One of my charitable activities is helping the local schools with their performing arts/theatre marketing. So when the schools are putting on a show, I help them with their posters, tickets, T-shirts, and programs. It's a labor of love, let me tell you!
Some of it is fun and easy, like the posters. They're pretty cut and dry. Draw a cool logo, add the dates and times and voila, they're done! The challenge is the PROGRAMS. These are starting to become the bane of my existence. I'm all about the cast list, the Director's letters, the song and scene lists. It's the ads that I'm struggling with. There seems to be an epidemic of small businesses that do not have Art.
By Art, I mean graphics for their business. No logo, no slogan, no nothing. There are small businesses out there that have no sign in front of their storefront. They have no website or even a free Facebook page. What I can't understand is how they stay in business. Just as Performance Art is important for our kids to grow, Marketing Art is vitally important for our businesses to grow!
Your future customers rely on your Art to decide whether or not to use your goods and services. Simple as that.
Some of it is fun and easy, like the posters. They're pretty cut and dry. Draw a cool logo, add the dates and times and voila, they're done! The challenge is the PROGRAMS. These are starting to become the bane of my existence. I'm all about the cast list, the Director's letters, the song and scene lists. It's the ads that I'm struggling with. There seems to be an epidemic of small businesses that do not have Art.
By Art, I mean graphics for their business. No logo, no slogan, no nothing. There are small businesses out there that have no sign in front of their storefront. They have no website or even a free Facebook page. What I can't understand is how they stay in business. Just as Performance Art is important for our kids to grow, Marketing Art is vitally important for our businesses to grow!
Your future customers rely on your Art to decide whether or not to use your goods and services. Simple as that.
If I'm going to buy a used car for my teen driver, I'm going to Google car dealers online first. If you don't have a website, you lost my business. If you have an really ugly website, you lost my business. If you have a usable website but no Art - a catchy logo, a nice font, whatever, you will also get cut from my search. And so you know, if I meet you face to face and you hand me a business card that looks like the one above, you'll go through the same scrutiny.
As I'm designing the program for these school plays, I'm told that Business X bought a 1/4 page ad. And I'm thrilled, because hey, Business X is supporting the arts! But when Business X has no Art, NONE at all, I can guarantee that I'm not going shopping there. It seems petty and mean, that this business is supporting the arts, but I'm not supporting them in return. But this business is showing me that they don't care about quality. They don't care about appearances. They don't take pride in their work. They aren't reliable. Their business is not worth the investment.
This is not a 1-time problem. Many, MANY program ads are created from scratch, by me. (Because I can't just type the name of a business and the owner's cell number and call it a 1/4 page ad.) They paid for an ad and they'll get one. At least now any patron of the play will get to see the business looking good and maybe they'll support them because of it.
So...how is your Art? Do you have a nice logo, or at least your name written in an eye-catching font and color? Are your business cards professional and project your brand? Do you have a storefront with a great sign that can be easily read from the road? Do you have any internet presence? At least a Facebook page? If not, you should. The generation of young adults that are becoming our customers are computer-savvy and wired for online shopping.
If you answered "no" to any of these questions, call me. I'll help, I promise! If I don't answer, leave a message. I'm probably at the theatre!
Cheers
Kelly
As I'm designing the program for these school plays, I'm told that Business X bought a 1/4 page ad. And I'm thrilled, because hey, Business X is supporting the arts! But when Business X has no Art, NONE at all, I can guarantee that I'm not going shopping there. It seems petty and mean, that this business is supporting the arts, but I'm not supporting them in return. But this business is showing me that they don't care about quality. They don't care about appearances. They don't take pride in their work. They aren't reliable. Their business is not worth the investment.
This is not a 1-time problem. Many, MANY program ads are created from scratch, by me. (Because I can't just type the name of a business and the owner's cell number and call it a 1/4 page ad.) They paid for an ad and they'll get one. At least now any patron of the play will get to see the business looking good and maybe they'll support them because of it.
So...how is your Art? Do you have a nice logo, or at least your name written in an eye-catching font and color? Are your business cards professional and project your brand? Do you have a storefront with a great sign that can be easily read from the road? Do you have any internet presence? At least a Facebook page? If not, you should. The generation of young adults that are becoming our customers are computer-savvy and wired for online shopping.
If you answered "no" to any of these questions, call me. I'll help, I promise! If I don't answer, leave a message. I'm probably at the theatre!
Cheers
Kelly
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