In 2005, “America’s piano showman” performed an acclaimed Christmas concert on one of the world’s biggest stages. For Dino Kartsonakis, playing at Carnegie Hall was the culmination of a life-long dream. “Dino,” as he is known professionally, was born and raised in New York City and musically trained at Julliard. He released 40 albums, entertained millions of people with shows in Branson, Missouri, and around the world, and received a Grammy nomination for his “Chariots of Fire” album—but he had never played at Carnegie Hall. On a December evening, amidst Manhattan’s holiday charm and glitz, Dino’s “homecoming” concert with the Manhattan Pops Orchestra and Chorale and the Christian Cultural Center’s Choir inspired and entertained the Carnegie Hall audience with a soulful and dazzling mix of pop, jazz, and Gospel music.
Although Dino was a popular performer with an impressive collection of accolades, he was a relative unknown in the New York City market. In addition to not having a marketing base, other challenges included the high production cost of putting on a Carnegie Hall concert. The Jungle team accepted these challenges with a bevy of creativity and strategy, targeting faith-based and other key demographics. They teamed up with a number of anchor ministries, including Christian Cultural Center, to ensure that the event had a solid base of affinity market sales.
In the spirit of Dino’s showman persona, Jungle created the “Tuxedo Team” to reach NYC tourists (regardless of faith affinity) looking to take in holiday shows. The team danced into the hearts of show goers at all the similar NYC venues (before and after all the Christmas shows).
The hard work, attention to detail, and “bright-lights, big-city” flair of Jungle’s campaign culminated in a joyous, memorable, and entertaining event and a near-sellout in one of the world’s most revered concert venues. It was a truly magnificent evening and performance as thousands of New Yorkers, tourists, and music aficionados were brought to their feet by America’s piano showman.
