Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hope Lansing. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hope, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
My journey into marketing began over 12 years ago, born out of necessity and a need for fun. I had to find a way to pay for college that didn’t suck. That’s when I started promoting events in Jacksonville, Florida, working alongside Eric Fuller, one of the co-founders of Dayglow. We began by selling tickets to EDM and college nights, which eventually led to us launching Wideawake Wednesdays, our first big event series. Some of our earliest shows featured artists like Calvin Harris, (just before We Found Love became a global hit) and Porter Robinson (during his Spitfire era). I’d spend hours at Barnes & Noble, posting on Facebook (RIP) to get people to buy hardcopy tickets directly from me. I’d collect their phone numbers and manually enter them into what we now call mass texting platforms. Back then, those tools didn’t really exist, so every message felt personal, and it built strong connections with my “clients”. As my contact list grew, so did our crowds, until we were packing clubs every Wednesday night.
Fast forward to seven years ago, when I stepped into the world of artist management. This role gave me invaluable insight into marketing from the artist’s perspective, how musicians think about promoting themselves, building their brand, and connecting with fans. I was involved in everything from tour marketing and music releases to brand development and social media strategy.
Seeing both sides of the spectrum made me realize that I had a pretty unique talent . From the event side, I understood what it took to sell out a show. From the artist side, I learned how to sell a compelling image and sound. Combining these two perspectives gave me a unique edge—and as my experience grew, I realized I had something special worth building on.
When I took on my first full-time marketing client, Imagine Music Festival and Believe Music Hall, I quickly realized being a one-man band just wasn’t going to cut it. I needed help. So, I threw up a Facebook post, and that’s how I ended up meeting my now business partner, Jason Adamchack. He’s been the yin to my yang ever since, in the best way possible. After about a year and a half of working together, it was clear we made a solid team. We balanced each other out, brought different strengths to the table, and naturally started picking up more clients. That’s when things really started to grow. A little over a year later, we’ve now formed our full time company, have made some incredible hires, and are continuing to expand the roster and team!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
The about me was covered in the previous slide (whoops) however our company, Calculated Creative Agency, is a full service Management and Marketing agency. Below are a list of our services (not limited to these):
Brand strategy & development, Digital marketing, Content creation, Email and SMS Marketing, Tour Marketing, Analytics and Reporting, Influencer and Ambassador Programs, Creative direction and campaign ideation, Media Management, Artist Management, Label / Music Rollouts, Video Editing, Graphic Design and more.
A few items we solve? Lack of brand direction or strategy, disconnect between artist or event and audience, creating full marketing plans from event launch through completion, storytelling on social media, giving the brand a dedicated voice, community management, and more.
The biggest accomplishment for me in the last year was the success we’ve had with music festivals. From Ocaso in Costa Rica who needed to grow their presence significantly in the US (we boosted international sales by 50%) to launching Kn?Where Music Festival, a brand new camping music festival at a never-before used venue in Canada. I’m very proud with the growth all our clients have seen since we have come onboard.
Any advice for managing a team?
Being a business owner can be incredible difficult at times, as being a leader in any position can be, Your entire team is looking to you when things don’t go according to plan, when a client doesn’t always see eye-to-eye or when strategies don’t perform as we hoped. You’ve got to maintain not only a strong sense of positivity but also the willingness to do whatever it takes to make sure your client and your team succeeds. A few things my business partner and I like to do:
1. Remind everyone we are not curing any major life threatening diseases. At the end of the day we work in marketing and our main goal (after meeting our objectives) should be to have fun!
2. Keep community morale high. Communication is key to making sure everyone feels supported and encouraged. When one person struggles, we all struggle. Talking through problems or ideas as a team can bring new ideas that maybe one person hadn’t thought of before.
3. Burn out is real. Take time off when needed and maintain a worklife balance. As someone who is a workaholic, I have to remind myself of this too!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
During a different era of my life, I worked in Cannabis. I was the brand manager for two of the biggest and best companies in California, Connected and Alien Labs. I absolutely loved my job. Helping drive the branding and marketing for two incredibly different but fun companies was the highlight of my day, and product marketing was something I throughly enjoyed. I got to work alongside major artists like Young Thug and Travis Scott, throw launch parties for new strains, and help tell the story of plant culture all while enjoying it myself. Through COVID I got to continue working when many of my friends were laid off which was a huge benefit of working in one of the few spaces that actually thrived during the pandemic. Due to business and financial changes, my entire team was unfortunately let go after a few years in the position. It definitely felt like my career was over, and was incredibly heartbreaking to lose something I felt so passionate about. However if it wasn’t for being let go, I wouldn’t have moved full time into artist management and event marketing, and wouldn’t be where I am today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://calculatedcreativeagency.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeuproar/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hopelansing/
- Twitter: https://x.com/HopeUproar
