Brooklyn Museum, Valuable Lessons Learned

In January 2009, the Brooklyn Museum saw an opportunity to engage supporters by creating a new level of membership (1stfans) around in-person meetups, private groups on Facebook and Flickr, and private feeds by artists on Twitter.

Last week the museum posted a great case study or "lessons learned" on the program. Check out this link and read about their plans to improve upon the 1stfans experience via Meetup.com.

Map Envelope

I came across Map Envelope via trendwatching.com's November Trend Briefing.

Map Envelope is "an application that allows users to select a location in Google Maps and then print the location with a personalized message. Once printed, the cut-out graphic turns into the inside of an envelope and can be sent to a friend via old-fashioned snail mail."

Pretty clever!

IEG's Blog Today

IEG's Diane Knoepke has a great "copy this" blog post today about TED's simple guidelines around affiliate sponsorships. You may find her post here.

Carnegie Hall, Bank of America and Scooter Media

I was reading Amanda Ameer's blog, Life's a Pitch and came across this post about Carnegie Hall's use of Scooter Media.

It's a fun idea and I must say that it gives Bank of America (Carnegie Hall's 2010-2011 season sponsor) some great visibility.

Ask a Curator Day

If you've ever wanted to ask a museum and gallery curator a question, you will have an opportunity via twitter tomorrow.

Yes, September 1st is "Ask a Curator Day" where you can Q&A with over 300 curators around the world.

Flexible

Flexible: characterized by a ready capability to adapt to new, different, or changing requirements.

Are you still sending blind sponsorship proposals to brands? Move away from that buyer-seller model. You will surely be more successful in forming partnerships if you are flexible with rights and you consider what brands are in need of.

HBR: Welcome to the Experience Economy, 1998

I picked up the July-August 1998 issue of Harvard Business Review at the local Goodwill this weekend and read a great article written by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, cofounders of Strategic Horizons LLP.

There are some very insightful nuggets that may be useful to those who work in museums and the arts, especially the piece on staging experiences that sell.

Doom and Gloom in the Arts

Today as I was skimming the headlines of ArtsJoural I just felt a sense of doom and gloom for the arts. Here are several of the headlines:

"UK Film Council to Be Abolished"
"Southwest Florida Symphony in Debt, Leaderless"
"CEO of Dallas' New Performing Arts Center Abruptly Resigns"
"Pittsburgh Symphony Faces Tough Times"
"Ballet Nouveau Colorado Seemed So Healthy -- How Could It Have Come to the Brink?"
"Charleston Symphony Unsettled and in Limbo, Tries to Arrange 75th B'day Concert"

Sigh

Chief Marketing Officer

AdAge has a good piece on CMO's and their evolution from big personality/high-profile to one of power.

Speaking of CMOs...The Skoll Foundation is looking for a Chief Marketing Officer. Check out the job description here.

Tweet4YWCA

I recently read that The Allstate Foundation is partnering with the YWCA to support economic empowerment for domestic violence survivors by donating $1 for all tweets that include #Tweet4YWCA.

The goal is to raise $75,000 by tweeting as many times as you can through July 16.

For more information on #Tweet4YWCA, visit: http://www.clicktoempower.org/twitter.aspx

Business, Brand and Employee

When approaching a prospective sponsor, consider ways in which your property could help the corporation build business (client acquisition/retention), brand (awareness, association) and employee commitment.

Call to Action and Secondary Calls to Action

I previously mentioned that Call to Action: Secret Formulas To Improve Online Results is one for my favorite books about Internet marketing and website optimization. Well, today I went onto grokdotcom and came across a good piece about "secondary" calls to actions, defined as motivations and interactive elements offered to the prospect in case they are not ready to take the primary action.

Take a look at the entry and think of ways that you could apply the concept to your site.

The World Cup and Nike's "Write the Future" Video Campaign

PSFK has a good piece on Nike's "Write the Future" video campaign around the World Cup.

PSFK discusses the fact that although Nike is not an official sponsor of the World Cup, the video campaign has generated more online buzz (blogs, message boards, social networking sites) and more of an association to the World Cup than any other brand’s efforts to date.

The kicker? Nike isn't even an official sponsor of the World Cup.

Lands’ End Partners With DonorsChoose.org

Lands’ End is partnering with DonorsChoose.org to help teachers and students across the country by donating $1 toward art supplies for every new member of the Lands’ End Facebook community (June 3rd through June 6th).

Join the Lands’ End Facebook page: www.facebook.com/LandsEnd.
For each new Facebook community member Lands’ End will donate $1 towards art programs through DonorsChoose.org, up to $10,000. Donations will be made for new community members through June 6th.

For more information visit: www.facebook.com/LandsEnd.

Rolling Stone to Extend Brand

Last year Rolling Stone announced that it would be extending the brand into the restaurant/bar arena. The first venue is set to open this summer in Hollywood.

It will be interesting to see if the Rolling Stone brand is strong enough to pull this off.

Paperless Choice Challenge is Open

Calling all nonprofits..."Catalog Choice is sponsoring a national contest to discover and reward creative digital fundraising techniques and campaigns. Whether your organization has gone completely paperless, or your digital fundraising efforts are part of an overall mix, we are looking for great examples of successful campaigns that have moved your organization away from traditional paper-based direct mail fundraising."

For more information on this cool contest, go here.

Kmart's Laundromat

Kmart will be test-marketing a new business venture called Kwash in Iowa City. It is set to open in June and the aim is to build new customer relationships.

This is truly an innovative way for Kmart to acquire/retain customers. I can't wait to see how it plays out.

Robin Hood Foundation Seeking a Development Officer

The Robin Hood Foundation is looking for a Development Officer. Check out the job description here.

Charities and Text Donations

The Christian Science Monitor ran a piece on text donations and charities a few weeks ago. I've spoken with several nonprofits about text giving and the feedback is that the effort (staff time, set up and logistics) is not worth the small outcome. I have a feeling this will change in the near future.

Seattle Art Museum Cutting Expenses

The Seattle Times reports that the Seattle Art Museum is closing its three buildings for two weeks next year, reducing its staff and instituting a two-week furlough in an effort to balance its budget.

BP's Olympic Sponsorship

BP announced in February that it would be a sponsor of the 2010 and 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, as well as the 2011 U.S. Pan American Team. The deal is estimated to be worth between $10 million and $15 million.

Today I read a blog on the London Evening Standard:
"BP is taking advice from a London PR agency about how to handle its sponsorship of the 2012 Games.

As the clean-up operation from the oil spill in the US continues, the firm is wondering how much publicity it can dare generate on the back of the 2012 deal.

It is the backer of the "Open Weekend", a cultural festival which will take place in July to mark two years to go to the Games. But the headache for the oil firm bosses is whether there could be a backlash from promoting this work.

It can only be a coincidence that a press release for BP's Olympic mentoring programme "Young Leaders" was pulled at short-notice this week. Apparently this was because the young participants were tied up with exams. A case of heads down all round, it would appear."

BP chose to sponsor the Olympics because they felt it was a perfect platform to promote their green initiatives. If you were in BP's situation, how would you handle the Olympic sponsorship?

Social Media and Measuring Value

The AFP conducted an online poll that showed that 2/3 of nonprofits use social media but only 17% actually measure the value for their organizations.

It is a bit shocking that nonprofits are spending energy in the social media space but not measuring value and outcomes. I would suggest that they begin by determining their goals and then deciding what needs to be measured. This could range from pageviews, fans, followers and interactions, to press/blog coverage and conversion rates. The key is to identify the data points that map directly back to your goals.

Walgreens Donates Times Square Billboard to the National Center for Learning Disabilities

Crain's New York reports that the National Center for Learning Disabilities will get free use of Walgreen's Times Square Jumbotron billboard for five days!

Walgreens "donated five days of use of its Times Square Jumbotron billboard, above 1471 Broadway, to the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Spots on the 17,000-square-foot digital video display will run four times an hour for 30 seconds through this Saturday."

Oh, and by the way, the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) will host their 33rd Annual Benefit Dinner tonight. "The evening honors Charles Walgreen III, Former CEO of Walgreens, who will be presented with the Spirit of Achievement Award by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. James Carville, the American political consultant, will be presented with the Distinguished Advocacy Award. The evening’s emcee is TV Newscaster Paula Zahn. The Benefit Chair is Nancy Poses, and the Dinner Chair is Wade Miquelon, EVP, CFO, Walgreens.

Way to go NCLD!

Brooklyn Ball

The Brooklyn Museum showed us that breaking away from tradition can pay off. As I posted here, the museum put on a whimsical event that garnered terrific pre and post press on the Brooklyn Ball. Check out bizbash.com for more pictures of the event.

Bing Sponsorship

WNBA team, the Seattle Storm landed a sponsorship deal with Bing. According to the Seattle Times, "The Bing logo will replace "Storm" and "Seattle" on home and away jerseys and warmup shirts. The multiyear deal is worth at least $1 million annually, according to Storm CEO Karen Bryant. It will include KeyArena advertising; joint promotions through Bing maps, video and visual search; integration between Bing and Storm scavenger hunt; and sponsorship of the Junior Storm Initiative community program."

To learn more about the Jr. Storm Initiative, go here.

Brooklyn Museum, American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection

The Brooklyn Museum is holding their Brooklyn Ball this evening where they will "break with the traditional arrangements of years past. A newly conceived event will focus on fashion, fun, and culinary excitement as only Brooklyn can do it! Jennifer Rubell, whom New York Times senior art critic Roberta Smith credits with “laying waste to the prolonged ordeal that is the benefit dining experience,” will present Icons, an interactive food journey through the Museum including drinking paintings, suspended melting cheese heads, and more."

In addition, those in attendance will be able to preview the American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection exhibition which opens to the public on May 7.

Pitching to the Financial Industry? Read This

Are you pitching to the financial industry? Check out this summary from the JFAM:Live! Financial Marketers’ Conference that took place in March. A ton of insight into the way financial services are marketing.

Gowalla and Foursquare

Heard of Gowalla or Foursquare? If not, you should check them out. They are both location based social networking sites and they are taking off. Check out the sites and think of ways that you could leverage the apps to raise your visibility, create a unique campaigns, or build buzz.

Parisian Museum Les Arts Decoratifs Cancels Kate Moss Exhibition Due to Lack of Sponsorship Funding

The Parisian museum Les Arts Decoratifs canceled the Kate Moss exhibition due to lack of sponsorship. More detail here and here.

Starbucks on The New York Times

If you haven't visited NYTimes today, you should check it out just for the Starbucks campaign. It is simply brilliant because it addresses a cause (saving forests), shows the deep community involvement (together), and makes a call to action.

The Big Picture, Starbucks on April 15th

On April 15th, you can bring your travel mug to your local Starbucks and they will give you a free brewed coffee. This is a part of The Big Picture project where Starbucks encourages people to switch from paper cups to reusable travel mugs.

Check out the facebook post: "One person can save trees. Together, we can save forests. That's why we'd like to encourage everyone to switch from paper cups to reusable travel mugs. Check out http://www.starbucks.com/TheBigPicture to see the thousands of people taking the pledge to make a difference."

USA TODAY's "#AmericaWants" Twitter Campaign for Charity

The Kindness community kicked off the USA TODAY's "#AmericaWants" Twitter campaign for charity where the top tweet-getting charity will receive one full-page, full-color ad in USA TODAY.

Read more about how you can tweet for you favorite 501(c)(3) organization here. Hurry, the tweeting ends at 11:59 pm (ET) on 4/16/10.

Charleston Symphony Orchestra to Suspend its Operations, "This is not a ticket problem, this is a fundraising problem."

The Post and Courier reported that the Charleston Symphony Orchestra will suspend its operations immediately due to a drop in fundraising dollars.

Here is the full article http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/mar/29/cso-suspends-its-operations/#comments.

Some interesting points in the article:

- The drastic move was caused by a decline in major gift giving of 60 percent compared to last year."

- More than half of the symphony's budget -- $2.3 million for the 2009-10 season, reduced from about $2.8 million the year before -- depends on fundraising, not ticket sales.

-The goal of the restructuring is to stabilize the orchestra and come up with a better model.

- A telling quote by Legasey, "We're going to have to make a business case to key people that investing in this is worthwhile."

- Legasey and Scott said it was critical that the symphony design a business model that the community can support "on a sustainable basis."

- The organization has not operated within its budget for nine of the past 10 years.

- According to board president Ted Legasey, the budget has included funds for a development director, but qualified candidates have been in short supply.

The CSO has a huge opportunity to turn it around. It will be interesting to see what sort of "better model" they come up with. Hopefully it will be one that other organizations may benefit from.

W Hotels, We're Looking Forward to Your Arrival

I am spending a few days in San Diego in April and booked a room at the W Hotel. Within minutes of booking online, I received a message from the W Hotel with the subject line: "We're looking forward to your arrival‏." When I opened the email, it read:

"Well Hello There Stacy,
Who knew you were visiting? We've received your reservation and wanted to ask if you'd like anything special while you're with us? We'll be happy to provide Whatever you want, Whenever you want it. E-mail me at GM.Kaminski@whotels.com and we'll do our best to fulfill your dreams.

Want to treat yourself to a little something special? Up, up, upgrade away to our Spectacular, Cool Corner, Fantastic, or Penthouse rooms. Upgrade for a little as $20. Click on the link on the right to learn more.
Warmest wishes,"

This is a great way for the W Hotels to build brand, build customer loyalty and to entice the user to upgrade.

Harry Winston at the Guggenheim

In the market for a new watch? Check out the fancy watches that Harry Winston created with a Guggenheim Dial. For a mere $46,000 (or $41,400 if you are a Guggenheim member), you can have an 18k white gold case, chronograph quartz movement, mother of pearl spiral dial with diamonds on bezel, lugs, attachments and buckle. How many carats you ask? Approximately 2.65!

The House of Harry Winston and the Guggenheim launched this product line-the Guggenheim Collection by Harry Winston- in late October. Take a look at the other pieces here at their online store.

AOL Sponsors MIT Media Lab

According to paidcontent, AOL has entered into a three-year, $200,000 “consortium sponsorship” of the MIT Media Lab. Check out the details on the sponsorship here.

KFC Promotes "Fiery Grilled Wings" Through a Public Service Sponsorship

Back in March, I posted about the unusual KFC cause-marketing push. Now KFC is involved in another innovate partnership to promote their new Fiery Wings. KFC will provide Brazil, Indiana with funding to repair 85 fire hydrants. In return, KFC will brand the hydrants with the KFC and "Fiery Wings" logos.


CMD Global has the case study and IndyStar.com has a longer article here.