240 stories by "Adam Thurman"
I believe the first job of any arts marketer is avoiding disaster. Marketing can't make art a "hit". Only the art can do that. But I've learned from experience that what effective marketing …
I can say, conservatively, that I've played a part in selling about six million dollars worth of tickets to arts events. I've done most of that without a written marketing plan. I've helped …
If you follow this blog, or follow me on Twitter (@missionparadox) you've heard me talk about the Four Pillars of modern arts marketing. One of those is journalism. Here's a question I get o…
One of the useful parts of my life is that marketing is a thing I have to talk about AND do. I have to do it because I'm the Director of Marketing here. So in the spirit of practicing what...
On his show "The Profit", Marcus Lemonis talks about the three keys to building a strong business. People Process Product In my own life as a freelance marketing consultant I have worked wit…
Branding is automatic. Everyone has a brand. If a brand is a set of promises and expectations that you offer to the world, and it is, then you should understand that you (and your art) are a…
Time after time I have encountered artists or leaders of arts organizations who tell me what they "have" to do with their marketing. They have to be on social media. They have to charge a lo…
In my role as marketing director of a midsized theatre, I get a daily report with updates on subscription sales, single ticket sales, etc. I'll admit that "checking the numbers" isn't my fav…
In my last post I suggested four principles of modern art marketing, being authentic, gifting, journalism and being useful. And then there is the hammer, the thing most people use when they …
If you've been following the blog for a while you'll notice that I spend a lot of time trying to get you to rethink what your marketing is and can be. Thus you get marketing being authentic …
It's easy to laugh at Hollywood, especially lately. They have had a string of high profile flops and there has been a lot of conversation about the crumbling economics of the industry. So it…
One of the byproducts of being swamped in information is an increased need for clarity. You've got to be able to explain to people exactly what direction you want to take the art/fundraising…
Part of the reason that I've been light on the blogging lately is because I've been out on the road (Lisbon, Porto, Dallas) or finishing up some consulting projects. The interesting part abo…
"Why is this live?" That's the question that Jordan Roth asked during the first TedxBroadway and I swear the question has haunted me every since. For those of us that work in the live entert…
As you may have noticed, blogging has been light lately. Biggest reason is that I've been on the road (Lisbon, Porto, Dallas, etc.) and finishing up some client projects. I'll blog more regu…
One more note from the TCG Conference. I want to share my opening remarks from the session. You can read them here. You should also check out the entire TCG Circle Blog, which has a ton of g…
(Adam Thurman gave the following remarks at the opening Homeroom of the Financial Adaptation arc at the 2013 TCG National Conference: Learn Do Teach in Dallas.) Before I got into marke…
Last week I was Dallas as part of the TCG Conference. One of my duties was to be a part of the Financial Adaptation Arc that happened during the event. It was a particularly interesting arc …
(This post is a part of the Financial Adaptation blog salon curated by Adam Thurman for the 2013 TCG National Conference: Learn Do Teach in Dallas). There are many potholes on th…
There has been a lot of digital ink on external marketing, i.e. marketing your art to the outside world. There needs to be an equal amount of conversation about and consideration of internal…
Marketing art to a robot would be simple. All you would need to do is rationally explain how your art is 1% different or better then a competitior and their rigid, logical hearts would be yo…
Over the past few weeks I've been curating an online salon on financial adaptation. Check out new posts from myself and others at this link. The posts focus on the theatre world, but the les…
(This post is a part of the Financial Adaptation blog salon curated by Adam Thurman for the 2013 TCG National Conference: Learn Do Teach in Dallas). Adapt or Die. I hate that phr…
When I begin working with people I often ask this question: Give me an example of marketing that you really like or love. The ones that end up struggling the most with their marketing don't …
On the bumper of my car is a sticker for the summer camp my step son attended last year. Someone comes by, notices the sticker and asks me about it. I raved about the place. Could recommend …
