The Mission Paradox Blog

Maybe it's You

All successful arts organizations are movements.

They have much more in common with churches and political campaigns then they do with other organizations.

If you want to lead a movement it requires three things:

1.  A vision on what the movement wants to achieve.

2.  The public to believe that you (and your team) are the ones that can achieve that vision.

3.  A clear plan on how to move toward the vision.

In the arts we have plenty of people that meet requirement 1.

Charisma flows like water in this biz.

But some of us are lacking requirements 2 and 3.

Which is a problem because 2 and 3 are the real important ones.

People are jaded.

Donors, audience members, potential Board members, they have heard it all before.

So you telling them that your art group is going to be the one that transcends the old rules, brings in new audiences and redefines the business means NOTHING.

Everybody says that.

What really matters is two things.

The first is your past.  People are going to check to see if you have done anything that gives them confidence that you can pull off your words.

The second is your plan.  People are going to want to see if you have thought through the issues and know what you are doing.

If you have those, your words can be clumsy and a bit confusing and people will still follow you.

 

 

Safer Then What?

When I decide to build a career in the arts, I received an odd amount of praise for my "courage."

The common wisdom was that I leaving safer career options (being a lawyer, working in Human Resources) behind in favor of the risky word of the arts.

I understand the thinking, but I disagree with it.

To me (and maybe to you), going into the arts was the safe, smart, choice.

Let me explain why that's true for me . . . and why it could be true for you too.

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I would have been an incredibly average lawyer.

And for a while that would have been fine, because an average lawyer can make a pretty good living.

But I believe there is a long term consequence to being in any field where you are just another body.

Eventually you will be overtaken by those who are smarter/more passionate/more skilled/better connected then you.

Once that happens every day becomes a matter of survival, constantly trying to stay below the radar so that people don't notice you.

That's no way to live.

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Besides, here's the truth.

The legal profession had plenty to offer me.  A decent salary, medical benefits, etc.

But I had nothing of value to offer in return.

Sure I could have given them my presence in the office and my time, but there are a LOT of other people who can give them that plus much more.

I wanted to be in the arts because I felt like I had something to offer to the field.

I stayed because I thought there was a chance, however remote, that I could build the sort of career that I really wanted.

It would be hard, of course.

But I figured if I left the field to do something I would be incredibly average at, my path would go from merely hard to downright impossible.

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I totally understand that building a career in the arts can be difficult, probably more difficult then it should be.

But make sure the alternative you pick is really a better choice and not just a more predictable one.

The real money, the real status, comes from doing what you are the best in the world at.

And if you think you can be that in some field other then the arts, then go for it.

But make that decision carefully.

Because what seems risky now may actually be the safer choice in the long run.

 

 

Art Market Share

When it comes to getting audience for your art you basically have two options:

1.  Pull from the audience of existing art attendees and get them to see your stuff.

2.  Develop an entirely new audience for your work.

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Most of us say we want the second option.

We say we want to expand past the traditional audience.

If that's true, then just remember that building new audience takes time.

That's just a fact of life.

So if your strategy is to build new audience then you have to make sure your organization and the work it does is stable enough to be around a long time.

The problem is that rarely happens.

What you are more likely to see is an organization that wants new audience, but makes every important decision based on the here and now.

If you always bring short term thinking into what is essentially a long term strategy, then trouble is inevitable.

Avoid this.  Make sure your strategy and the way your organization is run work together.

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And now a few thoughts on street teams courtesy of the Off Stage Right blog.

 

Can't be copied

Ponder this quote:

When copies are free, you need to sell things that can't be copied.

Kevin Kelly in his book:  Better Then Free

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I hate quotes like that.

Not because it isn't true . . . it absolutely is.

But because it reminds me (and maybe you) of how high the bar is.

It's not good enough for any of us to do slightly better, slightly cheaper versions of the art we already.

There's a lot of that already.

We have to find the new place.

And maybe that new place isn't just in the art.

Maybe it is in the way we interact with our audience and donors.

Maybe it's in the way the organization is structured and run.

Either way, we need to be different.

And let's be honest, being truly different . . . in a way that is viable enough to build a career, isn't easy.

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But here's the good news.

You have some time.

Most organizations that you admire didn't start off as the innovative, ground breaking group you see now.

They got there over time.

And if they got there, then so can you.

So don't really worry about where you are now, focus on where you are headed.

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Oh and FYI, my promised post on street marketing will be tomorrow.

Working the Street

First, I notice that many of you have been including my posts in your Tweeter feeds.  Thanks so much for that.  Keep it up.

Also, the folks that have subscribe to the blog via email or an RSS feed has gone up.  Thanks for that as well.  If you want to join the millions (ok hundreds) that get the blog via email just sign up at the box on the top right.

Now back to the show

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One of my secret marketing weapons (until now) is street marketing.

I hired a respected firm and had them distribute our posters and postcards to selected companies, churches, etc.

We even had them hand them out in front of other theatres, which was a slightly sneaky, but fun way of reaching a new audience.

Nothing beats getting your promotional material in people's hands (instead of on the ground) and a good street marketing team can be effective way of doing that.

On Monday I'll talk more about how to select a good street marketing service (or do it yourself)

But for now, check around to see if there are any good organization's in your town that do street marketing.

See you on Monday. 

Be Decent

I get a letter.

A subscriber to my day job lost her job.  She wants a refund on her subscription.

No problem.

I get a email.

A single ticket buyer wants to switch her tickets to another night.

Go right ahead.

Technically, each of those decisions violate our official policy.

And that worries some folks.

I mean what if that subscriber really didn't lose her job?  And what if every single ticket buyer tried to switch to new dates?  There could be chaos . . . CHAOS!

Of course those concerns are ridiculous, but that doesn't stop many of us in the field from not only having them, but using them as excuses to not treat our patrons well.

Yes, some people will always use loopholes in a system to their advantage.

But those people will be outweighed by those who appreciate that you tried to help them out.

Don't let the rules stand between you and your customers.

 

Imagined Motivation

Whenever I get tired or frustrated . . . or just need a reason to keep going . . . I close my eyes and imagine something:

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I see this person.

She's a bit younger then me, maybe 28 or 29.

And she's figuring it out.

She's determined to find a way to make live performance relevant and viable (both economically and otherwise).

She's trying stuff.  She's failing.  She's modifying her approach and trying again.

Try.

Fail.

Modify.

That's how the breakthrough is always discovered right?

This person . . . she's smart.  And, more importantly, she isn't burdened by the same low grade cynicism we see in our field.

She knows that theatre, dance, performance . . . isn't dead.

In a world where all of us see the downward trends, she is quietly and diligently trying to find a path that flows upstream.

I imagine that one day, I'll be reading some online magazine and see her smiling face.

She found her path.

She found a model that allowed her to create art that enriched the soul, thrilled the audience and caused a dollar or two to flow her way.

I know, I know . . . it's impossible.  Art and commerce never mixes, blah, blah, blah.

And most of us will still be thinking that when we see her face in the magazine.

But for now, she's plugging away at that impossibly big task.

It probably isn't accurate to call this imaginary woman my competition, because our success isn't mutual exclusive . . . we can both find our own paths.

But I do know that if I'm not working as hard as she is, I'll never get there.

So I shake off the frustration, lay down the cynical thoughts . . . and I get back to the grind.

Try.

Fail.

Modify.

That is where the breakthrough is.

An objective eye

As an art marketer, I'm paid to be objective.

Selling anything well requires a bit of detachment . . . a little bit of distance.

Without that distance, I could easily become a fanboy, incapable of understanding why anyone wouldn't want the superior artistic experience I'm offering them.

That's one of the problems we have in the arts, too many fanboys/girls.

Too many people unable to step back a bit and see things from any perspective other then their own.

It causes us to make decisions that, in hindsight, make very little sense.

Like I said, it's a problem . . . but it's also human nature.  It happens to all of us.  The closer you are to a situation and the more confident you are about your abilities in a particular situation, the harder it is to be objective.

So I had to develop some tools to help me be a more objective marketer.  I'll share one with you:  I call it a Pro/Con sheet.

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Before I lay out a marketing plan for a show, I lay out all the reasons someone may go see it (pro), or avoid it like the plague (con).

Here's an abridged version of a pro/con sheet I made for an upcoming production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson

Pros:

1.  Positive reputation for Wilson work - Our previous August Wilson productions were well received and made some money.  That's a good sign.

2.  Season Slot - The show is opening in the September/October slot.  Historically that's a popular slot.

Cons:

1.  Strong Direct Competition - September is the beginning of the "arts season" in Chicago.  Every theatre, every dance company, is coming to be looking for a piece of the pie.  A consumer is going to have a lot of choices and ours could get lost in the shuffle.

2.  Less "Popular" August Wilson Title - Ma Rainey is rarely performed so the title may not have the same "buzz" as the playwrights more familiar work.

3.  The economy - Even Joe Biden admitted things were worst then his administration expected.  People may be extremely cautious about how they spend their money.

Again, that's the abridged version.  The real version had a few more pros and cons.

I find that doing this exercise always helps me see the art I'm marketing as it really is . . . not like I wish it was.  It forces me to be honest with myself about what obstacles an artistic event has.

That honesty is the key to objectivity.

Give it a try for the work you are doing.  I hope it helps.

 

Comfort Zone

There isn't much difference in running a $100,000 organization and a 1 million dollar organization.

You deal with the same challenges, marketing, fundraising, etc.

It's all just a matter of scale.

What does changes is the comfort zone.

Asking someone for $500 . . . you may be comfortable doing that.

Asking someone else for $50,000, that's much tougher.

Being a relatively new arts organization with no expectations . . . not so tough.

Being an established organization dealing with high expectations . . . that can be a huge challenge.

Here's the basic rule:

No organization can grow past the comfort zone of the leadership.

Look back on the history of any arts organization you respect and you'll see a moment where they had to make a decision that scared the hell out of them . . . that pushed them way out of their comfort zone.

It was how they handled that moment that made all the difference.

So consider your comfort zone.  More importantly, consider the comfort zone of those around you.

Because that's your limit.

 

 

Be careful what you say

I remember listening to Obama's Treasury Secretary give an interview.

You could hear the caution in his voice.  He didn't want to talk about any specific bank or financial institution.  He didn't want to elaborate too much on a policy implication.

I'm sure some of that was typical politics.

I'm also sure some of that was his understanding that the words he used to describe a situation mattered a great deal.

If he implied that a particular bank could fail, then the market would act and said bank would fail.

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That's what I think about when I hear about panels called:  Is the Curtain Closing on Live Theatre in America.

Or when I hear the constant talk about the arts "dying".

I always worry that such talk does two things:

1.  It ignores the people that are coming.  Millions of people attend theatre, dance, museums every year.  MILLIONS.  As an industry it feels like we barely acknowledge those people who come because we are obsessed with those who don't.

2.  It encourages possible new audience to stay far, far, away.  I mean if theatre is dying, why should someone check out that new ensemble down the street?  They are going to be gone next week right?

And if classical music is dead, why give the local orchestra any money?

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My point is, generally, people don't like lost causes.

And if we make the arts seem like a lost cause then we could have the unintentional, but very real impact, of speeding up our own demise.

I'm not saying we shouldn't be honest about the challenges our field faces . . . but damn, if you believe most of what you heard/read you would think every dancer performs to empty seats, every theatre is doing dreck for tired, uninspired audiences . . . and that we are doomed, DOOMED, to irrelevance.

And for some of us, those descriptions hold true.

But for some of us . . . it doesn't.

So let's us all try to balance the legit concerns we have with a bit of hope and a  bit of optimism.

People need that from us.