Week after week, orchestra marketers and communications professionals try to get stories about their music director, guest conductor or guest artist in the media. Is this wise? Yes, of course. Guest musicians are news. They can talk about the music being performed. Yet we’re out of balance when we concentrate on using their star power to get space in the press. And as we all know, there aren’t many stars in classical music today.
We’re like the beggar who asks passersby for help who doesn’t realize he is sitting on a chest full of treasure. Our orchestras hold one hundred musicians who can tell their story, our orchestra’s story and the music’s story. Continue reading
1. Art (Last Word, for September 2)
It’s always a challenge to bring in new single ticket buyers, isn’t it? Let alone broaden your subscription base.
An Age of Puffery
We orchestra marketers have amassed an impressive number of words that no longer mean anything to our audience. We lean toward classical-music jargon, huckstering, and synonyms for perfection which we strangle with overuse. Or we write “magisterial” and other words that we’d never use in spontaneous conversation. May these 50 words and phrases rest in peace.
In this day of social technology there’s little attention paid to the ABC’s of advertising. Yet developing an effective ad will always be a useful skill, whatever the medium.
Have you had calls and mailings from print or online services that charge exorbitant rates to list concerts around the world? Here are two free listing services every orchestra should consider in addition to 
While Bachtrack’s classical listing service is free, linking back to your site involves a fee. Yes, I know there are only so many hours in the day. And there are other online opportunities to list concerts, particularly locally. Who has the time to do all of them?
Hiring for any position is as much art as science. Choosing an orchestra marketer can be especially difficult. Understanding the dimensions of that choice can frame the decision within our orchestra’s true needs. 
