The Mission Paradox Blog

The Courtroom, The Echo Chamber and The Alarm

Good arts marketing evolves. 

During the (often brief) lifetime of a particular artistic event it goes through a few stages.

Whenever I sit down to layout a marketing plan, here is how I think about it:

Stage 1:  The Courtroom

This stage ideally starts about 100 days before the event (theatre production, dance recital, arts exhibit, etc.) begins.  Earlier then that would be even better.

During the courtroom stage, the job of marketing is to lay out the case why a particular event is worth seeing.

Just like a courtroom, laying out the case is a mixture of facts (the awards you have won, the strong reviews you got for previous work), etc. and emotion (the impact the work will have on the audience)

When you are in this stage you have to know who your jurors are.  Are they current audience?  Are they new audience prospects? 

And you also have to understand that the burden of proof is on you.

If you can't prove that you have something worth seeing, then it isn't worth seeing.

Or as I have said before . . . if they don't come, it's YOUR FAULT.

Last point here, building a case takes time.  Make sure you give yourself enough of it.

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Stage 2 - The Echo Chamber

Now the artistic event has begun.  In this stage the job of arts marketing is to repeat all the positive comments people, i.e. critics and audience have said about the show.

If you don't have any positive comments . . . you have a problem marketing can't fix.

But you probably do have some, so start collecting them and then start repeating them over and over again.

And over again.

And over again.

Because people forget.

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Stage 3:  The Alarm

Now we are nearing the end of the run for your artistic event.  Now the job of arts marketing is to be the alarm that screams . . . THIS GREAT THING IS ENDING SOON . . . SEE IT NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

This can be a suprisingly effective message because people hate to feel left out.

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Whenever you are planning your marketing, it may be helpful to think about things in terms of those stages because it helps you remember that what your marketing needs to accomplish changes even during the lifetime of the same event.

Funding Diversity

I have talked before about how vital it is to have a strong base of individual donations to your nonprofit arts org.

And no, strong doesn't have to mean big. Strong can mean consistent as well.

Because when you are overly reliant on any one particular source of funding, or one particular funder, something like this happens.

More on the Power of Time

So here's the story.

Here in Chicago, a for profit theatre group was producing a show called Forbidden Broadway.  The show was here in 2007, got good reviews and so it made sense to bring it back.

It came back here for a short period of time and then the producers quickly pulled it, a move which Chicago Tribune theatre critic Chris Jones found to be quite curious.  You can read what he had to say here.  Chris does mention one line that I thought was worth a longer conversation:

"Most shows are given at least a few weeks to build an audience. Not this one."

That line is a reminder that one of the most valuable weapons you have in selling your art is time.

Look at it this way, I run the marketing department of one of the 7 or 8 largest theatres in Chicago.  I have a staff, adequate resources, etc. and it still takes us 3 months or better to really build a buzz around a show.

That's three months of work before the show opens, then even more work during the 5 weeks or so the show is actually running.

So here's what some ideas on how you can put the power of time on your side:

1.  Present your artistic work longer.  If you had planned on doing your dance recital in a 150 seat house for 3 weeks, maybe you could try and find a 100 seat house and run it for six weeks.  Yes, I know there are logistical and financial considerations to all of this but you work so hard on your art, why not give it a full chance to be successful?

2.  Promote your work longer.  If you have an arts exhibition coming up in the summer start talking about it NOW!

Yes, that seems silly but you have to remember this fundamental principle of marketing:

People forget.

Tell them about your event once, twice, even three or four times and it may be just like YOU NEVER TOLD THEM AT ALL.

 

 

 

You must persist

I have some invisible mentors I model my career path after.

Seth Godin is one.

Hugh McLeod of GapingVoid.com is another.

Whenever I envision of my career looks at it people it looks a lot like what they have managed.

They are consider thought leaders in their field.

They are sought after for their expertise

And as Hugh says, their services are "not as inexpensive as they used to be."

But then I remember . . .

Seth Godin began his entpreneurial life over 30 years ago.

Hugh started his "pet idea", writing cartoons on business cards, over 20 years ago.

The lesson:  Being a success in anything, artistic or otherwise, can take a while.

So get back to work.

h/t to Don for posting this Ira Glass video which reminded me of how long it can take sometimes.

People Need To Be Convinced

I'm preparing for a workshop I'll be doing for a group of vocal artists in a few weeks (Note:  Want me to do one for you, then check this out)

Whenever I work with a fairly large group of artists, I always expect to encounter a few that basically resent the fact that they have to market their work.

They think that just because they are a "talented" singer (or actor, or painter, or whatever) that people should just naturally be connected to their work.

I use to find this attitude to be pretty funny . . . now I just find it to be pretty sad.

Look, right now Barack Obama is somewhere in America convincing a group of people to vote for him.  He's being doing that for almost 2 years now.

No matter what you think of his politics, Sen Obama is probably one of the most talented politicians we have seen in a long time.  He has clear leadership skills, a gift for public speaking, etc.

But if Sen. Obama never marketed his ideas . . . if he didn't develop a brand image, a social network, a passionate word of mouth marketing base . . . then he would be behind in all of the polls DESPITE all his talent.

Talent is good.  Talent is necessary.  But people still need to convinced to be a part of whatever you are doing.

That's just human nature. 

Some people will need a little convincing.  Some a lot.  Some will never be convinced.  But if you really think you can achieve some significant measure of success without some marketing savvy then you are just fooling yourself.

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One more thing.  Because their is such a link between marketing and fundraising, sometimes I bring up both.  So in that spirit, I present you this mainfesto on fundraising.  You really should check it out.

Quick Moves

As an arts marketer one of my primary weapons is speed. 

It should probably be a primary weapon of your as well.

Laying out a marketing plan for an artistic event should take a week, not months.

Just put some of your best ideas together, put together a budget and get going.

You'll change the plan along the way regardless.

Learn to move quickly.

Marketing becomes easier when you do.

Hunting Fanatics

Organizations are at their most effective when they can track down and build relationships with people who take whatever they are selling very seriously.

I'll give you an example.

Right now at the day job we are getting ready to produce Radio Macbeth by SITI Company.

As a marketer here is the challenge the show presents:

We have a core audience that we are fairly confident is coming to see this show regardless of the marketing we do around it.

The problem is that core audience isn't enough for us to make our sales goal.  Or at least it hasn't been in the past.

So we need more people.

How do we get them?

By searching far and wide for those "hardcore" Shakespeare and finding a way to get their attention.

And when I say hardcore I mean those people who live and breath the Bard's words.

I mean the people who dress their kids up like Macbeth's witches for Halloween.

Why do we need those people?

Because those people don't need to be sold Macbeth.  They just need to told Macbeth is happening and invited to come see it. 

Did you catch that?

Did you catch sold verus told?

Selling people something is hard and time consuming (but often necessary).  Telling someone that you have something they are probably already inclined to like anyway and inviting them to buy it is much easier.

Think of this way . . .

Let's say you are doing an evening of modern dance.  Your first job as an organization is try to get "plugged in" to that network of people that love modern dance in your community.

Now you may think, "there are only 10 people in this town that love modern dance"

That probably isn't true, but even if it is . . . you need those 10 people on your team.

Because if you empower those 10 people to be your marketers, then they will do your audience building for you.

So go forth my friends and find your fanatics.  They are the best marketers (and the best audience) you will ever have.

No Holding Back

Right now is the time you should planning and executing on your most ambitious artistic plans.

Now.

Yes the economy is real bad.

Doesn't matter.

Some artist, some artistic organization is going to capitalize on this moment and when they are running things five years from now . . . they will point to this moment, this crappy economy, as the moment it really started.

So you can either be that artist.

Or you can wish you were that artist.

Fire Your Audience

Let me just put this out there . . .

Some of you have audiences that are holding you back from reaching your full artistic potential.

And because they are holding you back from reaching your full artistic potential, they are probably holding you back from reaching your full financial potential.

You would love to do that new play from that edgy playwright but your audience likes their subject manner a little less risque.

And sure, commissioning that dance choreographer to do a piece for your group would probably raise your artistic profile but your audience likes more well known works.

Or maybe you have an audience that loves that edgy, out there stuff, but when you decide to do something a bit more mainstream (for whatever reason), they freak out on you.

Look at the history of every enduring artist or artistic org and you will see that they come to a point where they needed to lose a significant portion of the audience they had in order to gain the audience they needed to thrive long term.

Are you at that point now?

Do you feel that point coming?

 

10 Steps to Commitment

Before someone commits to seeing your artistic event they have to . . .

1.  Decide the event is worth their time, money and energy.  Maybe they made this decision because of a great review, word of mouth, your positive reputation as an artist, etc.

2.  Decide if they can afford a ticket (and probably more then one because they will bring a friend)

3.  Call a friend/spouse/family member to coordinate their schedule

4.  Think about where they are going to dinner (adds more money to what they are spending on the evening)

5.  Think about where they are going to park

6.  Hire a babysitter (if they have kids)

7.  Actually purchase a ticket (did you notice how late in the process this step came?)

8.  Get to the event

9.  Park

10.  Find their seat

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Let's call these 10 things the "Arts Consumer Checklist". 

Great marketing isn't just about a cool looking website, an ad in the paper or a nice direct mail piece.

Great marketing is about understanding the mental process people go through when deciding to see your art and doing everything you can to make that decision process easier.

So maybe instead of buying that print ad, you spend that money on a really nice person to answer your phone when patrons calls.

Or maybe instead of printing a big subscription brochure, you spend that money to negotiate a deal with that parking lot across the street to get your patrons free parking to your events.

That's marketing too.