DOLLE COMMUNICATIONS

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    Our entertainment services span marketing, corporate communications, drum performances, public speaking, and philanthropy. Entertainment and fundraising are an invaluable part of city and regional development, business branding, and marketing of new technologies. Sports and entertainment thrill us, inform us, bring us together, and give us hope when times are tough - and encompasses movies, theatre, music, radio, television, sporting events, various performing arts, visual arts, dining, and more.

    Dolle Communications also offers some innovative communications training programs that use drums and musical percussion to enhance communication skills in business, team sports, education, and mobility in neuro- rehabilitation. Stephen Dolle, a.k.a. MacGyver, performs  and does keynote speaking at company events, business expos, sports team events, concerts, fundraisers, and health forums. His research is also expected to aid neurological disorders like autism, stroke, TBI, hydrocephalus (NPH), multiple sclerosis, PTSD, and Parkinson’s Disease.

    We continue to promote our campaign on integrating rhythm and drums in education and learning, entitled "Play Rhythm, Be Smart," and have published results of one of our own studies on sensory overload. We report a causal relationship between unsyncopated noise patterns and (auditory) sensory overload complaints, with a decline in cognitive function (thought and learning). We found a striking relationship between rhythmic patterns and cognitive function. Our findings could help schools better face the challenges in educating students in grades K through 12, as well as training in the adult work setting. Published studies have identified problematic sensory overload issues with over-exposure to audio-visual multimedia, the Internet, and noise pollution. We found that certain types of music and rhythm help offset these complaints.

    Also on the public relations (PR) front, we are promoting rap and hip-hop artists to write/record 2nd copy (less offensive language version) of some popular songs so they may be more readily listened to by non-adult audiences. In music outreach, we are promoting a philanthropic music and drum circle outreach proposal designed to get funding and support for inner city and at-risk teens who are interested in playing and competing with live percussion, and in conjunction with rap/hip-hop vocals. We can help interested organizations in the grant writing process.

    Entertainment is widely used to promote government, science & technology, and public policy by informing viewers on important issues and topics, introducing Innovation, marketing products and services, and raising money for charitable causes. There is be no better example of this today than what Bono (of the band U2) accomplished in gathering aid for Africa, and attracting philanthropy from Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. With the financial scandals of the 21st century, public trust in many U.S. institutions is dwindling and raising concern. In 2007, less than stellar government leadership, in the midst of a declining economy and population thirsting for some unifying cultural theme or rallying point, appears to have the country fragmented and more susceptible to extremists views and leadership.

    In the 1980s, Bob Geldoff, Bruce Springsteen, and others successfully spearheaded international efforts that unified the nation and world. The U.S. also benefited from the very successful 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Clearly, sports and entertainment facilitate healthy communications that are paramount to peace, prosperity, and security. Philanthropy also plays an invaluable role in business and community development.

    We help companies and organizations create and institute various types of entertainment campaigns. Below, our Industry Sectors, Capabilities and Services, and Research & Insights highlight these key topics.

Industry Sectors

Capabilities and Services

Research & Insights: Listed Below and Linked Top Left of Page

Television and Entertainment in Corporate Image-Building

    Television has a 50 year history in the U.S. in helping to create brand name for companies, and boost sales of products and services. Today, with so many avenues in advertising and marketing from which to choose, companies must establish ad priorities in the message conveyed, i.e. promoting a product, innovation, brand name, defending an image problem, or answering a competitor's ad or news story. Small business uses television "infomercials" to sell products and services during off-time hours, where rates are low. Big business still uses expensive prime-time commercials to sell core products and services, but seldom image and branding. Most ads feature the product or service, and branding is done with established theme music and catch phrases appearing somewhere in the ad. A few will air commercials which focus on building brand name, particularly, drug, medical manufacturers, and companies emerging from legal woes. But in many of these ads, the message is not clear.

    Companies can receive free name branding and product/service promotion through television and print media news. On some occasions, programs and movies identify a brand name or product because it suits a scene's content, and it is done in a negative context as well. Still, in other instances, film and television can cleverly insert a product into a scene, and the fees are very negotiable.

    We advocate creative strategies such as clever ads airing off prime-time, inserting products in film and television scenes, and creating or wholly sponsoring a television program where a clever theme or content mirrors the sponsor's products or desired image. The PBS television program, NOVA, features programs on topics in Science & Technology, made possible in large part from corporate sponsorship.

    We remain impressed by the 1950's to 1960's television program, General Electric Theatre," which General Electric strategically used to feature its products and innovation in a personable and interesting format, with host former President Ronald Reagan. Today, with endless advertising mediums available, and the "impersonal" nature of large corporations, companies can build a better image and educate the general public through innovative television content. Corporate giants, such as Boeing, Hallmark, Johnson & Johnson, and Microsoft are currently sponsoring new methods of television programming and sponsorship. Hallmark's new sponsoring of made for TV movies, and their advertisements, appears to be particularly affective.

Sports and Entertainment Define an Era

    How do you create a hit song, film, television program, or televised sport? How do entertainment successes define an era?

    The answers are subject to interpretation, but it seems to occur much in the same way that stock market data define a "bull" or "bear" market. Just as "consumer sentiment' is a significant determinant of the direction of the stock market, it similarly plays the pivotal role in determining the momentum and success of a sports or entertainment project. One or two hits do not define an era. But they are certainly good building blocks.

    The creation of a successful sports or entertainment act is often serendipitous. In other words, its success is aided by good fortune from other unanticipated events, news, or trends. In some instances, a project will begin out of a passion or vision for an idea, and suddenly turn into a "home run." But more often than not, successful projects come from the continued reworking and evolution of the original idea. A really popular or successful project can inspire others to follow a similar path. Before long, a trend is established. In the presence of favorable economic and political considerations, the masses then rally around the popular event or trend (consumer sentiment). Favorable news coverage, branding, and advertising also play key roles. If the business behind it can deliver, a trend will be established. A series of trends with common links, or the occurrence of a few noteworthy events, then defines the "era." Consumers flock to trends and eras!

Drum Circles Improve Non-Verbal Communication Skills, Mobility, and Learning 

    Stephen Dolle, a.k.a. "MacGyver," has developed some very innovative training methods that utilize drums and musical percussion (and rhythm methods) to boost non-verbal communication skills, cognitive function, and balance and walking. His programs are intended for the corporate and sales settings, team sports like football and basketball, and walking and physical coordination training at gyms, senior centers, and at health expos. Dolle also performs as a keynote speaker/entertainer on business, technology, and family topics through his drums.

    These applications take into consideration that we are comprised of thousands of rhythmic relationships tied to the planet Earth. Our command of rhythm determines our physical prowess, and in large part, our grasp of language in interacting with others. In their simplest form, rhythms are mere mathematical patterns. But, to a pulsing heart, they are sophisticated codes of communication, thought, and cues for voluntary action.

    In late 2006, we launched a new campaign to boost applications of rhythm and musical percussion in education, entitled, "Play Rhythm, Be Smart." It is partly based on an earlier study we undertook on sensory overload, auditory rhythm, and learning. See auditory vestibular research study. This campaign is intended to inform organizations, schools, and the public on the many benefits of performing rhythm and percussion. Click to listen to a sample drum circle audio: drum audio 1, and longer drum audio 2.

    Entertainment has defined the most memorable and prosperous periods in American history, as well as continues to nurture public confidence. When innovators act on their passion and dreams - they establish new trends that inspire others to follow! 

    Contact us for more information.