Masque

Take the dullness out of databases

2011-05-17T07:37:00.001+01:00

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We know databases aren’t very sexy. But we also know they are integral to the smooth running of an arts organisation. And a good database can make the difference between a very successful arts organisation and one that’s struggling to make ends meet. You might be asking how a load of information on a database could make such a difference. It’s just a load of names and numbers isn’t it? Wrong. Your data is your gold. It’s where you store the names of customers who’ve bought tickets – so you know what you can target them with when you’ve got a new production or event. It contains your membership list so you can see when people are coming up for renewals.

But many organisations don’t have one central database. Instead they have the information they need spread across different access databases, excel spreadsheets and email accounts. Often different people are responsible for updating different bits of information (or where they are held). This usually leads to a huge amount of duplication, both of information and effort and leaves the door wide open for inconsistency and mistakes.

What are the benefits to have one properly maintained and centrally controlled database?
Your information is more secure – you don’t have to worry about the security of data across different locations. And you can do central backups regularly.
Your staff can share information – you can make notes on each piece of data so all your staff have the same information when they access the database. You’ll avoid mistakes like one staff member asking for a donation of £100 when last year the patron donated £100,000! You’ll also vastly reduce duplication of records.
You can produce one report that focuses on different areas of your arts organisation – membership sign ups, ticket sales – helping you identify which customers need chasing up for renewals or a good sales opportunity.
You can easily share information with customers, members and partners via your website. Your website can pull information directly from your central database when a visitor needs it. You can also link your database to other systems which will allow you to contact customers, for example an email system so you can contact potential customers about an upcoming show.

In the current climate with many arts organisations facing cuts the way you fundraise and deal with customers will become integral to your future. A good central database can bring together your fundraising, membership and patron management with your ticket sales and ongoing customer contact. If you’d like to know more about bringing all your information into one central database contact Masque Arts on +44 (0)20 7100 6010 or email us for further information.

Now is the time to invest in your customers

2011-05-15T08:49:00.000+01:00

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2011 has been a difficult year for arts organisations. Early this year 206 organisations found out they had had their applications for funding rejected by the Arts Council.

The impact of these funding cuts will depend to some extent on the size of the arts organisation you work in. If you are a larger organisation, you may have other sources of revenue and therefore be able to withstand the worst of harsh cuts. If you are a smaller organisation or have been heavily or entirely dependent on Arts Council funding you may suddenly find yourself in the position of trying to find a viable way forward.

So now is the time the way you deal with your customers becomes incredibly important. It’s the one thing that can make the difference between your future security or disappearing off the arts scene forever. You need to explore how you currently manage your customer relationships – do you have a reliable customer relationship management system that can give you the information you need on customers and patrons at the click of a button? Do you know what marketing campaigns you are running and if they are working? Do you have good mailing lists that you can quickly target if you need to promote an event (and bring sales in)? If the answer is no then now is definitely the time to invest more in your customer relationship marketing (CRM) system.

It might seem counterintuitive to invest in a software system when you are facing funding cuts. But that’s exactly the reason you need to do it now. If there is a chance your sources of revenue are going to dry up then you need new ways to bring money into your organisation. And that money comes from customers. If you aren’t talking and marketing to them effectively then you are missing out on the chance to sell to them. A good customer relationship management tool will allow you to:

control communication with your customers at both an individual and campaign level
pull all your lists and databases together in one place
update information for everyone in one place
manage memberships, collect donations, produce targeted mail shots and email newsletter
take bookings and sell merchandise.

Start by looking for a CRM system that integrates with your existing website, this will give you customers a simple way to interact with you and easily make purchases. Masque is designed specifically to work with your website to provide a seamless experience from sending a letter to a customer to them purchasing their ticket.

If you’d like to know more about CRM systems for your arts organisation call Masque Arts on +44 (0)20 7100 6010 or email us for further information.

Why do we need an effective website?

2011-05-13T08:35:00.000+01:00

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Because it makes you money. It’s quite simple really. If your website is really working for you then it will bring in more visitors. Not lots of random visitors, but exactly the right kind of visitors for your arts organisation.

They’ll be looking to buy from you. And if your website works well and you can boost conversion rates then they’ll become customers. You need a website which is visible so people know about your organisation and are driven there. Then you want to make it an easy and pleasurable experience for them to buy from you. If they have a great experience from the moment they deal with you then they are likely to become repeat customers.

Your first step is to develop a marketing plan for your website – get that end objective clear in your mind and then work towards developing a profit-centre website that will take your organisation to the next level.

If you’d like to know more about turning your cost-centre website into a profit-centre website then call Masque Arts on +44 (0)20 7100 6010 or email us for further information.

Jamming at 10: Friends or Foes? Friends schemes discussed.

2011-05-04T15:02:00.001+01:00

First let's wish a Happy Birthday to JAM (Journal of Arts Marketing) which has just celebrated its 10th birthday! And is it still jamming at 10? I think so, with this excellent issue dedicated to Friends and Membership schemes in the Arts.

Very timely this, it arrived the day after I went to the excellent AMA "Best of Friends" workshop hosted by Liz Hill - if you get the chance, take the opportunity. In fact JAM has a nice extract from her book "The Complete Membership Handbook" (with Brian Whitehead) on page 6, just to get you started. Go through the checklist, if it's right for you then read teh rest of the article, then buy the book then start your scheme! Couldn't be easier.

Actually if you are thinking of starting a scheme, or already have one then a good read of this JAM is a must. Heather Maitland first poses the question of whteher you really should have a friends scheme dipping into lots of statistics (Did you know that The Friends of Norwich Theatre Royal Scheme had a return of 460%!) and drawing on articles and case studies to help you answer the question.

Of course not all schemes are effective so Sarah Gee's article "Friends or foes" takes you through what to do if it all stops adding up. This could be making no financial return, the objectives of the Friends (if an external organsiation) might not be the same as yours, plus a number of other pitfalls.

Roger Tomlinson takes us back to the starting point, posing the question "what relationships should we seek?" in Fans not fiends. Are fans of an arts organisation analgous to football fans? Can we have fans? An interesting question and it changes the way we might look at the competition - fans don't switch sides on a whim. And how does social media affect this?

In addition, there are a couple of excellent case studies, by Jennifer Faure Francis of the Royal Academy of Arts, Sarah Chambers of the National Theatre, and there is an extract of Nina Simon's interview with Kristen Denner about the new scheme at the Whitney Musuem of American Art, to put it all into the context of real organisations.

Finally, get to know Sam Eaves, marketing manager of Birminham Royal Ballet in the "Just a minute" column.

As I always say, if you don't get JAM - sign up today.

Selling to new customers is just so costly

2010-11-12T10:08:00.001+00:00

We all know the old adadge that selling to new customers costs a lot more than selling to existing ones, so perhaps we should just stop chasing new ones - in these austere times that might make sense.

However, as I've mentioned here before (Customer Acquisition vs Customer Retention), it does seem that going after these expensive new customers is much more attractive than some boring direct marketing to exisiting ones. However, this blog is not about urging you to spend more time on your existing customer marketing (I'll leave that for another day - as Chad Bauman says, "Want to get into trouble? Concentrate on new audiences" - so we'll come back to that), but about how you should approach your new customer acquisition.

Just marketing to exisiting customers is a non starter - old customers go away or die and if you didn't replenish the existing customer pot, you will soon run out of people to sell to. Remember, your existing customers were new customers once.

Part of the problem is that we think of marketing as a cost, something we have to spend money on and as such something to cut when times get tough. Marketing, done properly, is an investment. You are using some of today's money to generate an income stream in the future. And that is the key and like all investments it needs analysis and decisions.

It is not enough to compare the cost of a sale to an existing customer to one to a new one. On a campaign basis that is always going to lose. What we need to look at is the lifetime value of a customer and use that information to identify the best source of future exsiting customers.and what ongoing activity is going to maximise the return. So get out those spreadsheets and start looking at your best existing customers and where to get more like them.

Lifetime Value is the key to good new customer marketing.
... oh, so I was talking about marketing to existing customers after all

My newsletter's not SPAM!: 5 things to remember

2010-10-27T10:52:00.002+01:00

One question we keep getting asked is "how do I stop our newsletter being thrown into the junk mail box?". If you are involved with email marketing, and I include newsletters in that, then this is obviously an important consideration. Avoiding the waste basket has been the goal of direct marketeers since direct mail started and the advice for email marketing to a large extent is very similar.

The easiest way to avoid the junk mail box is to get the recipient to mark your emails as safe/not junk. A lot of this centres around showing the recipient you know them, what they are interested in and in return you are interested in what they have to say.

1. Be personal: first of all address the recipient as an individual. Try to make sure that you know whether they like to be addressed by their first name or more formally. Do they know someone in your organisation? If so, can you send the email from them? Are they members of your friends scheme? Then send it from the membership manager - it just reinforces the relationship.

2. Divide and Conquer: What do you know about your recipients? Do have any purchase history? Have they told you what they like? Do you know what links they have taken previously? You probably have a vast amount of information available so use it to segment your lists and send them information they would be interested in. Do you have a group of large value contributors? Then give them special treatment. Are there people who are just not interested? Then don't email them and try to find out why they aren't interested - quality not quantity counts.

3. Communicate: don't just instruct - "our next performance is on ....", "new products in the shop..." - encourage your recipients to communicate. Ask for their feedback, direct them to places where some feedback has been published already, direct them to your facebook page and twitter account. Let them converse with you in the medium they are most comfortable with.

4. Test, Monitor and Analyse: Email marketing should not be fire and forget. Keep looking at you stats. What do people click on? Which articles have no interest? What is the best time of day to send your newsletter? Which layout works best?

5. Get the technical stuff right: Deliverability and legalities. using a trusted mail server and using a verified sending address is a great help in getting your email to the intended recipient. Make sure that you include a simple way for a recipient to unsubscribe in every email; treat you email as any other communication from your organisation and include your physical address; Don't mislead in your subject line.

If you want to get started then take a look at Masque Mail, our low cost emailing solution or get in touch.

The press is dead, long live the press!

2010-10-21T12:20:00.000+01:00

"It's not a good time to be talking about press and public relations" says Heather Maitland in the opening salvo of the latest JAM(1), but then goes on to do just that. And quite rightly too.

The problem it seems is over saturation (read competition) and it has always been thus: proprietors were complaining of an over saturated market in the early eighteenth century when there were 5 newspapers, decades later when there were still only 15, and on through the 60's (when TV was the fall guy).

However, the problem has changed. It so much the quantity of titles that is their problem but the drop in readers of traditional newspapers. In the USA the number of readers fell by 20 million(2) in 20 years.

Do we read the news less? Of course not. We consume more and more of it. It is a while since teh BBC didn't have a news bulletin becuase there was nothing to report! It's just we access it in different ways. The top 20 US newspaper had 13m readers in print but more than 60m online. Sounds good, but no one has yet come up with a business model to make the most of this. One issue here is that we have come to expect that stuff on the web is free (it's not, but it feels as if it is, but that's another blog).

Also, how news is distributed has changed - now everyone is a reporter. But the traditional papers have the edge here in that they are probably more trusted.

A fascinating subject. Get your copy of JAM to read Heather's article and see how leading thinkers and practiioners view the future of the press.

(1)JAM - The Journal of Arts Marketing, published by The Arts Marketing Association, "The end of the newspaper" (issue 40, October 2010)

(2) capcodetoday October 2006

Being much more personal

2010-10-20T11:40:00.002+01:00

I just read a short, but great blog from Adam Thurman on the Mission Paradox and following on from my blog the other day about email marketing seemed very timely.

The one bit that says it all:

"If I say the word "marketing" and all you think about is ads or Facebook you are thinking too small. Marketing is about actively building good, defined, relationships with your audience."

Have you got 5 minutes to spare? Then do some basic SEO.

2010-10-19T13:19:00.001+01:00

Just been having a look around some of our friends sites and I am still surprised at how many don't get the basics right when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO).

I think the trouble is most people think that SEO is hard and takes a lot of work. Well, it can be time consuming if you want to go the whole hog, but basic SEO is fairly simple. Don't think of it as just getting up the rankings on Google, think of it as a service to those who want to see what you have to say. What you are trying to do is make it easy for them to find you and decide to pay you a visit - that second element is the oft forgotten part of the process.
So what can you do that doesn't take huge amounts of time? Here's 4 things you can do:

1. Treat every page as a landing page: When you think about it what is the liklihood of a saerch result returning your homepage? If someone searches for your organisation by name, then probably your home page is what they are looking for. But if the are searching for some information (say a play or a ballet or some artefact or other), then the chances are that information is not on your home page - it is going to be deeper into your site. So you need to think of the best way to let people find that page - so treat it as if it is its own home page.

2. Give every page a unique title: You'd be surprised how many websites have the same title for each page - this is not good, although it is easy. Not only important in SEO terms but it is the page title shown in a Google search result. By the way, Google uses the first 69 characters so make them count: it is your way to grab the readers' attention. more on page titles...

3. Give every page a description: Another metatag that is often missed is the description. This gives you a chance to say what the page is about in a succint way. Google uses the first 156 characters in their search results, so it is this which will bring people to your site - no point of appearing high up the lists if they don't click through. more on descriptions...

4. Give your pages real names: there are differing views on the importance of this in the SEO world, but I think it is good practice and a great help to your visitors. Even outside of search it is much easier to refer someone to a pagename that describes the content than a random stream of numbers and letter. more on page names...

For more SEO ideas take a look at Masque Arts Search Engine Optimisation.

Is Google Priority Mailbox the end for email marketing?

2010-10-15T15:25:00.001+01:00

First of all let me say that as a consumer of vast amounts of email this is a great development from the recipients side of the equation - and it will become the norm. Hotmail is following a similar path and I wouldn't be surprised to see it turn up in desktop apps such as Outlook pre-configured and ready to go.

Almost certainly mobile users will start using settings to just download their priority mail - in fact this will probably be the default.

So here's the challenge - what will happen to your email newsletter/marketing campaign? Will it be make it to the priority box or be pushed down the list? Your recipients might be very happy reading your newsletters -and may even enjoy some of it - but is that enough to get them to override any default filters and put it into their priority box?

I think this is a good development for genuine email marketeers - if you are segmenting your lists and sending emails with information that truly interests the recipient, then this can be nothing but beneficial as your emails won't just be lost among the multitude. Email will become less intrusive and be more likely to lead to improved conversions.

So now you have to start putting a bit more effort into your newsletters, no more spray and pray - it is time to apply all those lessons learned with traditional direct marketing to be applied in the email arena.

1. Be more personal. Personalise your emails with the recipient's name; make sure that what you send is relevent to them; show them that you know them.

2. Make them more interactive. Do you use a no reply address to send them out? If so I think you need to think again. Just like all other social media, the email has to become more interactive (just look at Google Priority rules), so you need to get recipients to reply to them. A lot of email recipients may not be au fait with Facebook and Twitter, so use this as an opportunity give them a method they understand and like using to start a real dialogue.

3. Test and Analyse. Use each emailing as a test bed to improve what you do and get more conversions. Don't just look at opens and click throughs but take it that one step further. I'm afraid it's time to dig out those old statistics text books.
Maybe the Priority In Box is the kick up the butt that email marketing has been waiting for.

Another version of Cinderella from Birmingham Royal Ballet?

2010-10-08T15:31:00.000+01:00

Further to my post the other day about David Bintley's incredible new version of Cinderella, we find that BR are actually producing a second version! The same score, on the same scale and with the same ambitious production values... but with a very different choreographic team.

Following on from the hugely successful Ballet Hoo! project, BRB are working with local youth groups in the exciting project "Ballet, Birmingham and Me" (or BB&Me for short) to create this second version of Cinderella.

Follow the trial and tribulations of this amazing projects at BB&Me.

Which Comes First: The Design or The CMS?

2010-10-07T14:44:00.000+01:00

Working with CMS: Content Management System

In today’s web world any kind of design, which is going to be continually updated with content, needs a CMS. This database stores your site content and allows the site admin to work with an interface which means you can then add, modify and remove content at your will.

Although a CMS can be designed and programmed specifically for a site it is necessary for you to first consider the type of CMS you are looking to work with. Free website platforms such and Drupal, Joomla and Wordpress are available. Although a cheaper option maybe attractive you must match the best CMS available according your requirements – just because it looks cheaper in the short run doesn’t mean it will be over time.

The Relationship Between CMS and Design Brief

A problem we often come across when designing and working with clients is the relationship between the CMS and your design brief. I have begun to think why you shouldn’t specify your CMS as part of your design brief. With some potential clients we can sometimes find the first problem we come across is that the amalgamation of the brief for the technical side (content management system [CMS] and the customer relationship management [CRM]) with the design itself. To solve this problem you should assess these as two separate items and each should be approached separately.

A good CMS will support just about any design that it is thrown into the mix and any designer should conversely also be able to work with most CMS. In regards to implementation, we would always carry out all of the associated work anyway and it should be our main job to make sure the CMS templates correctly implement the design.

Of course it is also possible that over time we can see multiple designers working on a project, even on different parts of a sites design. So by having the technical infrastructure independent to the design company itself can give you much more flexibility. If you are attempting a much larger revamp of the site, why switch your CMS?

Keep the CMS at the Top of the Design Process

We should always put the CMS at the top of the design process; it is imperative that this is done first, before any of the design work. Lay the groundwork of the project with your CMS from this the rest of the design should flow. This is so that the CMS forms the foundation of any website allowing the website process to be much more productive.

Creating Cinderella

2010-10-05T14:50:00.001+01:00

Birmingham Royal Ballet have an exciting project on at the moment. Later this year you will have a chance to see David Bintley's new production of Cinderella at the Birmingham Hippodrome. This promises to be an exciting new interpretaion of Prokofiev's ballet with John Macfarlane's designs providing a very dramatic backdrop.

One of the things I love about this new production is that you can follow the developments on the Creating Cinderella blog. Everything from the creation of prosthetic heads to the thinking behind the designs. What is revealing is David Bintley's video diary so you can follow the development from his first intentions back at the start of 2010.

Video footage of the rehearsals and choreography make this a remarkable record of a highly creative process. So take a look at the blog and go and see the show. It's on between November 24th and December 12th, so click here to book now.

Is the web finding it's feet?

2010-09-23T10:17:00.001+01:00

Social media is finding it's feet. As I have mentioned in previous blogs it takes a long time, years, for something to establish its own identity and not just be a fancier (and maybe more useful) copy of something that has gone before. Social media is perhaps the start of the web moving into it's own personality.

The growth of social media has been as unexpected as it has been fast. Each day the scope changes as more and more people move the platform into areas others haven't even considered.

From a marketeer's point view this is both exciting and frightening - more opportunities, but a very different way of approaching the concept of marketing.

From the consumers' perspective (or those on line at least) all this interactivity has become a new adjunct to, if not a new way, of life. It is now so much easier to keep in contact with friends and family, share news, photos and film. To keep up to date with what is going on in areas of interest - as it happens, no longer waiting for the newsletter or even email newsletter - is that a change or what? The email newsletter was a step forward but it is already looking antiquated.

And all this for free? Surely not.

Magnificent Maps at The British Library

2010-04-21T12:01:00.005+01:00

A new, free, exhibition opens on April 30th at The British Library called Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda and Art, running until September 19th, it brings together some of the most impressive wall maps ever created - some of which have never been exhibited before.

Why are maps so fascinating? I just find myself being able to look at them for ages. Maps are about far more that geography.

Remember looking at maps in old school atlases and being amazed at the vast areas coloured the pink of the British Empire/Commonwealth? or is that me just giving my age away?

Or looking at very old maps and being struck at how much or little of the World they knew, or just how accurate it was, even though created without satellites? Or now, with satellites, the view we get in Google Earth, is just mind-blowing.

But maps can show us much more than where places are or who thinks they own them. The method of projection (needed because the Earth is a globe and maps are flat) and viewpoint can raise or lower the apparent importance of a country; or be used to illustrate other things: how about an Upside Down Map - no longer is World Euro centric, and who said North was up anyway?

But what do other things look like? The Opte Project has attempted to map the Internet. Fascinating.

Have a look at Strange Maps for some unusual ones.

British Library unveils UK Web Archive

2010-02-25T18:06:00.005+00:00

The British Library has unveiled an archive of UK websites (full story) to prevent a black hole. The project has been running since 2004 and aims to avoid "a digital black hole in UK web history". One of the problems they face is copyright. They hope that Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 will be extended to authorise the Library to gather UK websites for the national heritage without requiring website owners' permissions. Until then they can only archive a site once they have the owners permission.

The sites archived have to meet certain criteria but you can suggest a site if you like.

2004 is quite late to be looking at UK web history since development started to take off in 1995. Of course The Internet Archive aka The Way Back Machine goes back to about 1996.

I just had a look on there for some of the sites we set up back in 1995. They used to be on there from the start (wasn't a huge amount to archive back then) with all their pages. UK Index is on there as at 1996, but only has one page indexed. A pity since that site used to host the very first National Trust website. Our earliest site Emoticon's earliest entry is now 2000,the earlier versions used to be there for all to see, but no longer.

Of course it is difficult to archive websites. They are continually changing (as an aside Sightsavers International have just unveiled their new design to celebrate their 60th Anniversary, take a look - very nice) especially with social interaction we see to day.

So, read about the British Library Web Collections and take a look (http://www.webarchive.org.uk/ukwa/) . As by next year they hope to have have archived just 6,000 of an estimated 8m sites, or 1% of the total if you want to ensure that your site (or its versions) is stored for posterity then it's probably up to you to do it yourself.

Out of interest, which UK sites would you like to see archived?

Birmingham Royal Ballet website - generated with Repertoire

2010-02-17T15:40:00.010+00:00

Birmingham Royal Ballet published their planned productions for the Birmingham Hippodrome today and you can find the listing here.

What is great, for us, about this is that it shows some of the new features in Masque Repertoire (our content management system for the performing arts), allowing all the information about a production to appear on one page together with links to the booking pages on the theatres web site. Take a look at the Romeo and Juliet page to get the idea.

This is just the first phase in our redevelopment with lots more features being added. We have worked closely with BRB for several years to develop a system that is easy to use and quick to update when you have more information to impart.

From a technical point it has been a fascinating challenge to get the underlying database structure correct and then to build the web program to bring this all together into the web pages - depending on what's coming up performance wise this might generate 1,500 pages or more - and is handling about 5,000 page views a day.

Birmingham Royal Ballet wins South Bank Award!

2010-02-03T10:09:00.003+00:00

Birmingham Royal Ballet has one an award for Director David Bintley and his ballet E=mc² at ITV’s The South Bank Show Awards.

"Based on Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, E=mc², choreographed by Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Director David Bintley, enjoyed its world premiere at Birmingham Hippodrome in September 2009 as part of the triple bill Quantum Leaps and delighted audiences during the Company’s autumn 2009 tour."

"E=mc² is set to a specially commissioned score by Australian composer Matthew Hindson with costumes by Kate Ford and lighting by Peter Mumford and was inspired by the book E=mc²: A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation from author David Bodanis."

read the full story here

If you get a chance to see this show - don't miss it.

How many flavours of JAM do you have?

2010-01-26T15:40:00.014+00:00

Segmentation is based on a principle: everyone is different; and a hope: but in certain aspects they are not that different - people can be grouped together based on some similarities and grouped in large enough bundles to make marketing cost effective. "Segmentation is a compromise between the homogenous mass and the single individual"1

Segmentation is at the heart of effective marketing. It is about understanding your customers. The goal has always been one-to-one marketing where each person is a segment and we talk to them as an individual. While technology has moved us in this direction, even printed material can now be customised based on the attributes of each recipient, it is still not cost effective to market on this basis wholesale and so breaking our audience down into manageable chunks makes sense.

Of course segmentation can be used in two ways: marketing more effectively to our existing customers and supporters - which involves profiling and analysing our existing customer database ("if you have one", Katy Raines, p6 JAM issue 37 - if not contact me//shameless plug); or looking for new audiences - which really involves looking for a general profiling tool that can be used to identify those similar to existing audiences or represents the type of new audience you would like to attract.

The latest edition of JAM (Jan 2010) from the AMA looks at segmentation which was the subject of the very first JAM back in 2001. A long time between discussions and so a welcome addition to the JAM series. Interestingly we have contributions in both editions from Heather Maitland and Andrew McIntyre, so gives almost a history of the development in arts market segmentation over the last decade.

What is clearly illustrated is that although the marketing environment has changed dramatically, with the development of the Internet and computing power in particular, the concepts behind segmentation remain the same: as Maitland prefaced her original article "Marketing is a planned process that involves talking to the right people, about the right things, in the right way, and at the right time, to achieve your objectives". Couldn't have put it better myself.

Read my review of the latest issue on our website.

1. Andrew McIntyre JAM March 2001

Navigation - when every page is the home page

2010-01-18T11:32:00.012+00:00

Interesting time over the weekend. The back button on my browser stopped working! You really don't realise how much you use it until it's not there and it really makes you appreciate good navigation on websites. How easy is it to get to what you are looking for? How simple to get back to the home page? Can you see where you are on the site?

This last one is becoming ever more important when the search box is just sitting there on the top right of your browser. A considerable number of your visitors will arrive on your site as the result of a Google, Bing or other search and you have little control over where they land. As such, every page becomes a home page. And, when your visitor can't see what you are looking for it is as easy for them just to enter a new search or click the back button to the search results than trawl around your site.

One of the things that I did find frustrating was when I landed on a site which didn't have crumblines (you know the series of links that show where you are on the site) that really made me miss the back button.

I always believed that navigation and site layout has always been a major feature for good website design and this experience has just strengthened my belief that navigation is the main feature on stick ability.

Actually, I might not even fix the back button.

When is technology successful?

2009-08-12T09:44:00.009+01:00

I think of technology as anything that is developed to make our lives easier and more productive (although not necessarily better). However, not all technology developments are successful. Some fail to be adopted and vanish into the blue yonder, possibly even some good ones. Some get remembered as a quirky or amusing anecdote, most disappear without a trace.

Technology becomes successful when we no longer perceive it to be technology, in fact when we cease to see it at all. When we stop wondering about how it works; when we use it without worrying about whether it will or not; and just use it without really thinking about it - that's when technology can be thought of as truly successful.

In the early years of any technology several things stop it moving into the realms of general usage and it is addressing these that moves it in the right direction:

Cost - new technology costs an arm and a leg;
Reliability - it usually breaks down and breaks down often;
Usability - it is new and no one really knows how to use it and if you do you really need to know the nuts and bolts;

Part of the usability problem is that the new technology often tries to emulate existing technology - the first motor cars really were horseless carriages; television was radio with pictures; the website was a brochure on a computer screen.

This is a two edged sword: emulating existing technologies is probably essential to give users a frame of reference without which it maybe very difficult to get the technology adopted. Replicating the interface to the technology may make it easier for new users to get the hang of it, but it stifles the potential of the technology.

Technologies take time to grow into themselves - it took many years for the car to move away from looking like a carriage; television took decades to develop dedicated formats; mobile phones have only recently started developing functionality that the connection method enabled; the web is only now starting to develop into its own persona.

A technology takes time to develop into a unique application - and only become successful when we don't realise that they are there.

Purcell 350th Anniversary celebration by HYM

2009-07-01T14:33:00.005+01:00

I went to a splendid concert by Harrow Young Musicians last Sunday at St John's, Smith Square.

The first half was a lively combination of steel pans and symphonic winds and the second half featured tenor Carlos Nogueira, accompanied by the HYM Symphony performing "On Wenlock Edge" by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

However the main focus was on Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695), in celebration of his 350th anniversary. The Symphony Orchestra played "Rondeau from Abdelazer". The HYM Philharmonic then sung some of the items from music from the Funeral of Queen Marry II - it was hard to believe that they are not a choir, the standard was so high, and excellent preparation for the mass they are to sing in St Marks, Venice later this month.

The evening was completed with the Philharmonic performing "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" by Benjamin Britten. Conducted by HYM musical director Mark Gooding, they gave an exemplary performance of these Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell (just to show that sampling is not a modern pop phenomena). I think that Purcell, especially given how young he was when he died, would have been amazed that 350 years later his work was still giving enjoyment to many and that it was being played to such high standards by young people.

An interesting project

2009-05-15T09:54:00.004+01:00

I have just received an email from ResCen (Centre for research into creation in the performing arts, based at Middlesex University UK) which introduces a fascinating project they are now working on. They have just started DANSCROSS, a collaborative venture with The Beijing Dance Academy.

What particularly attracted me was the theme that they are working on this year - Dancing in a shaking world - the "the pervasiveness of climate change, financial instability and viral infections are all part of the wider context". Even though based on these global phenomena, the "focus, however, is on the working environment and on the practices of artists – we examine the particular to see the panoramic, as they create responses to the theme".

The arts have a major role in bringing understanding between countries and cultures, and projects such a this can do nothing but good.

Looking at the small to see the big is something that appeals to me and is a lesson for marketing too.

For more informatiion on ResCen visit www.rescen.net and if you'd like to read up on this fascinating project see www.rescen.net/blog

JAM today, jam tomorrow

2009-04-21T12:44:00.003+01:00

If you are not a member of the Arts Marketing Association, you really should be.

The latest issue of JAM (their magazine) focusses on customer development and includes excellent articles by Heather Maitland (looking at research tells about audience loyalty; Katy Raines on how assessing audience loyalty is essential (as she says "do the maths" - a lady after my own heart); Caroline Griffin shows how using CRM well can support artistic risk; Sharon Ament makes the case for lifestyle segmentation; and Tim Baker argues that it's not yet time to write off the subscription scheme. Additionally there is an inspirational extract from Seth Godin's book and a case study from Claire Byers at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.

You really should get a copy - the membership fee is worth it for JAM alone. Check out the AMA here.

'Still Life' at the Penguin Café

2009-03-06T10:06:00.002+00:00

Yesterday I was visiting Birmingham Royal Ballet and was fortunate enough to catch a rehearsal of 'Still Life' at the Penguin Café. I have to confess I was amazed: The music was at times haunting others inspirational; the costumes were stunning; and the use of a simple but evocative sets and lighting set the whole thing ablaze.

So what's it all about? Well to borrow the description from BRB:

"Simon Jeffes and his Penguin Café Orchestra provided David Bintley’s inspiration for 'Still Life' at the Penguin Café, his witty and poignant look at man’s effect on the world around him. A morris-dancing flea, a ballroom-dancing ram, a sleepy rat and a woolly monkey are among the animals featured."
A performance to experience. It is on at various locations throughout the UK as part of BRB's Pomp and Circumstances suite - click here for more info.