Don't hate

"I hate marketing."

I hear that a lot.

Of course when people say that they are also saying some version of the following . . .

I hate money.

Or

I hate when people come to see my work.

They are basically the same thing.

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But the truth is you probably don't hate marketing.

You hate what you think marketing is all about.

You think it's about forcing people to buy stuff they aren't particular interested in.

You think it's about dumbing down the ideas around your work to make it accessible to the "masses."

Yes, sometimes that all happens under the banner of marketing.

But that's not what marketing has to be.

It can be authentic.

It can be a representation of your best self.

It can be fun.

It can be all those things and still be effective.

In fact, given the abundance of choices people have in this world . . . your marketing probaly HAS to be all those things now.

Don't be distracted by the poor marketing choices others make.  Most of them aren't nearly as effective as you think and even the few that are don't stay effective for long.

Treat your marketing like your art .  . . because good marketing really is an art.

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One immediate way you can make your marketing more authentic is to stop doing any marketing tactic you hate.

If you hate cold calling galleries to see if they will hang your stuff . . . stop calling them.

If you hate doing tiny newspaper ads to sell your shows because they are ineffective, then stop placing them.

If you hate the emails you are sending to your audience right now . . . stop emailing them. or change your email content to something you like more.

"But Adam, I have to do those things." you say.

No, you don't.

You have to market.  You have to make sure people are aware of what you're doing.

You don't have to do things you hate.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Ed]

I couldn't agree with you more that marketing at its best is an extension of artmaking. Not sure if you've read The New Colony's blog post about that, but they seem to have similar views- and seeing as they've had to extend their second show, "Frat," their approach seems to be yielding good results. I'm in the process of experimenting with this a bit myself- I'm directing and adapting a show this fall and am also essentially the point person in my company for marketing the show (with LOTS of delegation once rehearsals start...). Since we're doing an adaptation of a novel, of necessity we have to make some cuts- one idea I had that still allowed us to include some of that cut material in the audience's experience *while also* promoting the show was to create little one page comics that showcase scenes, or characters, or ideas, that we know we'll have to cut from the stage adaptation. There's a little tagline at the end that talks about the show and where people can go online for more info, but really what we're doing is providing free content- and giving me a chance to play around with my drawing skills in a way that directing usually doesn't allow. But it also seems to me that these free little comics, whether posted on a bulletin board of a Wicker park cafe or just circulated online, would be read a lot more closely, and be allowed to stay posted longer, than just the standard flyer or poster. I've posted links to the comics we've generated so far if you're interested- it helps when reading them if you're familiar with the novel they're from, Peter S. Beagle's "The Last Unicorn."- which actually is a worry of mine. I am concerned they're too obscure for the casual passerby. On the other hand, if we're talking target market, the people I'm reaching out to are the ones who will instantly recognize the references in the comic- i.e., the thousands of people who grew up on either the book, or the animated version of it that came out in the 80s. Anyhoo, here's a link to them to check out if you're interested:

http://tinyurl.com/dx5abj

http://tinyurl.com/c657kv

http://tinyurl.com/c9hoam

[Paul]

Dude.

"The Last Unicorn" will market itself, if you get the word out to the right corners.

I can't say yes or no that a comic would draw more people, but if it excites you, it certainly works as a poster. But seriously, your audience is all-in or walking on as soon as they hear the title.

[Ed]

Paul- to be honest that's what I'm hoping. Actually I think there's a post of Adam's that's relevant- Adam, didn't you do a blog post about how for some of the shows you market at Court your goal isn't to appeal to *everyone*- it's to make sure the people who will say "I'm there!" as soon as they hear about it, actually do hear about it!

[Adam]

Ed,

Your right, I see part of my job as marketing director as attracting some people to the show and pushing others away.

So when I'm marketing something like The Wild Duck I'm trying to be as clear as I can about what the show is all about so that some people can go "yes, I want in" while others will go "hell no."

[Paul]

And to further the point, some shows need more clarity than others.

[d]

I hate marketing but only because i hate chasing journalists. Everything else is pretty enjoyable. Damned journos whoneverrespondtotheiremailsorpickupthephone!