American Idol Finalist LaKisha Jones Featured in Vontoo Calling Campaign
Promoters Use Jones’ Voice to Enhance Nightclub’s Popularity

When the phones of Houston’s trendiest singles started making noise, those who answered were surprised by the voice on the other end. Calling was sixth-season American Idol finalist, Gospel and R&B singer LaKisha Jones. As each call recipient listened, Jones’ sultry voice testified to the praises of Plan B Sundays at Belvedere, a weekly nightclub gathering promoted by the creative team of Steve and Lisa Rogers. In fact, it was Steve and Lisa who had used the best of their imaginations and Vontoo voice messaging (http://www.vontoo.com) to create a revolutionary approach to heating up the events.

Jones had lived in Houston before appearing on American Idol and had a strong following among the city’s R&B and Gospel fans. This relationship proved ideal for the Rogers team, who describe their target audience as Houston’s elite group of “fashion-forward” African-American 20- and 30-something working professionals—cutting-edge singles who spend part of their weekends setting the pace for the rest of the city’s music-loving nightlife.

“We bring guests twice a month and that particular night Jones was going to be the host,” explains Steve Rogers. “We had found Vontoo call broadcasting only two weeks prior and saw this appearance as an ideal opportunity to try it out.”

Vontoo uses patent-pending technology along with VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) to deliver pre-recorded voice messages in mass to any landline, mobile or Internet-based phone in the United States. In the case of Plan B Sundays, Jones recorded the invitation via a regular phone call. Rogers then accessed Vontoo’s call messaging technology on the Internet. Next, he easily downloaded his list of numbers and scheduled the calls for mass distribution to past club attendees who had given permission to receive communications from the promoter.

“I thought it was an extremely user-friendly process. I can’t remember one part being difficult to execute,” says Rogers. “Better yet, it seemed to be very effective. I received a lot of responses from people saying it was really hot and asking how we did it.”

Prior to trying phone broadcasting with Vontoo, Rogers had relied on blast e-mails to get the word out about events. This approach had left Rogers wanting something better. “People get so much e-mail and SPAM that it’s hard to grab their attention and ensure they’ll open a message,” he says. “But when they get a call from a celebrity like Jones, they start to take notice. I think Vontoo’s callingservice raises the bar when we have an appearance and gives us a competitive edge.”  

Although Rogers is the first to use Vontoo’s voice broadcasting to promote club appearances, he is not the first professional in the music and entertainment industry to leverage the technology. Among other campaigns, Vontoo has also played host to the likes of country music star Dierks Bentley and to a ticket broker for Jimmy Buffet.

“In highly competitive, image-driven industries like music, entertainment and even professional sports, Vontoo’s automated messaging is absolutely ideal,” says company Co-founder and President Dustin Sapp. “It shouldn’t be surprising when organizations see boosts in sales or increases in attendance after using Vontoo. After all, no other marketing tool out there can bring a celebrity’s unique brand and voice as personally, directly, and affordably to every fan.”

As a Vontoo client, Rogers explains he is also reassured by tracking reports that are automatically compiled and made available to review at no additional cost as soon as a call distribution is complete. “I really like the fact that you can see who actually listens to the call and for how long, versus which messages reach a voicemail system or answering machine,” he says. “Being able to watch everything as it happens is great.”   

In the future, Rogers plans to use Vontoo’s voice broadcasting to promote other club happenings and events featuring special appearances. “I would highly recommend Vontoo to any promotions company,” he offers. “I think the phone messaging Vontoo provides is definitely the next wave in marketing.”

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