maggiegould-blog1

[maggiegould-blog1]

#11: Great Jones

Stepping away from the Strategic Challenge for a second, I wanted to talk a bit about my college roommate and close friend (Sierra’s) new company, Great Jones. It’s a cookware company that launched just last month, and it’s already blowing up (they’ve gotten great coverage in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Vogue, and Forbes, and they’ve gained a substantial celebrity following). 

Sierra paired-up with an old friend from summer camp to start the company. Currently, they divide the roles equally, and one of Sierra’s jobs is their marketing. I’m blown away with the success they’ve achieved in such a short amount of time, and now that I’ve learned a bit on marketing, it’s interesting to watch what Sierra’s doing.

From what I can tell, Great Jones targets two segments. The first is chefs who really know what they’re doing in the kitchen (Sierra was previously a food editor for NY Mag, so she has a ton of food connections, and tested the product obsessively with these chefs so that it would [obviously] work and appeal to those who know their way around the kitchen/crave a new product). The second segment is millenials who have no idea what they’re doing when cooking, live in a small apartment, and need the basic and affordable 5-piece cookware Great Jones offers. I’d like to guess why Sierra succeeds in “hooking” this millenial segment with her marketing.

Great Jones’ simplicity and relatability are attractive to the millenial, especially who has his/her first apartment (and/or small apartment) with no idea what cookware to purchase. Their brand keeps it simple and accessible across the board - colloquial, hip language through all social media/web platforms, same font/colors/logos everywhere. And the actual product is simple: they only offer 5 pieces, and they assure you those will cover all the bases (they even provide recipes with videos on Instagram and their website). They offer your choice of color for their Dutch oven, which in my opinion, appeals to a younger, visually-oriented crowd (i.e., a crowd who spends a lot of their time on Instagram). They vary their social media posts to keep a constantly-scrolling crowd engaged. And finally, their packaging itself is Instagrammable - your order comes in a colorful box, and inside, they’ve sprinkled in a pot-holder and some fridge magnets.

[maggiegould-blog1]

#10: Strategic Challenge Process

I’m pretty pleased with the progress our strategic team has made with “revamping” Little Kruta. We are lucky that most of us can meet weekly outside of class, and I think we’ve accomplished more detailed work than we thought we’d be able to.

This week, we wrapped-up work on planning a benefit concert for Little Kruta -  an initiative to reach more donors by clarifying the offering, clarifying ways to support, and performing new/old, powerful collaborations. We’ve planned the process over four weeks, targeting a slightly different segment than Little Kruta normally does (our segment is music-lovers in their 30s/40s, in a different tax bracket...) and we’ve come up with a basic budget. We have fairly simple objectives for this concert: we want to explain the Patreon platform to attendees in the hopes of doubling Little Kruta’s current $/creation (from $539 to $1000ish), receive at least $1500 in individual donations, reach a wider audience, and ensure that there’s a common understanding of LK’s offering.

Our website work is almost complete as well - we’re just working to establish how we’d measure site visits, and we’d like more flow between the pages we’ve designed. 

Our final project (apart from the PowerPoint presentation, where we’ll work for flow) will be to rework Little Kruta’s social media. We’ve already decided and written-up how we’ll keep LK’s message consistent/engaging across all platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Patreon) but we want to make sure it makes sense visually to the class (and panel) when presenting, and how we’ll measure engagement within each platform.

[maggiegould-blog1]

#9: Reflection on Spotify Case

As I prepped the Spotify Case last night, I kept thinking about the difference between “I’m an artist who barely anybody knows - Spotify is to my advantage for advertising purposes - I don’t care as much that I’m not making a ton of money off of them” versus “I’m a huge artist - I don’t need to get the word out since most people know me - my music shouldn’t be free” (basically, a comparison of the attitudes of an artist like 2013 Ed Sheeran versus an artist like Taylor Swift). Perhaps the lesser-known artists are less concerned with control over their work - when you’re new to the game, getting the word out is more important.

I did some reading outside of the HBS case to get a sense of what brought Taylor back to the platform. There doesn’t seem to be a specific reason, but most articles point to the fact that streaming is now the most “dominant revenue driver for the recording industry” (npr.org), and that maybe, after Spotify’s Daniel Ek made many trips to Nashville to illustrate this to Swift and her team, this helped to bring her back. But, what I kept wanting an answer for was, what are the actual benefits Spotify gives to an artist like Taylor who doesn’t necessarily need advertising for her work? Yes, her fans can stream her music whenever/wherever they want - but what does Taylor get, at least in the short-term? A [pretty small] percentage of the revenue? Customer analytics? Spotify says they educate these artists on the benefits of a streaming-model - but after being “educated,” do artists feel like they’re actually being properly compensated?

https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/06/09/532238490/taylor-swift-returns-to-spotify-amends-her-relationship-to-streaming

[maggiegould-blog1]

#8: Communication Objectives

While reading Standing Room Only this week, I found myself thinking about our strategic challenge team’s “re-branding” of Little Kruta - more specifically, our communication objectives in regards to the artists who want to collaborate with the orchestra. While it’s crucial that the orchestra receives more patrons, I’ve been thinking more this week about how to get to the perspective collaborative artists as well.

Simply making these potential collaborative artists (most of whom are vocalists) aware of the offering hasn’t been much of a problem for Little Kruta - plenty of artists (usually through word-of-mouth and social media, especially Instagram) reach out to Kristine (Little Kruta’s owner). What my strategic marketing group agrees is more important communicatively at this point is educating/clarifying to the artists all the possibilities within the offer (multiple instrumentation capabilities: string orchestra, full orchestra, string quartet, etc., popular performance venues: Le Poisson Rouge, National Sawdust, etc., recording potential: audio and visual), and changing the belief many artists hold about collaborative experiences (for example, ”my artistic needs/voice won’t be heard” or “this will cost a fortune,” both of which are untrue with Little Kruta). At this point, via Patreon, Spotify, Instagram, and Facebook, these notions are briefly mentioned but they aren’t clear, and they are slightly different on each platform. Our team is coming up with concise, consistent, and exciting descriptions that appeal to the artist and encourage more collaboration.

[maggiegould-blog1]

#7 Case Study: Hamilton Won More Than Twitter

I really enjoyed prepping this case. I’ve been a violin sub in the pit of Hamilton since December of 2015, so I was lucky enough to get to know the original cast - including Lin Manuel Miranda - especially while the show was relatively “new” in the Broadway world (post-Public Theater). In fact, my first interaction with Miranda was right before my first show: he came into the pit (as he did before almost every single show) and chatted excitedly with me about the production, and then looked at us all to say “Don’t f*ck up,” giggled, and walked away.

To me (and I’d argue that most people agree), Miranda is a genius in many ways. Because of this course, I’m learning that his marketing skills are nothing short of genius - he’s adaptive, playful, inventive - he’s always asking questions and finding creative ways to connect with the world. Perhaps what I find so unbelievably refreshing about him is his perspective: as a diligent listener and observer, he’s constantly aware and respectful of what the people want, in tandem with the story he wants to tell. 

Miranda is an excellent example of the notion that when you keep things real, and put yourself in the shoes of your consumers and their experiences, you appeal to the masses. When you personally respond to your fans on Twitter, people take notice. When you acknowledge the fact that the majority of people can’t afford the tickets, you provide a lottery of $10 tickets and advertise it on social media, or you secure funding to send thousands of high-school students to Wednesday matinees. When you know so many people want to participate in Hamilton but can’t travel to New York, you create #Ham4Ham. When you’re willing to listen, communicate, and adapt, even when your product is already wildly successful, you provide sustainability. As long as he keeps engaging with his fans, collaborating with artists/celebrities to remix the music (Hamildrops), promoting tours, checking back in (and appearing in shows) at the Richard Rodgers Theater, etc... I believe Hamilton and its hype are here to stay. 

[maggiegould-blog1]

#6

This is an awfully pitiful sketch of a website, but I drafted this a while back just to get started on ideas for a Little Kruta page (especially after reviewing the Google Primer lessons on websites). Along with re-vamping the orchestra’s Patreon, Spotify, Instagram, and Facebook pages, I think creating a website for the group will be a crucial step in not only rebranding, but also in encouraging more “conversions” (in terms of gaining donors and more artists looking to collaborate). A simple layout, with two places to click on the homepage whether you’re a potential donor/audience member, or whether you’re an artist looking to collaborate, will prove helpful in simplifying and clarifying the orchestra’s offerings. A menu would provide options like “Our Story,” “Watch us play,” “Listen to us,” as well as “Donate” (providing extensions to one-time donation options or Little Kruta’s Patreon). Perhaps it could even feature a page with orchestra musicians’ bios so that visitors experience more background information on the artists. More soon!

[maggiegould-blog1]

#5: Beginning the Strategic Marketing Challenge

Our group has chosen to focus on Little Kruta: a crowd-funded, chamber-style orchestra created to “lift-up artists with cost-free arrangements and performances.” I’m particularly excited as this is an ensemble I’ve performed with regularly, and one of my closest friends is its creator: Kristine Kruta.

The orchestra is successful in many ways: it has collaborated with (and Kristine has arranged the instrumental music for) a number of vocalists and performed in sold-out concerts all over the city - most recently in Le Poisson Rouge and National Sawdust. Little Kruta has arranged the music and sent its members to perform alongside artists on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Saturday Night Live. Kristine and the orchestra have put out a 5-track EP, an 8-track album, and orchestrated over 50 covers.

Kristine is looking for MANY more patrons through Patreon in order to hire her orchestral musicians, pay audio engineers and videographers, and rent studio time and rehearsal spaces. I know through personal experience that many of the contributors to the work are donating their time and talents, but Kristine knows this isn’t sustainable for long.

While I am pretty clear on Little Kruta’s mission, we (as a marketing group) realized that to newer eyes and ears, the actual product offering is a bit confusing. Because Little Kruta is multifaceted, we began to wonder if we were to help clarify the product offering and segment a bit more than the orchestra’s already done, we could start developing a marketing strategy that encourages more patronage. We’re also thinking a website for the orchestra (apart from its Patreon, Facebook, and Instagram pages) will be extremely beneficial. What’s especially cool about diving into this is the fact that Kristine is completely on board - she wants to communicate with us throughout this process. So, while it’s technically a “hypothetical” activity, we may be able to make an impact.

[maggiegould-blog1]

#4: Quick Reflection on Patreon Case

I am a fan of Patreon - it has boosted support for many musician friends of mine (and supported me as well, when I’ve collaborated with these musicians). As a freelancer of almost six years, I recognize the importance of a place where we can publish/promote work and the benefit of receiving consistent monetary support for that.

After a SWOT analysis of the case, I began wondering exactly when/where artists (creators) hear of Patreon. I can honestly say that it wasn’t until I felt a bit more established - more confident with a bigger network - as a freelancer in the city that I learned of Patreon via word-of-mouth. If Patreon wants to appeal to the masses, perhaps they could “catch” these artists right as they’re about to finish school, when they’re nearer to the vulnerability of being “out in the real world” as creators. Targeting this younger segment (through school networks, social media, etc.) may increase the number of creators and patrons.

[maggiegould-blog1]

#3: Biggest Takeaways from SRO Chaps. 13, 15, 16

Chap. 13

Advertising

Characteristics: public presentation, pervasiveness, amplified expression, impersonality.

Types of objectives: informative, persuasive, reminder.

Churchill’s 5 rules for speechwriting applicable to effective ads: “begin strongly, have one theme, use strong language, leave a picture in the listener’s mind, end dramatically.” (p 265)

Print ads: picture, headline, copy (important in that order)

Radio ads: elaborate on one message – act as though you’re addressing just one person (several radio stations at one time = “roadblocking”)

Media exposure – macroscheduling: cyclical or seasonal – how much lead time for advance advertising? Microscheduling: burst, continuous, intermittent.

Evaluating effectiveness: copy pre/post-testing, media testing, expenditure-level testing.

Personal Selling – distinctive qualities not available through advertising: personal interaction, cultivation, response.

“Consumers believe one another more than they believe in companies.”

Sales Promotion

Creating a sense of urgency to “act now” – effective in the short-term.

Using discounts too often/broadly trains people to wait until the last minute to buy.

Examples: free samples, tie-in promotions, patronage awards

Public Relations

“An active, market-oriented public relations stance ensures that the organization has control over how others see it.” (p 274) Benefits: high credibility, build awareness, low cost.

Image PR, Routine PR, Crisis PR.

Publicity: while working with the media, plan in advance, know the media, be selective, potentially target one journalist at a time, don’t send email attachments unless asked to, send small video (B-roll) clips, etc (helpful list on p 276-277)

An organization has to choose whether to self-publish first or give the story to the media (and journalists will lose interest if it’s no longer “news” – aka, you published it first)

Primary tools: event, press-release, public service announcements, interviews, photograph, video.

Crisis Management

“If you are not now in a crisis, you are instead in a pre-crisis situation and should make immediate preparations for the crisis that looms on the horizon.” (p 284)

Crises – new situations that require drastic measures to correct.

Consider crisis planning that may make the organization sensitive to “brewing” situations.

Chap. 15

Subscriptions = becoming increasingly dysfunctional

Arguments for subscriptions: single-ticket buyers can be flakey, subscribers give directors more room for experimentation, critical acclaim may be life or death without subscribers, subscribers guarantee revenue.

Limitations: “I may not enjoy this,” little room for organization to experiment based on subscription financial model, consumers value selection over being “stuck” without choice.

Value to subscribers: seating priority, ticket exchange privileges, occasional discount, guaranteed seats.

To attract subscribers: design your own series, money-back guarantee, extended payment plans.

A reminder: for every person who’s annoyed with phone calls/emails to renew subscriptions, there are likely to be many others grateful to be reminded.

Loyalty: necessary for organizations to build value around other kinds of marketing relationships (not just subscriptions).

Alternatives to subscriptions: season brochure, miniseries, flex plans, membership plans, group sales, leveraging the database to increase audience frequency.

Red ocean – known market space vs. blue ocean – unknown market space.

Attracting and valuing the single ticket buyer: ticket exchange option, position on occasions, “test driving” the arts.

Chap. 16

Customer experience – relationship marketing is key (seek regular, direct contact, anticipate customer’s needs, develop a reputation for responsiveness, p 345)

“Consumers can now initiate the dialogue; they have moved out of the audience and on to the stage.” (p 346) – involve customers as cocreators of the marketing experience.

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” Bill Gates (p 349)

Strive to analyze “customer sacrifice – the gap between what the customer settles for and what he or she actually wants.” (p 351)

Stage the unexpected – create memorable experiences that surprise the customer.

Internal marketing to implement customer service strategy: create a vision, stress personal involvement, conduct employee research,  share values, book discussion groups, quality improvement task forces (ex.: “mystery shopping,” employee suggestions.

[maggiegould-blog1]

#2: Biggest Takeaways from SRO Chaps. 7 & 8

Chap 7: Market Research

Marketing research (new technologies + lots of data) = ability to value the individual. But, while a lot of data is helpful, it can’t measure the quality of social interaction. (David Brooks, p 146)

While I understand the resistance to market research by artistic decision makers, the hesitancy to adapt makes me think they’re more focused on the short-term versus long-term. It reminds me of the example in a previous chapter, where a chamber music society refused to adapt based on its long-standing artistic vision and previous audience members, and ultimately ignored the opportunity for market research. They developed a few unremarkable ideas that worked in the short-term to grow audiences but eventually, the organization closed its doors. 

Secondary data (data that’s already out there) can help lay groundwork for future decisions (p 150). It’s a jump-off point that’s lower cost with quick findings.

Primary data: “going out into the field.” Exploratory, descriptive, experimental.

More formalized observational research: “mystery shopping,” transactional surveys, focus groups. With surveys and focus groups, it seems to me that customers may feel forced to answer too quickly or may answer based on the others in the room? Effective, though, for quick feedback and developing a brand campaign (in the case of a focus group). 

Effective marketing research avoids sampling errors and systematic bias. Many reasons for bias: frame, selection, nonresponse, interviewer, questionnaire, respondent, processing.

Incentives for filling out surveys = good idea (I don’t think I’ve ever filled one out that didn’t have an incentive…)

How do you calculate the margin of error? Needing more explanation on confidence interval, level, and probability sampling.

 Chap 8: Product Offering

An arts organization’s product isn’t simply the performances – it’s the offerings and experiences. More audiences will come if the entire experience is emotionally satisfying. 

Product life cycle stages: Introduction (building awareness), Growth (developing patron loyalty), Maturity (maintaining audience levels, potentially modifying product), Decline (unsustainable product – could not rejuvenate)

Core Product: Audiences “place different values on various aspects of the core product” of an organization. The CP should balance “artistic exploration” with “preferences of current and potential” audiences. (Enter entertainment vs. art argument p 171)

Augmented product: “stimulates purchase and enhances consumption of core product” but nothing out of the ordinary (ex: choosing tickets online, well-lit parking lot). A lack of augmented product features may keep people away even if the core product is desirable. (p 172)

Arts organizations essentially provide services. “Service providers seek to ‘manage the evidence,’ to ‘tangibilize the intangible,’ and associate physical evidence and imagery with their abstract offers.” (p 173)

Fear of perishability encourages advance promotion, discounts, and promotions.

Variability can be managed with selecting/training/developing good personnel and customer satisfaction monitoring systems.

On programming: “There is a distinct and delicate balance that must be maintained between art for art’s sake, art for society, and art for the survival of the organization.” (p 176)

Customer-centered approach to thematic programming = better

When programming, evaluate centrality (related to organization’s mission), quality (organization’s + competition’s standards), and market variability (is the market sufficient in size or growth?)

On presentation: jazzing up the ritual (add color, shorter programming, switching up the ensemble) and the environment (drinks/food, green rooms, multimedia).

[maggiegould-blog1]

#1: SF Opera

Key challenges: how to best use San Francisco Opera’s new 299-seat facility; introduce and familiarize the Opera staff with experimentation/prototypes (design thinking) to provide flexibility, attract a new and younger audience, and move away from perfection: “fail early, fail often”

Players: Two Stanford d.school students initiating experimentation, seven members who made up the SFO team. Additionally, for the final prototype: the Adler Fellows who performed at Barely Opera, opera-loving volunteers who helped run the experiment, the 400 guests who attended the event.

Tensions: SFO’s old idea of “perfection.” (Where does quality play into success?)

Decision points: Following a setback, SFO team created a much more “ambitious” prototype (made choices to appeal to younger group: rented out an alternative music venue within close proximity to the Opera, advertised on social media and blogs, created affordable “cover charge” instead of ticket price, encouraged audience participation, provided casual atmosphere, offered food and beverage, paired opera with visuals [projection of Beyonce while soprano hit a high note], and set modest turn-out expectations.)

Marketing principles/tools: target market (new, young crowd), product (a song list, casual performers, accompanying visuals), price (minimal cover charge), research (previous prototypes revealed variability within age groups, willingness for audience participation, input on menu), promotion (website/logo, social media, blogs), positioning (“This Isn’t Your Grandmother’s Opera” – reminds me of Ries and Trout quote in SRO, p. 140: “The basic approach of positioning is not to create something new and different, but to manipulate what’s already up there in the mind, to retie the connections that already exist.”) Design thinking, lateral thinking, lifestyle segmentation.

I especially like how they included a “Who’s Gonna Love it,” on the website for each upcoming event for the SF Opera Labs, with relatable pop-culture references for younger crowds (a seemingly encouraging tool as much of the young crowd is concerned of an “intimidating experience.”)  I’m curious to see what eventual turn-out from young audiences would be if the performed operas didn’t feature as much “breaking the fourth-wall.”