Social Search Optimization

Josh Palau is the VP of search at Razorfish. If you ever wanted a 15 minute tutorial on optimizing your social media efforts for searchability, well, this is it. (It's 16:13 if you are being precise but worth the extra minute.)

Pull not Push

Came across a great presentation today from Claire Eva, head of marketing and audiences at the Tate in London. She shared her thoughts on digital media with the Australia Council for the Arts last year. All three parts of her presentation are embedded below.

Marketing Summit 2010 - Claire Eva - Part 1 from Australia Council for the Arts on Vimeo.

Marketing Summit 2010 - Claire Eva - Part 1 from Australia Council for the Arts on Vimeo.

Marketing Summit 2010 - Claire Eva - Part 3 from Australia Council for the Arts on Vimeo.

Take a Friend to the Orchestra

Back in 2005 Arts Consultant Drew McManus had a brainchild called Take a Friend to the Orchestra (TAFTO). He designated one month for encouraging orchestra fans to bring a newbie for their first experience.

To promote the event he also asked journalists and arts enthusiasts to contribute articles and other information on how to make a friend's first trip to the orchestra more enjoyable.

April will be the 7th annual TAFTO and if you're responsible for marketing an orchestra in your market, then it's time to get planning.

But even if orchestra isn't your chosen arts field, TAFTO is still an interesting model. Both for engagement and promotion.

If you head to the TAFTO site, you'll see background info and plenty of information on planning your own event. You'll also see the types of contacts and coverage they've received over the years. It's easy to imagine similar programs for taking a friend to the museum, the ballet, etc.

Spend a second with the site and see if it spurs an idea for you.

What physics taught Dan Cobley about marketing

One of the things I love about working at our agency is the cross-pollination of ideas we have from working in different industries. Working for our higher education clients improves the ideas we give our arts clients, which in turn improves the ideas for our health care clients. And the cycle is endless.

Maybe that's why this presentation by Dan Cobley appeals to me. Cobley is Google's director of marketing for central and northern Europe. Back in July he gave a presentation at the TED conference titled "What physics taught me about marketing".

Try this at your own risk

The Addison Theatre Center in Addison, Texas takes an interesting tact on promoting their upcoming show Thomas Pain (based on nothing). The lead character posted the first of a series of columns on Theatrejones.com ahead of the show's opening this Thursday. Here's an excerpt of his "plug" for the show:

So, why am I writing to you, Dear Reader? Well, apparently, one evening, in a drunken state, I was coerced into signing a document. And according to one of the subsections of this document, I am legally bound to participate in something this silly, fledgling little organization called Second Thought Theatre refers to as “Marketing.”

So, here goes:

Come and see Thom Pain (Based On Nothing), opening Jan. 13 at the Addison Studio Theatre. Or don’t. Or have every intention of going and cancel at the last minute. Or bring a date and use it as an opportunity to show her how sensitive and cultured you are...

Here's the full column is you want more Pain.

Susan Medak and NAMP

Susan Medak, Managing Director at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre talks about balancing the needs of an arts mission and maintaining commercial viability. This was her presentation at last month's National Arts Marketing Project plenary luncheon.

Susan Medak: National Arts Marketing Project Conference from Americans for the Arts on Vimeo.

Broadway taps into Black Audiences

Interesting article appeared Monday in the Times looking at how the producers of the musical "Memphis", "Fela" and other shows are trying to engage African-American audiences.

Producers of these shows believe the black audience hasn't been “tapped out” and are using more research and targeted marketing techniques to capture it. The efforts have become more important with general show attendance down. Producers hope they can offset those trends by diversifying the audience mix. African-Americans normally make up around 25-30 percent of Broadway show audiences, but for the shows that are reaching out to minority audiences the attendance increase is noticeable.

Check out the full article here.