In the entertainment field, you need to stand out from your competition. With many potential bookings, there can be several types of entertainers all competing for a client’s entertainment budget. The best way to stand out from the crowd is to provide services that far exceed the client’s expectations.

One service I try to provide is to customize my show to fit the client’s needs. A customized show will help to add impact and make your show unforgettable. Sometimes the client will ask for a customized show, but other times you can pleasantly surprise your client with a customized presentation.

Corporate clients will often need a customized presentation. This is typically a trade show setting, where you are stopping traffic to generate sales leads, or to introduce a new product. But a customized show can also be effective at company parties, award banquets, sales meetings and training sessions.

The word "magic" is often used in the titles for company events. For instance, we performed for the United Way when they kicked off their fundraising campaign with the slogan, "Share the Magic." We also recently worked for a large bank which had several hundred employees attending a motivational seminar. To motivate their employees, the theme was, "You are the Magic." Whenever a company is using a slogan with the word "magic," there is a good chance they’ll be receptive to having magical entertainment.

Many times, you can use other magic-related words to your advantage. Words like "appear" and "disappear" readily come to mind. The phrase, "Just like magic," can easily be worked into your presentation. Several years ago I worked in a heating company’s booth at a home show, and their slogan was, "We’ll make your heating and cooling problems disappear."

Instead of using the typical magic words, you can have the audience repeat the company name for the magic words. Key words and slogans can go a long way to making your presentation memorable, without costing you anything except a little time.

Sometimes you may want to customize your show with special props. I have made special props for shows, but this is often costly and time-consuming. In a corporate show situation, you may have the budget to make specialized props. I have seen auto shows, with custom props painted with the car company’s colors and logo. I heard about a magician who worked for an appliance company, and he had a standard illusion custom built to look like a refrigerator.

In cases where you don’t have the time or budget, you can also customize your show by using adaptable tricks.

One of the most adaptable tricks I’ve found is the Professor’s Nightmare. This standard rope trick consists of three different lengths of rope that magically become equal, then back to three unequal ropes. Whenever you have three points you’re trying to make, this trick can be very effective.

I used the Professor’s Nightmare effect for an Oreo Cookies promotion years ago. There were three different types of cookies, and I wanted to illustrate that the quality was equal in all three types of cookies. I also used this trick in an environment show, to illustrate that air, land and water are all equally important.

Another prop that I’ve been using lately for customized shows is the Crystal Silk Cylinder. As described in the magic catalogue, this is a plastic cylinder standing upright in a base and a cover which goes over the tube. Three orange silks go into the tube, and change to three oranges.

For the Oreo promotion I mentioned above, I placed black and white silks into the tube and changed them into--you guessed it--Oreo cookies! I even used this prop recently to help customize a birthday party show.

The child’s mother called, and wanted to know if I could make a Beanie Baby appear at the party the next morning. I said, "Sure," then I hung up the phone and had to get busy coming up with a way to do it!

I turned to my trusty Crystal Silk Cylinder. The Beanie Baby that was to magically appear was multicolored. I placed several small silks of different colors inside the cylinder. Then I poured in a quantity of small white soup beans and covered all. The kids were knocked out when I uncovered the tube to reveal a Beanie Baby!

David Ginn has published a routine called "Charlie’s Invisible Message," which is a prediction involving 4 pictures. The great thing about this effect is that the four pictures can be anything you need them to be.

In one version, David used four movie posters, and predicted which one would be selected. I used this in a reading show, and instead of 4 pictures, there were 4 books used in the prediction. At Christmas, I used 4 large Christmas pictures--a snowman, a reindeer, a Christmas tree, and of course, Santa Claus.

Hank Moorehouse published a routine he performed for Girl Scouts, with seven different boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. I have used this same routine, but the seven boxes of cookies became seven ways to help the environment, or seven different types of books to read.

As you read this article, you can probably tell that I believe in having a well-stocked library. I don’t feel that I’m very good at inventing tricks, but I am pretty good at finding routines that can be adapted to suit my needs.

So, instead of buying lots of expensive equipment and learning new tricks, take a look at what you have and customize. With a little thought, many of the routines you’re already doing can be slightly changed to customize your show. Since you already know how to perform the trick, you can devote most of your energy towards learning the new presentation.

Customizing your show will make you stand above your competition and your clients will really notice and appreciate the difference. The Oreo promotion mentioned earlier in this article is a great example. Over 40 magicians were trying to get this job, and I was one of two selected to represent Nabisco in my territory. There were other magicians who may have been technically better, but I was one of the few who had prepared a customized presentation.

Hopefully, this article has given you some ideas for customizing your show at places other than trade shows. Sure, you can adapt your act to help a company sell products, but you can also customize your act to fit an organization’s theme, to tie-in to different holidays or to illustrate educational points in school shows.

In review, remember you can customize your show by using the company’s or organization’s slogan as a springboard for ideas. You can also make custom props, or adapt props you already own. In many cases, customizing your show can be as simple as changing your patter.

Click here to return to the list of Marty's Columns.