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.

Kaiser's tour winds down

I've talked about Kennedy Center president Michael Kaiser a number of times on this blog. An update on Michael Kaiser's Arts In Crisis program appeared today in the NY Times. Since starting last year Kaiser has visited all 50 states and has had more than 800 groups apply for his free counseling. He'll finish his tour of arts groups later in July.

More info from the article is here.

Kaiser's website for the program, is artsincrisis.org

But is it Art?

The Guggenheim has announced a partnership with YouTube to review user submissions on a channel called YouTube Play. Professional artists will judge the videos posted and the Top 20 will appear in an upcoming Guggenheim exhibition.

As a marketer, I admire the genius of the idea. It combines technology, current culture and makes the exhibition accessible to a much younger audience. And if you have any doubt about the exhibition having a PR hook, well the Washington Post did a full write up on it. read here

I'm not an art historian or a curator and have never claimed to be. Aside from the marketability of the YouTube exhibition, I have some reservations. I enjoy full dance numbers for weddings and watching Charlie bite his brother's finger too. But frankly I'm not expecting to see them on framed screens in the Guggenheim. Here's hoping that in attracting new audiences, the museum doesn't dilute it's brand at the same time.

Check out the submission so far and decide for yourself. http://youtube.com/play

The State of Arts Funding

Excellent article in The Art Newspaper on the future of funding as we begin to recover from the economic crisis of last year.

Writer András Szántó makes one particularly interesting point about the effects of a "great outcomes" pitch for arts philanthropy. After years of claiming that cultural investment leads to economic growth for cities and towns, governments and community organizations are asking to see the payoff for their funding. He argues that it has been difficult to show those direct links and it may have a long term effect on funding for the arts.

The full article is here.

A burry line between editorial and advertising

Seattle TV station KING 5 is trying a new paid segment on a local daytime talk show that is handled by the show hosts and flows fairly seamlessly with the rest of the show's news/interview format.

The 3 minute weekly interview slots were purchased for a full year by the 5th Avenue Theatre, which uses some of the segments for themselves and resells additional segments to other local arts groups.

For a full story about the arrangement check out Brendan Kiley's story about the "advertorial" arrangement in The Stranger.

Digital for the Theatre

The Guardian's Theatre Blog has an interesting look this week at IShed's Theatre Sandbox project. An opportunity for British Theatres to take £10,000 commissions to integrate stage and digital media into one experience.

Check out Lyn Gardner's piece here.

SMartCamp looks at the arts and social media

Nice recap of the first ever SMartCamp, looking at the arts and Social media in the Huffington Post. Over 33 participants, including representatives from big names like MOMA and the Smithsonian.

Video from the entire conference that happened the first week in March is on their site through Ustream. www.socialmediaartcamp.com More than a dozen session videos there for you to view.

Kudos to Fox Theatre

Searching through the IPhone app store and came across Fox Theatre's latest release. The Boulder Colorado group updated their useful tool late in February and it remains free for download.

There are still very few theatres or museums in the country that have moved to a full app of their own for mobile devices, so this is certainly worth looking at if you are considering making the jump.

The online download page is here if you don't have an smartphone or iTouch to view in the mobile format. Or search Apple's app store for Fox Theatre.

When media becomes a medium

As an ad guy that works with arts clients I love this question - can an advertising venue become artisitic expression? In LA the answer is yes.

The MAK center for Art and Architecture has turned 21 billboards in to an exhibition called "How Many Billboards? Art in Stead" They feature works from artists like John Knight, shown above.

The installation continues through March. And information is available at www.howmanybillboards.org.

photo credit: Gerard Smulevich

Facebook solid because of older demographics

Great article that's being passed around in our office today from the New York Times on why Facebook hasn't gone the way of Friendster and other here today, gone tomorrow sites.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

"More than demographic stability favors Facebook. The site has shrewdly emulated the “network effects” strategy used by another brand that has long held a dominant position in the computer industry: Microsoft Windows.

Economists use the term network effects to refer to the way the value of a product or service increases in tandem with the number of people who use it. If you’re one of only 10 people in the world with an e-mail account, its usefulness is limited; add a billion more, and the practical value of yours increases apace.

A Facebook member enjoys immediate benefits when each friend joins — these are direct network effects. But the average user already has 130 friends, so unless the user is unusually gregarious, the direct effects won’t increase drastically beyond a certain point.

For an individual member, the most powerful network effects may be indirect ones that come from the huge number of unknown other people in the Facebook world. Their mass attracts, in turn, suppliers of complementary products and services."

Full article on nytimes.com here.

Still Accepting applications for NAMP 2010

Got an update from the Arts Marketing Project today, reminding everyone that the deadline for speaking proposals at this year's NAMP conference is 3/16/10. The 2009 conference in Providence was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed being able to present with my friends from the Nasher Museum of Art.

If you've got a great case study to share I highly encourage you to submit for this year's NAMP. Hope to see you in San Jose in November.

Media Choices - Where's your audience spending their time?

If marketing focuses on the four p's, then ad planning often boils down to three m's (medium, message, measurement). Where's your audience, what will they respond to, and can you track their response.

A study by the Pew Trust released today, makes a strong case that educated audiences looking for news are turning to online outlets as their medium of choice. The study shows 60% get some of their news from online sources. And online trails only local and national TV as a medium of choice.

For budget conscious arts groups trying to attract more affluent, educated individuals it's a strong case for allocating many of your media dollars away from print. Tracking response is inherently easier online, we've always known that. But it's still been hard to move away from old reliable print vehicles. This study is one more reason to assess your advertising allotment very carefully this year.

For the full report from Pew, use this link. The summary and the full PDF are available.

How do we love Flickr? Let me count the ways

L. Corwin Christie put up a post last week on her Technology in the Arts blog with an excellent list of museums who are using Flickr well.

I'd like to add one to that list. The Nasher Museum of Art has always done a nice job with keeping content current on Flickr.

But a few months back Wendy Livingston and the gang decided to uniquely integrate Flickr with with the opening of their exhibition Big Shots: Andy Warhol Polaroids. The exhibition features images that Warhol used as studies for later portraits. The Nasher has assembled over 300 images for Big Shots.

To tie in with the exhibition opening, guests at the event were photographed in Polaroid style and were then directed to find their mugs on the Warhol exhibition Flickr page.

To see Warhol's original works check out the exhibition here. (I'd share all the images on this blog but I prefer to steer clear of copyright lawyers whenever possible.)

It was a fun idea and a great example of marrying medium and message.

Added Value in New Jersey

When we negotiate media contracts, we are always asking what else can we get for our contract. Bonus commercials, web banners, contests, etc. These days getting "added value" has gone a lot further than our media buys. Truth is I've come to expect to get something more than I paid for in almost every deal we do.

So the following story really shouldn't surprise me as New Jersey's Star Ledger looks at how local theatres are using the "more for my money" attitude of local audiences to their advantage.

N.J. theaters up their game to attract customers

Michael Kaiser on the Huffington Post

The President of the Kennedy Center responded today to the push back he's getting across the country on his "don't cut programming" stance.

His messages starts:
"Many arts managers are angry with me. They do not appreciate my advice not to cut programming during this recession. I continue to say that creating large, important projects is central to creating fiscal health. Especially when there is less money for the arts (and there is less money for the arts today), arts organizations must compete harder."

Full text in the Huffington Post here.

Have you provided the Back Story?

It's almost time for the Olympics in Vancouver to begin. I was struck by this article from the Vancouver Sun that briefly talks about the evolution of television coverage for the Games and sports in general.

I don't think it's a big secret that you see more personal profiles on the athletes during the Olympics because networks like NBC want to attract female viewers to the coverage. Forgive the oversimplification but broadcasters have learned that men, simpletons we are, will watch competition with no regard for the participants. Ugh, Grunt, me like watch ballgame.

Meanwhile women generally won't spend their time on sports unless they feel connected to the athletes. Where did they come from, what's their family story, did they overcome personal struggles to get to the podium. The broadcasters putting on the games believe that women care more about that connection, that they want the back story.

And I trust that with a couple of billion in rights fees on the line, the TV execs have spent the research money for the data that backs up this strategy.

That leads me to wonder if we shouldn't take a lesson from the TV folks for once and make one of the measures of our marketing the "Back Story" test. A consideration of how well we introduce the performer not just as an artist but as a person. After all, if you're like a lot of arts organizations women easily make 60% or more of the purchasing decisions for your shows or exhibitions. That connection might allow your performance or exhibition to stand out with those women.

The "Back Story" could be created through interviews posted on your website, archived video from the artist's career, a link to their personal blog, greater depth on their bio, etc. Of course this all goes into your PR efforts as well, making the pitch a richer story, both for the reporter and their reader/viewers.

Just a little food for thought. Let the Games begin.

If you need Mom's attention, get in line

New whitepaper out from Advertising Age titled "The New Female Consumer: The Rise of the Real Mom". Puts a nice little dent in any idea that we've achieved gender equity. Lots of facts to ponder, from pay inequities to household duties.

If women are the primary decision maker in your audiences, which is true for most arts organizations, the report is well worth a read. I've included one table from the report (above) to whet your appetite. Now if you'll excuse me, it looks like I need to stop writing and start pulling my weight on the laundry.