The Improv Comedy Club Partners with Pitch Lab to Pilot Comedy Karaoke Program

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Every year I visit Miami and get on stage with Have-Nots Comedy. Some years my comedy sets are better than others. Simply put, stand-up isn’t something you can do one time a year and kill. It’s a muscle. It’s extremely difficult. And when you see your favorite comic do it, they make it look easy. Trust me, it isn’t.

This year when I visited Miami I decided to help Have-Nots and The Improv solve some problems and innovate on the way they open their comedy shows.

For those of you who know me, Comedy Karaoke has been my baby for 8+ years now. It gave me great joy to produce this pre-show event on an Improv Comedy stage. And for what it’s worth, it was one of my better performances in years.

 

About The Improv Comedy Club 

The Improv is a legendary stand-up comedy club franchise, renowned for featuring both established and up-and-coming comedians. Founded as a single venue in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood in 1963, The Improv expanded into a national chain of comedy clubs in the late 1970s.

With its rich history and dedication to showcasing the best in stand-up comedy, The Improv has become a beloved institution in the comedy world, attracting fans and performers alike.

 

The Challenge: Elevating the Comedy Fan’s Experience

The Improv Comedy Club, in partnership with Have-Nots Comedy identified three primary objectives:

1. Ensure a Timely Show Start: Encourage fans to arrive and take their seats earlier, ensuring shows begin on schedule.

2. Drive Incremental Revenue: Boost early audience engagement and purchases of food and beverage items.

3. Create a More Memorable Experience: Develop an interactive, shareable experience that fans will enthusiastically promote on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

 

The Solution: Comedy Karaoke Pre-Show Program 

To tackle these challenges, Pitch Lab created an exclusive pre-show program by way of a Comedy Karaoke Contest. Drawing inspiration from music karaoke, where participants perform someone else's song, Comedy Karaoke invites fans to take the stage and deliver the jokes of famous comedians.

The program showcased jokes from renowned one-liner comics such as Dmitri Martin, Mitch Hedberg, Rita Rudner, Steven Wright, and Margaret Cho. Fans were brought on stage for a karaoke contest, where they could share jokes, generate laughter, and enjoy the spotlight before the main show commenced.

3 fan favorite jokes:

  • “I broke a mirror in my house and I'm supposed to get bad 7 years bad luck. My lawyer thinks he can get me 5.” -- Steven Wright  

  • “There's a small but important difference between peeing in the pool and peeing into the pool. Location, location, location.” -- Demetri Martin

  • “My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.” -- Mitch Hedberg  

Pitch Lab delivered a comprehensive framework for Comedy Karaoke, including:

  • Rules and templates for hosts to conduct the contest

  • Marketing materials to promote the program

  • Karaoke collateral featuring one-liner jokes of famous comedians

 

Jay on stage improv comedy club

The Results: Laughter, Revenue, and Social Media Buzz 

The Comedy Karaoke program was a tremendous success. Once this pilot is turned into an official program and rolled out nationwide, The Improv Comedy Club and Nots Comedy can expect:

  • Earlier Arrivals: Fans will arrive early to participate, guaranteeing shows start on time. And for the fans that do arrive on time, they no longer have to wait an additional 20+ minutes for the show to start

  • Increased Revenue: With a full house of 275 people, if each person orders one additional $7 menu item, that's nearly $2,000 in incremental revenue per show. Across 10 shows per week, 52 weeks a year, the program could potentially generate an additional $1 million in food and beverage revenue per venue annually 

  • More Memorable Experience: Fans will have a blast performing on stage, while their friends record videos to share on Instagram and TikTok. This will create viral, shareable content and a one-of-a-kind comedy experience that fans will rave about and return for. The user-generated content will also serve as powerful word-of-mouth marketing, attracting new audiences to The Improv.

 

Want to learn more about how we can help take your event to the next level? Let’s chat.

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Jay Mays