The Ford Amphitheater: Making waves in Colorado Springs
(Chloe Hoeft/https://venu.live/about/the-team/)
Ford Amphitheater is a new, large-sized venue in Colorado Springs, Colorado, built by VENU, that opened in August 2024, with seating for 8,000.
“VENU is the corporate brand — the parent brand — of many smaller brands under its umbrella,” President of Marketing and Communications Chloe Hoeft said.
"We own different entities, such as restaurants like Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse & Tavern and its eatery, and Roth's Seafood and Chophouse. And we also own performance centers, or entertainment centers — so, we have Boot Barn Hall, and also Ford Amphitheater and Sunset Amphitheater."
VENU is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado; however, Hoeft shared that VENU is expanding nationally.
"With our expansion, we have announced locations in Broken Arrow and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, El Paso, Texas, and McKinney, Texas," Hoeft said.
As vice president of marketing, Hoeft plays a critical role in VENU's operations.
“I've been here for about four years. I started off in the event space, where I booked and operated one of our venues. So, I worked with artists and did marketing — did the public relations, did the private events,” Hoeft said. “And then, I moved into the corporate office, where I now lead all investor relations — public relations, philanthropy, politics — and our marketing department, which includes our booking department."
AEG is the operating director of Ford Amphitheater and manages booking and other operations.
The booking process for the Ford Amphitheater is like that of The Black Sheep but on a different scale.
“The essence of booking and programming, really, is all relationship-based. I mean, you get really close with your regional agents. You get really close with your local agents. Then, you get really close with your bands. There are different levels of booking,” Hoeft explained.
Hoeft's expertise in marketing requires her to consider many elements and perform a wide range of duties.
Growing and maintaining relationships between different entities in the industry is monumental. Relationship-building is another similarity between the two venues; relationships (or partnerships) allow for collaboration, communication and networking.
Hoeft leverages these partnerships to work jointly with the media, such as radio, television and the press.
For marketing tactics, Hoeft explained, "It depends on the artist. Many times, we have a staple process that we go through for promotion.”
"A lot of it is owned media — that's huge!" Hoeft said.
Owned media — channels a company directly controls, like websites and social media — is essential for VENU's promotions.
Hoeft described another form of owned media: "We have a VIP club that we operate. It has both an SMS and an email feature to it. It also offers exclusive discounts," Hoeft said.
The exclusivity of this VIP club helps garner brand loyalty, which is another important aspect of marketing and promotion.
Like Rosanna Taylor from The Black Sheep, Hoeft also analyzes each event's target audience. She explained that she could look at past buyers' information, from what artists they saw to what genres they belonged to.
Product placement is necessary for marketing, and the artist is the product in the music industry.
Furthermore, when placing artists in the media, Hoeft and the team at VENU must understand and research the qualities and characteristics of each artist they market and promote.
“We have to lean into what their media is — what their assets are,” Hoeft said. “It's so important to know your vendors and what their target markets are — so, I wouldn't put a rock band on a country station.”
Another marketing tactic Hoeft uses are media buys, which are essentially paid advertising.
“Then, you get into your media buys, and media buys really do depend on how much budget you have. We can do anything from Spotify pop-up ads to Pandora ads to radio ads,” Hoeft said.
And budgets for media buys vary drastically. Hoeft said they may only receive a couple of hundred dollars to market an event, which can limit the campaign.
However, Hoeft explained that the local media in Colorado Springs is an asset.
“Local media is so important for the prosperity here,” Hoeft noted.
The Black Sheep, What's Left Records and Ford Amphitheater rely on media, especially radio. Two popular radio stations in Colorado Springs, Colorado, are Cumulus Media and Kilo.
Please keep reading to learn more about radio and its role in the music scene!