The Best Result is Value!

At the end of the day, for any arts organizations, this is what it is all about.  If more people are attending year after year then marketers have done their job in gaining more support for the arts.  Marketing in the arts is a process through which positive results are ultimately determined when a person makes a decision to value the arts. 

Be Consistent, Be-Be Consistent!

As marketers or branding experts we need to be very conscious of how we are portraying ourselves in arts organizations.  It's very easy to do many things at once and lose sight of what your brand is- consistency, once you have decided who you are is an absolute.  This applies to all facets of any art organization from the person at the front desk, to the washrooms and down to the font that you're using.

Today, I want to focus on consistency in external advertising.    A lot of organizations get mixed up in making things look different with different feels for the various events they put on.  This is not particularly helpful.  The message and feel can be different without looking foreign.  You want someone to look at a poster or an ad and immediately associate it with your organization- if the look you go after is always changing then it is difficult for people to build a mental script with your organization.  If people can easily identify you and understand who you are the eaiser it will be to convey your advertisement.  This in no way means you have to be mundane it just means you have to be careful and conscious that your poster represents you first! 

Soulpepper Theater Company has a very consistent and recognizable external advertisements that really fits their brand as a newer classical theatre company. Their website and posters for this season all have a very similar Soulpepper flavour, quirky yet still sophisticated.  It is very different from other classical theatre ad's such as the Stratford Festival or the Shaw Festival but it speaks to its band and mandate.  But most importantly it is consistent- it looks like a story board comprised or many different plays with many different meanings but all with the Soulpepper stamp on them!

Take a look here and enjoy!

http://www.soulpepper.ca/performances/10_season.aspx

What is TV doing for the Arts?

I recently read an article in the Globe and Mail by John Doyle about the TV and the Arts and I cannot stop thinking about it.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/television/john-doyle/whither-the-arts-on-tv-nowhere/article1792244/

It's true, TV has done a lot for "low art," if we're talking in binaries.  Shows like So You Think You Can Dance, MuchMusic, MTV and other TV drama series have all given us a healthy dose of low art.  But what about high art?  I didn't occur to me until I read this article how little is available on TV because I always associate the high arts outside of the box, not in it. 

In the television world it's simple- if you have high ratings the show stays on the air and people by commercial air time, if not you're off.  Knowing that the arts capture roughly 20% of the populace- and that includes the polar populations- how can TV help to boost this number in a do or die industry.  Like I keep saying, the key to appreciating any art form is understanding and exposure and with television you have huge chance to do just that.  Networks have been slashing arts television shows or creating niche channels for those who are interested to watch.  Shows like Opening Night and other arts focused just don’t exist anymore. So what can we as an arts community do?

Well, it's going to have to start with top management at a television network who believes in the arts. More importantly the art community needs to rally together and demand quality arts programming be reinstated. There is a desperate need for the arts, especially in rural communities where actually going to an arts event is difficult.  We know that the arts have a positive impact on socialization and learning and it needs to be spread throughout areas that have historically been under-arts-privileged.  TV is one common denominator that most Canadians have.  Though not everyone will watch the high arts medium it would be accessible to a far wider range of people!

Maslow and the Arts

Above you see Maslow’s psychological structure for happy and healthy human beings, starting with physiological needs all the way up to the process of self actualization.

For Arts organizations to be effective they have to meet the first four needs- physiological, safety and security, love and belongingness and esteem before they can start to effectively experience the art at a truly appreciative and deep level.  Taking a general glance at society today I am struck by the lack of people that in a modern and "civilized" society are able to move to self actualization.  Arts organizations can offer the total package of the first four basic needs but in truth if people are not meeting the first four basic needs in their personal lives why would they venture out to join in the artistic world?  There are so many people in London struggling to live- basics such as food and shelter are difficult to come by.  And if that wasn't a hang up levels of psychological issues are higher than ever.  Depression is at an all time high and stress is one of the leading cause of heart failure and a host of other anxiety disorders.  How can these people be reached by the arts community if they are barely coping with their everyday life. 

How as Arts Marketers are we able to break through to people and offer them an experience that they might not be able to cope with.  To be blunt- I don't know.  This is a major struggle for the arts community.  If only twenty percent of the population is attending arts events then how small is the number that is actually having a self-actualizing experience.  The numbers are probably slim.  The more I thought about this the more upset I became.

But then I remember the words of Benjamin Zander as he said that the arts are for everyone- not just the mentally sound, rich and fully adjusted people.  Art can be therapeutic, I believe that.  There is something very cathartic about watching a play or listening to music or even seeing a piece of art.  The goal is that that people will gain meaning from it but does that mean that others can't enjoy the show?  Imagine a young child coming to a play for the first time and getting lost in the story and captivated by the performance.  That child might not have been "self actualizing" but they were participating in a world that perhaps helped them to escape.  The value of the arts can be as simple as escapism or as meaningful as a life change but it is all important.   

In the Shadows of the Greats

Generally the Arts are thought of as a progressive, liberal arena where innovative ideas are generated and fostered.  But why are their marketing and promotion campaigns so archaic? Perhaps progressive marketing plans and promotions are revolutionary in some cases but from what I have been seeing the small to midsized organizations in smaller urban centers have been failing greatly in regards to change and being  innovative. 

People always say that whatever is "cool" in Europe becomes in vogue in North America on a two to five year delay.  Smaller Urban centers such as London in relation to Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver share this same time lapse relationship.  Many of the local organizations seem to be reacting to change much later than many of the major organizations in larger urban centers.   Out two of the three larger arts organizations in London only one seems to be "keeping up with the Jones'". 

For a progressive and liberal sector of our cultural landscape why have so many local arts institutions missed the mark, especially with online marketing?

The art that these organizations are producing is interesting and progressive but their methods of attracting people and getting their attention is entirely irrelevant.  I found smaller to mid sized organizations are particularly lagging in their websites and effective use of social media.  The websites do not give much detail beside a brochure tour of their organization.  They tell people what they want to know, not necessarily what the people want to know.  Arts Consumers today are beginning to dictate what they want to see and what they will attend.  This is not to take anything away from artistic integrity, but rather to work with people rather than against them. Some organizations are so hooked on their artistic vision that their ability to share their work becomes completely inaccessible.  Patrons of the arts need to be involved in the conversation and it needs to start with an effective use of engagement.  Most organizations have a website because it's the thing to do.  They pay little attention to how people actually use them.  Websites need to be a resource to the people it serves firstly and then as a way to gather information from patrons by the organization.  With the invention of social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter organizations are now able to engage in meaningful conversations with patrons and get tangible results, good or bad.  But again organizations need to be listening to their consumers. 

It is wonderful to do all of these things but there needs to be some kind of method behind the madness.  The question is not, are you using social media- because nearly everyone is.  The question is how are you using social media in a way that firstly benefits your patrons and gets them excited about your organization and secondly how is it benefiting your organization.  Perhaps social media is not a right fit for your organization at all but these are things that need to be thought out carefully and tested early on. 

Money will always be an issue but there are always ways to be strategic and not just reactive in smaller organizations too.  The smaller to mid sized organizations often get swept up later in the rush to just do the "next best thing" instead of actually taking time to consider how it will benefit, if it will at all, their organizations.   It is difficult to not live in the shadows of the bigger organizations but if they want to do things effectively they cannot merely react.  They must have some calculated reasons for the things they are doing.