The Mission Paradox Blog

Never what you think

In 2008 I wrote this post.  The gist of it was that people don't attend artistic events for the reasons people expect.  For example, many people don't attend classic musical productions because they "love" Bach.  They attend because it is their date night and they want to do something that feels romatic and cultured.

It's almost 2012 and people are still figuring this out.  Check out this article that talks about the marketing efforts of a group of orchestra managers.  They wanted to encourage repeat visits from patrons.  They came up with a list of 16 attributes that had the greatest impact on attendance.

Here's a quote from the article:

"It turns out the quality of the orchestra, magnificence of the hall, and virtuosity of the conductor were not particularly important attributes. What was? Drum roll! The most powerful "driver of revisitation" was parking! As with other orchestras, veteran members of the core BSO audience had figured out where to park, but trialists identified it as a huge hassle--so they didn't come back."

Parking.

Turns out that the best "marketing" investment these orchestras could make was to help people understand how to park at the events.  Just like a song about a crazy squirrel can be the bets marketing a riverboat company can create.

I think that's the first lesson, that a lot of different things that you wouldn't call marketing actually is marketing.

The second lesson is that when people choose to attend your live artistic event they do it for a bunch of reasons.  This isn't like TV where people can choose to watch any channel just for the hell of it.  If people are choosing to leave their comfy homes, it isn't an accident.  It's vital that you understand why they are coming and how to get them to return.

Just remember that the reasons they come (and come back) may not be what you think.

 

The best marketing I've seen in months

I was on a Riverboat tour in New Orleans. It was a lovely day. We went down the Mississippi River. The tour guide gave historical facts to help us understand what we were seeing.

I was getting exactly what I had paid for. No big deal.

Then right at the end, something remarkable happen.

Right before the riverboat docked the captain played two songs over the loudspeakers. The first was "When the Saints Go Marching In." Of course he did. It's New Orleans.

Then he played this other song, "The Mississippi Squirrel Revival." It was totally silly, totally corny, Ray Stevens song. You can check out the YouTube clip here.

I loved it. It was a perfect moment. Funny, unexpected, remarkable. Because of that I'll remember the tour for a long time and when folks go to New Orleans I'll recommend them.

The person who decided to give us that small, delightful, moment was a marketing genius.

Of course that person probably wouldn't consider him/herself a marketer. They probably wouldn't consider playing that song a marketing tactic.

But that's the point.

Any moment where you suprise, delight or inspire people is not only marketing . . . it's the only type of marketing that really works now.

It's not about money. That moment was free.

It was about a person who cared enough to making something cool happen.

Spend this weekend considering how you can actively make those moments happen where you work.

Fear Fight

It's ironic to say this given what I do for a living, but I think we focus way too much on the mix of artistic and business skills.  

Don't get me wrong, understanding how to create work, promote work and generate revenue are all important things.  But often what's really holding people and organizations back isn't a lack of skills.

It's a lack of discipline.

It's a lack of self awareness.

It's fear based thinking.

It's a lack of respect for your competition.

It's a lack of financial management ability.  It's hard to be a working artist when you can't balance a checkbook.

But of course we don't like to talk about these things.  It's much easier (and socially acceptable) to say that your organization is failing because no one respects your work or because they keep giving money to the "other guy".  

It's a lot harder to admit that your organization has gotten stagnant and you keep surrounding yourself with well meaning, but incompetent, people.

Sometimes we need a reminder that one of the biggest obstacles to success is our own difficult, contradictory, human, nature.

These obstacles may come in different names (marketing problem, morale problem, etc.) but it all comes down to embracing and activating the best of ourselves instead of the worst.

In that spirit, I think the most helpful thing we can do for each other is to not only share/teach our skills but also to assist people in identifying and overcoming the things that are truly holding them back.

Help someone fight their fears today.

Making it to tomorrow

Part of the "truth" of art is that we don't know what is going to work.

We have our theories. We have our really good guesses. But you never really know.

Another "truth" is that the more time you can invest into your artistic life, the better it will be. Your first three books will probably suck. The first 15 songs you record will be no good. But that fourth book or song number 16 may have the seeds of something special.

So if you don't know what's going to work, you need to keep trying things. That takes time. But that's helpful to you because you also need time to improve.

That's why one of the most important skills you can have as an artist (or arts organziation) is the ability to survive long enough to improve.

In this case, survival is actually underrated . . . not overrated.

In this case, survival means taking smart financial risks. It means not working your team to the point of burnout. It means understanding that constant, gradual improvement of everything (marketing, artistic creation, etc.) is the goal.

It means that the only real failure is running out of money or morale. As long as you can keep pushing (and improving) for one more day then you are creating the space necessary for magic to happen.

Authentic Arts Audio

This is from 2010, but I think it's still relevant.  It's a two part audio of a presentation I did on Authentic Arts Marketing.  If you're short on time, just check out Part 2.  Link to the audio is here.

No clue

It helps if you start by acknowledging that you don't know exactly what people want.

I mean sure you may know the basics, that people want to be treated with respect, that they enjoy good customer service, etc.

But when it comes down to know what they want to see, experience or purchase, it's very difficult to know in advance.

You see examples of this all the times. TV networks spend millions to create and promote the can't miss thing and it dies after a few weeks on air.  Movie executives spend 100 million to market a movie that ends up losing money.

Your only hope then, is to engage only in those projects that you feel strongly about.  Not because those are guaranteed to work out.  They aren't.  You do it because if it fails that least you enjoyed the process.  And if it works, then you get the double thrill of passion and audience.

The price flag

Price is another one of those flags you waive that indicates who you intend on serving. 

Art is such a complex thing so you can't really have a simple set of rules about how to price what you do, or whether your price is too "high" or "low".  You can justify any price point (including free).

So there are any two questions to ponder in terms of price:

1.  Are you comfortable with the price you are setting?

2.  Are you comfortable with the consequences of your price?

If you're running a Broadway production and you've set a price point that could eliminate a nice chunk of the market, that's cool.  Seriously, it is.  There's nothing wrong with a high price point.  But you also have to admit that price point influences everything.  The audience.  The content you choose to deliver to that audience, etc.

If you run a non profit dance company and don't feel comfortable charging more then $20 a ticket, that's cool.  But that also means you may need to have a robust fundraising operation to cover your expenses (which ain't easy).  

It's about choice and consequence.  Not right or wrong.

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A couple of pieces of business.  The Oct 22 workshop will need to be rescheduled.  I'll let you guys know when it is.

On the other hand, an Nov. 10 workshop on social media is on.  Details here. 

 

Welcome to Paradox

This is the Mission Paradox Blog. I'm your friendly host, Adam Thurman

Since 2007 this has been a place where artists and those who work within artistic organizations get insight on marketing, leadership, diversity and other topics.

The main source of that insight are the blog posts that appear right below this one. Typically you'll get a new one every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can get the blog post directly in your web based reader (like Yahoo or Google news) by clicking here

You want more? I got more.

My e-book Authentic Arts Marketing is available as both a free download and as a cheap buy in the Kindle Store. Get details on that here.

Want to work with me directly? I do a limited amount of private coaching arts marketing coaching. Details are here. Testimonials are here.

I hope you find this place a helpful resource as you go about the hard work of connecting your art to an audience. Feel free to drop me a line at mission.paradox(at)yahoo.com.

Remember, new blog posts appear below.

 

Cheaper

One of the hardest transitions to make is from an artists (or organization) that is used to spending very little to create and market work . . . to one that needs to spend more.

Sometimes spending money is a necessity.

You have to invest in things.  Invest in your people.  Invest in yourself.  Invest in necessary equipment.  Invest in what's needed to spread the word about your work.

There is a fine line between being thrifty and being cheap.

Don't be afraid to spend money.

 

Letting your freak flag fly

They like their flags in New Orleans.

That's one of the things I observed walking down Bourbon Street. It's like most things in life. It's a street filled with choices. I lost count of the number of bars, food joints, music joints and strips clubs that were packed into a few city blocks.

Let's stipulate that most of them offered average to pretty good stuff. They all have cold beer. They all have decent gumbo. They all have competent musicians.

So how is anyone supposed to choose where to go?

Enter the flags. The flags are helpful. Instead of just talking about what they have, they give an indication as to the sort of people (audience) they want to serve.

The rainbow flags indicating a link to the LGBT community.

The giant WHO DAT flag as a marker for Saint football fans.

The flag with the giant alligator as a marker to the Florida Gator fans in town for the college football game that weekend.

Consider the difference between "This is what we have" versus "This is who we serve".

What would happen if you spent less time promoting events and more time making it clear exactly which audience you are doing the work for?

Maybe it's time to fly your own flag and see if that attracts the audience you want.