Return to Forever Engages Indy

The presence of Chris Katterjohn, publisher of the Indianapolis Business Journal, summed it up. This was no ordinary "boomer" concert. This was engagement at its height. (more about the digital marketing aspect in a moment)

For jazz fusion fans, the unexpected reunion of four extraordinary musicians - read Legends with a capital "L" - was akind to a 21st century reuniting of the Beatles. Chick Corea (keyboards), Stanley Clark (bass), Al Di Meola (guitar) and Lenny White (percussion) haven't played or recorded together for a quarter of a century. The ensemble was widely viewed in the 1970s as the greatest collection of talent then manifested in a four piece jazz group.

Back then, as now, their compositions (while obviously not for everyone) required a consummate, don't-try-this-at-home level of talent, energy and gift-laden ability. The 2,000+ people who showed up June 22 were equally unusual. I turned 54 today (June 23) and if anything, I was on the young side of the crowd. I was surrounded by doctors, lawyers, academicians, mothers, grandfathers and people who obviously looked to be pushing 60, if not higher (sorry, Mr. Katterjohn). These were serious jazz fans, who like me, had been smitten with the raw virtuosity of the group some quarter of a century ago and never forgot it.

By the way, if you don't think that boomers are going to outlive the millennial generation (or at least die trying), then you should have been at this concert. Perfectly respectful people instantly gave the group the first of many deserved standing ovations when they walked onstage, even before they had played a note.

The concert, of course, was unforgettable. But that was just the beginning.

Today, after dragging my now half-century+ old bones off to work and back, I Googled "Return to Forever" at home to see whether there was some vestige of the happy memory of just 20 or so hours ago. Lo and behold, at http://www.return2forever.com/index.cfm there was an outstanding social media site that already was replete was numerous concert and related photos (see above), including music and commentary from the June 22 performance!

For a band that shattered the jazz music mold back in the 1970s, I guess one should expect no less in the online realm from Return to Forever. There, as digitally vibrant as it gets, was Al Di Meola in the Indy Murat Theatre with his $100,000 1959 Les Paul (thanks to Brian Alexander, a long-time friend from Los Angeles and chief tech for Corea, for the pre-concert stage run-through -- whew!), Corea with the rebuilt and updated 70s-era Moog synthesizer, and great, great memories, all newly renewed thanks to some superb social media architecture.

I had planned to spend a couple of minutes rummaging through the site (that is, if I could find one, which I did instantly on Google), and now, nearly two hours later, the site is still live behind the post editor for this entry. If that's not digital engagement, then I give up.

The lessons for social media marketing that I took away? 1) Start with a great product 2) Personalize content to reach out to consumers 3) Provide a digital feedback loop for visitors to engage and offer up contact info 4) Mix in great images that relate directly to your audience 5) Punch it all up online in less than 24 hours

Obviously a great deal of pre-tour planning work went into this site before Corea and company ever got on the tour bus, so add a couple of more take-aways: 6) Design and build your architecture for from-the-road-less-than-great-conditions posting 7) Build content from everywhere and execute!

Thanks, Chick, Stanley, Al and Lenny. In his onstage remarks, Lenny was right about two things for sure: 1) Indianapolis is definitely a jazz town, and 2) Don't wait another quarter of a century before you get back together. Meanwhile, check out RTF's Web presence some great examples of 21st century state-of-the-art social media.