Archive
Archive for the ‘Events’ Category
OK, I have to start off with a confession:
Why are so many guys wearing dark suits with brown shoes. All around the room on the nineteenth floor at Con Edison Headquarters Union Square all I could see were lots of men in suits wearing brown shoes.
Is it a brand thing? Did I not get the memo?
Here I am, at the 4th Annual PR and Media Relations Best Practices Summit thanks to the generosity of ConEdison who opened up twenty five slots to this event for their nonprofit partners. By the time I signed up, I was number twenty three. It is just my nature by association to be thrilled about the chance to attend and guilt stricken at the same time.
Why? Because I know I would feel terrible if I was number twenty six or twenty seven to sign up and not get in.
So here is, in the spirit of sharing my furiously scribbled notes with all of you who did not get to attend this terrific event, is my summary of insights from the closing keynote speaker, Andrew Davis, the exuberant author of Brandscaping who turned the usual way of thinking about creating branded content on its ear with cheerful, unapologetic logic that is exhausting and exhilarating. Here is a link to his presentation.
How to think of content as a product
Rather than list ways to rethink about what you share with the world, Andrew leans out and pokes you with a question:
“Hello? Anyone out there? Hey listen, I have two books to give away. Who wants a free book?”
That got one woman twitching and jumping up and down in her seat – and a free book for having more energy than the rest of us at the end of the day.
The real question was this: What if your goal was to own some quality time in your consumer’s day?
We used to set our lives according to our favorite television shows literally “making an appointment” with a product, in this case a series of stories with characters we cared about. For example, the A Team opened up every show with an intro that was:
- repeatable
- ownable, as in intellectual property
- built and reinforced a relationship you had with the characters
It had a format, it had a hook and it delivered content consistently.
What did the producers of the show get in return? The most amazing thing in the world: quality time in your day.
Why you should think like a movie
Who doesn’t know and love the little orange clownfish named Nemo? This sixty minute plus movie that revolves loosely around the story of fighting all odds to go home had the side effect of creating a demand and insatiable market for clownfish and all kinds of stuff you get for your pet fish.
This movie had the power to move markets through powerful storytelling.
Andrew is right about the movie.
Do the math: You just paid money for a ticket to sit in a theater with your eyes focused on one screen for at least an hour. Think about what you could do with all that in place. If you deliver a great, strategically designed story that your audience forms a bond with, they will form a bond with you and your content. Move markets? This stuff can change the world.
What is the most brilliant question in the world?
When I approached Andrew after his presentation, the most pressing question in my mind was – Will he take my credit card so I can buy a copy of his book? He had already given the first of his two give away copies to the twitching woman and the second to a man who posed a cool question prompting Andrew to ask him for his name. The man did not miss a beat and said, “I Need A Book.” He got one.
I was thinking of all of the points he made, and the questions provoking the logic behind each one - What if you owned some quality time in your customer’s day? What if a zero opt out rate was your goal? What if you treat your content as a product? What if you thought like a movie, a TV executive, a partner with someone who already owns your next customer?
All great questions and all great examples and answers practically exploding with potential. By this time I have gotten over my brown shoe thing and I am really loving how these guys are rocking this look.
“You’re one of ConEd’s non profit partners?” Andrew pushed his glasses up and grinned.
“I am and I really can’t thank you enough for making me ask myself new questions about my content as product,” I put my credit card down on the table and smiled, “I would love to buy a copy of your book.”
“What if I give you a copy?” he said and handed me a book and signed it for me. His generosity left me stunned and as I slowly walked away it dawned on me: the most brilliant question in the world is what Andrew Davis wants us all to ask ourselves all the time. Just the way he does.
So go ahead, start asking yourself this question.
What if?
March 15: In the Year of the Dragon at the Old Stone House
On Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 8 PM, Brooklyn Reading Works at The Old Stone House presents: IN THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON: A Celebration of Asian and Asian-American Writers.
Curated by author Sophia Romero (The Shiska from Manila), IN THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON includes a Brooklyn Poet Laureate, a playwright, and three novelists and a childrens’ book author/illustrator, all of whom will read excerpts from their latest work. A Q&A will follow the reading.
You won’t want to miss Brooklyn Poet Laureate Tina Chang, Novelists Susan Choi, children’s book author Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer and Sabina Meyer and playwright Linda Faigao-Hall.
A $5 donation includes light refreshments and wine.
The Old Stone House
336 3rd Street Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 768-3195
Between Fifth and Fourth Avenues.
Due to construction in the park, enter from the Fourth Avenue side of the house.
Hoong Yee, Richard, Janet
&
Barry
Blogging for a better world
At this year’s conference, I was joined by two other bloggers to capture in words the spirit and essence of this universe we call grantmakers in the arts – Richard Kessler and Barry Hessenius.
What is art about, really?
If you have ever heard Dr. Manuel Pastor speak, you would know what he would say.
Dr Manuel Pastor writes and speaks frequently on issues of demographic change, economic inequality and community empowerment. At his keynote speech at the Grantmakers in the Arts 2011 Conference, he said many things I thought were cool:
On December 15, 199, we became a majority/minority state.
Collaboration and conflict go together.
Collaboration is principled conflict.
Do you know the difference between chess and jigsaw puzzles?
Chess Jigsaw puzzles
2 colors many colors
some pieces are more powerful than others every piece is important
you gain by knocking a piece out you gain by putting pieces together
the goal is to win the goal is to complete
As a nation we play way too much chess
Art is making things of beauty with friends
Frances Phillips and her Beowulf socks
Frances Phillips is a quietly impressive force with a knitted sock patterned with the opening lines of Beowulf beginning with, “Hwaet…” wrapped around two slender needles tucked away in her pocketbook.
Hwaet?
“I’ll send you the instructions, you’ll love it.” Frances clearly loves literature and knitting to depths beyond me and the rest of the GIA Knitting Circle. ”Just remember to weave in your strands when changing colors mid row.”
Believe it or not, that makes sense to me. Later on during the conference, Tommer asked me if I had lost a ball of green yarn. At the moment I am knitting something in a silver cotton so no, the yarn did not belong to me.
“Hmmm, I wonder if Frances is using green in her Beowulf socks. Lynn Stern might be, she is working on a pair of multicolored gloves. Let me put the word out for you.” In my opinion, the fact that I know this stuff is actually impressive as an example of niche knowledge, thank you very much.
I turned to Frances, smiled bravely thinking to myself, “Wonderful! Just in time for holiday knitting.”
We were serenaded at the plenary brunch by Eugene Rodriguez, Linda Ronstadt, David Hidalgo and Los Cenzontles.
Throw me the lemon
Throw me the lime
Throw me the key
To your heart.
You are my dear
You are my love
You are my dove
That sings at sunrise.
Here’s something Linda Ronstadt said at the closing of the conference:
Mexican audiences know just when to howl and they know when to be quiet.
Hwaet everybody!
About the Author: Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer writes about how to be a nimble nonprofit, make life creative and make a difference at www.hoongyee.com.
She is also the Executive Director of the Queens Council on the Arts. Hoong Yee can be found surfing in the Rockaways whenever there are waves.
Do you want to know the fears, visions of perfect worlds and world changing advice of your peers and keynote speakers?
I have a special bonus post for you of interviews I conducted with people during the conference. Just leave me a comment with your email or better still, subscribe at www.hoongyee.com and get my interview post and new style notes for people who change the world delivered to your inbox.
Marc Bamuthi Joseph
How do you listen to a whirlwind?
If the whirlwind has a name, such as Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and he is before you – natty, smart, hey let me check you out stylish with a sharp lid tossed casually to the side as he picks up speed and lets the words fly -
- you sit back. Now.
As a conference blogger, I sat at Marc’s Keynote Performance at the Plenary Breakfast Session on Monday at the Grantmakers for the Arts 2011 Conference, confident in capturing the essence of the experience while having my morning coffee with a ballroom full of my colleagues.
It became very clear that Marc operates at speeds unfamiliar to most people and I was left both delighted and bewildered by his message.
So in the spirit of capturing the wind, here is what I caught from that performance:
If you can’t outrun it, get out in front of it and figure out where we’re going
Let’s transform the iconography of an environment
Practice the art of believing that these things, dance, buildings, art, have redemptive quality
Here’s a recipe for a creative ecosystem of critical adjacencies -
Take equal parts revenue potential, artistic presence and invested audience consistency.
Mix well.
Let rise.
Voila! A localized interdisiplinary network.
No amount of Facebook contact can compete with public proximity and investment
Art happens everywhere for anyone
Art is not and object or an outcome only
Art is a process and an opportunity for community
It is hard for grantmakers to track outcomes and creative stimulus but perhaps we should be looking at metrics to measure the scale and health of creative partnerships in our ecosystems
Success is tied to the growth of others
Good changes in structure focus on interdependence, not products
Invest in artists who create contextual work within communities
Let’s shift nonprofit practice and structure to value accumulated surpluses
Formula for changing the world -
Audience development + good fiscal health = healthy arts field
Whew! If you want to get closer to the wind and get more of Marc, check out http://www.lifeisliving.org/
Let me leave you with my favorite piece of current wisdom from Marc:
If you can’t outrun it, get out in front of it and figure out where it’s going.
About the Author: Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer writes about how to be a nimble nonprofit, make life creative and make a difference at www.hoongyee.com.
She is also the Executive Director of the Queens Council on the Arts. Hoong Yee can be found surfing in the Rockaways whenever there are waves.
Do you want to know the fears, visions of perfect worlds and world changing advice of your peers and keynote speakers? I have a special bonus post for you of interviews I conducted with people during the conference. Just leave me a comment with your email or better still, subscribe and get new style notes for people who change the world at www.hoongyee.com.
I write for love and money. It is my everyday passion. What's yours? 
