Monday, September 5, 2011
Here's my TED Talk from the TedxMichiganAve conference. It's entitled Power and the Arts Check out all the TedxMichigan Ave videos here
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:05AMWednesday, August 31, 2011
I've talked in the past about the need to make your artistic work feel like a big event. I think it's one of the two best ways - the other being relationship - to connect audience and art. I…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:45AMMonday, August 29, 2011
I often find myself as the only self described "marketer" in a room full or artists or arts "executives". The situations always remind me of my previous life as a lawyer. Lawyers (like marke…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 11:16AMFriday, August 26, 2011
Consider these two thoughts: 1. You have more time then you think. 2. You have less time then you think. I think both statements are true. One of the benefits of not having career paths in t…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 11:25AMWednesday, August 24, 2011
I get a lot of questions from artists and arts administrators about what their career path should be. So here's a friendly reminder: There is no such thing as a career path. We are well past…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 11:47AMMonday, August 22, 2011
I spent the past few days at Walt Disney World. I found the sheer scope of the place - almost 50 square miles of resorts, parks and other related property - to be simply stunning. As I spent…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:00AMWednesday, August 17, 2011
We all have our bubbles. We all have our spaces where it can become difficult to relate to those outside the bubble. The arts world is full of those sports of spaces. I always worry that my …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 08:40AMMonday, August 15, 2011
Ten minutes before typing this, I was standing in the middle of Times Square. It was a good reminder of the experience most of our potential audience members go through. I was completely ove…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 11:18AMFriday, August 12, 2011
"People will encourage you, but they won't show up every night." That is the money quote from this article about failed (and successful) restaurants. It's perfect for the world you and I liv…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:48AMWednesday, August 10, 2011
We ask for a lot in the arts. We ask for money, time and attention. All of these are valuable resources. Think about how difficult it is to get YOU to part with those things and you have a s…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:38AMMonday, August 8, 2011
Here's the part that sucks . . . You can do everything right. You can produce the art with skill and passion. You can marketing the art effectively. And the audience can still ignore it. It …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:09AMFriday, August 5, 2011
I hate empty performance house. Hate 'em. I can barely tolerate half full houses. I know I'm not supposed to feel that way. The arts are supposed to be about "quality" and not "quantity". It…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:07AMWednesday, August 3, 2011
Every audience has a flipside. You want an audience that is smart and understands art? Then you also want an audience that is critical and has high standards. You want an audience base that …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:19AMMonday, August 1, 2011
When I picture someone entering a live performance venue I imagine a thought bubble above their head. Here's the thought inside that bubble: "Man, I hope this doesn't suck." Most arts patron…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:20AMWednesday, July 27, 2011
One of my most popular posts was this post about assets and marketing. It's the foundation for Step 4 in the Paradox Arts Marketing Plan, so check it out before moving forward. -------------…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 11:24AMMonday, July 25, 2011
At a core level here is the question we all struggle with: How do you get an idea to spread? Ideas are ultimately stronger then things. Artistic performances come and go. It's the idea, the …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:39AMWednesday, July 20, 2011
Time is one of the most vital, but unappreciated, marketing factors. Great ideas fall apart because they were not given the time they needed to full develop. So, once you have set your goals…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:20AMMonday, July 18, 2011
So you've decided what your strategic marketing goals should be. Now let's talk about the money. First, please revisit this post on setting financial objectives. It talks about some of the e…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:04AMWednesday, July 13, 2011
It never fails. I've get my little series on arts marketing tactics all laid out and then BAM another conversation about dynamic pricing kicks off. So I'll do this one brief detour and talk …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:37AMMonday, July 11, 2011
Alright, time to switch things up a bit. For the next several weeks posts will come Monday, Wednesday and Friday. For this first series of post, I'm going to dive into the fundamentals of ma…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:00AMMonday, June 27, 2011
I was watching a mixed martial arts fight on TV. The announcer said that one of the fighters was "the right type of crazy" to make it in that particular world. I think we can all acknowledge…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:12AMThe reason no one lets you take big risks is probably because you haven't shown the ability to consistently plan, execute and manage small risks. Big risks are overrated. It's easy to imagin…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:08AMWednesday, June 22, 2011
It's important to remember what things actually cost, even if you're not paying some (or all) of those costs. During my early days I would keep two budgets for artistic events. One that refl…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:20AMTuesday, June 21, 2011
Arts marketers are easy and juicy targets for blame and ridicule so I could relate to the frustrations of folks like Alli. I used to get bothered when I would hear people talk about how much…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:59AMMonday, June 20, 2011
I'm sure the CEO of Southwest Air would love it if he didn't have to deal with the fact that airlines are so expensive, or that they need to be constantly repaired, or that fuel costs change…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:15AMWednesday, June 15, 2011
A quick reminder about audience "engagement." Social media doesn't create engagement. It is simply a tool to leverage the engagement created by the artistic event. It can be helpful to under…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:11AMTuesday, June 14, 2011
Ferran Adria is one of the most acclaimed chefs in the world. By any reasonable definition, he's an artist. His advice to his fellow chefs/artists is interesting. Here's his response to the …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:27AMMonday, June 13, 2011
When I have difficulty managing a life in the arts it tends to have a common cause: Things changed and I didn't know it. Life in this world can be so insular. The same artists hanging around…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:25AMThursday, June 9, 2011
One of the toughest lessons in leadership for me to learn was this one: People are watching you. I don't mean that in a paranoid way. I mean that people are taking their cues from your words…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:12AMWednesday, June 8, 2011
I call this little thing of mine "Mission Paradox" because I believe that you need to embrace conflicting thoughts. Here's two of them: 1. To thrive in the world of art and commerce you need…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:06AM 
