ARTSblog

Earlier this summer the Americans for the Arts Action Fund launched ArtsVote2008, our effort to bring the arts to the forefront of the ’08 campaigns. We’ve assembled staff and grassroots volunteers and are establishing a significant presence on the ground in New Hampshire–the first primary state. Thanks to the efforts of these dedicated arts advocates, we have already seen results on the campaign trail:

• Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM), just last month, announced his national education plan, which included a ground-breaking $250-$500 million proposal to invest in arts education in schools
• Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) herself contacted our New Hampshire ArtsVote leadership to highlight her record of support for the arts and said that she considers the arts a necessity, not a luxury
• Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (Rep.), himself a musician, has been outspoken in his support for arts education on the campaign trail enthusiastically calling arts education a “Weapon of Mass Instruction”
• Former Senator John Edwards answered a question from a University of New Hampshire student about how he would address the lack of funding for the arts in education during the MTV/MySpace debates on Thursday. He responded by saying, We have a responsibility to promote arts education not only at the college level, but at a much, much younger level: first, second, third grade. He also suggested that federal funding from Congress was the answer. “The president of the United States can go to the Congress and ask for specific marked funding for the things that we’ve been talking about. Whether it’s diversity in our academics or whether it’s the arts. Because I believe so strongly in the importance of the arts, I will ensure that we, at a national level, are providing incentives and funding to help promote the arts both at public schools and at colleges and universities.

As the presidential election ramps up, the Arts Action Fund will be updating our members and the media with the latest candidate information. But right now, in the early stages of this race, every candidate is a potential ally. With just a few weeks left before the first presidential primary ArtsVote is hosting the first ever Presidential Arts Policy Forum at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH. Candidate surrogates and prominent figures, including representatives from the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Miss New Hampshire Rachel Barker, will speak about the importance of the arts in the 2008 presidential race. The event is free and open to all New Hampshire voters who support the arts. For more information, you can visit www.artsvote.org. This event will play a key role in ensuring we put a friend of the arts in the White House next year!

Popularity: 1%

Americans for the Arts has several peer-elected Councils. These Councils advise and assist Americans for the Arts in developing programs and resources to promote the growth and development of arts professionals networks nationwide. Four Councils are having elections for new seats and their candidates represent considerable professional expertise, leadership potential, and advanced practice. Their terms will start in January 2008.

Make your voice heard. Vote for your peers who you feel will best lead in service to the field. Only members of Americans for the Arts can serve on these Councils and only members can vote in these elections (you will need your ID# to access online ballots). You may only vote once for each Council. The online voting booths will close at the close of business on Friday, November 30, 2007.

• Arts Education Council
• Emerging Leaders Council
• PAN Council (Public Art Network)
• UAF Council (United Arts Funds)

Popularity: 1%

Well, a dozen of us gave new meaning to term “ArtVenture” at an Americans for the Arts conference. A group of emerging leaders headed out for our dine-around only to get struck in Miami’s MetroMover elevator for 25-minutes. Of course, we began by denying our situation. Let’s press more buttons! Something will kick this box into gear! The only thing that rose was the temperature and, in some instances, panic levels. But, magic also appeared. We made the most of the situation. Here are the top ten reasons to get stuck in an elevator with emerging arts leaders.

1. It’s a great icebreaker before your dine-around.
2. Being surrounded by creative people in tight spaces can be a whole lot of fun.
3. Talk about a bonding moment!
4. Emerging leaders can turn crisis moments into laugher moments in a snap.
5. You can ask your boss for a raise and post it online (ahem, Marialaura Leslie).
6. Stepping through elevator doors pried open emergency personnel gives a whole new meaning of emerging to an emerging leader.
7. You know there’s going to be an ice cold mojito at the other end.
8. You discover things you never knew about your peers, like how one prides herself on being agile enough to climb through the elevator access panel in the ceiling and another one prides herself on being the rock at the base of the human pyramid.
9. You can practice your elevator speech.
10. Don’t believe us? Watch our video.

Popularity: 1%

Spray Chalk cans can be found at kuzsports.com. Contact me for tips on how to avoid upsetting grounds crew, facility maintenance, and how to address other potential “fires” from this great idea.

Popularity: 5%

Web 2.0 sounds great, but…could this be a whole new culture to many? To encourage the online conversations to have some meaningful context, and buy in from techno-phobes / hostiles (a.k.a. arts professionals who fear the world outside their discipline) they must be fully equipped to participate in not only WHAT is being said, but HOW the conversation is happening. We will need to train potential digital technology users with a lot of side-by-side show me sessions.

Popularity: 1%

As the consumer gains control of choices, I get that we (marketers?) must work in tandem with arts educators whether they are teachers, concert reviewers, or fellow [other] promoters. Most of our potential audience may be completely disconnected with art. Marketing must educate. Educators are the best marketers. And it’s not just the arts educators-everyone who talks about art (history teachers, scout leaders, etc) letting the audience educate themselves also means getting the good stuff connect-able to the audience. I can see more layers of information about upcoming events instead of short/description library of congress options.

The disappearance of the top-down corporate world will be almost as challenging to reveal to some old hands as their comb-over.

Popularity: 1%

Over lunch today, Elena Park, from the Metropolitan Opera, gave a richly textured case study of how an organization, steeped in tradition with a deeply loyal constituency, innovated over a 2 year period without sacrificing its values or standards. The Metropolitan Opera is not your average venue it is one of the largest opera companies in the world, yet it has been artistically and socially isolated. Since 2001, the Met experienced an audience decline from 90.8% box office sales to 76.8% box office sales in 2005. Through a major re-visioning of its visual image and its institutional culture, the Met turned things around and operated at 84% capacity last season and this year looks even better. How did they do it? What can be learned from their story? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 1%

In his keynote kickoff of the NAMP conference, J. Walker Smith (a.k.a. Research Rockstar to Julie Peeler) explained that time is the new currency in a time-starved world. He studies lifestyle trends and ultimately seeks to understand the ways in which people understand the ‘good life’ what people want to get out of their lives. To marketing directors and brand developers, this information is the Holy Grail. But it keeps shifting and, in fact, Walker proposes that the extent and range of this change in consumer behavior has not been seen since World War II.

I liked 90% of what he said but the missing 10% gives me pause and I want to stir the pot a piece. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 1%

Jay Wilkinson of Firespring has developed a list of criteria to assess whether your non-profit website is strong or not. By the way, most non-profits score between 60-65 on Firespring’s website scorecard. He cautions that many non-profits fall victim to the common mistakes of web design. In organizations with small staffs and small budgets, they typically develop websites in house or by volunteers; by necessity, they have to do it cheap. But when organizations enable their website to animate their mission, they approach this tool as an investment in their communications and in program dissemination. Jay stressed understanding the end user of your website, which he referred to as: information seekers, volunteers, employers, job seekers, donors/contributors, public agencies, peer non-profits, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 1%

Recently, United Technologies Corporation (UTC) celebrated 25 years of sponsorship of the arts and they decided to celebrate the public art way. Since they wanted greater logo real estate as corporate sponsors, they decided to commission original works and installations on their own. This session presented a case study of UTC’s sponsored public art in Madison Square Park, NYC and Broadgate Arena, London, UK. The most interesting component of this case was how they used surveys, conducted by Audience Research & Analysis, to measure the impact of this endeavor.

How to you measure the value of public art, which by nature, has a more elusive, serendipitous, and iterative visitor experience than say a theatre or museum?
How can you design an assessment survey that documents valued added to both the consumer as well as the sponsor? (The presenters generously shared their powerpoint with me for this blog). Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 1%

STAGEVISION is a collaboration between the National Corporate Theatre Fund (NCTF), Sharp AQUOS, Time Magazine, and Palace Digital Studios. NCTF has 20 member and affiliate organizations across the country that reaches over 5 million people. Through them, Sharp AQUOS is able to place products not only in an uncluttered marketing environment, but in front of highly educated and discerning entertainment consumers.

This partnership is based upon a shared vision of why this work is so important. Both parties believe that they are heightening the entertainment experience for all involved. They are able to develop and deliver unique programming to a target audience. They are offering a unique brand experience that transcends the moment. The content is both nationally connected and regionally specific. They are using new media to create a new network of national partners and supporters. They are helping innovate theaters in an unobtrusive way that is appreciated by their customers.

Popularity: 1%

I am at the NAMP pre-conference and have been hearing a lot about the sponsorship-partnership continuum between arts & cultural non-profits and corporations. The afternoon kicked into full gear over lunch with an address by Brenda Andolina, Director, Public Relations and Brand Marketing at Fisher-Price. She emphasized that we approach corporations as partners and not sponsors, noting that when the mission and the values of the two parties overlap well, we establish (and reinforce) mutually beneficial outcomes. When considering these partnerships, Brenda noted key indicators to assess whether a partnership will work for a corporation like Fisher-Price.

Is the venue able to:

• Offer an “uncluttered marketing environment” for the corporation?
• Create a permanent presence over a multi-year period?
• Animate the brand?

Corporations want to come to where the magic happens in the lives of their consumers. In the case of Fisher-Price’s partnerships with zoos around the country, the zoos were were able to increase attendance at their special Fisher-Price partnership weekends by 20% – 30%.

All of this is much more than child’s play.

Popularity: 1%