You want to hear something constructive about theater marketing, you say? That's cool.
Y'all know how I feel about online marketing and social media, right? When used well, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr et al can be effective community-building tools that are inexpensive and labor-light enough to be implemented by organizations of any size. (For my money, Steppenwolf, the House and New Leaf, each at different budget levels, are three of the best examples in town.)
So I perked up when this announcement from DCA came across my desk today:
On Thursday, March 12, from 6 - 7:30 pm, the Chicago Department of
Cultural Affairs presents the Creatives at Work Forum “Social Media
and Marketing Strategies.” This panel examines how social networking
platforms enrich, complement, and expand the reach and quality of
artists’ relationships with their audiences. Moderated by Demetrio P.
Maguigad (New Media Manager of Community Media Workshop) this panel
includes Leah Jones (Natiiv Arts & Media); Katherine Raz, (The House
Theatre of Chicago); Rachel Thorne Germond (Founder, RTG Dance); and
C.C. Carter (Young Chicago Authors).
That's Thursday, March 12, 6–7:30pm in the first floor Garland Room at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington St. It's free and open to the public.
I'm really looking forward to the panel, thanks for the shout out!
Posted by: Leah | February 25, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Have you heard the latest freaky news?
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/the_theater_loop/2009/02/about-face-theatre-in-serious-trouble.html
Part of me is very worried. I haven't seen much of their work but what I have seen I enjoyed. And is this only the beginning? Up till now Chicago theatres seemed to generally keep being missed by the financial meteorites that were striking other regional companies- yes, some of the asks have been more urgent, and we've had some cancellation of productions, but this is the first company in Chicago I've heard about whose very existence is threatened.
On the other hand, maybe this is part of the natural 'life cycle' of arts organizations. No non-profit theatre company is supposed to last forever (no, Steppenwolf, not even you). There are a lot of companies in Chicago, and maybe it's time we winnowed the field a bit. There's a snarky part of me that thinks this news could be the best thing that ever happened to the Bailiwick.
Posted by: Ed | February 25, 2009 at 11:01 AM
hey Kris,
Thanks for the shout out. Turns out it's not just shrinking coverage of arts, but shrinking news all the way around--according to a whole mess o'journalists who gathered this past Sunday to talk about the future of local news in Chicago. (there's a discussion at windycitizen, http://bit.ly/Bl5L8).
Turns out that the issue of "coverage" is actually part of a larger, generational problem.... on the other hand, as we learned at our January panel, it's not like there was some kind of golden age of arts coverage or a time when it was "easy" for arts orgs to garner attention. So the project at hand is to build something new and better than what we've had before.
Hopefully it'll be a little warmer in March than it was when we got together in January!
Posted by: Gordon, Community Media Workshop | February 26, 2009 at 06:26 AM
Kris,
If you have the time and willingness to expound, I'd love to hear what makes the three theatres you list as examples of how to do social media right the tops on your list.
Maybe that would be stealing a bit of the forum's thunder, but it'd also help us get what's working in the larger context of Chicago theatre. I am an (ashamed) Facebook junkie, but haven't seen any of these companies come across my wall, so have no context.
Please help.
Thanks,
Chaz
Some assembly required...
Posted by: Chaz | February 27, 2009 at 11:51 PM