October 1996, San Francisco, CA - Mike Love, lead singer of the legendary Beach Boys has won himself another place in history this month, not in the musical realm, but in the financial world. In an effort to develop a unique marketing tool to raise private capital for his Club Kokomo "eater-taiment" chain, he solicited the help of Broadcast Production Group and Bailiwicks New Media to develop the private placement in an interactive CD-ROM format, believed to be the first created for this purpose. Bailiwicks New Media, based in Campbell, California, is headed by strategic partners Michael Atkinson of Bailiwick Consumer Group and Ephraim Lindenbaum of Broadcast Production Group and develops and markets interactive CD-ROMs for entrepreneurs and companies looking to better attract investors.
The CD-ROM for Mike Loves' Club Kokomo features video and The Beach Boys' #1 hit of all time, "Kokomo." Renowned chef Bradley Ogden explains the restaurant's menu concept and shows samples of the dishes the restaurant will offer. Mike Love's Club Kokomo locations are featured with tourism statistics, a complete tour of the facilities and the private placement itself. Mike Love provides commentary throughout the experience. Conceived from the 1988 hit Beach Boys song "Kokomo," the restaurant/club/brand was developed to appeal to a family demographic, while promoting the preservation of natural habitats and the production of alternative resources. Mike Love's Club Kokomo is styled in a California meets the Caribbean theme and features casual dining, live and interactive multimedia entertainment and a brand name retail store for the entire family.
A percentage of profits will be donated annually to a rotating number of environmentally-conscious charities. The initial location is being planned in Las Vegas for a Fall 1997 opening.
"Frankly, I never realized that the experience of raising capital could be so creative," said Club Kokomo founder, Mike Love. "BPG and Bailiwicks created a really great presentation with our music and my voice-over walking the viewer through a conceptual location, so they can experience the concept for themselves. Since Club Kokomo is so multi-dimensional in nature: a celebrity driven restaurant/bar/live entertainment venue/high tech arcade/retail store with philanthropic overtones, it's hard to fully illustrate on paper. With the private placement on CD-ROM, investors see and hear information to better understand our vision. As a musical who appeals to people's sense of hearing, I know their reaction to this concept will be enhanced."
"The financial world is a crowded place," says Strategic Partner Ephraim Lindenbaum. "Being able to capture the experience of the investment adds a significant advantage to a traditionally paper-based exercise. With this medium, we can capture the principal's vision, the look of the location, give the investor a tour, capitalize on the advantages and lay out future growth. Most importantly, though, we can provide the investment offering text in a searchable form which allows a section that captures an investors attention to be bookmarked and printed to create a summation of the prospectus for review by partners."
"The company was established in response to the proliferation of multi-dimensional entrepreneurial ideas such as Mike Love's Club Kokomo," said Bailiwicks Co-founder and Strategic Partner Michael Atkinson. "No matter how good the idea is or who the founder is, we are competing for dollars. Entrepreneurs must find unique ways to attract qualified investors. Sixty percent of all investment proposals go unnoticed. I doubt ours will. As a financial investor myself, I find the experience of going through a CD-ROM much more appealing and time-saving than having to read a wordy prospectus."
Bailiwicks New Media, Inc. is headed by Michael Atkinson, the company's president and chief executive officer and strategic partner Ephraim Lindenbaum, Chairman and CEO of Broadcast Production Group, Inc. The company is a marketing and sales organization formed to provide client-specific multimedia products primarily to investment professionals. The company develops and markets interactive CD-ROMs to the users of financial print to more effectively raise capital.