Katie Rebekah Osborne: Capital FM Arena

April 2012

Katie Osborne, Digital Marketing Manager for the Capital FM Arena and National Ice Centre, talks about her experiences with social networking and visiting celebrities

I MOVED to Nottingham from Yorkshire when I was ten. I was scouted by a local model agency at 13 but myparents wouldn’t  let me sign with them until I finished school, so I started modelling at 16 when I was studying for my A Levels at Sixth Form. During this time, I had a part-time job at Kookai and the companyentered me for Miss Nottingham in 2000, which I won. I went on to Miss England, where I came second and represented Great Britain in Greece (Athens, Mykonos and Crete), Malta and Singapore. By the time I was 19, I had signed to an agency in Knightsbridge and did London Fashion Week which was incredible. I also did a further two A Levels and travelled to some amazing places around the world. Then I was offered a great contract to work in Japan, but at the same time I was offered a place at uni and decided to take the ‘career’ route instead… Uni was incredible- and I was even lucky enough to do work experience as a runner at the BBC and Sky TV. The day I found out I had got the job at the Arena was up there as one of the best feelings ever.

I was brought in to the Capital FM Arena and National Ice Centre two years ago to market and establish the brands online. At the same time they recruited a Web developer. When I started they had two websites, two Facebook friend pages, a Flickr page and a Twitter account. We now have four websites, four Twitteraccounts, four Facebook fanpages, two YouTube channels, two Flickr accounts and several Linked-In profiles and groups.

The first time I was shown around by my manager and saw the dressing rooms and star corridors backstage,it was a really exciting feeling. I remember seeing the racks of costumes for Strictly Come Dancing who were in at the time and all the flight cases and glitter backstage... and it occurred to me how we could pass on that excitement of being behind-the-scenes to our customers- offering outsiders the inside scoop!

Even now, I still get excited when I see a show being set up or even the artists who play here – show days are the best buzz ever - but for a different reason. I know that if we get exclusive video or pictures of wardrobe, make-up, or, better still, of the artist themselves, the social reaction and coverage we’ll get from it, along with the local (and sometimes National) media, will be amazing. When I got a snap of The Wanted, our Twitter and Facebook went crazy- especially when they tweeted us to say thanks!

But, it isn’t that easy getting this kind of content. Sometimes I can wait around for three hours at the end of a long show-day just to get one photo of an artist backstage! And backstage access isn’t guaranteed… I’m not always allowed backstage to take photos. I work closely with our brilliant Events team who introduce me to the promoters and tour managers of each show and then turn on the charm and take it from there! Nearly two years on from covering my first show backstage, we have built up a fantastic portfolio of backstage access for a variety of artists and shows, from Tinie Tempah to Justin Bieber and Strictly Come Dancing to Arctic Monkeys. And of course, the same promoters come back, so if I nail one shows backstage coverage, the likelihood of getting access again is high- particularly as our coverage can often result in last minute ticket sales!!

Sometimes you’ll get access to the dressing room, the stage, the tour bus and even the artist. That happened with JLS, who were all lovely guys- and even retweeted our coverage to our followers. That made me do a victory dance in the office! The guys I work with are used to me screaming every now and again when an artist interacts with us socially. It’s a standing joke in the office that I’m a nerd. I went on the tour bus for JLS, Britain’s Got talent and Iron Maiden – theirs was the best, with mirrored ceilings! I met Justin Bieber after he finished his soundcheck. And Willow and Jaden Smith who were supporting him. There was a rumour that Will Smith would attend the concert, which he did backstage with Jada - as you can imagine, I put that straight out on Twitter!! Vanilla Ice was amazing. I remember he let me update his Twitter on his phone. Tinie Tempah and Labrinth were pretty cool. Really nice guys. That show had a load of last minute ticket releases so I gave this show huge push socially on the day, tweeting out pics of his trainers, stage and basketball rings backstage – by show doors, we had just one standing ticket left over. The promoter was chuffed with the coverage and even gave me meet and greet passes for the gig. The security manager for The Saturdays took me round backstage to do some photos. I remember being in their dressing roomtaking pics of their outfits, when the door swung open and Marvin from JLS (dating the group’s Rochelle Wiseman) walked in! My immediate reaction was to tweet about it. Which I did a minute later after as soon as I left the room!! And later that night, Aston (Merrygold from JLS) turned up in his supercar backstage as well to watch the girls from the mixer. Again, we were given some meet and greet passes for the work on this show and I remember having my photo with Mollie from The Saturdays. She looked amazing, whereasafter working a crazy 12 hour day, I had definitely looked better!!

 

Hulk Hogan was wicked. He told me I reminded him of his daughter. I wasn’t quite sure how to take that one... Lady Gaga recorded part of her Born This Way album when she was here in 2010. She set up a studioin the star dressing room. Michael Buble played ice hockey with the Panthers when he was here. When Batman Live was here they brought the original Batmobile here as a treat for the cast, which I only found out about by keeping an eye on Twitter- so I retweeted the casts pictures out.

A lot of the time, for confidentially reasons, we can’t publicise a lot of what we see. One of our Events team passed a major rock singer coming out of his dressing room singing “I’m Every Woman” at the top of his voice, which was hilarious. The nicest artists I’ve met were probably Tinie Tempah and The Wanted. Stars of reality TV shows like Strictly and X Factor are always lovely too. Support acts are the best as they are always really up for coverage as we can help get them the right exposure.

I don’t really get starstruck – backstage coverage is just part of my job. And I like to think I do it well! I really do feel so lucky to have the job I have- it is amazing. But hard work! Yes, social marketing is fun and exciting, but it’s also a massively powerful platform which requires 24/7 monitoring and dedication- I’ve been known to update our social platforms from 7am, right up until to 11.30pm after a show. Or when I’m on holiday, Christmas Day, and even when I was off after having my wisdom teeth out because we had the One Direction on-sale, which was crazy online! As well as becoming another channel for customer service, I believe social networking also really adds to our customers show experience, before, during and after an event… And people expect it from us! I think perhaps, I’ve created a monster! My motto? Keep calm and carry on tweeting J

The Capital FM Arena Twitter account now has nearly 10,000 followers which is the second largest in the UK after the O2 Arena. Katie tweets from @KatieRebekah, @CapitalFMArena and @Nat_Ice_Centre. Links to all the Facebook, YouTube and Flickr accounts can be found at www.capitalfmarena.com and www.national-ice-centre.com

James Morrison

July 2010

My weekend

IF I get a weekend off I’ll be at home with the family. I’ve got a kid now. We live near Brighton. It’s a nice lifestyle for going out, it’s good for kids because there are nice schools and the air’s clean. I moved down there initially because it was near the sea and that reminded me of growing up in Cornwall.

There’s loads for the family to do. The other week I took (Elsie) to a farm. So my weekend’s will be normal family stuff like that, if I’m not working. The time I get with my family is pretty precious at the moment because I’m away so much.

I still go out for a drink. I still want have a good time because I don’t get a lot of time off, so I mix the two.

My daughter’s nearly two. She loves Peppa Pig. I can’t stand it, I think the character is a spoilt little brat. She also likes Tom & Jerry. I’ve been trying to get her in to the old school stuff, like Jungle Book, all the stuff I watched when I was a kid.

My little girl likes being outside so we don’t sit in front of the telly much at all.

I like stupid comedies, like

Anchorman, or a Bruce Willis action film. I watched Daybreakers the other day, about vampires. It wasn’t too bad. I’ll watch anything really apart from period dramas. I can’t stand them.

My girlfriend doesn’t like action films or anything violent. She gets scared really easily. So I always try and steer her in that direction just so I can watch her get scared. She likes comedies and girly films, like The Notebook, stuff that’ll make girls cry. There’s always a handsome bloke and romantic story.

I don’t watch that much telly anymore. When I do it’ll be Family Guy, Harry Hill, Oops TV and You’ve Been Framed. Pop telly, you know. I even still watch Friends.

The music I buy is new stuff that I’ve been told about, like Jack Johnson, Mumford & Sons and old classics, like Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers or Chairman Of The Board.

I used to get sent a lot of stuff but I don’t mind buying it. I know I should milk it and get as many free CDs as I can.

I don’t see many gigs when I’m touring but when I’ve got time off I will. I’ve seen Plan B recently. I saw David Gray, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, an American girl called Ingrid Michaelson... I’ve been to quite a few. That’s the good thing about being in this business, you get a lot of free tickets.

I’m not bad at cooking. I’ve got better over the last couple of years because I’ve been reading cookbooks. Before, I didn’t know how to cook any proper meals. I could do a roast but it wouldn’t be very good, whereas now it tastes good every time.

If Beyonce and Lady Gaga came round for dinner what would I cook? I don’t think they’d be happy with anything I cooked. I’d do them a nice, wholesome English meal, a Yorkshire pudding and some nice veg, if they didn’t like it then tough. (he actually said: “then screw you”)

I’m really not that good at keeping fit. That’s the main thing I’m trying to tackle. That and smoking. I let it go recently. I was running three times a week and I was going snowboarding, but since I’ve been a home, I’ve found it really hard to find the energy to do a workout.

A perfect weekend would be having some friends round on a Friday night, having a jam, a drink and a smoke. The weather would be nice so we’d be outside. We recently went to a rundown castle, which was great. So it’d be simple stuff like that with the family and friends.

James Morrison plays his only East Midlands date this summer at Leicester’s Welford Road stadium on Thursday July 15. Tickets are £32/£35, 0844 847 1742 or visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Lady Gaga

May 2010

MAVERICK, mannequin or just another Madonna?

To be honest, I’m with Christina Aguilera.

When asked about Lady Gaga, she said: “I think she's really fun to look at.”

It was a dismissive remark that our Aggers insists wasn’t meant to be a criticism. This week she responded to talk of a brewing feud by saying “I have absolutely nothing against Lady Gaga. I think she is great.”

But the column inches dedicated to the flamboyant singer, whose career is barely in to its second year, seem to outweigh the success of her music.

There have been the singles Just Dance, Poker Face, Paparazzi, Telephone and Bad Romance and the album, The Fame. Yes, The Fame Monster followed as a second studio release but it was originally intended as a reissue package of the debut with eight extra tracks. Not quite the follow up in the traditional sense. Then, just this month she released The Remix, essentially a collection of, erm, remixes.

Her presence in the gossip columns over the past year seems to outweigh such success.

And it’s not only been for the bonkers outfits that have included a lobster hat and Bridget Jones-style big knickers that, apparently, prompted a rush on sales. But for excessive cocaine use that she believed would kill her; stripping on stage in New York club; asking Boy George to sign her body; and discussing her bisexuality.

This week MTV has reported that she is to design a range of condoms. And The Sun reckons she’s been learning to speak “like the Queen” to impress fans in the UK.

Then again, isn’t she the perfect pop star? Don’t we prefer them to extraordinary? I’d swap a dozen Leonas or Alexandras for half a Gaga any day.

George Michael is fan: “Lady Gaga has my full attention,” he said.

“She’s a very original songwriter with quite a unique overall package.”

As is Rihanna: “I have so much respect for original artists who aren’t afraid to do what they want to do. She’s awesome.”

Madonna has yet to comment. Her take will be the most interesting as many see Lady Gaga as an heir apparent.

“I don't see myself as an heir,” Gaga told the LA Times.

“There is nobody like me,” she adds - but with a twist.

“That is a statement I want every woman to feel and make about themselves.”

So, if she’s not the new Madonna, then who is she?

Born Stefani Germanotta to middle class Italian American parents in New York, she attended a private Roman Catholic school.

“I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down,” she told one interviewer.

“I didn’t fit in, and I felt like a freak.”

By the age of 14 she was performing at open mic nights in the city. Three years later she enrolled on a music course at a prestigious arts school but she quit after a year, moved in to a rented flat - paid for by her father - and immersed herself in the local rock scene.

At 19 Germanotta signed to the Def Jam label, was introduced to songwriter and producer RedOne, recorded Boys Boys Boys (a mash-up inspired by Mötley Crüe's Girls, Girls, Girls and AC/DC's T.N.T.) but nothing came of it. Or the Stefani Germanotta Band, which she started with friends.

It was music producer Rob Fusari who gave her both a step up and the name Lady Gaga.

He says: “When Stef came to the studio, instead of saying hello, I would start singing (Queen’s) Radio Ga Ga. That was her entrance song.”

It was while sending her a text that “radio” was changed by predictive text to “lady”. That’s his story of how the legend of Lady Gaga was born.

Within 12 months she was writing her debut album.

Despite the dominant image as a mannequin for leftfield designers, the 24-year-old has substance as a songwriter.

Prior to hitting a single headline she had written tracks that would be recorded by Britney Spears, New Kids on the Block, Fergie and the Pussycat Dolls.

It was supporting PCD on tour last January that resulted in her Nottingham debut, playing a 20 minute set at the arena.

Her arrival next week will be greeted with more of a fanfare.

For starters the show is sold out.

Since playing Nottingham she has sold 11 million albums, broken records for download sales and won Grammy, Brit and numerous other awards.

Just last month she, along with fellow pop divas such as Cheryl Cole and La Roux, was cited as key to a resurgence of the pop single. During 2009, pop singles accounted for a 33.5% share of total sales, unseating rock as the most popular music genre.

This month’s Time magazine has included her in its annual list of the one hundred most influential people in the world.

Yes she’s a maverick and a mannequin -- and Madonna must be terrified.

Gig

Who: Lady Gaga, Alphabeat

Where: Trent FM Arena

When: Thursday, 7.30pm

Tickets: £30/£27.50 (returns only), 08444 124624