Defining the Canon: What Should We Produce?

Back in the dark times when I was a practicing music theorist, the question of defining the canon of Classical music was not only a serious point of contention, but one of the most common arguments I found myself in. It seems that once you start discussing artistic tastes in terms of “good” vs. “bad” you will never reach an agreement. For every strong supporter of Beethoven you have another voice saying there is not enough focus on modern music, and for each of those you have a Baroque music lover who removes his shoe, slams it on the table, and shouts “Nobody likes this music!”

The point is, the likelihood of a large group of people agreeing what type of art is best is slim to none. But these kinds of value judgments are exactly the types of value decisions arts administrators have to make on a daily basis. Unless we happen to have the luxury of working for a very specific arts organization (such as a modern art museum or a new music ensemble), we will be involved in the process of deciding what our organization will produce. This brings a common theoretical debate among artists into a very real and practical light. Which of course begs the question, what type of music, theater, and art should we be promoting to our audiences in order to not only meet their demand, but to help promote the true “canon” of each art form?

–Tyler

Can the “Church Business Model” Work for Arts Organizations?

I’m not religious, let’s just get that out there first.

But I was once a devoted weekly church-goer. Going with my sister for a couple hours every week to hear some music, listen to a guy talk about (mostly) positive things and say hello to friendly familiar faces. I didn’t support my church financially (unless you consider that I gave 10% of my $0 salary) but my sister and a large percentage of others in the church did, enough to keep the organization thriving and see some growth. The question was recently brought up that arts organizations should find a way to incorporate something about the church model to get their costumers to feel more like a connected community. Below, I’m going to try and pull out some of the things inherent in some churches and see what that would look like in an arts organization, purely in theory. Obviously one thing that arts organizations are missing is religion (the last I checked no one has been told they would burn in eternity if they missed out on Cosi fan Tutti, but I digress), so let’s just ignore that one facet for the moment and see if there is something else there that connects people or drives the model.

One thing that church has going for it is that it is essentially a free-to-play model (I went to a non-denominational church way back when, so I’m making all of my assumptions based on this). Many people go to church for years without paying, enjoying essentially the same benefits as everyone else that goes but are encouraged at anytime to help keep the organization going by donating a significant gift. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see an arts organization that refused to charge for tickets? This might completely bomb, but if the basic experience of some sort of performing art was completely free, you would have a hard time telling people that you weren’t there for the community. The organization would naturally need to adjust to the amount of funds that they get strictly from individuals and heavily depend on volunteers, but these are things that churches already rely on with success. We rely on the perks from donation level systems to get people to donate more, but to stay true to the model, we would have to insist that a donation only be something that is significant to that individual (and cross our fingers that 10% of their income is what they consider to be significant).

A church service usually happens that same time once or twice during the week and though you know the basics of what you’re going to get (music/sermon) you don’t know the specifics. This church-like organization that we are creating would have to do something similar. Maybe once a week isn’t feasible at first, but the same time, same place could benefit the "creation of a community" that happens with church. Also, following the model, patrons would come not necessarily knowing what was going to be produced, but knowing what kind of thing would be produced. The idea here is that if the art is consistently good, patrons would build trust with the performers/artistic direction and allow the art to surprise them week after week. This model also means that the art would need to be produced in a dedicated space. That isn’t necessarily a weird thing, many organizations have performances in the same place. It just means that, in going with the free-ticket thing I spoke of earlier, a fixed cost would need to be accounted for in order to keep the center of this community there.

Churches also have communities within the church that are built from people consistently coming. The more you go to a church, the more likely you are to build relationships within that community and continue to come in order to see how Fred and Lisa are doing with the kids or something along these lines. Some churches help push that along by having time before or after the sermon that is dedicated to meeting the other people from church. I’ve been to orchestra events that do this too, but not consistent ones. The idea here is to alot time every week that is specifically to make people socialize with each other (*bonus point: My church had free coffee before every service each week. I swear to…err….God that free coffee would easily get me to/through a weekly orchestra concert and make me talkative with people around me).

Now, do I think this would work?….Probably not, but I think it would be a fun experiment on the small scale. There are already some smaller groups that play for free in a space that isn’t specifically dedicated for that group, but nothing on the scale of a large theater, opera, or orchestra (to my knowledge). Surely there are aspects of church that I left out of this post that are integral to the experience (feel free to chime in) but really, the idea of building a connected community of patrons that appreciate the art and the atmosphere of the space where it is contained sounds like something to strive for.

-Zack

Digital, Digital… Always Digital! Enough!

After years of crisis, due to the hacking of CDs and to illegal downloading, the market of recorded music is experiencing a recovery in the United States thanks to the paying digital offers. It is such a large phenomenon that in big American cities as Atlanta, we almost can no longer find records stores as the consumers are buying online.

In Europe, the distributor Believe did not wait for these good news to bet everything on the digital sale of music. Settled in France since 2005, it suggests the independent producers to sell their albums online.

I am probably old fashioned, but can you really completely enjoy a digital album?

I mean, the change from vinyl to CD was a thing, but we kept an object. We kept the cover, and the booklet.

Hell, the cover is part of the artwork. A Pink Floyd album is nothing without the cover. The cover, and the inside of the booklet are part of the dream! Moreover, one music is nothing without the others. Would you read only few chapters from a book in a random order?

I think here we lost something…

-Charles

Moving Limits

Rhein II, the monumental photo (3,80/2,99 meters) by the photographer Andreas Gursky was sold for 4,3 million dollars last week.

It is kind of funny when we think that 90% of the photographic creations of the XIXth and the beginning of the XXth was thrown away! People thought that a portrait by Nadar was not art!

Ingres, in 1860, had said by seeing his creations: “The photography is so beautiful a thing, as that it should not come out!” He didn’t want to have to compete against a new form of concurrence, but still, it is a nice compliment.

I don’t know if we appreciate photography less or more than Ingres but this practice seems to have entered the pantheon of art today.

Still, for a novice, the aesthetic value of this photography representing a bank of the Rhine lined with green, is not quite obvious …

But if it were the creation of a painter, we would probably not doubt it and say “Oh well! That is great art!” Don’t you think? Maybe we should just think that Gursky uses a different kind of brush.

Fifty years ago, when you did not like an artwork you said: “It is like Picasso!” It is probably for the same reason that one day Picasso answered to somebody who said to him: “Your work speaks to me like Chinese!,”  “Madam, art is just like Chinese, you can learn it!”

Next step, digital art?

-Charles

Should arts organizations be thinking globally?

The Cleveland Orchestra has been involved in several overseas partnerships that are part of what appears to be a strategy to expand the organization’s global reach. Their current efforts to establish a new residency in Paris were discussed in a recent article in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. While it is quite common for American orchestras to perform overseas, the Cleveland Orchestra’s approach is unique in that they are also trying to build long-term relationships with their European audiences. As this article notes, they even have a European board which is dedicated to fund-raising in Europe. Not only is Cleveland bringing the performances of a fine ensemble to a wider audience, they are also expanding the pool of potential donors.

At a time when arts organizations, especially orchestras, are facing the prospect of dwindling future revenue from donations, thinking globally might not be a bad idea. Of course, it might not be workable for many organizations. Cleveland, as one of the classic Big Five orchestras, already has quite a bit of international name recognition, which gives them an advantage in implementing a global strategy. But perhaps groups that don’t have the same name recognition could at least think beyond their immediate surroundings. Cleveland also does residencies at other locations within the U.S., such as Miami’s Adrienne Arts Center and Indiana University, so such ventures do not necessarily need to be overseas. It is also worth noting that pursuing residencies outside of an arts organization’s home city presents plenty of its own logisitical and funding hurdles, but if a performing arts group can find a cost-effective way to implement such an approach, it might prove valuable in expanding the organization’s network of supporters over the long run.

-Taj

Think getting some PR for the arts is hard? Try this.

The Los Angeles County Museum will be installing a piece made of 340 TONS of stone. Dynamited out of a hillside, the enormous boulder is the work of sculptor Michael Heizer, who is known for this type of work.

It’s already been a PR success, as we can see from the national press attention the piece has received. My question is: what sort of future management and operational problems will a piece of this scale pose?

I assume that from a conservation viewpoint, the piece is nigh on indestructible, and will not sap curatorial resources. The principal issue, as it appears to me, is to what extent the museum will have it’s brand become identified with this one particular work of art. It belongs to them forever, and it’s not like they can loan it out. It’s sheer size means that it may dwarf any other work in the collection, and the prominent place being accorded to it means it will always be highly visible.

That is not to say that it’s not a good idea, or to pass judgment on it as a work of art. Just wondering aloud how one handles the inevitable brand and even mission challenges that come with a project like this.

-Tony

Already the end of 3D ?

Let’s face it: 3D glasses are annoying. Ok, Avatar was cool. It seemed it was the start of a brand new era for the movie production business. Some movies were converted into 3D right after the “Avatarmania.” It was a technical disaster (Clash of the Titan). Because most studio execs only saw in 3D the way to generate more revenue, they did not act with wisdom when deciding which movies should be 3D.

Here are some interesting thoughts on the subject by a studio exec from DreamWorks: link to the article

Beyond the debate around 3D, I believe the fact that audiences turned their back on this feature tells more about the future of cinema theaters. With 3D, one might think that it was a major shift in the way audiences live their movie experience. You don’t go just to see a movie: you’re living an experience, an event. If this drop of 3D is confirmed, this would be the sign that movie distribution is not quite ready to enter into a new phase. Studies show that when watching a 3D movie, people are both reluctant to the price and also the technology (glasses). The transition toward digitalized cinema went very smoothly. You expect the best quality when going to the theater.

Is it too soon ? I don’t think so. I just believe the way 3D is designed right now is not the correct one. It’s not “audience friendly” enough to make it essential. Avatar was truly a one shot success.

-Emmanuel

Music To My Ears

It didn’t occur to me when I first knew I was going to live in the US for a couple of months, but America happens to have great opportunities to experience live music. But of course, American folk bands that rarely come to Paris for a unique and rather expensive performance would be often touring throughout their native country. It started with a random encounter with a sign advertising for Fleet Foxes out front of the Chicago Theater – bold letters hung on a white board like I had only seen in movies before. Five minutes later I had my ticket and five hours later I was enjoying their performance in a mythical and beautifully-furnished place.

Recently, Internet tracking surprised me in the best of ways as I was listening to a song by Beirut on YouTube, informing me that they would be performing in Cincinnati a couple weeks later. So last Friday there I was, waiting in line with a bunch of indie Uni students wearing beanies and checked shirts in front of Bogart’s. Paying an overpriced ten extra bucks for a spot at the bar gave me and my friends the opportunity to sit right behind the light and sound checks, checking out the track list at the same time.

One thing I notice after attending both concerts is the surprising hubbub surrounding the performance. The two folk bands weren’t exactly the type of music I would have expected to be accompanied by such a joyful background noise, though. Maybe because I am used to considering music concerts as very special events, I would religiously dive into the experience and leave the social part for later. Whilst the Fleet Foxes concert lasted for a rather long time, allowing me to get lost inbetween songs unheard of, Beirut’s performance turned out to be incredibly short, with the bittersweet impression that they were playing within a time frame. But once again, you never get enough of the good things.
In any case, I am very much enjoying this opportunity to attend a concert as easily as I would go to the movies – for a very decent price and just around the corner. My scheduled trip to San Francisco surely has something to do with the Death Cab for Cutie concert planned in December over there.

Music, even more than movies, has been a huge component of my relation with America over the years, and I somehow feel like these events, as much as a weekend to Orlando, give me a real taste of America.

-Anne-Claire

Filming during concerts

AT LAST! The song everyone has been waiting for is starting. But at the same time hundreds of little screens appear. No flash. The massive recording has begun. Most recording devices are cellphone or still cameras with video recording capabilities.

I must say I quite baffled by the phenomenon. I’ve been watching those kind of people: most of them are not enjoying the song. They actually find a way to attend a live event through a screen. I get that you want to bring a souvenir home, a picture, maybe a short recording. But let’s be honest: can one be truly satisfied with the image and sound quality that comes from this kind of recording? Anyway. Then I realized that YouTube is full of short videos featuring 2 or 3 minutes of a concert. Again, not a big fan but hey, that’s the whole point of YouTube. So be it. And then, I come across this kind of article.

I can already see the massive bugs that will occur if this is released. But mostly: what’s the point?? The content we are talking about is really low quality, usually very short. I can only see 2 reasons for inventing such a useless pattern: 1- Try to sell official DVD’s from the concert. But who buys that? People don’t care about that kind of merchandise anymore? I have seen any in the three last concert I have been to. Artist usually provide many acoustic videos and live performance on their facebook page or myspace. 2- Try to sell more ticket.s Why? Organizers are afraid that people will get satisfied with an online video? If not completely not true, it might be the opposite. Because you get only a glimpse of the atmosphere of the concert on YouTube. To me it’s all for the best: the watcher gets frustrated, wants to go and maybe will check out the date for the next performance. And let’s face it: if people want to record a concert, they will just do it.

Concerts are packed. It’s a fact. Prices are at their highest level (good job Live Nation). So no way to add a fake problem to the music industry. The cup is already full.

- Emmanuel

Classical Musicians Gone Wild

Today’s young classical stars are taking a cue from some of today’s pop stars. Speed, social media, and sex appeal are helping classical musicians like David Garrett, Stejpan Hauser, and Yuja Wang reach larger audiences and bridge the gap between the general public and classical music. Of course, some people are offended by this approach. But any bad press that comes can usually be turned around to the artist’s benefit. For example, Eyebrows were raised at Yuja Wang’s sexy short red dress paired with dangerously high heels for her performance of Rachmaninoff’s wickedly difficult 3rd piano concerto at the Hollywood Bowl. Her attire raised quite a bit of controversy, but it had no impact on the quality of her performance, which was outstanding. One particularly entertaining review on her performance states, “…the only explanation for Wang is that she must be some sort of cocky classical music cyborg. Nothing, for her, looked even vaguely difficult. She was at her best in the most punishing passages. Rhythm is one of her strong suits, so the last movement, in particular, rocked.” So that’s what a professional music critic has to say. What about a more informal critic, an audience member? Nick Norton, of King’s College in London, was there and commented, “For what it’s worth, if I’m going to a concert to see a performance (rather than staying home and listening to one), there had better be something to see. A bunch of people in matching tuxedos and long dresses is boring. Hats off for realizing that, while yes this is “high art,” we do in fact like to be entertained.”

I think the key phrase there is, “we do in fact like to be entertained.” While musicians may think classical music is entertaining in and of itself, most people in the general public do not. Or perhaps they just need a little more show or pizazz to engage and maintain their interest. Such controversial decisions as Wang’s or other musicians alike may make some people feel uncomfortable, but there’s no denying that it draws a crowd and gets people talking. Why not break from tradition and try new approaches? Classical music is exciting, provocative, sensual, and yes, entertaining. These artists are delivering that message to audiences using relevant themes from today’s pop-culture… and it looks like it’s working.

-Anna

The Light at the End of the Tunnel…

…is just an oncoming train. Yet more disheartening news coming from Dallas regarding the fiscal stability of the orchestra world. The question seems to no longer be IF a new model can be implemented but HOW SOON. What will it look like is an important question as well. A talented conductor, interesting programming and an economically vibrant metro area don’t even seem to be enough these days. Can new marketing strategies save us?

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kera/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1873447/North.Texas/Dallas.Symphony.Near.Insolvency

- Tony

Payola Politics Stifling Artistic Diversity

I thought I’d branch out of the usual orchestra, theatre, dance realm, so I decided to click on an article about a Puerto Rican rap duo called Calle 13, who recently won a record-breaking nine Latin Grammies this year. The fact that historical music records were broken is not really the interesting part of this article though. What intrigued me is the duo’s final remarks of their last acceptance speech…remarks that caused the artists’ mic to be cut and cameras to pan away. So what were the controversial words? "No a la payola" ("Say no to payola") was proclaimed and repeated several times before Univision cut away. The article goes on to describe Payola, which is essentially a system of bribery among radio broadcasters as a means to getting certain Latin artists’ music aired (and making it that much more difficult for new and upcoming artists to break through to the public). As a result, there was little musical diversity among Latin Grammy winners this year.

I find Payola to be extremely problematic and dissapointing…although not that surprising. The music world is highly political. Connections (and money) are hugely influential in the success or failure of new talents. It is not fair how many incredible artists I know that the world remains unaware about due to such politics. With this in mind, it is important for performing arts organizations to go out on a limb and bring in fresh unknown talents to share with audiences. Doing so will not only expand the public’s horizons, but also will save organizations money in artist fees!

-Anna

French Fair Play

We all know how complex the situation of the music industry is today. In fact it is a shame for the artists, but also for the musical heritage that is still living through these Major companies who own the catalogs of mythic Decca, Motown, Blue Note, Capitol…

EMI was one of these big firms, but times have been really tough for them for several years now, and they are leaving from one owner to another. Universal Music (unit of Vivendi, the French media company) has bought the recorded music unit of EMI for £1.2bn ($1.9bn) from Citygroup which owned it until then.

EMI, with a history dating back to 1897, home to artists including the Beatles and Pink Floyd, is going to stay alive through the perfusion of some French blood.

Take that Wellington!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15697973

-Charles

A Lack of Brainstorming?

Eurostar recently launched its first pan-European advertising campaign through a video broadcasted on the Internet, . Featuring French filmmaker Michel Gondry, Belgian singer Arno and Jarvis Cocker, the short film gives birth to a fantastic daydream fed by the artists as they brainstorm on the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games. Implicitly, Eurostar obviously emphasizes the forecasted increased volume of passengers resulting from this major event in London next year.

Well, it seems like 3 international guests and a good pun have not been enough for the train company to take off. I was truly confused as I first watched the video – it just seemed mad without really being any fun – and more especially it wasn’t the kind of tone and humor I was expecting from a renowned company like Eurostar. To me, the issue is that, to understand how second-degree the campaign is supposed to be, you must watch , or the even the 10-minute long making-of. Certainly the large number of videos released on the Eurostar channel underline the importance of this campaign for the brand – too bad nobody cares enough to watch them.

Overall, it is easy and pleasant to recognize Gondry’s quirky universe throughout the film, but it doesn’t bring up the magic we could have expected. Unfortunately, this opinion seems to be shared by the audience as well: a month and a half after its release, the video has been viewed by less than 100,000 persons on YouTube. Misunderstanding or lack of communication, this cold welcome leave us French people happily remembering the funny old-fashioned “Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome” commercial from neighbor Thalys train.

-Anne-Claire

Public Sector Cuts Hit Hard

Private Sector Fundraising Not Enough

The British model, widely seen as the “middle ground” between the all-private US model and the all-public continental model, is under threat by swingeing public sector cuts enacted as part of the Tory government’s austerity program. Whether or not British arts organizations survive this will be an important test for France and Germany, which have indicated in recent years a desire to move away from their public funding model to incorporate more private funding.

-Tony

French Reverence

The Artist is the homage of a French moviemaker to American silent cinema of the twenties. And so this is a silent movie, in black and white, coming out on the 23rd of November 2011 in your theatres.

Moviemaker  Michel Hazanavicius began writing humoristic sketches. Then he made TV commercials. Deeply passionate about American cinema, he made a movie called Le Grand Détournement (The Great Diversion) made out of some Hollywood cult movies. He mixed scenes and redubbed them to create a totally new absurd and really funny movie, following the example of Woody Allen’s What’s Up, Tiger Lily?

Now, he comes back with a more serious and profound homage to the cinema he  – we? – loves.

Go see it, and be proud.

See? French people learned your lessons…

http://www.youtube.com/embed/O8K9AZcSQJE

–Charles

Will Work for Healthcare- And Control

Recently, the weary union orchestra and choristers of New York City Opera agreed to work for free- you read that right, work FOR FREE- in exchange for healthcare benefits and some say in future planning. This news is too good to be true, right! Finally, both sides see the reality of the situation facing them. So, what’s the catch?

The catch is that it makes a frightening precedent to this future arts administrator that a union can have a say in the decisions of an organization (and, this isn’t really working “for free” if there are costs to what is asked in return). Yes, changes need to be made in order for NYCO to rise from the ashes of a legitimately difficult time in the organization’s history. But is rewriting the book on how unions and arts organizations interact the necessary step?

The union itself says that this is “a last-ditch alternative to a management plan that would drive City Opera out of existence.” My initial response to that is:
1. Yes, not taking pay would possibly help in the short-run for City Opera (although, let’s be honest, you ARE taking pay. Healthcare has a cost. In addition, you’ve glossed over the fact that musicians would still be paid for rehearsals. So, you’re just eliminating the actual performance service cost). Because there are costs to what you are asking in return, it’s not a huge savings for City Opera. In return for a diminutive savings, they relinquish some of their control over the organization to the union? That risk, to me, isn’t worth it.
2. If NYCO accepts this offer, how will this organization be able to effectively negotiate with the union in the future, given that the union has some control in the organization itself? These blurred lines between employer and employee make it difficult to have any leverage in a negotiation.
3. Let’s not forget that City Opera doesn’t want to go out of business either. They are not offering you a drastically cut pay scale because they want to stick it to the unions: they are offering this new, much lower pay scale because given their current financial status, this is what they can afford. I for one would not be willing to sell artistic and managerial control in return for free services.

(Read more about this interesting turn of events a Wall Street Journal blog.)

-Jen

“Breaking Barriers” with Video Streaming Outreach

Recently, for reasons completely coincidental to me being a current student in the arts administration field, I’ve read and had conversations about education outreach programs associated with performing arts organizations. There are many reasons for an organization to begin one of these programs (connecting with the community at large, creating a base of future arts patrons, fostering the underprivileged youth, …cough…funding) but in order to receive grants for them you need to prove that you are breaking down the real and/or metaphorical barriers that keep your program from “reaching out”. Forcing your audience (say, for a free show at a theater) to find a way to come to you is hardly a way of reaching in the eyes of grant panels. Finding a way to get your art or education program outside of the hall is really the key. Traveling shows, like theatre troupes or chamber ensembles, are a more economical way of bringing performance to a school. The large sacrifice in quality, though, may detract some organizations from using this as an option (this may be why so many organizations have different names for their traveling groups, keeping the view of the larger group untarnished).

Well, one recent solution to this idea is to stream a full performance from the Sydney Opera House to Port Macquarie on the Mid North Coast of Australia. The idea is that this system should work for any school with video-conferencing capabilities and live performances, tours, or anything at the Sydney Opera House could be piped in. The idea is similar to the paid performances at the Met that are simulcast to movie theaters around the world, but on a much smaller scale with (presumably) lower cost. Ok, so maybe the “quality” issue I spoke of earlier isn’t exactly fixed by this idea. The burden of quality streaming will likely fall on the school’s video-conferencing capabilities (one that many schools are unlikely to have). But the idea is still interesting to me. As technology gets cheaper, the idea of streaming live performances, interviews, panel discussions, etc. could be an effective way of spreading the reach of an educational program.

– Zack

Theatre Superstitions

For my last blog post, I decided to look for something fun. This article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2011/oct/31/witch-theatre-stage-superstitions-halloween found on The Guardian’s Theatre Blog is from Halloween of course, but I think it’s still very entertaining. I have often wondered where some of the most well known superstitions came from like “The Scottish Play” or the ghost light and this blog post provides some insight. Happy reading!

–Kristi

Webseries: get on it

Let’s talk about video contents on the web. We all know the web’s three magic words : share, interactive and free. On the other hand, we also know what defines professional video content: production can be expensive, there’s no interactivity and mostly you have to pay to watch it or allow your brain to be washed by commercials.

So when we look at it, one can have the feeling that professional video content (TV shows, movies…) is not meant to be on the web. The logics are very different. I always think of the scene in the movie Apollo 13 when Ed Harris says: “Well, I suggest you gentlemen invent a way to put a square peg in a round hole.” Some people did. It’s called the “webseries.” There are two kinds of webseries: pro and amateur. We’ll focus on professional webseries as it’s the most interesting in term of an economic logic. Somehow webseries found a parallel universe between TV and movies. (If the need a first experience with webseries, my advice is “Confession” with Jack Bauer… I mean Kiefer Sutherland… and John Hurt).

With webseries, brands are looking at the best opportunity ever to create their identity on the web. The web 2.0 changed the behaviors of internet users. That’s because YouTube filled the net with user-generated content (UGC). Because of those three magic words, everyone gets to be a supporter or a detractor to a content. You cannot fool the internet with basic TV commercials anymore. The audience will always find the way to see the content they want WITHOUT the commercial. But on the other hand, brands cannot walk away from the web. They just can’t afford it. If they want to reach people on the web, they need to become ingenious and above all authentic! Good quality content is everything: nothing beats a good story. Back in France, a major bank, BNP Paribas, was courageous enough to dedicate a whole marketing budget to the production of a fictional webseries about roommates in Parisian flat. But the show is NEVER promoting the service of the bank – it’s fully fictional.

Check it out! It’s awesome:

The bank just declared itself “sponsor” of this show, but used the identity and the spirit of the show to appeal to young potential customers. It was brilliant and very relevant regarding the codes of web. On the other hand, a French railway company tried the same thing and produced clips for the web. But in the show was stuffed with commercials. Internet users immediately bashed the show.

I think those examples are quite self-explanatory: brands needs to forget the traditional way to advertise. They need to provide an original, appealing content if they want to reach customers.

– Emmanue

So I grab my bags and go

As a fan of travels in general and as a voyager here in America most particularly, I wanted to share this amazing video I found on theinternet a couple of weeks ago.  You may have already watched it since it created a real buzz when it was released in August.

If you haven’t clicked on the link yet, I hope the mind-blowing storyline will make you do so:

“3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage.”

This project was commissioned by the Australian branch of STA Travel, a large travel organization for students and young people. “Move” is part of a series of 3 videos realized for the group’s “I want to know” campaign. Its massive success is assessed by more figures as “Move” has counted almost 800,000 YouTube views in only 3 months. As simple as it may seem, I think the concept is very clever because it does not follow any of the rules of a traditional commercial, especially by not displaying, at first, any visible link with the company. Instead, this little marvel comes under our eyes like an artistic project trying to capture the essence of travel, an impression reinforced by the apparent simplicity of the film realized by a group of mates amongst which is director Rick Mereki.

From an internet marketing perspective, I find it a very good example of a successful campaign. Indeed, it underlines the power of buzz contained in both the video format and the internet social networks. Moreover, it manages to increase brand awareness by creating engaging content, as explained by the campaign director, which is key to any good advertisement campaign on the Internet.

– Anne-Claire

Experience Great Art Without All the Hassle of Going Somewhere!

During a recent bout of procrastination via the internet, I stumbled across Jonathan Jones’ recent article in The Guardian (available online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/oct/30/leonardo-da-vinci-private-viewing-sky) discussing the upcoming HD telecast of the preview exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan at the National Gallery. While Jones takes an overall positive view of this event, I was struck with much more mixed emotions.

On the one hand, the existence of these types of HD telecasts is nothing short of a technological marvel. The idea that we can travel down the street to a local movie theater and see live broadcasts from some of the best orchestras, opera companies, theaters, and ballet companies in the U.S. and Europe is amazing. It’s the kind of unified global experience that should make us all take pause and reflect on the fact that we live in the future!

However, there is something that is being lost to all this technology. I remember in college when the first Met telecasts came to theaters never quite being able to wrap my mind around why people who would never even consider paying for a $10 student ticket to a university opera production were so willing to shell out over twice that amount to watch a performance piped into a movie theater. There’s no arguing that the performers, sets, and production values at the Met are vastly superior to any collegiate production, but these live telecasts aren’t really live in the same sense as a performance at which you are physically present. Ask a football fan, they get it. This is the reason you see people sitting in a stadium during a blizzard when the game is on TV. There is a premium that should be placed on actually being there and experiencing something in a truly live setting. While live telecasts have helped connect us more than ever to art being produced all over the world, they run the danger of separating us from the profound and unique experience of truly live art that make brilliant performances and artistic masterpieces something worth seeking out, going to, and experiencing live.

–Tyler

HOT NOW! Can Krispy Kreme’s new marketing strategy help the arts?

Ah, the sweet enticement of the glowing "Hot now" sign at your local KK. As a gal who lived in the south for a good portion of her life, I can recognize not only the deep-seated love of Krispy Kreme’s product line is its customers, but also the connection to the brand that many of the customers have.

Krispy Kreme has recently adopted a new way of marketing themselves- by streamlining the ad agencies they use, decreasing the amount they spend on marketing, and relying on fans to use word-of-mouth and social media to spread awareness of their products. Says their CMO, Dwayne Chambers: "I don’t own the brand and the idea that I ever owned the brand is really kind of stupid." So, allowing little old ladies to crochet the brand on potholders is only helping Krispy Kreme’s presence in the market, not hindering their control of it. (You can read more about this new approach by KK in Ad Age).

This reminds me a lot of Harley-Davidson’s marketing strategy, where the fans have created a hog lifestyle– and the company itself hasn’t paid diddly for it. In fact, Harley gains revenue off of licensing their brand to create lifestyle products. But, you rarely see a Harley ad or commercial. In fact, in 1995, Harley-Davidson had more than $1.3 billion in revenues and spent less than $2 million in advertising.

So, how is the Krispy Kreme or Harley-Davidson approach to marketing applicable to the arts? Well, the idea that the arts are a lifestyle– and the idea that you don’t own your brand– is a direct lesson. If a symphony can get a wave of interested people touting the greatness of the orchestra for them, they can drastically cut their advertising costs. A transition into word-of-mouth marketing can allow an arts organization to create a lifestyle of arts attendees without the huge investment of time and ever-precious capital.

The REAL question is how you get people crocheting YOUR arts organization’s logo onto a potholder or spreading the word organically. And that, my friends, is another post for another day.

-Jen

Much Ado about a Movie

In French, the English language is often qualified in a metonymy as “Shakespeare’s language.” But what if Shakespeare actually had nothing to do with the words we attribute to him? It is anyway this long-living theory that gave birth to a new Hollywood production released last week: “Anonymous,” by German director Roland Emmerich. The movie highlights the fringe theory that questions Shakespeare’s true authorship of the plays and poems historically ascribed to him to the benefit of Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford. The tagline modestly wonders: “was Shakespeare a Fraud?”

Planned for a release in March 2011, the film eventually arrived in theaters only last week. Should we see this delay as the first sign of an uncertain reception? Anyway, it is to be noticed that the world-wide releasing plan has been cancelled for a smaller one limited to 250 theaters in 4 countries.

Strange at least, if we have a quick look at the plot: it says conspiracy, scandal, legend and costumes. That is to say, the good old recipe to a programmed success. However, to the cast there is more than just the story when they describe it as a “political thriller.” This too sounds fine. But the truth is, nobody seems to care about the movie’s quality by itself when we look at the main critics. The majority of the reception lies in awakening the historical controversy through endless disputes of fans and scholars on the web. Even the Guardian offers a poll simply called “So, did Shakespeare write the plays?” – Yes, you can do it too.

This whole controversy leaves me wondering: what is it with movies taking on old disputes to create what they struggle to call half fiction, half historical? And especially in the case of Emmerich who stated that he never enjoyed Shakespeare and only knew Shakespeare from movies. Why take the risk of such an outcry when you are not even passionate about the topic? Oh well, I guess the answer can always be summed up as “This is just a movie.”

Having said that, I will most probably watch Anonymous at some stage – but probably for the wrong reasons. By surfing on the success of Shakespeare in Love, I’m hoping from Anonymous to emotionally remind me of my teenage years hoping and weeping whilst watching Gwyneth Paltrow. Furthermore, there is never enough occasion to enjoy a costumed movie with British accent and old palaces. But I definitely won’t watch it to form an opinion on whether or not the dispute has some foundation or even try to learn more about it, neither to see a masterpiece of Hollywood studios. In my humble opinion, all this rage is just much ado about nothing.

-Anne-Claire

Google shows you how horrible your website looks on a phone

Have you ever been to the website of an arts organization that has a frustratingly complex and seemingly useless website? I’m guessing that if you tried to access the same website on the 4 inch screen of your phone, it would be even more rage-inducing. In order to prove to other people that your website doesn’t look as good as you thought it did, google has started a new mobile initiative called GO|MO. For the low price of free, gomo quickly analyzes your website and shows that what it would look like on a virtual android compatible mobile device. After answering a few short questions, it grades your site on on how mobile-friendly it is using the adorable "sad face to happy face" scale that is rarely seen these days. I used the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati as and example and it fell roughly in the middle of the mobile friendly scale, losing points for text that is hard to read but gaining points for loading in 1.6 seconds (the average that gomo compares against is 5 seconds).

Like google analytics, another wonderful open-source google resource, gomo is easy to use and can quickly inform you on how your website is viewed by your patrons. It will also let you print out a full 6 page .pdf report on your website, just in case your boss wants a more official looking hard copy of your grades to post on the break room fridge. The site became available today, so go ahead and check out how your website fares.

-Zack