BDCWire Band Showcase
BDCWire.com is a sub-brand of Boston.com that–at the time–reported on the local music and arts scene around Boston. The editorial team had proposed an event series that was somewhat similar to a Battle of the Bands (BoB), but everyone was loathe to have a Battle of the Bands (which have a terrible track record for success, at least in Boston).
To understand where these failures stemmed from, we conducted some user research, and found that people disliked BoBs because of their inevitable politicization in the selection of participants. So we devised an online portal that would allow for a more inclusive submission and vetting process.
At the event, we also realized we could promote stronger attendance by building a geo-fence around the venue location to ensure only attendees were able to vote for the final candidates.