Mallory Grey
Anastasia Martin
Andy Farag
Photographer
Photographer
Event Manager
One of the biggest challenges I had managing the CNL Columbia Team was that the majority of the team were college seniors and every year they would graduate and move away.
So I would have to rebuild and train an entire new team every year. I loved building the teams and helping them develop their skills as photographers.
Anastasia Martin and Mallory Grey helped me the most with Social. When I hired them they were just getting started in photography.
When they graduated from USC they went on to do great things.
Anastasia currently works as a photographer for Southwest Airlines.
Mallory Grey went on to lead Beach Monkey: Miami, an international nightlife media company similar to Carolina Nightlife.
Andy Farag, one of my event promotions managers, went on to work for CAA as a talent agent in Los Angeles.
The original floor plan only accommodated customers at the Main Bar and patio. The outdoor patio originally didn’t have a bar and there was a lot of wasted space on the walkway to the TCBY Patio. They’re original business model focused more on food and functioning as a sports bar.
Social was open to experimenting with their business model and floor plan. We gradually made changes and evaluated them through more customer validation. The kitchen was converted into a more intimate bar that had plenty of TV’s for customers to watch sports while the Main Room was rearranged on nights when DJ’s were performing. A bar was added to the outdoor patio, allowing it to be come a dedicated customer area.
Later a second DJ booth was added to the balcony. The 2 booths made for a unique experience as DJs played back and forth.
After the new focus on EDM was validated by their customers, Social continued with the rest of the layout redesign and business model.
The new business model included:
- VIP services
- booking popular DJ's
- introduced new revenue streams
- created new partnership opportunities
- developed niche and reduced competition
The redesigned layout took advantage of space by dividing the club into 4 distinct areas:
Main Stage, Lounge, VIP Loft, and Outdoor Patio
Dividing the club allowed for a wide variety of music performers in the same night.
- Main Stage for bigger EDM acts and larger private events
- Lounge hosted DJ’s playing more underground club music and small private events
- VIP Loft hung over the Main Stage area; featured a private bar and table service(the only downtown club with table service)
- Outdoor patio featured a stage for bands, dedicated outdoor bar, and private gazebos with table service
Photography was a big part of the brand strategy for Social. My team and I shot Social 3 times a week. Photos would be uploaded to the CNL website and Social’s social media accounts by the next morning. Every night my team would hand out cards and direct their patrons to the websites and social pages where they could download their photos for free. By watermarking Social’s logo on all of the photos, they continued to deliver an ROI through user-sharing on social media; patrons were introducing Social to their personal networks.
*Single month averages of number of patrons per weekend
**Data collected from 2012 to 2014
