Monsters vs. The Economy/Environment/Creativity

Anticipation marketing has long been a staple of the technology sector for product launches (think iPod and iPhone and the Nintendo Wii) and the movie biz (Blair Witch Project was an excellent example from the late 90s). It's not something we arts organizations use much, but I think we can more and more, especially seasonally (outdoor summer theater), for debut events (Dudamel in LA, and Muti in Chicago), and for returning favorites. I wrote my MBA thesis on anticipation in arts marketing - good to see you encouraging conversation on the topic, Amanda!

A very time-ly issue, Amanda. I had the privilege of working with composer Douglas J. Cuomo throughout 2008. Doug's chamber opera Arjuna's Dilemma came out on disc in July, four months before its stage premiere at BAM's Next Wave Festival in November. I was initially concerned about the long gap between the CD release and the production, but it turned out to be a great bonus, giving the story 'legs' it might not have had otherwise. The results were gratifying (three previews and a feature in NYT Arts & Leisure; a Weekend Edition feature, etc.). I'm now working with the MATA Festival, starting three months out with an eye toward long-lead outlets. It's always advantageous to have that kind of elbow room, and I'm hoping to make the best of it.

Wouldn't it be nice to have that financial luxury? Our trend this season so far has been that a large majority of our ticket sales have been happening the week of, and there are even long lines at the door, which isn't common for our organization. That trend hasn't motivated us to put massive amounts of energy and money into advance advertising. We're moving more toward local publications that get delivered weekly to homes, and have seen a good response from that. We've even cut back on magazines, because shelling out more money to have a glossy image show up in front of someone at the beginning of the month for a concert at the end of the month is not a good ROI in the current climate for us.