The Mission Paradox Blog

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Around here, we talk about arts marketing . . . and everything else arts related.

The main highlight of this page is the Mission Paradox Blog.  It's normally updated every weekday.  If you want to get the blog via email, type your email address into the box on the right and you are all set.

You can also get information on my arts marketing coaching services, see clients I have worked with, get testimonials from those clients and see any upcoming events I'll be doing. 

All that is available by clicking the appropriate link on the navigation bar above.

Thanks for stopping by!  New blog posts are below.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

Free Art

Chris Anderson writes a book called Free.  It's about (among other things) the importance and power of free content.

Malcolm Gladwell writes a review.

Seth Godin rebuts and then keeps track of the discussion.

Read it.  It's interesting stuff.

And then thank your lucky stars for this simple fact . . .

People are still willing to pay for art.

Maybe they aren't willing to pay for YOUR art, but that's a separate issue.

But it is generally accepted that a ticket to a theatre performance, or a jazz concert, is something that people are supposed to pay for.

This is a big deal.

Movies get bootlegged.

Music downloads are no more then a $1.

You can stream most TV shows on the internet for free.

This is the accepted practice now.

Most of what we do can't be electronically duplicated, which is a powerful weapon to have in the world of free.

 

Awareness

I'm back . . . let's get to it.

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The beautiful thing about Las Vegas is that it knows exactly what it is.

It's sex.  It's gambling.  It's pop culture.

And they are very comfortable with that.

That's part of the reason the marketing of the town works so effectively.  They embrace who they are.

There's an element of that in any great marketing campaign . . . the idea of "this is who we are, deal with it."

So does your marketing embrace what you do, or apologize for it?

 

 

Get Away

You need a break.

You've been bustin' your ass for your art for a while.

Go somewhere.  Do something that has NOTHIN' to do with your work as an artist.

Take care of yourself.

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I'm going to follow my own advice.

I'm headed to Vegas.  New posts on Wednesday, July 1.  Want to make sure you get all the posts when I start blogging again?  Subscribe to the blog.

See you soon.

New posts coming on

A Key Principle

The Principle of Priority says:

1.  You must know the difference between what's urgent and what's important.

2.  You must do what is important first.

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Some of us run our arts organizations like the place is rigged with alarms . . . and that our job is just to go running around the place every time the alarm rings.

I have seen organizations ignore implementing changes that would benefit them for years to come because they are so caught up in today's crisis . . . today's most urgent thing.

Today's urgent email.

Today's urgent meeting.

While the thing that is important . . .

That conversation with that up and coming playwright.

That cup of coffee with a potential donor.

Is rushed through because we are all so damn busy.

I've learned the hard way that to make it in the arts (or anything else), you have to remember the Principle of Priority.