story starts off in High school where I attended a class called D.E.C.A. (Distributing Education Clubs of America) where we got a rough learning of Marketing Education & was certified in that knowledge of 2000/2001. It wouldn’t be until nine years later in my college education of an I.T. degree in web design that I started Street Team Marketing for an independent label in Kansas City/KCMO, that I really truly not just fell in love with marketing & promotion but the music and aspect of it all. In 2009, I decided to offer similar street team services and additional marketing & promotion services in the form of a small business called Crew Marketing Promotions while still pursuing my bachelor’s degree in business management.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There has been a lot of ups & downs on my road to success. There have been alot of financial struggles just to keep my business afloat. One of the struggles would be having to take a “small budget” and split it into five different categories just to successfully market & promote a client. While still attempting to maintain a profitable venture. I would have to pinpoint, Financial Budgeting is key, & throughout the years, Crew Marketing Promotions has been able to run for over ten years. With a couple investors.

In the Street Team department, there was a struggle for quite a few years because of the voluntary work nature of Street Teaming. Quite a few members, over time, would want to get paid for their work. While we did offer a Crew Rewards program. Some members wanted to be hired or want to make an actual paycheck, which we could financially provide for them.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Crew Marketing Promotions?
Crew Marketing & Promotions (C.M.P.) is a marketing and advertising company created in August of 2009. It is a division of a much larger company in whole Crew Enterprises.

C.M.P. markets and promotes in the fields of music, small businesses, and product advertising. C.M.P. provides complete A&R management for serious artists who are in need of professional marketing to readily get into the music industry and maintain an established artist and label career for years to come. We successfully market & promote musicians (Artists) based on their current needs or from them choosing one of our premiere “Artist Packages.” We can even create an “Artist” a Street Team from the ground up with personal & interpersonal networking methods, with the advertising tools the street team members need and want in order to successfully market the Artist’s brand and/or products, building and growing on their fanbase as a whole.

In the fields of marketing music, such as artists and bands, we employ a variety of tools to promote them, including guerilla marketing tactics (street teams), online advertising, professional business documentation and creation for a wide range of the client’s music label needs. C.M.P. also has dedicated shipping services for merchandise and customer requests that is readily available.

Our Street Team Department has at our disposal and can provide artists with street teams that will employ their own skills to market you as an “Artist” and “Band” They quickly will take the artist’s promotional tools such as flyers, handouts, concert bills, sampler CDs, and anything they provide and market it in high traffic areas of commerce and general public avenue including malls, small businesses, high schools, parks, skate parks and other general public gathering sites just to name a few, the street teams will also take the time to find and build the artist a fan base and keep it growing by using specific social mediums. We also have connections to multiple promotional material manufacturers if an artist is in need of “promotional materials” for their “street teams,” “shows,” “new album releases,” “events,” and so on. We also employ a variety of tactics, including but not limited to “CD consignment agreements,” allowing for 3rd party CD record sales of a client’s album.

For example, if your CD is $10.00 a unit. And we have 3 “CD Hustlers” on Consignment with, say, 15 albums. The value is $150.00 per person, whatever percentage is in the CD Consignment Agreement with the 3rd party seller that you agree to, they pay you a specific percentage amount back of the (15 Albums/$150.00 per person). Three people at $450.00 value in CDs minus whatever percentage you agree to is what you will be paid back by the “CD Hustlers” per the CD Consignment Agreement that they sign upon receiving the CDs from you or us.

In that way, both you as the Artist and the person selling your album make a profit. Everybody Wins. With an in-house Commercial Photography & Film Studio at our disposal, we can also take care of your photography needs on a professional level. Whether your a Musician in need of a photoshoot for your next project, a model looking to update your portfolio and get a brand new portfolio created for your networking & modeling submission purposes, we can accomplish this for you. We even take “Short-Run” Photo Sets if you are simply wanting some high-quality photos to update all your social media outlets & pages. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Ask about our other “affiliated” photographers like ANR STUDIOS based in Wichita, Kansas to see if your needs can be met.

Some STREET TEAM services of which are listed in our “SERVICES SECTION” and Street team members are willing to accomplish as follows: Outdoor Advertising, Album Reviews, Bills, Pops, and Flyer distribution, Hand to Hand/Word of Mouth advertising, Event Work, Consignment agreements to sell merchandise. Client tasks that our requested, accomplished via “Crew Marketing Promotion’s Staff.”

Our online advertising department consists of marketing the artist’s potential and making sure to cover and accomplish the artist may need from everything from A-Z. We employ a variety of social media interaction methods: such marketing tools would be banners, social networking sites, online merchandise retail, sending out direct personal messages to people of interest or that are in the same field, posting comments and creating social media interaction, answering questions for customers and artist fans, starting group forums, discussion boards, and using social media chat sites and other high profile internet sites to market. We build and expand on what the artist and label may already have, which would be their “fan base.” Including “mass email” send-outs to interested parties. Creation of an Email monthly “newsletter.”

The shipping department here at C.M.P. is very extensive. We ship out CD requests from potential fans and customers on a weekly basis, as well as we also ship to our street teams, who are all scattered across the continental United States of America. We offer both domestic and international shipping to customers as well as clients overseas.

Full Complete A&R Management For Artists & Record Labels. Business document creation for music-related services, including Contracts, Agreements, Presentations, Portfolios, Press Kits, & much more pertaining to the business side of the music industry. Our job is to: ​”Market & promote, so you don’t have to.” “Customer Satisfaction is our highest priority and ascertaining the needs and goals of the Artist, Band, Brand, or Business you have.”

“We have been servicing clients for over ten years.”

What matters most to you?
I would say “making people happy and satisfied.” Customer Service is a high priority. I know I have done a job well done when my business associates, clients, & networking contacts are satisfied with what they wanted from me.

Growing my independent business into a much larger organization. Being a parent and proud father to my wonderful and beautiful 7 and 1/2-year-old daughter named “Amethyst.”

Pricing:

• $150.00
• $200.00
• $300.00
• $650.00
• $900.00

Contact Info:

• Email: crewmarketingpromotions@gmail.com
• Website: www.crewmarketingpromotions.com
• Instagram: crewmarketingpromotions
• Facebook: crewmarketingpromotions, https://www.facebook.com/B.MoneyMills
• Twitter: CrewMarketing
• Youtube: MrCrewMarketing

Image Credits
Photo Credit CECS Crew Enterprises Commercial Studio Photo Shot: Brandon R Mills