I didn’t run the New York City Marathon yesterday, but I felt like I was standing on the sidelines cheering just like thousands of New Yorkers —thanks to a young woman on TikTok who made me care about her race as if it were my own. Content creator Amanda Luckie set a huge goal for herself: to cut two hours off her marathon time. For months, she shared every long run, injury recovery, and tough speed workout with her followers. On race day, she didn’t hit her goal; she shaved off forty minutes … [Read more...] about Show the Miles, Not Just the Medal
Engagement
When to Hold, When to Fold, When to Play a Different Game
Leading an arts organization right now can feel like sitting at a blackjack table on a bad night. The stakes are high, the cards aren’t great, and the audience—the one group you can’t bluff—can see every move you make. When to Hold (on to your values) All we really have with our audiences is trust. That’s why the Smithsonian needs to hold its independence like a winning hand. No bluffing needed – smile, look the other players directly in the eye and let them know you’ve got a winning hand. … [Read more...] about When to Hold, When to Fold, When to Play a Different Game
From Village Voice to TikTok: Rethinking How Audiences Discover Art
Like clockwork, every couple of weeks or more, I see artists lamenting the need to promote themselves in the current fractured media environment, mostly complaining about how much time it takes. I get it (and I’ve written about it on this blog before). Let's reframe that perspective—both by reminding ourselves of what really existed when a few media outlets held more power over the arts, and by pushing back against the learned helplessness I see all around us when it comes to connecting with … [Read more...] about From Village Voice to TikTok: Rethinking How Audiences Discover Art
Opera Philadelphia, $11 tickets, and a predictable outcome
I write regularly on my website hannahgrannemann.com and also on LinkedIn. Find me there, too, and thanks for reading Row X! What happens when opera tickets suddenly drop in price? Spoiler alert: we know exactly what will happen. Opera Philadelphia offered $11 ticket initiative from the 2024-25 season, where they're offering pay-what-you-can tickets, starting at $11. The result? Ticket sales surged by more than 25% compared to previous seasons. The diversity of the audience … [Read more...] about Opera Philadelphia, $11 tickets, and a predictable outcome
A Christmas Carol as an Arts Marketing Parable
The marketing plan was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. You're the marketing director of a theater. It was your plan, but you knew it was dead. It's a Wednesday afternoon and the mid-week matinee happening in the theater two floors down was half-full. You can hear over the monitors the actors trying desperately to get the audience to laugh, but it just wasn’t working. You check the sales dashboard in your CRM and the social media accounts. Your Instagram post … [Read more...] about A Christmas Carol as an Arts Marketing Parable