We have a new dealer in Chicago - Music Direct - who specializes in high-end audio equipment. We haven't been selling to them all that long. In fact, they made a lot of overtures to us in the past and we always turned them down. With the slow economy and the fact that more people are shopping from home, my boss, Daniel, made the decision to sell selected products to them late last year. These were the guys who turned me on to Salerno's Pizza on West Grand in Chicago.
Anyway, we got a call from them in December and they requested as many of our Focal loudspeakers that we could send to California for an American Express commercial shoot featuring Music Direct. It was a spur of the moment thing right before Christmas and my colleague from upstate New York, John, made it happen.
We shipped a large quantity of speakers from Montreal to a studio in Santa Monica for the shoot. The commercial features Jim Davis, the owner of Music Direct, with a voice over touting the new American Express Plum Card, a new credit card targeting small business owners. A couple of the guys who work for Music Direct, Josh and Bes, are seen in the background at the very end of the commercial. The ad has been featured on a number of national cable channels over the past couple weeks.
In the commercial, they show a lot of high-end audio equipment. And all the speakers they show in the spot are our Focal loudspeakers, including the $23,000 Alto Utopia Be speakers (right). (We have speakers that go up to $100,000 at retail. And, yes, we actually do sell a few pair of those.) Even though we don't get a full plug, just the visual plug is great exposure for us.
Music Direct also owns Mobile Fidelity, a long-time audiophile record company that offers re-issues of classic vinyl albums and CD's that use the original master recording for the best sound quality possible. With vinyl albums making a comeback - and Music Direct having a large catalog to choose from - I usually spend a couple hours each time I go in. An hour to talk to the sales guys and an hour to look through the albums.
Music Direct is located in a non-descript building with no signage in a gentrified area of old warehouses on Chicago's west side. (see map) It's tough to find, but worth it if you're into high-end equipment and vinyl albums .
If you haven't seen the commercial, here it is courtesy of You Tube:
What is the advantage of getting a qsc k12 powered loudspeaker as opposed to just having a normal one? Is it worth it to spend the money for the extra feature?
Posted by: Hilary | April 11, 2013 at 01:33 PM