Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Who Is More Important? The Event Or Organization?
Butts In the Seats: I had a small disagreement about marketing with one of the people partnering on a show with us that raised the question about what is more important, the artist or the organization. The disagreement was pretty simple. We had designed an ad to promote a show. Between the sponsor and creator logos/credits and the general design of the ad, there wasn’t a lot of room left. To maintain a clean, attractive look for the show, I suggested that we omit the three names of the presenters. We would have the name of the theatre, but not “presented by X, Y, Z groups, each of which were fairly long.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
This article brings up an important point about entertainment and the value that it has. What makes the show? Is it the talent? The content? Or is it the organization? There are many questions that aren't often asked and that don't seem important to the audience because a beloved presenter is running the show. I think that is something that should change, because there are things that an audience doens't even think to ask about. Where they are and for what reason are just a few examples. The article goes on to wonder how a form of entertainment changes because of a presenter or a name associated with it. It is important to know the organization and if the show is supporting something or someone. The show could benefit from information like that. At times, they could even lose out but I think to be an intelligent audience member, it is important to know what your supporting in going to a show. You might be treating something other than your need for entertainment.
I think, that for purposes of advertising to the average layman, that is someone who has nothing to do with say, theatre, it is more important to draw attention to the event/artist on advertisement. It would seem to me that most casual eventgoers would be more likely to attend an event based off of the event itself, rather than who was presenting it. However, to the more knowledgeable, or those who regularly attend, they may decide to attend something because they trust the presenter to chose a good event. So I think it depends on the type of audience one hopes to draw to the event.
This is a tough question. It seems like the answer is, "It depends." There are some people who will not care about the presenter at all, but there are others who will be wary if they don't know that the show is being put on by a presenter that they trust will always produce quality work. Author Joe Patti brings up an interesting point as billing pertains to non=profit organizations: you want to promote your art, but in order to do your art, you need the support of others. In order to get this support, you must make potential supporters know that you value everyone who supports you. In my experience, when the name of a producer is recognized, it's usually for a good reason. This in turn means more financial support for the art from the patrons who recognize the producer. So the art still benefits in the end. It's all about keeping a balance between promoting the art and promoting the interests involved so that both can thrive.
This is a good question for the entertainment industry as a whole. I think, ultimately, it varies depending on what is going on. People will go to a Lady Gaga show to see Lady Gaga, but to a state fair for the overall appeal. Everything is going to appeal a little differently to everybody, so combining excitement about the event with the prominent names, not having too much of either, is probably the best advertising strategy for shows that fall in the middle.
This is definitely a careful balancing act. I have to think that the majority of time the venue/ producer is going to be more important than the event. I would never just go to see an event without knowing who put it on, unless of course it is a cult icon or a very famous person. In terms of theater, the organization pretty much always matters more then the show that is being produced. This is because the same shows are produced so frequently. A community theater and Lincoln Center can produce into the woods but they are going to be very different shows with very different audiences.
Post a Comment