Hugh MacLeod published an article at his blog on 2/14/2010 entitled “the three keys to social media marketing.” If MacLeod’s name is familiar, that’s a good thing. He’s the author of one of my favorite books, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, which serves as source material for the series of articles here under the tag keys to creativity. In his blog post, MacLeod suggests that sincere gift giving leads to successful social media marketing. In his case, the gifts are his cartoons but that got me wondering how this could apply to the orchestra business…
Year: 2010
San Antonio Announces New Music Director SPOILER!
The San Antonio Symphony (SAS) plans on announcing their new music director today at 10:30am CT but one of Adaptistration’s moles inside the organization has gone to great lengths to leak the name in advance of the announcement. As is the trend, the SAS opted for a young conductor; someone with boundless energy who isn’t afraid to teeter on a ledge to get the most out of ensemble. Adaptistration has obtained confidential video of the young dynamo in action. Read on for the spoiler announcement…
Alex Ross Is Absolutely Right
The 2/3/2010 edition of the New Yorker published a piece by Alex Ross that examines attendance trends throughout the nonprofit performing arts. Unlike most of the shoulder shrugging set in this field, Ross decides to look at the issues in practical terms and concludes that in order to begin attracting members from Generation X to replace those from previous generations, it will take far more direct contact and one-on-one efforts. I couldn’t agree more…
Financial Crisis In The Board Room!!
There are few emotions as powerful as the urge to blame, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be funny. Mel Brooks, a master at disarming animosity through humor, once said “Bad taste is simply saying the truth before it should be said” and if you take a long hard look at some of the things we do in this business (all of us) you begin to see that we’re ripe for satire. After all, if we can’t laugh at ourselves then, well, you know the rest. So enjoy this orchestra cartoon sneak peek…
Unexpected Bear Traps In Philadelphia
In what is shaping up to be a classic example of good intentions run amuck, the embattled Philadelphia Orchestra became the target of Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist, Karen Heller. In her 2/7/2010 article, she takes the organization to task over their new slogan and branded marketing campaign “Unexpect yourself.” Although unabashedly frank in her analysis, Heller’s observations are spot-on and exactly the sort of scrutiny this business needs at this point in time…