Making information accessible

Long, comprehensive reports, however enthralling, are, at best, read by a minority. That's why I have been preparing smaller, focused supplementary reports for the Value of Presenting study.

A report on Francophone minorities in Canada: La diffusion des arts vivants dans la francophonie canadienne (PDF)

A Special Report Rural Northern Presenting (PDF)
And the presentation in Powerpoint format I used for a couple of webinars to discuss this information with rural and Northern presenters earlier this month:
Presentation Rural Northern Presenting Highlights (PDF)

A special report on Dance Attendance Supplementary Analysis (PDF)

These reports go beyond the Interim Report that spawns them by deepening the specific information from our survey of the Canadian public.

Additional segment reports will be published over the spring to help Canadian presenters and anyone interested see themselves more clearly in this sector-wide study.

Media coverage in articles and interviews is summarized in this post.

Report published: Value of Presenting revealed

This spring my life has been dominated by writing. The result is a major milestone for the Value of Presenting: A Study of Arts Presentation in Canada.

In this Interim Report of Findings I consolidate the facts and figures on the value and benefits of performing arts presenting in Canada gathered over the last year through two national surveys (288 presenters and 1,031 Canadians), participation at conferences, leading dialogues and interviews with the presenting field and those found in the literature. Additionally, it presents a profile of the performing arts presenting ecology as a whole and highlights how several groups of presenters are distinct; for instance, those presenting works for aboriginal communities, francophone minority (those operating outside Quebec) and those in rural and remote communities.

The Interim Report of Findings:
http://www.diffusionartspresenting.ca/2012/05/07/interim-report-of-findings/

French-language executive summary:
http://www.diffusionartspresenting.ca/2012/05/07/rapport-interimaire/

The supplementary report on francophone minorities and presenting in Canada, with additional data:
http://www.diffusionartspresenting.ca/2012/05/07/diffusion-francophonie/

Writing is both solitary and communal. My thanks and appreciation go to the project manager at CAPACOA, Frédéric Julien, for reviewing everything and co-writing the French report. And my colleague, Pierre Lacroix, who has been leading the consulting work with the francophone communities and co-wrote the French-language report.

Over the next year, I will continue to explore the implications of these and other findings with the presenting field across Canada. In March 2013, we will publish a final report on the Value of Presenting in both English and French.

This next week, I will lead two webinars for rural and Northern presenters to review findings and begin conversations on the "So, what" part of this work. For webinar information: http://www.diffusionartspresenting.ca/events/

Ottawa is putting it all together for Juno Awards Week

Being invited to participate on the Ottawa Host Committee for Juno 2012 has offered me a deeper perspective of the tremendous teamwork, expertise and volunteerism needed to bring a major national event to a city. Ottawa's institutions are very well practiced in producing major events, having made that an important pillar of economic development activities in the region.

Members of the Host Committee with the Juno Ice Sculpture.

This collaboration ranging from the NCC and the City to Aboriginal and Francophone communities, from the Chamber of Commerce and local BIAs to museums, transportation hubs and local media partners to the universities, and, of course, the local bar/ music scene is awesome. Sponsors are also a key part in the "making it go" equation.

Producing and promoting a major event is a complex choreography. To make it go requires diligent effort, involvement and engagement of people and communities, and a flexible plan. Knowing the many innovative marketing and "civic animation" ideas we have generated to help bring a buzz for the Juno Awards and Canadian music to Ottawa and the nation is simply cool. Many of these ideas have been put in place. Any that aren't seeing the light of day due to time and resource constraints will be well worth revisiting in the future; especially those that involved more advanced uses of communications technologies.

Meanwhile, partnerships like this one with the University of Ottawa/Ottawa Host Committee/ MASC are using technology to bust wide open the sacred walls of learning through video-conferencing master classes with leading musicians across Canada.

http://www.junoawards.ca

In the best of worlds, major events serve the visiting organization (CARAS, in this case), its constituents (music industry and musicians) while providing unique opportunities for participation to the local community and, at the same time, elevating the brand of the city in the Nation's psyche. On April 1, Canadians will see Ottawa once again for what it is - a vibrant city and a diverse people much beyond the day-to-day political machinations inherent in being a capital.  And almost better yet, all through Juno week from March 26 to the CTV Juno Award show broadcast on April 1, people in Ottawa-Gatineau get to celebrate Canadian music in bars, on the street and in concert halls across the region.

Juno Week in Ottawa: March 26 to April 1, 2012. 

Juno 2012 in Ottawa

Canada's premier music celebration, the Juno Awards, is returning to Ottawa this spring. I have the pleasure of volunteering on the local Host City Committee; needless to say ... check it out!

Next week, the nominees will be announced, just in time for the public ticket on sale date for the Awards show.

Ottawa will be buzzing with Juno action from March 26 to April 1, 2012 with dozens of shows, a mega autograph session, basketball and hockey games and more.

"How can I sell tickets using Twitter?"

Have you ever heard someone ask: "How can I sell tickets using Twitter?" or "I have a lot of Facebook fans but very few seem to buy tickets to my events. I don't think Facebook works for me."

I have puzzled over such statements; I couldn't understand why anyone would measure these social media platforms by their capacity to achieve direct sales  --- whether of tickets or widgets or gadgets.

In my mind, social media were, well, social.

Social means relationships. Social means conversation - mostly consumer to consumer, but also consumer to brand. Social means mutual respect. Social might mean recommendation. Social can mean someone buys something based - at least in part - on a social network interaction. But it all starts with authentic relationships, it's like being friends in the so-called real world.

Off I went looking for organizations using social media in exemplary ways, especially in the performing arts presenting field. This experiment is part of the Value of Presenting Study we have been working on.

The experiment: Interview by Twitter 
The topic: The use of social media and online technology in your performing arts organization.
The interviewees: Two arts presenters (read the transcripts here: Shell Theatre and the National Arts Centre) who use social media in exemplary ways and an agent who does, too.

Key findings:
1. Social media are about building relationships
2. There are other ways to sell tickets
3. Audiences engaged: mostly the 30 to 55 year-old crowd rather than "young people", even though one interviewees said they find Facebook and txt works with a Students Rush tickets program;
4. Hone your authentic voice
5. Experiment to see what works for your organization

It's fun to experiment with trying to help more people see what the strategic potential of social media in the performing arts presenting sector could be, by doing. In this case, it's not in direct sales measured by revenue, but in building relationships measured by quality of relationships, engagement and championship of the brand. It is not an old-style transactional relationship, but one that is mutually enriching, extends beyond attendance, and requires new, timely interactions. And they are a lot more public.

The importance of voice is a fascinating topic in the concise world of social networks. (As these interviews show, short texts can be extremely good at making clear points and sharing salient information.) Voice is a key brand attribute that requires honing and calibration.

I think the adoption of social media shifts an organization's brand into a new realm. As such, an evaluation  of  what an organization stands for and how it is and behaves in its world (in short an evaluation of market relevance), may well be an essential step toward embracing such contemporary marketing methods.

See my earlier post on Social web strategy for the performing arts.