Festival of Arts PR Campaign by Sommer Figone

Public Relations Campaign By Sommer Figone, Rebecca Haber, Liz Quick, Astrid Martin 1

Table of Contents

PART 1:

CAMPAIGN PLAN 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18

Background / Situation Analysis Core Problem and Opportunity Goals and Objectives Key Publics Theme Messages Strategies and Tactics Communication Table Calendar Budget Evaluation Criteria and Tactics

PART 2:

PART 3:

21 Press Release / Artist Happy Hour 22 Media Pitch 23 Media Alert / Media Events 24 Artist Spotlights 25 Social Media 26 Guerrilla Stunt 27 Press Kit 28 Special Promotions / Program Review 29 Ticket Packages

31 Initial Key Publics / Original Research - Surveys 32 Original Research - Focus Groups 33 Original Research - In-Person Interviews 34 Original Research - Client Interview 36 Trend Research 38 Competitive Literature Analysis 42 Bibliography

COMMUNICATION TACTICS

APPENDIX

Introduction

The Festival of Arts is one of the nation’s oldest and most acclaimed art shows. For over 80 years, it has offered a showcase for artists and art lovers in the backyard of Laguna Beach. A wide variety of mediums from over 140 Orange County artists are displayed. Open daily, visitors not only enjoy award-winning exhibits, but also demonstrations, tours, workshops, special events and much more.

ally stunning performance includes an original audience members are hesitant to buy the topscore, live narration, intricate sets, sophisticated tiered seating because they are afraid the view lighting and hundreds of dedicated volunteers. isn’t as good as it is in the front seats.

The Pageant of the Masters and Festival of Arts face some crucial problems as a whole. For one, both of these events are run under the same website and social media platforms even though they are completely different. This can lead to the Festival of Arts getting lost in the visualThe Pageant of the Masters is the Festival ly stunning Pageant of the Masters coverage. of Arts’ crowning jewel and one of the most Also, there are two other art festivals in the area unique productions in the entire world. A ninety at the same time as the festival which divides minute stage show of “living pictures” recreates overall attendance. Furthermore, the Pageant classic and contemporary works of art. This visu- of the Masters never reaches full capacity since

With those problems in mind, we have set two goals for this campaign: Increase attendance to the Festival of Arts and sell the top-tier seating at Pageant of the Masters. We will achieve these by implementing new marketing strategies, ticket packages and special events to target the key publics of OC moms, student artists and local businesses. We hope our PR campaign will reach the goals outlined and inspire everyone to live creatively. 3

Client Fact Sheet MISSION

ADMISSION

PROGRAM

To promote, produce and sponsor events and activities that encourage the appreciation, study and performance of the arts.

Below are the fees for the various age groups for Laguna Beach’s Festival of Arts offers various both the Festival of Arts and more specifically programs and events, the most popular of the Pageant of the Masters: which is Pageant of the Masters. This specific event sets Festival of Arts apart from its direct ORGANIZATION Festival Tickets competitors. The festival itself features exhibiGeneral Admission (Mon-Fri) - $7 tions, art galleries, a Junior Art Exhibit where The Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach is a nonGeneral Admission (Sat-Sun) - $10 K-12 students show off their art, the fundraising profit, year-round operation governed by a Students and Seniors (Mon-Fri) - $4 program Art-to-Go (features over 100 donated board of directors whose nine members serve Students and Seniors (Sat-Sun) - $6 pieces and all purchased pieces benefit the Artwithout pay. Directors are elected by the memists Fund), photo galleries, and special events bership (three each year) for three-year terms. Pageant of the Masters such as Family Art Day, Art Jazz Wine and ChocEach year, some 500 volunteers contribute more Weekday Shows - $15-$60 olate, Jazz on the Green Concert Festival, Festithan 60,000 hours to the enterprise. Weekend Shows - $25-$90 val Runway Series and Sunday in the Park Music Series.

FACILITY

Overall area of grounds and bowl: 5.6 acres. Bowl capacity: 2,600. Property owned by City of Laguna Beach and leased to the festival. City receives a percentage of festival revenues. The Festival of Arts is a non-smoking facility.

VOLUNTEERS

A 90-minute stage show of “living pictures,” Pageant of the Masters consists of incredibly faithful art re-creations of classical and contemporary works with real people posing to look exactly like their counterparts in the original pieces. The 2015 Pageant of the Masters, “The Pursuit of Happiness” theme will explore the many sources of happiness, both ancient and modern, through the theatrical production of “living pictures.” Go on a sentimental journey through depictions of pastimes and activities GUEST DEMOGRAPHICS that gave people joy long before the instant Based on ticket prices, guests range from chil- gratification of the computer age. Discover artdren 12 and under to seniors. Many guests are ists who found their own answers to the age-old from the local Laguna Beach area, but the fes- question, “What makes life worth living?” The tival attracts people from all over the United 2015 pageant promises to be a breathtaking, States and even other countries. playful and joyous journey in search of the most mysterious of treasures.

Pageant of the Masters has volunteer cast-members to participate in the 2015 summer presentation of “The Pursuit of Happiness.” In addition to needing volunteers to pose in the pageant, volunteers are needed for positions in the wardrobe, make-up and headdress departments, as VISITORS well as cast area coordinators and refreshment Combined, Festival of Arts’ Premier Fine Art servers, among other positions. Show and Pageant of the Masters attract more than 250,000 visitors into Laguna Beach.

HOURS Open to the public nightly at 8:30 p.m. from July 8 through August 31, 2015.

Executive Summary OVERVIEW

KEY PUBLICS

The Pageant of the Masters is an annual festival held by the Festival of Arts located in Laguna Beach. It is known for its French-inspired tableaux vivants (aka living pictures of classical works of art recreated by actors). With a skillful use of costumes, makeup, lighting, props, and backdrops, hundreds of people around California are in awe how realistic and professional each performance is displayed.

OC Moms Student Artists Local Businesses

For the past 80 years, the Festival of Arts has offered breathtaking showcases for artists and art lovers. This prestigious show includes a wide variety of media such as paintings, photography, printmaking, sculpture, jewelry, handcrafted wood, furniture, ceramics, glass and more - all by 140 of Orange County’s finest artists! Visitors not only enjoy the exhibits but they also engage in demonstrations, tours, workshops, live music, special events and more.

CAMPAIGN GOAL To increase ticket sales and attendance at the Festival of Arts and to sell the top-tier seating at the Pageant of the Masters to reach full capacity.

CORE OBJECTIVES Drive the number of ticket sales to sell the top-tier seating by promoting new packages Increase the media awareness of the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters by utilizing Mom Bloggers, showcasing behind the scenes efforts and partnering with local businesses Consolidate the number of programs offered to target the Key Publics.

CORE STRATEGIES The strategies and tactics will focus on repositioning the non-profit across Orange County to target specific key publics that we identified should be engaged. We will emphasize to our key publics that it is in their self interest to “live creatively” by engaging with the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters. We will achieve this through several new ticket packages, events and unique communication tactics.

CAMPAIGN SLOGAN “Live Creatively” 5

Part 1: Campaign Plan

Background and Situational Analysis

BACKGROUND Art is an artifact that is reflective of a society. Not only does it offer an outlet for individuals to express themselves through imaginative or technical skills, but it’s also a way to study the deeper cultural meanings of a society. Art heals the spirit and fulfills the basic human instinct for harmony, balance, and appreciation for beauty around us.

contemporary art pieces. A mixture of actors, sophisticated lighting, set design and original score create a memorable presentation audiences have been enjoying since 1932.

These two entities are part of a number of festivals in Laguna Beach. After gaining a reputation as an art colony, Laguna Beach eventually established the Laguna Art Association in 1918 to Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters are promote and support the fine arts. From there, two different entities. Festival of Arts is an eight- several art festivals surfaced such as Art-A-Fair week festival where local artists sell juried orig- and the Sawdust Festival. Art-A-Fair has a more inal work. A variety of art classes and activities sophisticated adult approach out of the bunch. are also scheduled throughout the week. The With a mixture of adult food and beverage opPageant of the Masters is the Festival of Arts’ tions and exhibits filled with juried works of crowning jewel and one of the most unique pro- 125 artists from outside the area, the Sawdust ductions in the entire world. The show consists Festival was founded in 1965 and has become of a 90-minute performance of “living pictures,” a counterculture alternative to the Festival of which are theatrical recreations of classical and Arts. Sawdust is the only one that displays non-

jury work. The Festival of Arts holds the title as the oldest festival out of all of them. The festival was created to attract tourists attending the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. Despite the Festival of Arts/Pageant Masters experiencing its fair share of success, the organization is still prone to problems. Crowds successfully attend Pageant of the Masters, but there’s no incentive for people to go solely to the Festival of Arts. The Festival of Arts does a great job creating a variety of activities and original art ready for purchase. It’s a matter of appealing to the audience and publicizing the festival exists separately from the Pageant of the Masters. Another obstacle is having people voluntarily choose the top-tier seats for the Pageant of the Masters. The organization wishes to rebrand the top-tier seating arrangements. 7

Core Problem and Opportunity

FESTIVAL OF ARTS If the Festival of Arts does not increase its ticket sales and attendance, then it will be unable to support the artists it helps. This results in the inability to support the operations of the event.

PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS If the Pageant of the Masters does not sell the top-tier seating, then it will be unable to maximize its production value and reach the maximum amount of money it can make.

Goals and Objectives GOAL 1 To increase ticket sales and attendance at the Festival of Arts in 2015.

OBJECTIVES 1

Reach out to 10 summer camps/schools who will benefit from art education by July 2015.

Reach out to 10 hotels in Laguna Beach that could send guests to the Festival of Arts by June 2015.

Bring attention to the festival through stunts by attracting media coverage on three television stations, two newspapers and one magazine throughout summer 2015.

Consolidate the number of art workshops and events by targeting specific audiences throughout the festival from July 2015 through August 2015

GOAL 2 To sell the top-tier seating at the Pageant of the Masters to reach full capacity.

OBJECTIVES 1

Re-brand the top-tier seating by June 2015 to fill 100 top-tier seats per performance.

Create three top-tier incentives before the pageant performance from June 2015 through August 2015.

Devise three marketing strategies for each of the target audiences to reach full capacity at the pageant from June 2015 through August 2015.

Increase awareness of the pageant with Orange County families, customers of Laguna Beach businesses and Orange County student artists by 50 percent by September 2015.

Key Publics MOMS

COLLEGE STUDENTS

LOCAL CUSTOMERS

of families in Southern California

with an interest in art

of Laguna Beach businesses

Southern California is very family friendly in the events and lifestyle it promotes. In fact, the median household income in Orange County is $75,000 compared to the national average of $53,000. Orange County families typically make more money and spend more money than their U.S. counterparts. This means they are willing to spend money on experiences for their families and more willing to engage in paying for an event they can participate in.

SELF INTEREST • Looking for summer activities to participate in • Drawn to packages or deals to save money • Enjoy kid-friendly activities

INFLUENTIALS • • • • •

OC Mom Bloggers OC Family + Mom Magazine Publications Parents Community leaders & Educators

This public is important for Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters because they may have an invested interest in the arts. This age group is often eager to learn and go the extra mile to enhance their knowledge in a given topic. Furthermore, all of the art displayed at the festival is original work, and the pageant is a one-of-akind show. With periodic special events thrown into this mix, the organization provides various unique opportunities for college students to preserve the festival’s mission of preserving art education.

SELF INTEREST • Extra time to kill during the summer • No shows like this in the area • Special events + workshops allow skills to be learned • Conveniently located in Laguna Beach

INFLUENTIALS • • • •

Professors Parents Peers Social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) • Local art museums

Local business customers (tourists and locals) heavily populate hotels and restaurants in Laguna Beach during the summer months of Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters. The organization offers the opportunity to experience the artistic culture that is unique to Laguna Beach, allowing visitors to explore the city’s creative atmosphere.

SELF INTEREST • Activities to do in the summer months • Convenience of the festival location • Opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind fine art and experience a one-of-a-kind pageant

INFLUENTIALS • Laguna Beach hotels • Laguna Beach restaurants

Theme

Live Creatively

Messages SPARK CREATIVITY

SHARE CREATIVITY

EXPLORE CREATIVITY

Summer is when children are out of school and need to engage in activities that keep their minds sharp and contain an educational component. The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters provide much needed exposure to the arts and provide an experience for families to have.

Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters provide an opportunity for students to expand their artistic knowledge and trigger creative juices to flow. The convenience of the festival location right by Laguna Beach is a prime spot for students, particularly during the summer months.

This audience looks for activities to do in the summer months. They can look forward to the exclusivity gained from being a member of the Festival of Arts and enjoy convenience due to the Festival location. They also have the opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind fine art.

The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters lack exposure and awareness among art stuhas the ability to provide these experiences for dents, especially outside of the Laguna Beach families, but lack of exposure and awareness area. Also life as an artist is difficult. When drives down full ticket sales and festival atten- you’re in an artistic rut it’s difficult to feel condance. fident about your contribution to the art world. It’s quite isolating after spending so much time Building on the pre-existing structure, art work- in the studio focusing on the same project. shops, hands-on classes and family packages can draw OC families into the arts experience, With “Art Talks” every Thursday afternoon in the providing a fun and engaging summer activity summer months when college students are typfor all. Spark your creativity. ically off from school and look for something to do, it’s the perfect place to go. Special events Families can engage in a ton of hands-on arts ac- and art workshops allow for engaging, hands-on tivities allowing their children to be exposed to opportunities. Also, there is no other show in arts education. They also will be able to enjoy a the area like Pageant of the Masters. family friendly performance that will captivate their children and be a platform to explore and Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters are talk about the art scene. two entities that celebrate innovative creativity. Art students will be able to interact with like-minded people, gain artistic inspiration, and trigger networking opportunities that will lead to outside project collaborations.

Festival of Arts currently has two huge competitors in the same location, making it harder to stand out to the local customers. Additionally, Pageant of the Masters has a big audience, but it costs extra, which may be offputting. Finally, these local customers need to be aware that the festival changes each summer, making it a new experience.

for Moms

for College Students

for Local Customers

Festival of Arts relies on the support of local customers to continue supporting artists and art education. By spending summer days enjoying fine art and the unique Pageant of the Masters, this audience helps ensure the Festival can continue for years to come.

Strategies and Tactics

STRATEGY 1

STRATEGY 2

STRATEGY 3

Create a family-friendly experience at both the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters to drive ticket sales and attendance.

Attract and intrigue active participation at Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters through ticket sales by creating an artistic sanctuary for student artists to mingle, express their creative expression, and show off their work.

Gain exposure, prestige and recognition with customers of local businesses of Laguna Beach to increase attendance at Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters.

Tactics Consolidated and revised programming Ticket packages Mom blogger media event Press release Social media improvements Artist Spotlights

Tactics Artists Happy Hour Social media improvements Artist Spotlights Consolidated and revised programming Ticket packages

Tactics Guerrilla stunt Special promotions Artist Spotlights Social media improvements Consolidated and revised programming

Communication Table SELF INTERESTS

PRIMARY MESSAGE

INFLUENTIALS

MOMS To have fun family experiences that are both memorable and budget friendly

Spark Creativity

Other Orange County families, family, friends, social circles, classmates of children, blog viewers (if a mom blogger)

Share Creativity

Other artists, like-minded peers, campus peers, social circles, art followers

Explore Creativity

Laguna Beach hotels Laguna Beach restaurants

To expose their children to an arts education that they are not receiving in school

COLLEGE STUDENTS To gain artist exposure in Orange County To bond and meet like-minded people who are also interested in art To have a unique artist experience within Orange County

LOCAL CUSTOMERS Activities to do in the summer months Convenience of the festival location Opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind fine art and experience a one-of-a-kind pageant

OBJECTIVES

STRATEGIES

TACTICS

MOMS Fill the top level of seating with families during the Pageant of the Masters Draw in families to boost attendance during Festival of Arts

Create a family friendly experience at both the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters that will drive ticket sales and attendance.

Consolidated and revised programming Ticket packages Mom blogger Media Event Press release Social media improvements Artist Spotlights

Attract and intrigue active participation at Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters through ticket sales by creating an artistic sanctuary for artists to mingle, express their creative expression and show off their work.

Artists Happy Hour Social media improvements Artist Spotlights Consolidated and revised programming Ticket packages

Gain exposure, prestige and recognition with customers of local businesses of Laguna Beach to increase attendance at Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters.

Guerrilla stunt Special promotions Artist Spotlights Social media improvements Consolidated and revised programming

COLLEGE STUDENTS Unite and increase attendance of student artists with the common goal of bringing them to the Pageant of the Masters and Festival of Arts

LOCAL CUSTOMERS Reach out to local businesses to promote Festival of Arts Pageant of the Masters to reach local customers

Calendar MAY • Follow up to special media events, manage RSVPS • Distribute local business advertisers for bill discounts • Distribute candies with wrappers to local hotels • Promotion of Artists Happy Hour in targeted media outlets • Solicit food and wine donations for Artists Happy Hour

JUNE • Social media posts highlighting the festival artists and behind the scenes of Pageant of the Masters • Media preview nights for Press + Mom Bloggers, thank you note to follow • Promotional marketing in place for local business and hotels • Promotion of Artists Happy Hour in targeted media outlets • Guerrilla marketing for one week highlighting Festival of Arts Pageant of the Masters

AUGUST • Artists Happy Hour every week on Thursday • Social media posts highlighting the festival • Family Nights every Monday – Weds (includes character meet and greets) • Social media posts highlighting the festival • Promotional marketing in place for local business and hotels • Host OC Summer Camps during Festival of Arts

JULY • Social media posts highlighting the festival • Family Nights every Mon – Weds (includes character meet and greets) • Artists Happy Hour every week on Thursday • Promotional marketing in place for local business and hotels • Host OC Summer Camps during Festival of Arts

SEPTEMBER • Thank you note to all attendees, and summer camps invitation to join newsletter • Recap the overall ticket sales of packages and seats for Pageant of the Masters to see if the goal was obtained • Recap of strategies: What went well? What didn’t? • Analyze media coverage, ticket sales and attendance patterns • Send email surveys about consolidation of workshops during Festival of Arts • Check in with artists who participated in Festival of Arts to get their views and opinions about this year’s event

Budget ITEM DESCRIPTION

QUANTITY

COST PER UNIT

TOTAL COST ESTIMATE

Artists Happy Hour - Drinks

40-50 servings, 1x a week

$2.50 per serving

$100 per Happy Hour

Artists Happy Hour - Cheese and Crackers

2.5 platters, 1x a week

$15 per platter

$75 per Happy Hour

Artists Happy Hour - Live Music

1x a week

~$100

TBD based on the booking

Artist Happy Hour - Servers and Bartender

3-4 servers, 1 bartender, 1x a week

$35 per person for 1 hour

TBD based on amount of servers

Character Meet and Greet

2-3 characters

$0.00 (volunteers)

Guerrilla Advertising

5-6 characters

$0.00 (volunteers)

Local Business Bill Inserts (5â&#x20AC;?x7â&#x20AC;?)

1,000-2,500 inserts

$.40 per unit

$400 (for 1,000)

Press Events - Snacks and Drinks

For 40-50 people, 2x

$150

$300

Press Events - Artists to act out tableaus

20 characters, 2x

$0.00 (volunteers)

Media Pitch and Special Events Alert

Targeted mailing list

$0.00 via email

Artist Spotlight Video Series

2-3 spotlights

$0.00

Hotel Room Chocolates

5,000 labels

$.31

$1,550

TOTAL BUDGET

~ $5,010

Evaluation Criteria and Tactics GOAL 1 To increase ticket sales and attendance at the Festival of Arts in 2015.

OBJECTIVE 1 Reach out to ten summer camps/schools who will benefit from art education by June 2015.

EVALUATION • Track media coverage for Festival of Arts in local Orange County publications and blogs by the end of the festival in August 2015. • Evaluate the number of mentions and conversations on social media by the end of the festival in August 2015.

OBJECTIVE 2 Reach out to 10 hotels in Laguna Beach that could send guests to the Festival of Arts by June 2015.

EVALUATION • Track and evaluate the ticket sales of the 2015 Festival of Arts and compare to ticket sales of previous summers.

OBJECTIVE 3 Bring attention to the festival through stunts by attracting media coverage on three television stations, two newspapers and one magazine throughout summer 2015.

EVALUATION • Track media coverage for Festival of Arts, including press clippings and feature stories that mention stunts, by the end of August 2015 • Track conversation surrounding the media coverage of Festival of Arts through platforms including social media (views, likes, shares, etc.) and online news sources by the end of August 2015

OBJECTIVE 4 Consolidate the number of art workshops and events by targeting specific audiences throughout the festival from July 2015 through August 2015.

EVALUATION • Send email surveys following workshops and events to receive feedback on the consolidation. • Track attendance at each event and workshop to measure which were the most successful by the end of the festival in August 2015.

GOAL 2 To sell the top-tier seating at the Pageant of the Masters to reach full capacity.

OBJECTIVE 1

OBJECTIVE 3

Re-brand the top-tier seating by July 2015 to fill 100 top-tier seats per performance.

Create three top-tier incentives before the pageant performance from June 2015 through August 2015.

EVALUATION

• Track media coverage for Festival of Arts in local Orange County publications and blogs by the end of the festival in August 2015. • Evaluate the number of mentions and conversations on social media by the end of the festival in August 2015.

OBJECTIVE 2 Devise three marketing strategies for each of the target audiences to reach full capacity at the pageant from June 2015 through August 2015.

• Track media coverage for Festival of Arts, including press clippings and feature stories that mention stunts, by the end of August 2015 • Track conversation surrounding the media coverage of Festival of Arts through platforms including social media (views, likes, shares, etc.) and online news sources by the end of August 2015

OBJECTIVE 4 Increase awareness of the pageant with Orange County families, Laguna Beach residents and businesses and Orange County student artists by 50 percent by September 2015.

EVALUATION • Track and evaluate the ticket sales of the 2015 Festival of Arts and compare to ticket sales of previous summers.

Part 2: Communication Tactics

Press Release / Artists Happy Hour ARTISTS HAPPY HOUR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 31, 2015 FESTIVAL OF ARTS INTRODUCES ‘ARTISTS HAPPY HOUR’ THIS SUMMER

Educating a young artist generation is key for both the survival of the art community and the Festival of Arts. To compliment the student artist discount package, the Artists Happy Hour offers a destination where young artists can interact with like-minded people. The event will take place on Thursday nights, hours before the Pageant of the Masters showing. The following will be provided:

LAGUNA BEACH, California —With Pageant of the Masters’ new student artists ticket package, young artists are invited to Festival of Arts’ Artists Happy Hour every Thursday night during the summer two hours before the Pageant of the Masters performance.

• Cheese, wine and craft beer from local breweries for those 21+ and mocktails for anyone under 21

This add-on to the Festival of Arts schedule is part of the Live Creatively campaign. With the desire to attract a younger artist demographic and build an inviting, inspiring environment, Festival of Arts is a prime destination for young artists to connect with like-minded people and expose themselves to the Laguna Beach art community.

• ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’ friendly art contest

“The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters opens students’ eyes to endless possibilities and knowledge about art, especially with the addition of the Artists Happy Hour,” says Fred Sattler, president of the board of directors of the Festival of Arts. The Artists Happy Hour will offer a variety of wines and cheeses. Craft beer from local breweries will also be provided, in addition to mocktails for those under 21-years-old. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a pursuit of happiness-themed art competition, following this year’s theme, where participants can share their creativity. This offers attendees an opportunity to interact with other young artists while also celebrating their work. Winners will be showcased throughout the summer at the Festival of Arts.

• A variety of other activities (poetry circle performance, paint balloon darts, jazz performances, etc.) • Behind-the-scenes tour of Pageant of the Masters

### Contact: Astrid Martin Public Relations Specialist prdept@foapom.com 812-972-9898

Media Pitch

Media Alert / Media Events MOM BLOGGER MEDIA EVENT

MEDIA ALERT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FESTIVAL OF ARTS PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS WELCOMES MOM BLOGGERS TO EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW NIGHT WHO: The Pageant of the Masters and Festival of Arts WHAT: Mom bloggers are invited to attend an exclusive preview day of the new family offerings at this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pageant of the Masters and Festival of Arts. They will enjoy exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the props, costumes, makeup and activities that are family friendly. WHERE: The event will take place of the grounds of the festival located at 650 Laguna Canyon Rd, Laguna Beach, CA 92651. Parking will be clearly marked for the event and is free. WHEN: Sunday, June 7th at 2:00 pm. Light refreshments and beverages will be served before and after the tour. There will be a 30-minute press conference at the conclusion of the tour. WHY: Spark creativity in your family this summer at the Pageant of the Masters and Festival of Arts. Located right in your own backyard, this family and budget friendly event is sure to be a hit with all members. Family packages and special events guarantee your family will make memories that will last a lifetime.

Through research, it is clear that OC Families play a heavy role in the consuming of events across the OC. The Mom Blogger Media Event was designed to invite Mom Bloggers and their children across Orange County to learn about the new Family Packages that will be implemented. They will enjoy exclusive access to props, costumes, makeups and hands on arts and crafts that are family friendly. The family packages include four tickets to the Festival of Arts at a discounted price. Included in the ticket is also an invitation to a character meet and greet happening during the Festival of Arts. This meet and greet allows children to meet characters in full costume and makeup that will be in the Pageant of the Masters. It is our hope that these new packages, and the word of mouth of the Mom Bloggers, will drive the sales of top-tier seating and the attendance of the Festival of Arts.

Contact: Liz Quick Public Relations Specialist prdept@foapom.com 812-972-9898

ABOUT

Every summer the Festival of Arts produces Artist the Festival Spotlights of Arts Fine Art Show and

Pageant of the Masters, where art comes to life! SERIES VIDEO

Festival of Arts / Pageant of the Masters May 1, 2015

Every artist has a story to tell! Follow our Artist Video Series - this week we’re featuring photographer Rick Graves!

Every artist has his or her own story. The problem is that most people don’t know it. With http://www.foapom.com/ two-minute long personal narratives, audiences will be able to relate to and engage with the artists, encouraging them to go to the Festival of 650 Laguna Canyon Road Arts. Laguna Beach, California 92651 Videos will be shot in the artists’ natural, per497-6582 sonal (949) spaces (i.e. personal art studios). Once complete, they will be posted on the Festival of Arts’ website in a special section for the artists. PHOTOS We will also create a YouTube channel for the festival and post the videos on there as well. Then, they will be linked to on the festival’s social media pages (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). Several artists from our focus groups expressed interest in working on this project.

Like • Comment • Share

Festival of Arts / Pageant of the Masters April 30, 2015

Ever wondered how much work goes into creating each scene for Pageant of the Masters? We’ll take you #BehindtheScenes!

VIDEOS

Social Media ENGAGEMENT AND CONVERSATION

Festival of Arts / Pageant of the Masters

Festival of Arts / Pageant of the Masters Arts & Entertainment Timeline

About

ABOUT

Every summer the Festival of Arts produces the Festival of Arts Fine Art Show and Pageant of the Masters, where art comes to life!

Photos

Likes

Festival of Arts / Pageant of the Masters May 1, 2015

Every artist has a story to tell! Follow our Artist Video Series - this week we’re featuring photographer Rick Graves!

http://www.foapom.com/ 650 Laguna Canyon Road Laguna Beach, California 92651

The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters do have a strong social media following, with over 25,000 Facebook likes and 2,500 Twitter followers. Posts are frequent and engaging, including trends like “Wisdom Wednesday” and “TBT”. However, it can continue to improve its presence to create stronger engagement and conversation on these platforms. Through the Artist Spotlight video series and behind-the-scenes images of the Pageant, FOAPOM can feature the artists that make the whole event possible. Additionally, simple elements like the cover photo should change regularly according to FOAPOM updates, like the new facade, or dates for the upcoming pageant and festival.

(949) 497-6582 PHOTOS

Like • Comment • Share

Festival of Arts / Pageant of the Masters April 30, 2015

Ever wondered how much work goes into creating each scene for Pageant of the Masters? We’ll take you #BehindtheScenes!

VIDEOS

Guerrilla Stunt POP UP ART The guerrilla stunt around Orange County will rely heavily on word of mouth and social media to get its point across. For one week, guerrilla marketing for both the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters will strike popular places. Ideal times to do these pop up events are the lunch hour (12-1 p.m.) and dinner hour (6-7 p.m.), in order to capitalize on the most heavy foot traffic. Sample place ideas include: Orange Circle, Downtown Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine Spectrum, Fashion Island, etc. The guerrilla marketing crew will roll up to these locations in full hair and makeup and without saying a word stand still in their designated poses. The only thing they will have indicating what they are doing is a sign with #foapom. Viewers will not only take pictures, they will use this hashtag to look up what it is. That is why in the weeks leading up to and week of the campaign, the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters must have a very active social media presence and use of this hashtag. This marketing technique can also be applied to the Festival of Arts ticket sales and attendance but instead of posing in tableaus, utilizing more art centric work like sketch artists, painters, etc. Once the allotted time of 30-45 minutes has finished, the artists will leave without saying a word. 26

Press Kit

Special Promotions / Program Consolidation CONSOLIDATING AND REVISING The Festival of Arts struggles in comparison to the attendance of the Pageant of the Masters. One way that we could change this fact is to consolidate the program offerings and include new programs to target our key publics of OC Moms, local customers and student artists.

pealing to families who look at the schedule. Building on that, the Kids Crafts should only be offered Mondays - Wednesdays since that is when we are targeting families to come.

Thursdays should be completely revised to target our key public of student artists. There Glancing at what is offered the Festival of Arts should be the Art Talks happening as well as the currently overwhelms with its options. Week- Artists Happy Hour. This will draw in the student days are filled with two a day offerings for “Youth artist demographic and work in conjunction Arts”, while adult and teen art workshops sprin- with the student packages that will be offered. kle the whole weekend. Our suggestion is to cut back on the programs offered as well as add Friday through Sunday should target the key HOTEL CHOCOLATES new ones. demographic of locals. These are people who frequent the shops, business and restaurants As a weeklong promotion, customized chocolate The Youth Arts Classes should be offered only around the Laguna Beach area. By offering the kisses will be placed on hotel guests’ pillows. once a day and closer to the Pageant of the Mas- Wine and Jazz Night on Friday, it will appeal to Guests will be graced with a range between ters start time. Since the new family packages the demographic we are trying to reach. It also 10-25 precent-off coupon on the bottom of the will be offered with a ticket to a character meet provides them with an activity to do before the kisses as an opportunity to attract visitors to the and greet, the suggestion is to have the art class Pageant of the Masters, drawing them into the Pageant of the Masters and Festival of Arts. To and meet and greet back to back. We suggest festival. manage costs, five hotels will be chosen to par- the class should start at around 3:30 p.m., with the meet and greet at 4:30 p.m., which will leave Finally, we recommend that the Sundays stay ticipate in this promotion. ample time for families to explore the art exhib- the same with the “Afternoon in the Park” acDINNER AND A PAGEANT its before the show. Furthermore, the youth arts tivities since it will draw both OC Families and should be renamed “Kids Crafts” to be more ap- locals into the festival. Additionally, we recommend partnering with local restaurants to place coupons for “Dinner and a Pageant.” These coupons will be on customers’ final bills, offering them a discount to the Pageant of the Masters. 28

Top-Tiered Seating Ticket Packages

MONDAYS-WEDNESDAYS: OC FAMILIES

THURSDAYS: COLLEGE STUDENTS

FRIDAYS-SUNDAYS: LOCAL CUSTOMERS

A family four pack of tickets will be available for purchase at a discounted rate that is 10 percent cheaper per ticket. Exclusively with this package, families will have the opportunity to experience the following deals:

With the goal of inviting younger artists to the festival, the Student Artists Package will offer tickets discounted at 15 percent off. This ticket purchase will give students access to the world the Festival of Arts has to offer with these exclusive experiences:

Customers of Laguna Beach hotels and restaurants will be offered tickets at a discounted rate ranging from 10 to 25 percent off the regular price, depending on coupons found in:

• Meet-and-greet with characters from the pageant two hours before the show • Artists Happy Hour - a cheese and wine so• “How to” sessions at Festival of Arts where cial with Pageant of the Masters artists and kids can get a behind-the-scenes look at performers two hours before the pageant how the makeup and costuming are done • Pageant of the Masters backstage access for the pageant tour Thursday afternoon • Kid-friendly, hands-on workshops at Festival • Art competition reflecting the 2015 theme, of Arts, including water coloring, cartooning “Pursuit of Happiness,” where finalists’ work and sculpting will be displayed at the Festival of Arts

• Chocolate kisses left in hotel rooms • Cards inserted in restaurant checks at the end of a purchase

Part 3: Appendix

Initial Key Publics / Original Research - Surveys PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION OF PUBLICS • • • • • •

Families in Laguna Beach Past, present and potential artists at Festival Hotel owners/guests in Laguna Beach Restaurant and owners in Laguna Beach Shop owners in Laguna Beach Current and potential sponsors

• • • • • •

Current and potential donors Past, present and potential volunteers Current Festival of Arts members Laguna Beach locals/Neighboring cities California residents U.S. tourists out of California

• • • • • •

International tourists Resource providers/Vendors at festival Employees of festival Art enthusiasts - traveling to various festivals College students with interest in art Members of art museums

SURVEY OF 40 COLLEGE STUDENTS AGES 18 to 22-YEARS-OLD The survey of 40 college students ages 18 to 22-years-old held three primary goals: to understand the perception of arts festivals, to find out what incentivizes students to attend arts festivals and to gage the awareness of Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters. When respondents were asked to describe their perception of arts festivals in one word, common answers were: creativity, inspiring, cultural, boring, hipster, variety, crafty, colors, sophisticated, nauseating, fun, intriguing, diverse, quirky and interesting. While most of these words have a positive connotation, it’s important to note the negative perceptions and consider how to persuade students otherwise. On a scale of one to five, one being the least and five being the most, the average interest level in attending arts festivals is 3.15. With 37.5 percent of respondents ranking their interest level at a three and 35 percent of respondents ranking their interest level at a four, it’s evident that

a large percentage of students have some level of interest in arts festivals overall, so it’s important to recognize what specifically draws them in.

likely to attend an arts festival during the summer on a weekend afternoon, 20 percent they’d be likely to attend on a weekend evening, 12.5 percent said they’d be likely to attend on a weekWith the option to select more than one answer, day evening and 5 percent said they’d be likely 80 percent of students said that free food and to attend on a weekday afternoon. Because of drinks would motivate them to attend an art this, the campaign will either need to impleshow and 70 percent of students said that ticket ment tactics for students during their preferred deals or special pricing would motivate them to times or do something different with strong reaattend. Under the “other” option, respondents soning to persuade them otherwise. said they’d attend “if I can relate to the work” and if there are “good artists/performers.” This Another primary message of the campaign is one of the most helpful findings of this survey should also focus on awareness of Festival of and this information will be used in the creation Arts and Pageant of the Masters. Only seven of student promotions and initiatives. respondents (17.5 percent) said they have ever attended any of the three arts festivals in LaguWhen asked what the best way is to find out na Beach, and of these seven, only three have that an event is happening, 90 percent of re- ever attended Festival of Arts. therefore, name spondents said via Facebook/social media. This recognition should be a goal of this campaign. illustrates that the campaign will have to reach Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters need students via digital platforms. to have higher recognition, especially over the Sawdust Festival and Art-A-Fair in Laguna Beach. 62.5 percent of respondents said they’d be most 31

Original Research - Focus Groups

FOCUS GROUP OF 5 FESTIVAL ARTISTS Interesting personalities participated in the focus group with a variety of artists from the Festival of Arts, all of which live in Laguna Beach:

art form is viewed more like a hobby to Rick. His career is a short and documentary filmmaker.

Rob is another photographer who actually used Shelley is a fiber artist who uses any item she to be Rick’s professor. Just like Rick he also parcan get her hands on to create 3-D mixed media ticipates at the Festival of Arts as a hobby while sculptures. As a Festival of Arts participant for his professional endeavors are in advertising as 24 years, she’s still enjoys the experience. Not a commercial filmmaker. only has she developed a wonderful community of artist friends, but she also enjoys how inex- Creative collaboration never looked more interpensive it is to showcase her work. Unlike oth- esting and beautiful than the work Stephanie er art shows, the festival has a consistent eight and Betty present every year at the Festival of weeks where she can show of her work. Arts. Stephanie is a landscape painter and Betty is a figure painter, but together they make Rick is a highly competitive photographer, who canvas art masterpieces that not only attract built a camera that uses a roll of film to make crowds at the festival, but also the entertainone picture. This process uses math formulas ment world. Many pieces of their work have to move film at the correct speed to capture a been displayed in movies such as The Proposal moving subject. That way the subject maintains and The Last Song. This 15-year-old friendship its sharpness while the background blurs. This didn’t collaborate until nine years ago when Betty approached Stephanie and insisted to com-

bine their talents into one canvas piece. Their intriguing duet-process has no restrictions on theme before combining their work. Stephanie and Betty’s collaborative work has been showcased at the Festival of Arts for seven years. As pioneers in the collaboration art section of the festival, the two close friends still look forward painting together every time. These individuals were chosen because they are great examples of the diversity of artists found in the festival as well as the strong community that each one has created. They each have known each other for years. This close connection was demonstrated through their entertaining and free flowing discussion with one another in the conference room of the Festival of Arts. Giggles flared and enthusiasm was present. The passion of their work and relationships filled the atmosphere.

Original Research - In-Person Interviews

LINDSAY DURNIAK

GRACE NEARY

MICHELLE LUNA

23, young working professional

47, Laguna Beach resident

36, Irvine mom with two young kids

Lindsay provided a great insight into the perspective of a young working professional. Since this demographic is more likely to go out and spend their money, this could be a key target audience for our PR campaign. She brought up some great points to keep in mind. She mentions she gets about 90 percent of her event news via Facebook. This means having an active Facebook presence and events can hook in younger participants for the pageant and festival. She also stated that deals and promotions are key to getting her to spend her money. She said she loves either a certain percentage off, perks with what you buy, or buy one get one free deals. The takeaways from her interviews show us that deals are crucial to securing young buyers and Facebook promotions play a defining role in soliciting them.

Grace has been living in the Laguna Beach area for 15 years so she was very familiar with what the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters was. She said she has been a few times but only really vividly remembered the Pageant, as art shows “weren’t really her thing”. She says during the months of the pageant, it’s her favorite time because of the surge of tourists and visitors in her hometown of Laguna Beach. She suggested some sort of promotion for locals like some sort of dinner deal since she eats out a lot. She thought it would be cool to see a promotion for the festival inside local Laguna Beach stores. Both her suggestions are great ideas to tie together local businesses and residents to the Pageant of the Masters and Festival of Arts.

Michelle is a busy stay-at-home mom with two young kids in the Irvine schools. She said summer is a very stressful time for her because she is constantly looking for ways to entertain her students since school is out. We had a long talk about her feelings about education, and she mentioned that she was saddened that arts education had been cut in public schools across America. She said a lot of the activities she does at home involve some sort of craft to keep her kids practicing and experiencing art. We explained to her all about the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters. She said the pageant is definitely something she would take her kids to and know they would love. She also said the festival seemed a little too “old” for her children and she would only take them if there was some sort of activity or event for them to enjoy. This suggestion could be a great way to get OC families involved in the Festival of Arts. 33

Original Research - Client Interview Festival of Arts is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the arts and arts education. It is a place for artists to sell their wares and keep the entirety of the sales. Some artists have showcased for 50 years, while others will be participating for the first time. The organization also gives scholarships to local high school students and art organizations, and hosts a permanent art collection that is showcased in different exhibits. The festival grounds are currently undergoing a major building project. The front facade is being updated, and this will result in an overall rebranding of the Festival of Arts (logo, style, etc.). The new facade will reflect the canyon setting and include recycled materials, wood and metal. The old facade was up for about 17 years. FESTIVAL CURRENT SITUATION For the Festival of Arts, the main challenge lies in weekday attendance. The weekends and weeknights are always packed. The organization has worked to improve attendance by including art activities and workshops during the day. These include free printmaking in the art center, mixed media and ceramics workshops, art talks, a full schedule of paid classes for children and art tours. We hope to answer the question: Who would benefit from learning more about art? The Festival of Arts certainly hopes to attract people with 34

purchasing power, but also people that can benefit from the art education, like students. This holds true to the festival’s mission of supporting art education. The Festival of Arts also needs more press coverage, specifically on artists and grounds events. PAGEANT CURRENT SITUATION The Pageant of the Masters gets plenty of press. It is covered locally, nationally and even internationally. It was even featured on Somebody’s Gotta Do It with Mike Rowe on CNN. For the Pageant of the Masters, the main challenge is getting people to purchase upper tier seating. This is the cheapest seating, but it is also the farthest from the stage. The amphitheater sits roughly 2600 people, and the organization would love to see a full house each night. Attendance is not an issue though. Pageant of the Masters sees around 250,000 attendees each summer. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE Sawdust and Art-A-Fair are direct competitors in Laguna Beach - in fact, both of these festivals take place right across the street from the Festival of Arts. In contrast to the Festival of Arts, Sawdust and Art-A-Fair don’t require artists to showcase original artwork. These festivals allow reproductions, which causes sales to be much cheaper. The Festival of Arts includes only original fine art.

Sawdust only allows Laguna Beach residents to hold a booth. The process is non jurying; artists that want a booth get one if they ask early enough. Additionally, the festival prices are more expensive than the Festival of Arts. The audience skews younger, and Sawdust includes a summer and winter show with year-round art classes. Art-A-Fair, which is an international show, is also more expensive than the Festival of Arts (almost 6x!). It allows reproductions, and the organization takes 20 percent of artist sales. Festival of Arts is the cheapest for artists. TARGET AUDIENCE For the Pageant of the Masters, the audience skews older, primarily between ages 45-55. However, attendees cover both extremes. Members have been members for 30+ years. The organization doesn’t currently track who comes into the art show, and therefore keeps its target audience extremely broad. We can work to narrow this down. Both the festival and pageant tend to attract local hotel guests as well. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Due to the timeline of our campaign versus the festival, we can include short-term and long-

term ideas on our PR plan. This allows us to share ideas that can be used this summer, as well as ones that may require more planning for future summers. While social media is well-managed now, it can grow through better incorporating the pageant theme. Twitter and Instagram don’t have as big of an audience as Facebook yet, and the organization is playing around with Pinterest. A challenge is that some of the festival artists don’t necessarily feel comfortable with having their art posted on social media. However, using the

stories of the artists could drive attendance. Additionally, both events could benefit from more Internet presence overall (ex: ABC 7-day Planner). The organization already does calendar listings and uses social media, but is curious to know what else is out there.

Advertising of the two events used to be joint, but it created confusing messaging and people were unaware you could choose one event to attend. Now, the two are only combined in specific situations, like to save money in print ads by creating a split page ad.

Pageant of the Masters has a new theme every year. This year it is “Pursuit of Happiness.” The Festival of Arts sometimes picks up the theme via artists incorporating it into their work, but not with strength. The theme could help tie these two together without causing confusion.

The three Laguna Beach art festivals offer a Passport to the Arts. This allows people to attend all three festivals, all summer long, for only $23. These types of promotions can help drive attendance. 35

Trend Research ORANGE COUNTY ART FESTIVALS Orange County has two different types of art shows: annual art shows and ongoing art shows. Some of the most well-known annual art shows are Pageant of the Masters from July through September, Sawdust Festival from June through September and Art-A-Fair from June through August, all located in Laguna Beach.

the Masters in Laguna Beach. The second trend is an individual philanthropic donation toward funds to help local artists. For example, the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach has the Artists’ Benevolence Fund which raises money for artists who have “suffered a catastrophic event, making them unable to work.” The third trend is an arts council to help the advancement of the In October, the Newport Beach Arts Foundation arts. Arts Orange County is a perfect example holds its annual “Art in the Park” fine arts and of this; it raises money from membership dues, crafts fair, and in the same month in Fullerton, fundraising efforts, grants and contributions “A Night in Fullerton” offers free music, art, from foundations, corporations and individuals. drama and dance programs at several locations throughout the city. From November through December, one can find over 130 artists with CALIFORNIA ART FESTIVALS original arts and crafts, artist’s demonstrations and hands-on workshops at the Sawdust Winter Arts festivals in California often include art of Fantasy in Laguna Beach. Furthermore, some of all sorts: fine art, design, textile, photography, the most well-known ongoing art shows are Art performance art, etc. Common features include Walk in Huntington Beach on the third Thursday artist exhibits, classes and live entertainment. of every month, Artists Village Art Walk in Santa Most art festivals have similar goals of promotAna on the first Saturday of every month and Art ing and supporting community arts and in some Walk in Laguna Beach on the first Thursday of way donate the money made from the event. every month. A major trend noticed was festival workshops or There are three main fundraising trends in the classes. These are used to incentivize people to arts. The first is corporate sponsorships. Many attend festivals, encouraging people to actively businesses help fund local art events in the Or- participate in the festival, rather than just obange County area. For instance, Wells Fargo, the serve and leave. As stated by Eventbrite, “ConOrange County Register and The Ritz-Carlton La- sumers [are] enjoying greater choice and variety guna Niguel are just a few companies that spon- in everything from food to travel to on-demand sored the 2014 Festival of Arts and Pageant of entertainment [and] are increasingly expecting and demanding events that more closely match

their passions and pursuits.” When it comes to PR content, the festivals consistently promote their longevity (Ex. “48th annual festival”), featured artists, or special events throughout the festival. Though the exact content changes from festival to festival, these are the topics that are often focused on. Many festivals also announce artist awards and have online festival stores. It’s pretty easy to find the press section of the websites, and this section tends to include history, quick facts, press releases and photos.

NATIONAL ART FESTIVALS All across America arts programs at schools have been cut, and arts attendance at “benchmark arts activities” (jazz events, classical music performances, opera, musical plays, plays, ballet) has been on a steady decline since 1992. In that year, 41 percent of adults attended at least one art activity a year. In 2012, only 33 percent attended. Furthermore, 73 percent of arts attendees said their main reason for going to an arts event was to socialize with family and friends. In the United States, people who call themselves middle class were most likely to attend art events than those who identified themselves as working class. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, museum and gallery attendance has been hit the heaviest. In terms of

audience size, art museums and galleries have Even as globalization has exploded, the number lost about eight million visitors since its peak. of degrees in foreign languages and literatures has been cut in half, from 2.4 percent to 1.2 perArts and education have been hit extremely hard cent. with budget cuts in public schools and shifts in university degrees. States across the U.S. have INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVALS seen drastic budget cuts in public education. In Exploring international festivals, the goal was Pennsylvania, $1 billion was cut from arts and to figure out why people are attracted to the social sciences programs across the state. Chi- programs over the commercial events in procago laid off 1000 teachers when it decided to claimed art festivals . In festivals found in Venclose 50 schools and a majority of them taught ice, Scotland and New Haven, art is a defining art and music. In the university level, fewer stu- factor for the community. Not only do they dents are majoring in liberal arts degrees. En- have easy access to essential resources (worldglish degrees accounted for almost eight per- class performers, costumes, makeup, etc.), but cent of degrees in 1971, but had sunk to four the festivals have become part of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s/ percent by 2002; history degreed had five per- stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s identity. This invites crowds of tourists, cent back then but now gets only two percent.

natives and corporations excited to poor funds in. Another trick that proved effective was the idea of organizing parties, events that guarantee a memorable experience. In addition to this, social media and an organized site for the Greek Art Festival were successful in consistently exposing fans to their programs and activities. This offers a chance for the festival to continue maintaining and growing their fan base even when the festival is in hiatus.

Competitive Literature Analysis FESTIVAL OF ARTS PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS

company logo. It’s an awful lot of text in a tiny little circle and it is very difficult to read. It’s also WEBSITE The Festival of Arts/Pageant of the Masters’ hard to understand what the image inside is website goes with the theme of old school art. and how it correlates to the Festival of Arts, and With classic, elegant fonts and rotating imag- more specifically, Pageant of the Masters. es on the home page, it has a nice, clean look. However, once viewers try to find information SOCIAL MEDIA they need, it can get a bit complicated. First off, On the top right of the website, one can find there are way too many options on the drop- several social media widgets. It’s great that down menus. This can be overwhelming and these are on the site, but they could be bigger deter people from exploring the site. Also, when and more present on the page. you hover over ‘Pageant of the Masters,’ ‘about the pageant’ is the fourth option down, and the As previously mentioned, the use of images is first option is to ‘buy tickets’. The ‘about’ page significantly important in this day in age, and should be first on the list, because why would studies show that Instagram is becoming wildly anyone want to buy tickets to something if they popular, especially among millennials. However, this platform has the lowest engagement for don’t even know what it is? the Festival of Arts with only 260 followers. It The ‘news’ tab on the website, however, is very doesn’t help that there hasn’t been a post since well done. With press releases and materials, December 2014. The non-profit posts about photos and contact information readily avail- once a month, if that, so the followers aren’t enable, it shows that Festival of Arts has strong gaged. It’s important to realize that just because professionalism and good communication with the festival isn’t happening doesn’t mean that the media. Another positive aspect of the web- there shouldn’t be frequent posts. site is its use of videos. In this day in age, people gravitate more toward visual elements such as Some ideas that the Festival of Arts could do is photos and videos over large amounts of text, have a post of an artist next to his/her piece, so this is a plus for the non-profit and a great post about previous years and post about what people can expect at the upcoming pageant. way to show rather than simply tell. The Festival of Arts/Pageant of the Masters While the overall use of images and videos is Facebook page has over 25,000 likes and over generally positive, the one big negative is the 45,000 visits, which is great for the organization. 38

Posts are frequent and engaging, which keeps its audience coming back to the page. They include ‘Wednesday wisdom,’ ‘TBT’ and shared photos about the audition process. On the downside, the title name for the page is very long and can make people confused as to the differentiation between the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters. There needs to be a greater distinction between the two throughout all marketing collateral. Moreover, the cover photo and profile photos are weak. Both images aren’t appealing and don’t give enough information. The cover photo, for instance, could have the dates for the upcoming pageant, and it should also mention Pageant of the Masters. The Twitter page has over 2,500 followers. While it’s not as strong as Facebook, it’s still better than Instagram. It also has the same profile picture and cover photo as Facebook. It’s important to differentiate the two platforms and realize that each reaches out to a different audience, so it’s important to brand each one accordingly. It might also be helpful to link the Instagram to the Twitter and post more images with relevant hashtags. BROCHURE The Festival of Arts/Pageant of the Masters uses

the same overall look with its print collateral: dark brown background with light text colors (greens, whites, yellows). It’s opposite of the website, which has a tan background and dark brown text.

date, location and number of artists and performances at the festival. This is a great idea that we should implement for our non-profit since our current cover photo is plain and offers no explanation of what our event is. Another thing I enjoyed was a multi day giving campaign that The brochure does a great job explaining the centered on artist that was in this year’s festival. theme, and the overall look is aesthetically Not only did it get me excited about the artist pleasing. There are several images and it uses since information about him was given away, I serif fonts with non-serif fonts (for the titles and felt more invested to donate and buy a ticket body text), which is visually appealing. There’s since it created a personal face for me to idenalso a section with the title, “two shows for the tify with. I also feel like this campaign would be price of one,” which grabs the reader’s atten- great to implement for our own non-profit. tion with a bargain. The back of the brochure is very informative, listing the location (with a Some things I did not like that are important to map), address, website and phone number for include and take note of for our own nonprofit Pageant of the Masters is the lack of actual press that was available. The “news” section of the website contained one article and offered no past articles or mentions in SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL ART the media. As a journalist I was frustrated beFESTIVAL cause I would have been unable to complete My report analyzed the San Francisco Interna- any assignment about this event without furtional Arts Festival, a festival that unites coun- ther asking of more information. I also noticed tries and citizens from around the world with that there was a HUGE lack of social media local artists. I found several pros and cons in my posts. The last Facebook post was in December key findings for this non-profit. For one, I loved and there were barely any photos of the perforthe simplicity in the images and texts that were mance or festival shared. This left me confused presented to me. The Facebook cover photo about what the performance was like and why stood out to me, as it was an engaging picture it was so unique and global like the texts said. from the performance and contained statistics They definitely needed more social media posts, about the festival that informed about what something I took note of for our own group. it was. The statistics that were included were:

Finally the most frustrating thing that happened was I never truly understood what the festival was about. They wanted me to buy this ticket to this innovating global event but I didn’t even know what I was buying. There was no description of a schedule or what performances were like. I didn’t know what I was getting into or what my money was buying. As an audience member this was so frustrating and turned me off to being invested into this event. This was a great point to remember for our own organization.

ART-A-FAIR After looking through various Art-A-Fair literature channels, it’s obvious that the festival content could use some work. The tagline seems to be, “Laguna’s Fine Art Summer Destination,” though this is not consistent throughout the literature. This tagline displays no differentiating features about the festival and is especially too generic since the festival directly competes with two other popular Laguna Beach art festivals. The website copywriting is bland, but it gets the details across. There is nothing really differentiating the copy from another festival’s. Additionally, since it is the offseason, the website is not updated. When you click on certain pages, like Advertisers, it’s completely blank. It should include some type of informative content, such as, “Check back for the schedule.” 39

Competitive Literature Analysis Continued A blank page does not convey professionalism to viewers because it makes the organization look like it doesn’t care. The menu bar includes an item called “About,” which has a dropdown menu only including “Visit Laguna Beach.” This link doesn’t take you to any Art-A-Fair information, but instead to a separate Laguna Beach tourism website. This seems pretty unrelated, especially under the About tab. On the festival website, there is no mission statement. Viewers have to navigate to a separate Art-A-Fair Foundation website in order to learn more about the mission of the foundation and how it ties in with the festival. This is too many steps for a viewer looking for quick information. Simplicity is key. The Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest content are practically identical. The organization should not have the four social media platforms without using them intentionally. The platforms are updated every couple of days, which is more regular than other organizations, but could be even more regular, especially on Twitter. The content is extremely basic, including things like “Wacky Wednesday,” “Throwback Thursday,” and “Mentionable Monday.” That tends to be the entirety of the content, which gets repetitive and easy to block out. While it is good to have content that viewers can expect weekly, it should be mixed in with updates, interesting facts and links to other sites. However, the fact that Art-A-Fair is on all four platforms shows that it is trying to remain up to date and 40

relevant.

fun the experience may actually be. Luckily the effectiveness of the videos would regain site An opening day flyer was posted on Art-A-Fair’s visitors if they choose to come across that tab. social media accounts. The flyer has the dates Placing more media tools in the media tab of of the festival, the number of artists exhibiting the website is necessary for the sake of providand a link to the website. While that informa- ing enough information for journalists. As for sotion is important, it could be more engaging. cial media, Sawdust does a great job in providAdditionally, the type of design posted on social ing enough variety in their content that are both media doesn’t necessarily need to include the branded as well as art inspired. The best way to same information a physical flyer might include. use social media is to not bombard people with Information like the website link could simply the organization’s brand, but to provide people be included in the caption of the post, rather with content that reminds them of the brand. than directly on the flyer, since you can’t click on it anyway. Additionally, the flyer itself looks WEBSITE thrown together. There’s a lot of white space throughout the website. For some pages, this use of white space complements some of the colorful images provided. A beautiful banner image of the SAWDUST ART AND CRAFT FESTIVAL festival rotates among other images of art class Sawdust Art and Craft Festival is a non-profit activities. There is also a watercolor logo that dedicated to educate and promoting individuals comfortably blends into the white background. about the art created in Laguna Beach. Surfing This offers a nice first impression. However, the through the website, literature was devoted to only problem is when you go deeper into pages more than just the festival. There’s information devoted to classes and artists. Text is used exabout classes in addition to local artists. Each tensively. Pictures should be provided in hopes micro page for these topics relies on written to generate an audience that can lure people to content more than images. It would take a per- stay on the site. Other than that, by the time you son already interested in the organization to keep clicking on links that outline class schedfind the motivation to stay on the website and ules and artists, the web developer did a great learn more about the Sawdust Art and Craft Fes- job of organizing simple images and brief headtival. Other than that, no one who is unfamil- ings. By the time people reach the media seciar with the organization would be intrigued of tion, I was disappointed to find no brochures. any of the experiences provided, despite how If this organization wants to gain the attention

from both media individuals and new attend- also it’s their chance to showcase the organiees, they’re going to have to be more proactive zation’s creative side through cinematography. in this department. This is the portion of the website that will win people’s hearts and turn interest into action. VIDEO Sawdust Art earns a glorified A+ in the video de- SOCIAL MEDIA partment. Filmmakers do a great job showcas- Sawdust has fun with social media by doing ing a vibrant ambiance as they spotlight several more than just informing people about the fesartists and art skills that are taught in festival tival’s existence. Artists are spotlighted as a way classes. Not only is this an essential medium to to humanize such talented minds, pictures of inform people about the festivals existence, but previous festival attendees are illustrated hav-

ing fun, and inspirational quotes are showcased. This content variety, as well as occasional branding encourages individuals to actually read the organization’s material while keeping Sawdust outside the digital world. Individuals will also appreciate the content Sawdust posts in their social media, which will maintain Facebook followers even during the festival’s hiatus.

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“Creative Communities Exchange.” New England Foundation for the Arts Non Profit. Web. http://www.nefa.org/events/creative-communities-exchange “Edinburgh Festival PhotosScotland.” Edinburgh Festival City Pictures and Information, Scotland. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.bugbog. com/gallery/edinburgh_festival_pictures/edinburgh_pictures_door.html#ixzz3RxXGadx9>.

“Philadelphia Folk Festival.” Folksong Society Non-profit Organization. Web. http://pfs.org/ folk-festival “San Francisco International Arts Festival.” Non-Profit Organization. Web. http://www.sfiaf. org/ “Sawdust Art Festival.” Sawdust Art Festival. N.p., 2013. Web. 16. Feb. 2015. <http://sawdustartfestival.org/>.

“Festival of Arts Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, CA.” Festival of Arts Pageant of the “Shanghai China International Arts Festival-INMasters. N.p., 2015. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. <http:// TRODUCTION.” Shanghai China International Arts Festival-INTRODUCTION. Web. 17 Feb. www.foapom.com/>. 2015. <http://www.artsbird.com/en/enaaf/ enafjj/> “International Folk Art Market.” International Folk Art Alliance Non Profit Organization. Web. “Art Shows in Orange County, California.” Or- http://www.folkartalliance.org/markets/san- “Venice Pictures Carnival Photos, Italy.” Venice angeCounty.net. Purpose Media, 2014. Web. ta-fe/ Pictures and Information, Italy. Venezia. Web. 17 16 Feb. 2015. <http://www.orangecounty.net/ Feb. 2015. <http://www.bugbog.com/gallery/ html/artshows.html>. “La Quinta Arts Foundation | Art. Culture. Life.” venice_pictures/venice_pictures_door.html>. La Quinta Arts Foundation | Art. Culture. Life. La “Athens & Epidaurus Festival 2014.” Athens & Quinta Arts Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. Epidaurus Festival 2014. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.lqaf.com/>. <http://www.greekfestival.gr/en/>.