Question and Suggestion for Arts in Crisis

I am a mentor for Arts in Crisis which is a great idea.

One question and one suggestion to Michael Kaiser:

Q: Why did you decide to go on a 50 state tour and not share the information and feedback that you've received?

S: Please share the information and feedback from mentors and organizations. You could easily and efficiently post this online to help even more in the selected 50 states. I am a mentor and I couldn't even get into your New York venue. I was told it was "sold out" which seems counter productive. Please, if you really want to help organizations, make everything public.

Restaurant Week in New York City

Everyone loves restaurant week. For three weeks more than 250 restaurants in New York City offer three-course prix-fixe dinners for $35.00.

I must say that the concept is brilliant and since its inception in 1992, several other cities have caught on.

I'm posting this because of the amazing experiences that I've had. Great food, great service and always an extra treat. For example, we went to Mr. Chow and had a wonderful dinner, sat next to Wendy (sorry for nearly taking your hot water and lemon), and had a quirky unexpected dessert...vodka tonic with lime!

A lawyer friend asked me why they would try so hard to offer so much for so little and I told him it's because of the experience and word of mouth. Needless to say, he's been extolling restaurant week to his colleagues ever since.

Obviously it's working...Restaurant week has been extended through Labor Day!

The Art Fund's Logo

The Fitzwilliam Museum lost a grant because they refused to display the logo of The Art Fund next to an art work.

In this article, the director of the museum is quoted as saying, "Logos are the currency of marketing and commerce and this introduces a promotional element into the galleries that we regard as an unnecessary and unacceptable distraction - no matter how worthy the object of promotion."

A spokesperson from The Art Fund said, "To raise money we have to raise our profile. If people see our logo next to a painting they see what their money buys."

I think it is a huge mistake of The Art Fund to think that their logo will raise their profile. It seems to me that they don't understand their audience. In addition, this is very short-sided and it makes The Art Fund look unsophisticated in their marketing.

There are so many more effective ways that The Art Fund could raise their profile. Good for the museum for refusing to display the logo next to the art.

BMW Out of Formula One, Moving Budget

BMW announced that it is exiting Formula One at the end of the 2009 season. The company says it will focus it's development on new drive technologies and projects in the field of sustainability.

I'm thinking that they will extend their focus on contemporary art as well.

BMW becomes Global Partner of Independent Collectors

Thomas Girst, responsible for BMW’s cultural communications said, "Intelligent benefits are more valuable these days than a simple, if clever logo placement. We are dealing with very discerning opinion leaders, a dialogue we at BMW are excited to enter.”

Extend the Arc

Exhibition sponsorships are getting harder and harder to sell. In fact, I would say that exhibition sponsorship a dead model.

Corporations are looking for longer term engagements where they can leverage multiple channels to emotionally connect with key audiences without having to re-negotiate every three months (or when an exhibition closes).

Getting the VIPs to Show Up

How do you get VIPs to show up to your event when they get invited to tons of events as it is? Think about what would add value to their experience. Many simply want to spend more time with their families. Unfortunately 6:00 cocktails and long formal dinners don't cut it.

Lehman used to invite their VIP's and families to the Big Apple Circus. That may be out of your budget right now. Are there ways to tweak what you already do or partnerships that you could leverage to create amazing experiences that allow the VIP's to spend quality time with their families?

iMedia Connection Most Popular Articles

I went to iMedia Connection this afternoon and noticed how many articles begin with a number. I read somewhere, that lists are attractive to readers. If it's true, iMedia Connection is raking in the traffic today!

Most Popular Articles:

1. 7 reasons your employees hate you
2. 4 technologies that are killing the URL
3. 6 ways to dispel fear and loathing of social media
4. 5 social media strategies you need
5. 5 essentials for social media marketing
6. 7 misguided brand strategies
7. How to stop worrying and love integrated
8. Should agencies be ad networks?
9. The key to unlocking web video's potential
10. Will one device rule them all?

Invasion of the FitFlop

Over the past several days I've noticed a lot of women wearing FitFlops and I must say, I'm amazed. I get the Bliss mailers so I've seen these FitFlops before and thought that they wouldn't take off. I really thought that they were a gimmick. Well, people are wearing them, raving about them and paying $59.99 for them.

Whether they really do tone your legs isn't my question. I'm wondering how word spread about these. According to the company, they've sold over 900-thousand pairs in the US.

I think it's a combination of the stores that carry them (Macy's, Victoria's Secret, Lady Footlocker and Bath and Body Works, Bliss), feedback on their website and Facebook (people love these things), the mere implication that we could get legs like this, and word of mouth.

It will be interesting to see if these become the next Crocs.

Not a Short-Term ROI

AdAge reports on the BlogHer 2009 conference in Chicago here.

When Jill Beraud, Global Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo was asked how they were measuring success of the conference sponsorship, she said: "We believe it's the way of communicating in the future, so this is not a short-term ROI ... this is really an investment in our brands and understanding our consumers."

MoMA Summer Planner

I am a member of MoMA and I frequently get email updates from them. Today, I received an email called MoMA Summer Planner which was very well done.

Instead of a dry list of what is going on in the summer months, this email uses a unique approach. In sum, MoMA offers to customize your visit. Specifically, the text states:

"With so much to choose from at MoMA this summer, you may need a little help planning your visit. Our customized MoMA summer planner will tailor your MoMA experience based on your profile and personality."

So you enter your visit dates, sex, date of birth and hit enter. The next page is kind of fun because it makes it look like they are really calculating something just for you. Then voila, the options are there just for me. I can print this plan, post it to Facebook, twitter and share with my friends.

It is a great experience and super clever because MoMA is not just providing a service to the user, but also capturing very important data such as DOB and sex. In addition, they are making this viral via Facebook and twitter.

I give this campaign an A+!

Relationships

The other day I was this close to joining Equinox because I wanted to get back into the routine of working out. On my way to Equinox, I popped into the pet store that I buy dog food for my little one-eyed Shih-Tzu. I did this because the owner was also a trainer at my old gym, NYHRC. I told him that I was on my way to join Equinox. He immediately asked me why and then went into ways that I could work out in my home (push ups) and outside (steps) and not spend $175ish per month.

Needless to say, he convinced me to put off my impulse to join the gym (I had a craving to get on the treadmill and watch TV!).

Why am I posting this under relationships? Because of that interaction and trust, I will always be a loyal customer. I have a relationship with him and I feel that he helped me so I will help him. Not because his prices are better (they aren't) but because I trust him and have a relationship with him.

In Steve Yastrow's book We: The Ideal Customer Relationship, he points out that business travelers say that they would more likely buy from business that they have a relationship with. To be specific, the question is which are you more likely to buy from.. Business that have the best prices? 21% or Business that you have a relationship with? 79%

Makes sense.

Good or Bad, The Person in the Corner

I've been noticing that several sites have been using "onsitevideo" as a welcome tool. What do you think of this? Does that person on the corner of the page create a good or bad experience?

Americans for the Arts on Twitter, Take Action

I received an email from Americans for the Arts today asking people to take action and request more funding for the arts.

I applaud them for utilizing twitter to get the word out and gain traction on this campaign.

The Olympic Effect on Reebok and Adidas

"The Beijing Olympics will be an Adidas event," said Adidas-Salomon AG's chief executive, Herbert Hainer, in a presentation to investors.

So, did the investment pan out? Check out this media series on Brand Republic about the "Olympic Effect" on Adidas and Reebok as a result of the Beijing Olympics.

Also some great insight into both brands and where they are heading:
- Artists have been approaching Reebok to collaborate
- India is a growing market for both brands
- Adidas is partnering with Xiaonei, the Facebook of China and bloggers to reach younger audiences

Webinars, Help

I have a long list of drat posts that I haven't published either because I didn't feel like developing them or I just moved on to a different topic.

I noticed that since May, I saved but didn't publish three postings about webinars. They were all created immediately after suffering through horrible webinars that thankfully I didn't pay for.

What is going on with webinars? Are they an effective business development tool? Do they really add value to the user? In my recent experience, they have been unfocused, dry and of zero value.

I am not an expert on webinars so I can't comment on what elements make up a successful webinar. From the perspective of a consumer, I can say that this is what I would like to see:

1. A focused presentation
2. A presenter that is clearly prepared
3. Compelling and fresh content
4. A passionate presenter
5. More interaction with the audience
6. More Q&A
7. Simple visuals
8. Clear take-aways

I'm not asking for that much, am I?!

Selling Pure Emotion

Today's Wall Street Journal has a good article on how to sell an expensive watch in a recession.

Check out the "macaroon technique" used:

"Mr. Brücker looked the part of a luxury customer, wearing Car Shoe moccasins and an IWC Big Pilot watch, which has shock absorbers to help it keep time under rough flying conditions. He used PowerPoint to impart what he calls the “macaroon technique,” referring to the sandwich-like French macaron pastry. This can be applied to most any product (including, presumably, a Xerox machine) and goes something like this: “Madam, this timepiece (or diamond or handbag) comes from our finest workshop and it has a value of $10,000. If you buy it, your children are sure to enjoy it for generations to come.”

That pesky number is sandwiched between the product’s more romantic benefits. “We sell luxury—it’s an emotion,” Mr. Brücker instructed."

The article concludes with Mr. Brücker saying, "You're selling pure emotion. That's why I love this job."

Emotion: the affective aspect of consciousness : feeling b: a state of feeling c: a conscious mental reaction (as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as strong feeling usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body.

Don't Be a Spectator: JJTV #26 - Social media as a selling tool

Good points by Jaffe.

Re-branding the Miami Dolphins

I saw the headlines today about Marc Anthony's investment in the Miami Dolphins but I didn't have time to read the details until now.

Sounds like this is a move by billionaire owner, Steve Ross to re-brand the Dolphins and to tap into the Hispanic market. I think it is a good move and very innovative of him to continue to build the entertainment component. He should be able to get larger sponsorships and create new revenue streams as a result.

Here are more details taken from the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette:

"Financial terms were not disclosed and Anthony's specific role with the team is unclear, other than he plans to add his ideas and creativity as Ross continues re-branding the Dolphins as a winning team with an entertaining game-day atmosphere. In May, Ross forged a business partnership with singer Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville enterprise that includes the stadium being renamed this season for Buffett's Land Shark Lager. Buffett has an option to buy a stake in the team, but has not yet become a minority owner.

Ross said he met Anthony when he got a call from a lawyer inquiring about his search for investors and suggested a meeting with the singer.

"Just listening to Marc, his enthusiasm ... he really has great ideas," Ross said.

Anthony is to perform the national anthem at the Dolphins' Oct. 12 Monday night game against the New York Jets at Land Shark Stadium. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and ESPN President George Bodenheimer attended the news conference at the Time Warner Center, built by Ross' Related Cos., to discuss celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

The Oct. 12 game will serve as the signature event of the celebration and ESPN and ESPN Deportes, which are broadcasting the game, will debut a new version of Hank Williams Jr.'s Are You Ready For Some Football featuring Gloria Estefan in a Dolphins jersey and some lyrics in Spanish. Other activities in South Florida will include an NFL flag football regional tournament Oct. 10 and a Chalk Talk luncheon the day of the game for 300 invited guests.

The league has been celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month since 2002 and has identified a signature game since 2007. At the 2007 game, when the Chicago Bears hosted the Dallas Cowboys, Estefan sang the national anthem.

Goodell stressed relationships like Anthony's with the Dolphins will help the league grow its Hispanic fan base.

Ross said he always planned to add partners, but wanted them to reflect the diversity of South Florida.

"Having Marc and Emilio and Gloria is important in showing this community this team is about them. They are great representatives of the Latin community," Ross said. "There will be a few more people who will join them."

Guy Gets a Camero, Coolhunting Gets a Ferrari

Huh. So why does Guy Kawasaki get a Camaro and the people at Coolhunting get a Ferrari?

I'm thinking that Maserati needs to get in front of the mommybloggers...STAT!

The Value of Feedback

Do you have a structure in place where your team can provide honest and real time feedback? I'm not talking about criticism, but valuable feedback that leads to growth in individuals and in teams.

I had an experience where a C-level member of the team was in a pitch meeting and she divulged too much information. As a result, we were left in a position where it was nearly impossible to negotiate.

Needless to say, we all complained about this behind her back, but never gave her direct feedback. Guess what? She continued to do this in several other meetings but again, no feedback from the team.

This was our mistake because we did not create or foster a culture of honest and real time feedback.

A culture where feedback is viewed as empowerment and healthy is good. It also may some day prevent something like this.

Copy This: Food Trucks

In New York City, the big restaurant of the summer seems to be the food truck. Yes, I said the food truck. We have food trucks serving amazing pastries, crepes, dumplings and more.

Some people are obsessed with these gourmet trucks and several savvy "trucks" have been insanely successful in leveraging their fan base via twitter.

So, why not copy this concept? Imagine if a clothing brand had a truck, sort of like a pop up store, but on wheels. Could you just see the Topshop truck parking in your hood for the day to sell the Kate Moss line?

What if cultural institutions got a hold of the truck concept? I'm not sure what sort of permit is required but what if a local opera house parked the truck and started playing a concert on your street?

What if an artist and a museum had a truck that would stop at local parks to create some art?

Now my imagination is running wild...What if a group of roller skaters had a truck that would stop in the park, mall, or street on scheduled evenings? Oh how I loved the sense of community when I watched the roller skaters in Golden Gate Park! Just check this out and you'll see why I spent many weekend afternoons watching very cool people get together.

Thanks for indulging me.

Update: A reader just told me about this (off topic, I know)!

ClicktoEmpower Campaign

More on ClicktoEmpower from The Allstate Foundation:

1. What is new and innovative about this year’s campaign? Also, what are your measurements for success?

This campaign is unique because of one word—Facebook. Visitors to ClicktoEmpower.org have the ability to link their vote to the Facebook profile and spread the message to their friends. Additionally, users can vote via our Facebook fan page at Facebook.com/clicktoempower. Here they can view video from the organizations, read about the campaign, and vote! The results then sync back with ClicktoEmpower.org in “real-time”, so no matter your vote the results are displayed quickly and easily.

2. At the moment, ClicktoEmpower has over 200 Facebook fans. What are your plans to continue to engage the community once the campaign ends?

In addition to our fan page we also have a ClicktoEmpower group page where over 2,000 people interact and share information about domestic violence and our program. After the campaign ends, The Allstate Foundation will be kicking-off another of our large public awareness campaigns called “Tell a Gal P.A.L.”. PAL is an acronym for ‘Pass it on, Act, and Learn’. This campaign is designed to get the public speaking about domestic violence and economic abuse. It will launch at the end of September leading into October, which is domestic violence awareness month.

3. Once you vote on Facebook, you have an option to sign up for more information. What sort of information should we expect to receive?

We send out a quarterly communication highlighting different activities and programs that the Economics Against Abuse is participating in and ways to get involved in our programming.

4. What do you hope to accomplish by integrating twitter into the campaign? Also, will you continue to use twitter after the campaign?

Twitter has helped our program make great connections with new partners and spread our message to audiences we could have never reached. By integrating Twitter into the campaign, we are hoping to raise awareness of the different organizations participating (Charity Cars, YWCA, Safe Horizon, Family Justice Centers) and engage in a dialogue about domestic violence and economic abuse. Once the campaign ends, we will continue to participate and “tweet” daily about things our partner organizations and The Allstate Foundation are doing to help domestic violence survivors.

5. Can you tell us how we can help spread the word and/or donate via text?

Spreading the word is simple—talk about domestic violence with your friends and family. By breaking down the barriers around this topic and making people feel comfortable discussing the topic, a lot of great change can happen. It’s also important that people understand the impact that economic abuse is having in this current economy. If you recognize the signs domestic violence and economic abuse, visit our Web site www.clicktoempower.org or www.nnedv.org for resources and tools to carry on the conversation and help your friends and family get the information they need.

Free Starbucks, Funny Posting on Facebook

A friend on Facebook posted this about Starbucks this morning:

"Wasnt' planning on being awake b/4 Sbux opens. I can't go back to sleep b/c I am now obsessing about getting my free pastry. There are 3 Sbux <1.5 mile range. Since I have plenty of time before the morning rush, I'm going to go through all 3 drive thrus before 6:00 a.m. (Not really. I'm not that lame, but I did think about it) Only another 1/2 hour before it opens!"

More on ClicktoEmpower From The Allstate Foundation

The Allstate Foundation was gracious enough to chat with me about their ClicktoEmpower campaign to support survivors of domestic violence.

1. I understand that last year’s click campaign on ClicktoEmpower.org was a success. Congratulations! Could you please let us know how you measured success last year and how last year's winning organization was impacted?

The initial campaign was centered around an effort to get 300,000 clicks on the Web site and then had a dollar-for-dollar matching contribution from The Allstate Foundation to NNEDV’s Education Job Training Assistance Fund. The Allstate Foundation was the initial funder to work with NNEDV on setting up this resource for survivors looking to further their education or gain necessary job training skills. Survivors can apply for grants of up to $1,000, so this campaign helped over 300 survivors in that capacity. The campaign reached its 300,000 goal in under one-year and we had over 341,000 people visit the site and support the campaign! This campaign also launched our Facebook and MySpace presence, which took our program and the conversation surrounding economic abuse to a new level.

Thanks to The Allstate Foundation for this information. The campaign runs through September 13 so we'll keep an eye on this. Don't forget to vote for your favorite charity.

Starbucks Free Pastry Day!

I found this on Facebook...Starbucks Free Pastry Day July 21.

"We’re making a change: your food not only tastes better, it is better. To celebrate, we’re inviting you to bring this invitation to a participating U.S. Starbucks store to enjoy a FREE pastry* from opening** until 10:30am on July 21st, 2009 (while supplies last) with the purchase of any beverage*."

Oh, note this: "Offer good between opening and 10:30 a.m. or until pastries are gone, whichever comes first."

The coolest part is that you can put the invite on your mobile device and show your barista.

The Allstate Foundation Generates Awareness Via ClicktoEmpower

The Allstate Foundation launched an interactive campaign called ClicktoEmpower to help generate awareness of four nonprofits with strong domestic violence programs: Charity Cars, National Family Justice Center Alliance, Safe Horizon and YWCA USA.

The ClicktoEmpower campaign leverages twitter, facebook, youtube and viral. In addition, users are asked to vote to determine which nonprofit will receive a $1000,000 grant.

The Allstate Foundation was gracious enough to answer questions about this campaign which I will share shortly. In the meantime, check out the campaign and vote for your favorite charity.

Cooper-Hewitt Gets Google on Board

Good move by Cooper-Hewitt to get Google's Marissa Mayer on their board of trustees.

Opera Holland Park, Korn/Ferry International Q&A

Q&A with Michael Volpe of Opera Holland Park part 2:

Congratulations on completing a successful three year sponsorship with Korn/Ferry International!

1. Could you tell us how you identified Korn/Ferry International as a partner and how long it took you to close the deal?

Korn/Ferry had been a small scale sponsor for a little while and we had quite a bit of experience in working with high end headhunting companies. As with all good sponsorships, the relationship and its potential value becomes quite obvious and the deal was done very quickly. Probably about three months from first discussion to signature.

2. What were your mutual goals throughout this three-year sponsorship?

Korn/Ferry had a strong imperative to improve their profile among the kind of audiences they had identified at OHP - business leaders, ambitious, talented individuals on strong career paths etc. They closely identified with our well established reputation for finding and nurturing new talent which resonated strongly with their core business principle. They also wanted to grow their general awareness and the strength of our marketing, our willingness to incorporate them into our brand and our media partnerships offered this to them in a very powerful way. and of course, in their business, spending time with senior executives of companies is vital and the sponsorship gave them this opportunity. For my part, I saw it as the perfect opportunity, with the build of the new theatre in 2007, to introduce a new discipline and image into our own presentation and operation.

3. What measurements were you using to determine success?

From K/F's point of view, it was the success of the branding and reach of their profile. You would have to ask them how they themselves kept an eye on that via their own PR company but this side of the partnership was an unqualified success. The branding was total and complete. They were also tracking through their partners and the structure of the way in which they look after clients, how successful their events were Their events through each season at OHP meant that they could invite some of the most senior people in industry - and a measure of that is how many of them turn up! This was indeed a great success and is a fairly straightforward thing to measure!

4. What did Korn/Ferry International do to promote the sponsorship?

They did a lot of work via their PR company among the business media to keep their involvement in the public eye. They of course spent a great deal of time communicating with clients in a personal and direct way when promoting events to which they had invited them

5. What was your greatest lesson learned as a result of this sponsorship?

That it is possible to absorb the imperatives of a partner to create something unique without compromising your own values and aims. Not all companies are suitable or appropriate for the kind of naming rights we offered Korn/Ferry but what Korn/Ferry's sponsorship proved is that anything is possible with strong management and consistent, cohesive strategies in place. Many arts organisations fall down in their dealings with sponsors because they simply think 'Gimmee the money' and sit back, expecting the sponsor to be grateful for the relationship. We have never been like that and the K/F sponsorship was a powerful demonstration of what a strong and mutually respectful partnership can achieve in the arts.

6. What was the most innovative idea/event during the course sponsorship?

Well, I have to say that the partnership was pretty free of gimmicks and bells and whistles. Korn/Ferry did a few opera related press things with competitions among readers and subscribers to certain business media but the relationship was based on strong, solid, crystal clear branding and marketing coupled with the strength of the product we offered their clients. Sometimes, sponsorships get bogged down in what is thought to be innovation but often just appears as fairly gimmicky diversions. Of course, innovation is a part of this process and in fact, our total absorption of Korn/Ferry into our own branding was fairly innovative in itself; we achieved that whilst managing to strengthen both individual brands.


Thanks Michael!

Opera Holland Park Q&A

After posting about Korn/Ferry International and Opera Holland Park (OHP), Michael Volpe, General Manager of OHP sent me a wonderful note. He kindly pointed out that the interview I referenced was not the "full content" of OHP's value proposition. Hats off to Michael for reminding me of this!

In addition, he reminded me of his success in raising tens of millions of dollars for the company. Of course I saw this as an opportunity to get some insight into his achievements. I asked him to answer some questions and being the true gentleman that he is, he agreed.

Here is part one of a two part Q&A with Michael Volpe, General Manager of Opera Holland Park:

1. First, could you tell us more about Opera Holland Park? Audience, male/female, age, how many members, how many emails in database?

OHP is now one of the most unique and successful opera festivals in the UK and enjoys a reputation for producing rare and neglected (usually late Italian) works alongside the popular favourites. The audience profile is extremely varied as a result of many years of competitive pricing. Attracting new audiences to the lyric arts has been a big part of our development. There are some fairly obvious aspects to the demographic in as much as there is a wealthy element (our locality means this is inevitable). We are currently surveying our audience so we will have an up to date profile soon. We expect there to be continuing variations since we have done a great deal of work on accessibility in recent years. Male/female is virtually split exactly down the middle - slightly favouring female. There are 40,000 people on our database

2. Could you tell is about the intangible benefits that you offer sponsors? For example, networking opportunities for B to B companies, "money can't buy" experiences for VIPs, prestige of brand.

Networking opportunities are a big part of the OHP experience - face time. We offer an utterly unique environment for spending time with clients and associates and among opera companies offer a very relaxed yet sophisticated urban experience. I suppose when you are standing on the balcony of the Dutch Garden lounge looking at the view on a warm night looking forward to a spectacular production of something or other, that is a difficult experience upon which to place a price! For a company hosting important clients, such things have a resonance eventually.

3. What do you feel are the most important aspects of OHP's brand?

Innovation, broad appeal, quality, uncompromising honesty in pursuit of our artistic goals, risk taking, creativity, energy, unforced elegance, talent development. And of course a stunning physical space to visit.

4. What do you think makes for an engaging, memorable audience experience in regard to your audience? How could a sponsor add value to the audience experience?

Everything we do leads back to the art on stage; that is what drives the vast majority of visitors. A sponsor's investment makes a direct contribution to what we do as a company - to our product. Of course, much depends on the sort of business a sponsor is themselves engaged in as to whether they can make any other direct contribution, but in the case of Korn/Ferry for example, it was a good opportunity for us to upgrade many of our services and practices. The discipline of a named global sponsorship is quite a motivating factor in the sort of experience you offer your audience and in the way individuals within your organisation behave and work with customers.

5. Where do you see sponsorship going in the next two years?

There is no question that companies are wanting to see more community and outreach dimensions to their sponsorships. This is a major aspect of virtually all major (and minor) arts organisations' work. Sponsors do not want to display conspicuous consumption in this day and age and need to see value for their sponsorships and some core integrity to their investments in this area.

6. What is the most challenging part of corporate sponsorship? For example, education, cold calls, getting them to move away from logos...

Well of course, logos can be important for some companies whose imperative is profile! I think it is vital to manage expectations of sponsors and, conversely, sometimes it is necessary to encourage them to take advantage of their investment. Not all do surprisingly and it often comes down to the quality of personnel working for sponsors and the coherence of their own strategies. Companies are fairly well informed when they come to us and frequently know precisely what they want from us.

Bravo Michael!

This is very helpful. I 100% agree with this statement, "I think it is vital to manage expectations of sponsors and, conversely, sometimes it is necessary to encourage them to take advantage of their investment."

I will post part 2 of the Q&A soon which will give us insight into the Korn/Ferry partnership.

BP Sponsors New York Giants

BP announced its sponsorship of the New York Giants. It sounds like they are putting a lot into the activation, which is wonderful.

"BP is the "Official Fuel Provider" of the New York Giants. The company said it has teamed up with the ball club to give fans a "tank full" of memories. As the team plays its final season at the current Giants Stadium, BP will be there to celebrate the greatest moments in the history of the stadium and the players who helped make those moments legendary. The new relationship is part of the company's ongoing initiative to increase awareness for BP gasoline with Invigorate, a formula that the company says helps cars run younger for longer."

Read more about the deal here and here.

I love that picture!

No Such Thing As A Free Lunch?

Today I had the rare opportunity to walk my dog in the park in the middle of the afternoon. The sun was shining, the kids were running around and people were handing out free lunch.

Free lunch? No such thing you say? Well, The New York City Department of Education launched their free summer meals program where kids under 18 get free breakfast and lunch throughout city parks, pools and open public schools.

One little boy said, "Mommy, why do we get free lunch?" Unfortunately I didn't catch her response. I also saw several nanny's eating the free lunch. I'm guessing it was because the kids didn't really want the salad or the fruit. They were more interested in the ice cream vendor ; )

Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship

Jeff Skoll rocks!
August 12, 2009 is the next deadline for applications for the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.

Toot Toot

My mom (yes, my mom seems to be the subject of the day) always told me not to toot my own horn. Needless to say, I didn't always do what my mom told me.

Enough about that and on to Forrester. Back in June they held their first ever Customer Experience Forum. I just came across this so unfortunately I was unable to attend. Either way, I must say that I'm shocked that it took them so long to come up with this forum. Back in 2006 we at Sapient were working with Financial Services to "orchestrate a consistent customer experience across all touchpoint from acquisition to interaction." It still hasn't been perfected (very, difficult) but for some reason, I thought that we moved on.

It goes to show that innovation and change does not happen in a snap (0h, I miss the San Francisco Internet Boom days), especially for large organizations. We have the Early Adopters and then the Late Majority and Laggards. Where are you in this lifecycle?

P.S.
The pic above is a note from 2006, Sapient days, I swear! Call them, they know what they are talking about.

P.P.S.
Shout out to JP & GLA who "got it" back then.

Forrester's Justification Letter

Oh how times have changed. I remember when I had to get a note from my mom to give to the principal because I was ALWAYS late for school in the morning (note: not a morning person).

Now, many years later Forrester gives me a downloadable justification letter to give to my manager. Kind of funny, kind of sad, kind of clever...OK, kind of sad.

Here it is for the next time you need to justify a forum. You are welcome and good luck.

Copy This: New York Philharmonic Text Campaign

I posted the other day that I went to an amazing concert at the New York Philharmonic. For some reason I am still reading the Playbill. A good sign, I guess. Anyway, I came across a blurb about the Philharmonic's effort to "Help Keep the Music Playing" by sending a text.

Specifically, they invite you to text to 40579 with the code NYP, and you will contribute $5. You may submit up to 5 donations or $25 per monthly billing cycle.

I just did this and it's the easiest donation I've ever made. I hope this turns out to be a successful way to raise money for the organization.

JetBlue Survey

Recently I traveled on JetBlue and received a request to complete on online survey. This is the first online survey that I've filled out that asks one very important question, "would you recommend us to friend?" and then asks for permission to continue the survey. This makes so much sense. Instead of having someone get 1/4 way through the survey and abandon it, they get that key question answered (hopefully).

Here is the survey:

We'd like to ask you about your flight.
How likely is it that you would recommend JetBlue to a friend or colleague? 10 - Extremely Likely 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 - Not at all likely
If you have a few more moments, we’re very interested in getting more feedback regarding your flight experience. Continue survey No thanks, I’m finished

Internet Marketing, Retail

Shop.org released the 2009 State of Retailing Online Marketing Report. The good news is that the research indicates that retailers are spending more on the Internet.

As reported on openforum:

Those surveyed say they are increasing spend on the Web, specifically in search engine optimization (SEO), email and social marketing. “80% of Retailers Surveyed by Shop.org feel that the online retail channel continues to be better suited to withstand an economic slowdown than other channels.”

Again, marketers have identified search and email marketing as a part of their online strategy.

40+ Specific Things You Can Do To Make More Money Next Week

Shop.com has a call out for speakers to present at their next annual summit.

Last year they had a popular session titled 24+ Specific Things You Can Do To Make More Money Next Week. This year they are going for 40+ things.

Take a look at their criteria to be considered a speaker here. I especially like this one and wish that all summits, meetings, webinars had this criteria:

"The only points you want to talk about are things that people can make money with within 7-14 days of them returning to the office. These tactics must not cost a huge amount of money and be realistic for the attendees to implement."

Every industry could use something like this.

Korn/Ferry International Won't Renew Sponsorship

There is an insightful article about Korn/Ferry International's three year sponsorship ($965,844 total) of Opera Holland Park in London.

Jerry Gray, the COO of Korn/Ferry U.K. gives us a clue as to why they entered into the sponsorship. It seems to boil down to acquisition/retention and visibility. This is how he put it:

“Opera Holland Park is about finding and nurturing new talent, and that’s what we do too. And we’ve brought around 2,500 clients and potential clients to some great productions. Our media coverage has increased, and we’ve generated a tremendous amount of good will. It has definitely helped lubricate the flow of our work.”

Apparently they are not renewing due to the economy and the simple fact that the deal term was three years. The latter seems odd to me only because my experience is that the longer the relationship, the stronger it grows.

Toward the end of the article, Michael Volpe the general manager of Opera Holland Park makes a case for the value of their company by saying, “In terms of sponsorship we are excellent value. We’re not too formal, we provide opera at the highest level, we’re based in London, and we’re situated in a beautiful park. I don’t think that businesses are suddenly going to stop wanting to meet clients in pleasant surroundings and see great opera.”

My advice: Michael, you MUST come up with a better value proposition or you'll be in deep trouble.

1. Create a case study out of the Korn/Ferry partnership.

2. Clearly show prospects how you helped Korn/Ferry to achieve business goals such as acquiring new clients and building visibility.

3. Highlight innovative aspects of the partnership. For example, perhaps you worked with their recruiters on a mini email campaign that helped Korn/Ferry land ten new clients within a month.

4. Ask Korn/Ferry to introduce you to potential sponsors and set up a meeting.

5. Come up with ways to help strengthen your relationship with your audience through social networking and email campaigns.

6. Ask your audience how a corporate sponsor could add value to their experience with the Opera. I think you'll get some great ideas and I bet not one person will suggest more logos.

7. Put yourself in the shoes of a potential sponsor. Why would you invest nearly $1 million over three years? Surely it isn't because the Opera is situated in a beautiful park.

GM Out of Sponsorships

Wow, it's final. A U.S. federal judge ruled that GM can break off their sponsorship contracts. It is reported that GM can get out of 54 deals that "did not directly relate to the automaker's core operations."

Check out GM's fastlane blog and read what Fritz has to say about his "three priorities for the new GM: customers, cars and culture."

How Teenagers Consume Media, Twitter is for old people

Times Online has a piece about a 15 year old intern at Morgan Stanley who put together a report on how teenagers consume media. His "findings" are fairly obvious, especially the part about teens not having money which influences their consumption on media.

Check it out here and be sure to read the comments that span from bashing Morgan Stanley to saying that the report by the teen is spot on.

Christian Louboutin's Secret

This is a brilliant way to create an amazing experience around an already beloved brand. Christian Louboutin created a "secret library" where customers get a VIP experience...champagne included. In addition, they can create their own shoes.

Corporate Spotlight: Target

Last week I went to a concert at the New York Philharmonic which was extremely entertaining.

While looking through the Playbill, I came across this page titled Corporate Spotlight featuring Target. Basically it talks about Target and how many stores they have, how many employees they have and how many millions of dollars they've given.

There is only one sentence in five paragraphs that mentions the NY Philharmonic:

"Target believes in the power of partnerships with leading cultural institutions to foster creativity, promote learning, and build stronger communities. Target therefore is proud to sponsor the 2009 New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks as a way to make the arts more accessible to families in the New York City area. "

Unfortunately, I think Target missed a huge opportunity to leverage their sponsorship and connect with the NY Philharmonic audience. I wish they would have created more of a story about the partnership or a call to action to learn more on Facebook.

Yes, I understand that they have several partnerships like this throughout the nation and it takes staff time to activate the sponsorships, but why not utilize the power of social marketing, as they did here? With nearly 500,000 fans, they should be doing more on Facebook, especially around their philanthropic partnerships.

Fashionista, Collecting Emails

The blog Fashionista recently added a weekly email newsletter to their platform. I think this is a good move and one that has been proven by DailyCandy.

With this push model, they should be able to build their database to offer sponsors an additional way to communicate with their audience and measure ROI.

B and R of BRIC

Why luxury brands must be invested in social media: Brazil and Russia are ranked among the world’s most engaged social networking audience.

The Face of Public Relations is Changing

I was once in a meeting where four executives from an organization and and two employees from a famous New York PR agency spent two hours interpreting a three sentence email from a reporter at the New York Times and discussing how to respond to it. I was floored. What an insane waste of time!

I was reminded of this because of the posting on Mediabistro.com about Edelman laying off at least four senior executives. In my opinion, the people mentioned above were (and continue to be) old school. Why spend so much time on The New York Times when they could be looking to a broader future by building key relationships with bloggers and creating buzz through social media?

I bring this up because of a recent New York Times article (yes, I do read The New York Times online) on PR in Silicon Valley. I too was in the Internet scene in San Francisco during the boom. I quickly learned that it wasn't necessarily about spinning a story for the Wall Street Journal (which by the way never ran), but more about creating buzz and building key relationships. The "key" relationships, if successful, spread the word more effectively and efficiently than print, even back in 1999.

Today it's not about spin. People can see through that. It's about true passion and a direct connection. It should be interesting to see how the industry of PR evolves in the near future.

Copy This: Veuve Clicquot

Back in 2008, Veuve Clicquot was brilliant enough to put together a money can't buy experience for influential bloggers around the world such as yatzer, coolhunting, materialiste, frizzifrizzi, josh spear, and NOTCOT. They saw the value of bloggers early on. As a result, they garnered amazing buzz and loyalty for the brand from bloggers that spoke to Veuve's audience, the tastemakers and trend setters.

So, why not copy this innovative idea by targeting bloggers that speak to your audience? If you are a small theatre, create an experience where bloggers can get sneak previews and meet the cast to create buzz for your next opening? Museums could copy this by giving bloggers the VIP preview and tour before The New York Times! Would that be innovative?!

Check out the five-part Veuve Clicquot dream experience here at yatzer.com.

Hats off to Aisha Thompson and Vanessa Kay from Veuve Clicquot for understanding the true value of bloggers.

Packaging an Experience

Most museums offer group tours and private guided tours at an extremely low price. In addition, many market the tours to corporations. So, what if they "packaged" the experience and sold it as a behind the scenes or "money can't buy" experience to individuals. Something like this:

Are you always looking for that perfect gift for the person who has everything? Why not visit the museum where you and six guests will get a behind the scenes experience. The evening will begin with cocktails and move on to a guided private tour of the collection exclusively for you and your guests. As a parting gift, guests will receive a catalogue, two tickets to the next exhibition opening and a tote to take home the experience.

The idea is to target individuals who are looking for something more than just a dinner at a fancy restaurant or a birthday party at home. Take it a step further and market to people who are celebrating their anniversary, mothers day or just a unique experience for a group of friends.

The experience will have the group buzzing about this the next day. Better yet, it could garner a few new members.

Taking Art Out

This is brilliant! I love that people don't have to go into a building for a wonderful experience.

The Washington Post in Exchange For

I've been following The Washington Post's effort to diversify their business model by presenting a "salon" platform for companies to access exclusive, off-the-record access to policymakers and leaders. In exchange for sponsorship from $25,000 for one event to $250,000 for all ten, corporations get an intimate dinner with policymakers in the home of Katharine Weymouth.

Read about it on Politico.com, where the scandal first broke.

In sum, The Washington Post thought that they could leverage their brand and access to policymakers to expand their revenue base. Unfortunately the way it played out hurt their brand integrity, all just to make a small amount of money.

Should be interesting to see how this pans out.

Fresh

How important is it to keep your website content fresh? VERY! It still amazes me that companies drop hundreds of thousands of dollars into the development of a website yet don't optimize it. It is 2009 and some sites still serve as "brochures" that are not vibrant or interactive.

When I go to a site and don't see new content, I think that they are either not doing well or they are not organized enough to leverage their site and online marketing tools.

The worst is when you go to the "latest news" and the last press release was in December, 2008. Yikes!

Several innovation, communication and interactive marketing agencies are guilty of this. It simply reflects poorly on the company and the implied services that will be delivered.

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz Launch New VC Firm

I read in Businessweek.com that Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz are launching a new venture capital firm. Sounds like they have a new approach...hand-off. Should be interesting.

I like what Roger Lee, general partner with Battery Ventures, said, "There is a risk with any first-time fund, until you've done it, you never know."

Nike Uses Social Media to Award Grants

Taking a cue from Target, Nike is using social media to award $650,000 in grants to neighborhood groups that use "sports as a tool to change the community."

They created a site where organizations can apply and people can vote. Unlike the Bullseye Gives campaign where Target selected a handful of organizations and drove people to Facebook, Nike's campaign opens this to to a wider, more community based group. In addition, public support and voting only contributes to the decision making process. In the end, decisions are made by the Nike National Grant Selection Committee.

Nice to see that companies are leveraging social media to do good.

One Party Gives and the Other Receives

I came across a piece of collateral from 1994 describing a new partnership between Hugo Boss and the Guggenheim.

The wording was very forward thinking and fresh, even for today. For example, the summary states that the partnership is a new model of collaboration where they seek to move on from the traditions of conventional sponsorship whereby "one party gives and the other receives."

I guess I never thought of sponsorship in those terms but clearly they were on to something.

More and more companies are moving away from traditional sponsorship and looking for ways to "own" a platform to help them achieve business goals.

In the museum world, take note of the growth of awards and traveling exhibitions.