Five things from Ad:tech Sydney

It has come to my attention that I kind of ramble on a bit so I'm keeping this post really short and a pointer to possible future content. Back in March (Hey I know, sooooo current!) I was lucky enough to go to Ad:tech Sydney and I've got lots to share from that experience but the five big things were really...

1. Digital Display Ads: Go big, go smart or go home.Small ads buried down the bottom of a secondary page in a website don't work, you need to think of online display advertising almost like a TV spend. You have to throw decent money at it if its going to work. The caveat is if you are a niche product and can target niche websites which are cheaper.
   
   Going smart, well it's an area I know little about but those who are big on analysis know that its about using the metrics at your disposal, learning about re-marketing and tracking your customers. By way of example we are looking very closely at the Canberra Times online. Their weekday unique visitors outstrip their daily circulation and the advertising is 100% 'viewership' rather than CPI which makes it good value. We will shortly be giving this a serious trial and looking very closely at the metrics (when I get time to skill myself up!!).
   
   If you can't afford to go for impact then it really is best to look more so at Google Adwords, Youtube and Facebook Advertising instead. Which is certainly not second best, in fact many professionals who can afford to go big actively choose not to and use these tools more often instead.
2. Optimise for mobileThe universal trend was that if you aren't currently optimising for mobile then you are already behind, speaker after speaker was ramming home this fact, 16% of all web traffic is currently done on mobile and in a year's time this will be 32%. Also mobile web traffic happens closer in proximity to the purchase, be it in time or geography (such as if the item requires attending a bricks and mortar location like a restaurant). If you aren't giving a good mobile experience you are about to not be in the game.
3. Take Part is potentially a really valuable engagement toolTake Part is a new initiative at my work, the basic premise is that the impact of the arts is magnified immeasurably when people are given the opportunity to engage more deeply with that product, learn more about the story and artform and artists, Take Part is our sub-brand for advertising these opportunities. It basically makes for more affected and loyal advocates.This basic premise was repeated in more business-like terms often throughout the conference, the Commonwealth Bank was heavily focused on using social media to herd people toward engaging with the Comm Bank at a local level at real world events. Other businesses were clamouring for that elusive path between social media engagement and real world engagement that I could see we already had.
4. No one really knows what to do with EDM'sThe agencies weren't even pitching campaigns with email components, not one case study featured the words "and then for the email we did..", even the paid-for-by-stallholders breakfast panel of EDM solution suppliers didn't really know what do say, I've never seen a more maudlin bunch!
   
   So EDM's are a bit like newspapers and faxes, yesterday's news and at the beginning of a slow decline BUT your business has all these email addresses still right ? Maybe a few less than five years ago, maybe with lower stats but it's still a powerful resource right?
   
   The best take-homes from the panel was get smart, smart, smart! Sophisticated slicing and dicing, preferably with some systematic automation to make it workable during your business day is the key to maintaining this resource. Hitting just the right customer, with the right product at the right time is the key. Having an about-to-lapse trigger, a trigger when for when X consumable would be just about empty and hit them with an offer to re-purchase. These are the ways forward, and the arts industry patiently waits for its ticketing systems to catch up!
5. This simple yet powerful brainstorm process – define the problem, define the solution then ask “what’s the magic?” and don’t stop until you find it.Dave Whittle of MC Saatchi was running this little workshop of case studies and this simple yet powerful phrase "What's the magic?" really resonated with me. He also said "Never ever start a campaign with 'what will the poster look like?'" which is so true, start with Problem>solution>MAGIC! then maybe later you'll need to design something, but first go for the magic, the idea, it may not even be a designed focused idea it could be anything. Starting with the poster constrains your thinking. 

Umm hows that? Not so short huh? Sorry will try harder next time, in the meantime keep asking yourself "What's the magic?", I know it's simple and a bit obvious but it's really powerful if you let it in.

The Arts: Sell it like a service not a product (AKA: The Arts:We ain't special)

I'm a big fan of taking all the big and little issues that cross my desk back to the fundamental marketing basics. "Do you think this design works?" "Well you tell me? What audience are you after and what is the key selling point of your design and copy?". That sort of thing. But there is one marketing fundamental that arts marketers constantly seem to get wrong, and that's "What are we?".


Time after time I see 'The Arts' being marketed like it's a product - and not just any product like electrical whitegoods! Marketers publish a list of product features (IE: cast details and plot synopsis) and we expect patrons to line up and say "Awesome, I'll take five tickets thanks!". Its not really even Problem>Solution-land its "Hey I've done a play about retired ninjas finding themselves, come and buy tickets!"  which kind if an answer to a question no body thought to ask. (Actually I'd like to see a play about Ninjas, so if anyone writes one count me in)


To this day some marketers will argue that the arts IS a product, you pay your money and we give you a physical item - a ticket. Enjoy! Of course the ticket is merely a voucher for entry to the real paid-for experience. So in the interests of clarity lets break it down.


At a conference many years ago I was told that the definitive (British) legal definition of a ticket, was a short term lease of a piece of real estate (ie you purchase the ability to sit on a seat for a small period of time. Nothing more, nothing less.The show is no different to a harbour view or a flight path in a rental property, an element that affects how desirable that short term lease is.


If you accept that a show is nothing more than effectively leasing out a lot of small pieces of real estate for a small period of time it changes things fundamentally. For a start it makes you realise just how perishable our product is, like aeroplanes once the curtain goes up we can never sell that seat again, so inventory management becomes something we should study, dynamic pricing becomes important, as does efficient and courteous customer service and order fulfilment. 


Reputation becomes really important. Think about hairdressers, how do you build a top drawer hair salon? You create a nice welcoming environment to come, you answer every phone call, convert every lead,  train or recruit great talent, and you do everything you can to make sure that each chair is full most of the time. Branding becomes important, customer service too and every haircut leaves an impression that either makes people come back again and again or loses you for good. Haircuts are not price sensitive either, people will pay good money for a good haircut.


Except the performing arts is even more ethereal, at least hairdressers leave you with a good feeling AND a good haircut, we just have the good feeling.


Also haircuts are generally repeatable, each new play or dance performance is unique.So how do you get around the risk factor? Well you DO do something that the Arts Industry sometimes over-does, you really work on the brand of each individual show, you take your brainstorming seriously, you work the design and title treatment like you are re-branding facebook (on a budget!), even for a six week marketing campaign, and you latch onto to any residual goodwill, leverage the company brand, the name actor and establish credibility via awards and reviews. 


All fairly line and length, but the question is if I'm coming to your theatre for two hours to experience a service that's completely different to the last time I came here why would I do that? What problem will this service solve? If all I am left afterwards is a warm glow, what colour will the glow be?


This then leads you to thinking about intrinsic impact, which I'm sure I'll be spruiking another time.


For now I'll leave you with this, think of your arts product as a service, as incredibly perishable, and watch how that changes your approach.

PR and the Arts: Ten Tips

Whilst our publicist has been on leave this week and last, I took the unusual step of filling in for her. Usually this role goes to the Marketing Coordinator, when backfilling is required, but a couple of circumstances conspired to send the role towards me for a change. It had been five years since I last did PR on a virtual full time basis and it was surprising how quickly it all came back. Before it all leaves my head again here's ten tips for being a successful publicist, especially in the arts.

1. We outnumber themAcross most industries PR and Comms people don't just outnumber the journalists, they do so in great numbers. Also media companies, especially old media are bleeding, they are cutting staff, working their remaining staff harder and standing around scratching themselves trying to work out the name of the new media truck that hit them 15 years ago. So the media, your chief clients, are stressed, over worked, on deadline and they just want you to cut through all the noise from all the other PR's and make their lives easier.
2. Invest time in writing your media release
   The old staples still hold true, inverted pyramid, get all the crucial info into the first paragraph in case that's the only one they use, active language and NEVER, EVER send a media release out without a good usable quote. A great KPI for most arts industry PR's is how many media releases have you had this year that suburban press have run verbatim? 
3. You're a PR, your job is to say yes then make it happen!
   Service, service,service - you are the ultimate service provider, you provide a service to the media, you provide a service to the colleagues at your work, in the arts you also provide a service to the production companies and actors/key creatives as well. You MUST walk a tightrope and balance the competing interests and make people feel like they are all getting some of what they want. It can be frustrating but that's what wine is for at the end of the day! Or yoga or jazzercise - whatever you need!
4. Confirm, confirm then confirm again.
   Here's a tip, if you think an interview is locked down after three phone calls, you are wrong! Make the calls, double check that you have the right details, confirm with EVERYONE via email, update the interview schedule, re-send that, think of stuff that would help the journalist and then send them an email "Hey here's an updated bio, for your interview with that actor you have TOMORROW!". "Oh and in case case anything goes wrong, here's my mobile number, the actor's agent's mobile number, my manager's mobile number etc, etc...". But do it cleverly, make both the actor/company representative and the journalist feel all-important and over-serviced, which you are also doing, but in reality you are doing whatever you can to make sure it doesn't screw up.
5. In spite of that it WILL SCREW up
   Sorry sometimes things just do. So long as you have done everything you possibly can, then don't get too upset about it and keep calm. At the end of the day a good PR can control everything EXCEPT the outcome.
6. The harder you work the luckier you get
   People like to talk about good PR's as having almost mystical skills - media whispherers. Rubbish! I can be very blunt and sometimes the antithesis of a smooth talkin' PR guy, but I was good at it! Why? Work ethic and honesty. Just like telesales, I knew that if I wanted six good story outcomes in a city like Melbourne, I needed to pitch to about 18 journalists.If people don't return your calls one day, wait until tomorrow and send them an email, no response, wait another day and leave another message, keep working on a lead until you either get the story up or get confirmation that it's dead.
7. Be honest, direct and polite If the reason you really, really need an actor to do breakfast radio and they just don't want to get up is because ticket sales are tanking then tell them that. don't try and cajole them with fluffy bullshit reasons about Goulburn Valley FM being great for their profile, just say, "Sorry, I know it's early, but sales are tanking and we need every interview we can get". A bit of honesty will also get you points with your media friends too ie "Off the record, the rabid-leftie actor said no to your interview requests because he JUST doesn't like AM commercial talk radio, he thinks you are all like Ray Hadley, sorry".
8. Have a head for new news
   Has your upcoming show's season in Sydney just sold out, has the play just been green-lighted for a movie, did you just find out that your lead actor worked in your theatre's town for six months as a teenager, have you just got some new pictures from the company. do your research, be across these developments and use them where they will benefit you most. New news is currency, spend it wisely.
9. Have a picture in your head about what a successful media campaign will look like before you start
   Don't just send the media release out, call your few closest journo buddies and say "wanna do a story" and be surprised by the outcomes. Sit down at the start of a campaign and decide what stories you are going for, build it like you would a media buying campaign, "I want this interview here, this feature there, a cover story piece in Saturday's liftout". Write it down and start chasing. Don't make me quote Kevin Costner.
10. Stage Manager's are your best friend
    When a cast is touring Stage Managers are THE #1 gatekeepers, make them your best friends, love them, do whatever you can to make their life easier. Make up a schedule of interview requests, update it, re-send it. Say please and thank you. Remember that they have a squillion other things to do apart from confirm interview times for you, like sobering up drunk actors who can't remember their lines. (Note not all actors are drunks. That's a stereotype..... Just the good ones!)

Oh and finally I know I said ten tips but here's one more!

If you as the PR are not your organisations expert on social media - why not?
Seriously why not, you have access to all the great artists, all the great stories, rich media happening live right now that you can tell people about. http://www.thetaooftwitter.com/ will get you started if unsure.

That's about it from me tonight the only other thing is that great PR's are like great sports referees, the ones who are doing a really good job are virtually invisible because it just seems seamless and easy. Now go out they and work your butt off to make it look seamless and easy!