Welcome to Marketing Comedy – an unfunny look at the tools and tactics used to promote and advertise the ever-growing spectrum of comedic ventures – from stand-up to sketch, from improv to online video, from TV to feature films and beyond – all to help struggling comedians find and grow their audience.

Marketing Comedy, not comedy about marketing.

Hi. My name is Kevin McShane. I’m a designer (by trade), an improviser (by hobby), and a marketer (by necessity). I’ve spent the last ten years working in marketing, PR, and branding for clients ranging from DreamWorks Studios to Homeboy Salsa. In my spare time, I perform and teach long-form improv comedy – mostly at the iOWest here in Los Angeles. In that time, I’ve handled promotion for a number of popular shows you’ve never heard of – Trophy Wife, Irish Mutts, Middle Seat, and even the The Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival. I’ve shot press photos, designed posters, set up websites, and handed out flyers on street corners for more shows than I’ve actually performed in.

I have no degree in marketing. I didn’t study advertising in school. What I do know I picked up along the way while struggling to get people to pay attention to my work and the work of my peers. So with that as my frame of reference, please forgive me if this site sometimes seems like one big advertisement for my design services (I am for hire, by the way).

Eventually, I hope to draw and discuss examples from a wide pool of talent including myself, big-budget professionals, ad agencies, and you – the readers. I plan to bring in friends and colleagues who have success in marketing their comedy and together build a community of like-minded comedians from all venues and media to raise the collective bar of comedy advertising – all to help you find the audience your work truly deserves.

To that end, l plan to offer a series of specialized workshops (both online and offline) to teach and extend the discussions presented here. Please subscribe to the site’s RSS feed, or sign up for the email list to stay in the loop for these upcoming classes. They’re always lot of fun (if you’re into that kind of thing).

Finally, feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions, or examples from your own work. I promise to keep the cynicism to a minimum.

So welcome to Marketing Comedy – Not Comedy About Marketing. If you laugh at anything here, it’s probably by accident.