Communications

PROMOTING THE ARTS: SHARING THE ARTS COMMUNITY WITH LETHBRIDGE AND BEYOND

COMMUNICATIONS

In this connected age, communications must span both the worlds of traditional media and the digital sphere to communicate the story of the arts in Lethbridge. Communications serves to promote, educate and document the activities of the AAC and the greater arts community. Consistent branding and strong visual appeal are hallmarks of the AAC visual identity.

Marketing and promotional collateral are crafted to address the unique needs of all the events produced by the AAC. These materials include print items such as posters, handbills, invitations or pamphlets. AAC print materials are supported with similar on-line promotional vehicles including social media posts, digital ads and digital publications available for download. Events promoted in 2018 include: Family Fun Day, Mayor’s Luncheon for Business and the Arts, The Gallery at Casa exhibition program, Soar Emerging Artist Festival, Christmas at Casa and We Are All Treaty People.

PUBLICATIONS

After 15 years of publication, the Allied Arts Council of Lethbridge made the difficult decision to discontinue printing our issue based publication ArtsBridge and move to other electronic and external resources for sharing important information regarding the value and impact of the arts on a community. The substantial human and financial resources required to publish the magazine will be redirected to other initiatives that support the arts community.

The Arts Directory is available on-line and in a physical copy. In its eleventh year, the valuable resource connects the greater public looking to book performers, hire an artist, take a class or become involved with an arts organization. This publication is a much referenced document that is used by both AAC staff and members of the community.

Casa Program Guides are published three times a year: Winter, Spring/Summer and Fall. The guide saw a refresh this Spring/Summer with classes now being organized by artistic discipline rather than start date. The guide is available on-line at issuu.com and is augmented by having class descriptions listed on the Casa website.

230 8 Street South

Fall 2018 PROGRAM GUIDE

403.327.2272 www.casalethbridge.ca home for the arts in southern alberta architecture art services community culture dance festival film/new media galleries literary arts music photography theatre visual arts 2018 . 2019 Published by the Allied Arts Council of Lethbridge, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing and enhancing the arts in our community DIRECTORY ARTS

The Arts Days Program provides a compendium of events for this annual event and serves as the aesthetic jumping off point for all marketing efforts including on-line ads, print promotions and radio ads.

2018 11 City of Lethbridge Recreation and Culture Guide: Each month four pages are created for this guide including an Arts Info page, a Casa page and a two page Culture Guide spread listing AAC member’s activities for the upcoming month.

The AAC maintains a number of websites that provide a wide variety of arts information.

The AAC website artslethbridge.org continues to be the repository for all the information about the Allied Arts Council and a jumping off point to discover more about the arts in Lethbridge.

USERS OVER 4,902 SESSIONS 3,491

13,430 PAGE VIEWS Three most popular pages include: Home, Job Opportunities and Events

*This includes art shows, theatre runs and concert series over multiple days. CALENDAR EVENTS WITH 967* PUBLISHED ENTRIES 137

Casa’s website casalethbridge.ca continues to keep the community informed about events, arts education activities and gallery activities. USERS OVER 43,727 SESSIONS 26,904

132,799 PAGE VIEWS Three most popular pages include: Home, Classes Overview and Classes Adult

*This includes art shows, theatre runs and concert series over multiple days. CALENDAR EVENTS WITH 135* PUBLISHED ENTRIES 111

12 In addition to managing our two main websites, the AAC has two landing pages URLS artsdayslethbridge.org (Lethbridge Arts Days) and soarfestival.ca (Soar Emerging Artist Festival) as well as assisting the Performing Arts Centre Advocacy Group with their information website: lethbridgeperformingartscentre.org

Arts in Lethbridge is the AAC’s bi-weekly e-newsletter that is sent out to members, supporters and the media via Mailchimp. This newsletter provides knowledge about important issues to the arts community, artist opportunities and news from the Allied Arts Council.

251 SUBSCRIBERS

SUBSCRIBERS 659

Casa Connect is the e-newsletter created by Casa staff for those interested in events and activities happening at the art centre.

Friends of The Gallery at Casa e-newsletter is an eco-friendly option for those not wishing to receive paper invites to The Gallery exhibits.

SUBSCRIBERS 140

SOCIAL MEDIA

The AAC manages a variety of social media channels to further communicate with the greater community:

FACEBOOK: AAC 1124 likes | Casa 2976 likes | Lethbridge Arts Days 1411 likes Lethbridge Performing Arts Centre 711 likes | Soar Emerging Artist Festival 147 likes

TWITTER: AAC 1598 followers | Casa 2132 followers | Soar 61 followers

AAC 526 | Casa 944 | Performing Arts Centre 161 INSTAGRAM:

MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS

The AAC continues to enjoy a long term partnership with Clear Sky Radio: 94.1 CJOC FM and 98.1 The Bridge for the popular Art Tracks feature. Art Tracks provides on-air promotion for AAC member events every Wednesday. Events are chosen from member submissions to our publications and calendars.

2018 Our relationships with other Lethbridge media outlets are also strong with members of the media responding to our media calls and press releases and continuing to support the arts across all platforms. Our media champions include LA Beat, CTV Lethbridge, Global TV, Miracle Channel, Shaw TV, Lethbridge Herald, 94.1 CJOC FM, 98.1 The Bridge and Lethbridge College Endeavour.

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