momorantings

These past two years have been incredibly challenging. As the global economic crisis settled in, we all tried to figure out what that would mean for our organizations. Some organizations failed. Many launched emergency fundraising appeals. And recently, we are beginning to see the questioning of major business practices, from preview performances to selling subscriptions . New technologies are changing the way audiences interact with "art," some major metropolitan areas are showing significant declines in arts participation , and many states are slashing their arts funding . Even with the recent craziness, it looks as if there might be a light at the end of the crisis tunnel . Many of us have been in the trenches for awhile, making strategic planning difficult as we tend to the fire of the moment. However, as we emerge from the financial crisis, we should start thinking about what lies ahead. As we enter a new decade, I began to wonder what the biggest marketing challenge of

A weird law of hotel rooms, that the nicer a room you have been given, the less time you'll spend there, and you'll always be there alone. It's just a tweet, but it holds some interesting ideas about the relative importance of shared experience and material quality to a human customer. Customer satisfaction is not as straightforward as some would have you believe.

The ability of your bought marketing efforts to gain free editorial coverage and/or extended online life is lauded as a way of increasing one's marketing ROI. Consequently, in tough economic times, it has become a goal and justification in and of itself with agencies reporting that clients ask them to "make us a viral" while clients are regaled with case studies like Cadbury's gorilla . Earned media is more valuable than bought media only if it is earned for the right reasons. If it's just picked up by media outlets desperate to fill their 24 hour schedule or is passed around for its creativity or shock value rather than the underlying purpose, then is that coverage really worth earning?

In the past, it was assumed that mass influencers were influencing - maybe they weren't. But, did anyone actually prove it? If they had, would we all know this aphorism? "I know half my advertising dollars are wasted - I just don't know which half!" Haven't we always been influenced by those closest to us? It's just become more apparent because we can now know much more easily what like-minded people are thinking and liking.

A couple of weeks ago while sitting on a funding panel, I said to a representative of a very large funder that I didn't understand why people were so afraid to fail, and then discuss their failures openly so that everyone could learn from them. Especially in the fields of technology and audience development, more advances come out of failure than anything else. The funding representative said that she felt the same way, but heard from companies that they were afraid to admit their failures because they feared it would affect future funding opportunities. Well, I thought I might get the ball rolling by discussing some of my biggest failures and what they taught me: Always give the exclusive to your best customers. I have made this mistake a couple of times, but trust me, I have learned the lesson. Every now and again, you might have a big news story that a major news outlet will want an exclusive on. They might even promise you front page or prime time coverage, in exchange for the

Last night, I went along to a free (but ticketed) event run by Jameson Whiskey . A showing of Moon to be topped and tailed by whiskey-related cocktails. An appealing mix that I ultimately didn't sample. When participation has no direct cost, it can be difficult to judge prospective attendance. That's one of the risks of free. In this case, attendees were reasonably enough urged not to arrive too late as the number of issued tickets exceeded capacity, but when I arrived fifteen minutes before the doors opened I knew there was a problem. The line ran down the block and round the corner and then down that block. Inevitably, there were many disappointed people (perhaps as many as hundred at a venue that held 440) and while staff were polite and apologetic, it shouldn't have happened. It's far better to have a few empty seats than a lot of disgruntled turn-aways. As I always say, the cardinal sin is that of annoying people. I'm sure those people who got in had a good tim

New media isn't a thing. It's just a nice place to keep having the conversation. Businesses don't need a new media strategy. They don't need a person thinking about how all of those places and spaces merge and warp and weft together. Businesses just need a conversation strategy. They need excellent people who like having conversations to do the talking and the writing. They need to resource their words department, and listen real hard. Then they should just go and spend some time where people are having those conversations, and join in politely, always making sure that they're being useful and interesting. As explained by the always smart Dan Germain here .

Multi-purpose devices and technologies are seen as inferior. Technology doesn't converge. It diverges. Devices become specialised high-spec and single-purposed. Except in the pocket.

The real cost of social media is crowd control. You can only have a presence if its backed up with constant monitoring and rapid reaction. This we all know. We also know that the key to successful marketing is to be findable. Too many companies square this circle by trying to be everywhere. Just like the old days of mass marketing, when they had to be on every time slot and every billboard, they now feel they have to be present on every social network and all over every fad. The real solution is to identify where your audience will be and join them there in the best way you can. If you can't be the best you can in a particular location, then decide not to be there. That way you avoid outbursts of negative publicity while optimising your effectiveness elsewhere.

In the past few weeks, I have served on a couple of panels and delivered a few speeches about attracting younger audiences. In doing so I found that many people harbor some misconceptions about attracting younger audiences. I understand that younger audiences are a sexy topic to funders and board members, but there are a few things we all need to think about before launching our assault on the Gen X'ers and Millenials . Product. Of the four Ps of marketing, most will agree that product is the most important. So why then is it the least considered when looking at ways in which to attract younger audiences? If your core artistic product is not appealing to younger audiences, then you will almost assuredly fail to get them to fully engage with your organization. Throwing an after hours party, turning a performing space into a disco or hosting themed young professional events might get targeted demographics into the door, but what we really want is for them to engage with the missi

I've seen this video referred to as a rant. It's not, it's six minutes of distilled, passionate wisdom. A man I'd never heard of, but would love to meet, spelling out some home-truths for his industry. Home-truths that are applicable to any business. 1) Start Telling The Truth 2) Stop The Politics 3) Start Having Fun Again 4) Stop Overthinking Things 5) Start Doing Something 6) Stop The Incessant Research 7) Start Doing Good 8) Stop Banging On About Digital 9) Start Ups Again Please 10)Stop Using Animals In Commercials All very telling, but not as telling as the fact that audience didn't applaud each and every point as he made them.

People make decisions based on an assessment of the anticipated future memories they will generate. The memory of the experience is very different from the experience itself. All the more reason for your business to be truly different and to provide good changes, significant moments and positive endings.