July 26, 2010

This post contains no spoilers from last night's Mad Men premiere, namely because I'm waiting to watch it until Thursday. This is what happens when you host Mad Men parties with artists with careers. I may even buy a red wig for the occasion. If I do, I will only post photos if Hilary's upcoming Higdon/Tchaikovsky album sells 5,000 copies the first week. Deal? Deal.

It's funny: I've seen every episode of Mad Men at least once (the one where Peggy does The Twist about 17 times), and have never found relevant material for this blog despite the show's being about advertising. UNTIL NOW.

There are a lot of marketing lessons in this clip, namely, always try and put a "sticky smile" on people's faces:



"Good work, sycophants."
July 26, 2010 11:56 AM | | Comments (0)


July 23, 2010

Simply teach inmates at a maximum security prison in The Philippines choreography to "I Will Follow Him" from Sister Act.





And if you want 42 million views, have those same inmates do Thriller:



July 23, 2010 4:02 PM | | Comments (1)


July 20, 2010

Via Advertising is Good for You, via Adam Sherk dot com, we have the most frequently used press release buzzwords. There are some real winners in there. I'm working on an Orpheus press release, and am now feeling the need to find a way to incorporate "bleeding edge" and "low hanging fruit". Also, if this list was classical music-specific, I'm sure "generation" would be on the list somewhere prominent.



Buzzword / Marketing Speak /
Overused Term
Mentions in Press Releases

leader161,000

leading44,900

best43,000

top32,500

unique30,400

great28,600

solution22,600

largest21,900

innovative21,800

innovator21,400

award winning11,800

exclusive11,000

premier10,700

extensive10,500

leading provider10,100

innovation9,570

real-time8,030

fastest7,420

easy to use6,850

dynamic6,460

state of the art6,400

smart6,020

flexible5,660

cutting edge5,520

biggest5,460

world class5,340

amazing5,320

next generation4,860

revolutionary4,830

sustainable4,720

best practices4,680

leverage4,600

thrilled4,530

robust4,380

delighted3,560

cloud3,260

user friendly3,190

extraordinary3,090

breakthrough3,010

savvy2,900

ROI2,860

transform2,700

seamless2,540

groundbreaking2,440

empower2,390

scalable2,170

one of a kind2,160

proactive1,810

best in class1,650

return on investment1,570

market leading1,560

turnkey1,450

mission critical1,370

strategic partnership1,360

ground breaking1,320

dashboard1,310

iconic1,220

industry standard1,190

never before1,150

re-purpose1,050

ecosytem1,020

win-win963

best of breed941

enterprise class926

empowerment909

magical853

synergy838

out of the box790

feature-rich757

stack673

cross-platform524

value proposition519

well positioned489

disruptive470

hit the ground running451

disruption417

mindshare415

space-age386

bleeding edge373

exit strategy373

customer-centric369

sea change331

sticky326

silo272

synergistic246

client-centric244

outside the box226

paradigm shift206

peak performance205

perfect storm162

organic growth155

top-down155

next-gen121

never been done110

bottom-up108

solution-driven102

secret sauce91

low hanging fruit69


July 20, 2010 11:51 AM | | Comments (3)


July 19, 2010

I'm often asked why artists and presenters should trendy-verb-form of name-your-social-media-outlet. Artists say they don't have time ("when do I practice?"), while presenters say there's no way to track results of blog, Twitter and Facebook efforts in ticket sales. Perhaps going forward, I'll tell people that they should trendy-verb-form of name-your-social-media-outlet because there's a movie with Justin Timberlake about it.



I could also tell them that, as of today, Facebook has reached 500 million users.

Just as no one who tries really hard to be cool, smart or funny actually comes off as cool, smart, funny, or whatever it is he or she desperately wants to be, no presenter or artist who joins Twitter or Facebook, or who starts blogging, because other artists and presenters are doing it is actually going to be successful. Is there strategy involved? Yes, but the strategy, in my opinion, is how to link together everything a person actually wants to be doing, and drive traffic to that thing that needs to be purchased, be it a CD, a music file, or a concert ticket. Proper Discord sums up the usual performing arts social media strategy nicely:



Gregory Beaver, the cellist of the Chiara Quartet, has 38 followers on Twitter. His publicist, Christina Jensen, has 636 followers on Twitter, one of whom is Jeremy Olshan, a reporter for the New York Post.  He has 165 followers, and the Chiara Quartet has 238.

On June 29th, the Chiara Quartet Tweeted the following from their ensemble account to their 238 followers:

ChiaraQuartet.jpgChristina (and others) retweeted, and Jeremy Olshan decided to write a story for the Post a few days later. It ran on page 3 of the print version of the paper, and the news got picked up by the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Toronto Star, and others in the US. Christina then got calls from CBS and Inside Edition, though they didn't eventually go with the story.

Neither the publicist nor the artist could have known that this much media attention could have come out of one Tweet that took maybe 15 seconds to type. People complain about airlines and just about everything else in the world all the time on Twitter, and yet, in this case, the right follower was paying attention at the right time. If none of the above parties had been on Twitter, could Christina have secured a story? Perhaps. Gregory could have called her to complain, she could have thought to herself that some writers might be interested, made a few calls, sent a few e mails, and given it her best shot. Would she have written a press release about it? Probably not. Did that one Tweet get more press for her client than any one press release she's ever written for them? Quite possibly.

Conversely, here's an example of an ensemble using Twitter because Someone Told Them They Should. Let's call this the "[if someone told you to] jump off a bridge" method. I blacked out the group's name, venues, and Facebook links all classified FBI document style, but you'll get the idea:

BadTwitterFeed.jpgEach Tweet reads, "Come to GROUP @ VENUE, date, time, program, Facebook link." Four Tweets in a row at the exact same time, using the name of the group which is supposed to be Tweeting? This feed also has Tweets like, "I uploaded a video." At the very least, take the time to switch the auto-pronoun if you're a group! These are the artists (and presenters) who complain about not "getting anything" from social media; they don't realize that the problem is they're not giving anything.

Later this week, I'm going to list some top classical artists with blogs, as well as those on Twitter and Facebook, and make some notes about how they use one or both outlets. For now, I'll leave you pianist Jeremy Denk's blog, Think Denk: The Glamorous Life of a Classical Pianist, that he started writing without a publicist's urging in March 2005. Jeremy's blog is responsible for the most bizarre and awesome New York Times review of all time, in which Anthony Tommassini references a blog post of Jeremy's in the title (I realize the critics don't necessarily write the titles), and directs Times readers to Think Denk at the end of the review. Keep in mind, this is a Carnegie Hall concert review, not a feature.

Yet hints of Beethoven the daring improviser also came through in Mr. Denk's fresh, risky and, when called for, boldly humorous performance.

Speaking of humor, check out Mr. Denk's Web site (jeremydenk.net) for his musings on music and the life of a concert pianist. In a recent post he writes an imagined interview with Gov. Sarah Palin, discussing the "Hammerklavier," which she calls Beethoven's "most maverickyest" song. Giving advice to Mr. Denk in tackling the daunting fugue, his Sarah Palin says, "Trill, baby, trill!"

Most likely, a Jeremy Denk Carnegie Hall recital have been reviewed by the New York Times regardless, but Jeremy's having a blog creates a situation wherein critics and audience members can go to concerts knowing many things about an artist from the artist's own mouth--err, fingers. Tell me, how could one possibly capture this glorious thing in a press release?





While out and about a few Friday nights ago, I met a boy who is an assistant to a relationship specialist. (Side note: he KNEW WHO SOME OF MY CLIENTS WERE, which was exciting. The friend I was with very helpfully and loudly voiced her SHOCK that someone had heard of anyone I work for. Thank you for that, Sara, supportive friend of 16 years.) Of course when you meet anyone having to do with a relationship specialist, you naturally have to ask what the Best Advice is. So I did, and my new friend Mark said that the best advice his boss doles out is to "always give more than you feel like you're getting." Good advice, I think, for using social media as well.
July 19, 2010 2:02 PM | | Comments (1)


July 16, 2010

..from a good colleague, Marc van Bree:

We all know that Nashville got hit with a terrible flood a few months ago. This terrible flood didn't spare the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (NSO). The orchestra's damages were approximately $42 million and after insurance and support from FEMA, the remaining financial gap could be as much as $10 million.

Let's all contribute our own little bit as a classical music community online. Here's my idea: leverage this online network with #floodofsupport

You can read about the specifics I posted today on my blog at http://mcmvanbree.com/dutchperspective/floodofsupport
 
But that's not all. I would love your help. Perhaps a small donation, but as importantly, I would love your help in spreading the message. On Twitter, on your blogs, on Facebook and in whatever online crevasses you might find yourself.
 
A couple of things:
 
* #floodofsupport runs until August 1, 2010
* The goal is a modest $1,000 (that's $1 for each of my Twitter followers on average)
* You can set up your own mini-matching grant (I set one up on my blog)
* I have no connection to the Nashville Symphony. I just felt like doing something
* Please remember to use the (hash)tag #floodofsupport on your blog and Twitter posts
* http://mcmvanbree.com/dutchperspective/floodofsupport (you'll also find some pre-made graphic banners to use)

July 16, 2010 1:18 PM | | Comments (1)


July 14, 2010

Chamber Music America hosted a live chat on social media at lunch today, and here's what went down. Conversation topics included the personal and professional divide when using Facebook and Twitter, how publicists, artists and journalists interact online, Twitter success stories (more on that later tonight), how to plan a social media campaign, Shaquille O'Neal, and Twilight. The latter two points were my contributions to the conversation, which is why I get paid the big bucks.

75 people participated, with the average person staying in the conversation for 49 minutes. Thanks to all who were electronically there!

Chamber Music America is looking to host a chat around an article in each issue of their magazine going forward, so check their site for information on future discussions.


July 14, 2010 3:57 PM | | Comments (0)


Despite the weather looking like The End of Time circa 2pm today, the New York Philharmonic's first Central Park concert of the summer season went off without a hitch. My sister's friend Meg was disappointed that the fireworks portion of the evening was canceled (but what of the MUSICAL fireworks, I asked her??), but I believe she was appeased by a free t-shirt with fireworks on it. Thousands of people turned out despite the earlier downpour, proving yet again that audiences like free, outdoorsy events at which they can eat, drink, and text. Here was the view from my Dartmouth blanket:

NYPhilCentralPark2.jpgNYPhilCentralPark3.jpg
NYPhilCentralPark.jpg
NYPhilCentralPark5.jpg
NYPhilCentralPark6.jpg
NYPhilCentralPark7.jpgWe swapped bug spray for chocolate with the folks behind us and all was right with the world.

There is another concert in the park tomorrow, but I will be at home curating a French film festival in honor of Bastille Day which thus far only involves Ratatouille.

In other New York City news tonight, Sting performed some positively silly play on the word "symphony" at the Metropolitan Opera, and it was completely bizarre to see Tweets and texts from that house throughout the concert.
July 14, 2010 11:50 AM | | Comments (0)


July 13, 2010

My client David Lang has two dance projects coming up this fall, one with New York City Ballet and the other with Works & Process at the Guggenheim. This means I've been doing a lot of reaching out to dance writers I've never met or worked with before, so far with absolutely no (0) success, but I persevere!

You should know that I think the New York Times website is basically The Most Impressive Thing (as it should be); minutes after we learned that George Steinbrenner passed away this morning, the Times had a slideshow of archival photos of him on their homepage.

GeorgeSteinbrenner.jpgI am also continuously surprised by the smart, new features they add seemingly weekly. For example, yesterday I noticed while reading an article about the Jezebel/Daily Show chaos, that the Times site now tells you where outgoing links will take you if you click on them, for example, "More articles about Jon Stewart" (links to the Times archives), "An Observer article about her [Gaby Darbyshire]," and "A post about her [Jessica Coen]." They seem to have some kinks to work out with this feature, since there are quite a few typos, but it's very cool. Another new feature I noticed while reading that article (and other Times articles today), was this little "Speed Read" box that slides in from the right side of your screen; basically, this is a link to a CliffNotes version of all the Media & Advertising articles posted so far that day.

NYTimesSpeedRead.jpgThis is why I was surprised when my assistant Nathan discovered the following while researching writers who might be interested in a piece on David: "Dance" is not a sub-category under ARTS on the homepage.

NYTimesDance1.jpg...and then suddenly it is when you click on the general ARTS section:

NYTimesDance2.jpgSame goes for Art & Design, but I'll deal with that when one of my composers does a site-specific work.  Strangely inconsistent, right?
July 13, 2010 4:11 PM | | Comments (1)

About

Life's a Pitch Why don't we apply the successful marketing and publicity campaigns we see in our everyday lives to the performing arts? Great ideas are right there, ripe for the emulating. And who's responsible for the wide-reaching problems in ticket sales and audience development? Boring artists? Greedy managers? Overstretched marketing departments? We're beyond debating who owns the problem. Let's fix this thing.
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Amanda Ameer left her position as Publicity Manager at IMG Artists in June 2007 to start First Chair Promotion. She currently represents Hilary Hahn, Gabriel Kahane, The King's Singers, David LangEric Owens, Michael Gordon, Hélène Grimaud, Sondra Radvanovsky and Julia Wolfe, and serves as a consultant to Chamber Music America.
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Archives

Archives: 488 entries and counting

A Conversation

Jan 18-22, 2010: I hosted a virtual panel on when and how artists, managers, journalists, presenters and publicists single out musicians for being "special" in their promotion and career-building efforts. Participants included musician, pianist Jonathan Biss; a manager, James Egelhofer at IMG Artists; a critic, Matthew Guerrieri, who blogs at Soho the Dog and writes for the Boston Globe; and a presenter, Michael Kondziolka at University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

- Panel Disband
- One man's obstacle is another's way in
- Oh Mistress Mine...!
- You think they'll have that on the tour?
- The Representative from D.C.

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Sites

Now Play It
This site has musicians teaching viewers how to play their most popular songs on the guitar via downloadable video. more
MOMA - Eye on Europe
This microsite for one of MOMA's 2006 exhibitions is a(n extreme) lesson in what can be done digitally for special projects (world premieres?).
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Spoon
This website makes me feel impossibly uncool, and I love it for that very reason.
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The Metropolitan Opera
Sometimes, when the (performing arts) world gets me down, I go to The Met's website and feel better about it all.
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Resources

RSS Feeds 
RSS is an acronym for "RDF Site Summary," or "Rich Site Summary."  RSS is a family of XML-based Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines, and podcasts in a standardized format. 
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YouTube 
YouTube, created in 2005, is a free video sharing website where users can upload, view, and share video clips.  YouTube uses Adobe Flash technology to display a wide variety of user-generated video content, including movie clips, TV clips, and music videos, as well as amateur content such as videoblogging and short original videos.
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Wikipedia 
Wikipedia, created in 2001, is a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project.  Wikipedia's articles provide links to guide the user to related pages with additional information.  Articles are written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world.  Wikipedia is one of the largest reference sites on the internet, with at least 684 million people visiting the site yearly.  It contains more than ten million articles in more than 250 languages (over two million in English alone). 
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MySpace 
MySpace, launched in 2004, is the largest social networking website in the United States.  A free-access website, MySpace allows anyone aged 14 and over to create a personal profile.  Unlike other social networking sites, MySpace allows users to personalize their profiles by entering HTML into certain areas on their pages, thus displaying video or flash content instead of text.  Users may also customize the colors, backgrounds, and fonts on their profiles through the use of CSS (cascading style sheets). more
Facebook 
Launched in 2004, Facebook is now the second largest social networking website in the United States (behind MySpace). The free-access website allows users to easily connect and interact with other people, and it is now also possible to create a Facebook profile for an artist, band, brand, or business. Users can add themselves as "fans" of an artist or business, write on an artist/business profile's "Wall," upload photos, and join other fans in discussion groups. more
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