Despite being called the “cultural capital of the South,” people still think there’s nothing to do in Atlanta.
“We’ve done research with residents and potential visitors, with MAACC (the Metro Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition) and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, and found that people don’t consider us a cultural destination,” says Nicole Jones, editor of AtlantaPlanIt.com, a free online guide to arts and culture events, organizations and venues that is a service of Public Broadcasting Atlanta. “We had a need to let people know that Atlanta has a vast arts and culture community.”
To give Atlanta’s arts scene greater visibility, AtlantaPlanIt.com has launched a marketing campaign called Atlanta Art Lives Here in partnership with several local nonprofit organizations, including the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Theatrical Outfit, True Colors Theatre Company, High Museum of Art, Center for Puppetry Arts, National Black Arts Festival and the Atlanta Ballet, to name a few.
The organizations, which are of varying sizes and artistic disciplines, have contributed to a collective marketing fund that will cover the costs of creating and buying radio and print advertising. Costs that would be impossible to absorb on an individual basis, due to decreases in state and private funding.
“Our hope is that this campaign will remind Atlantans just how crucial the arts are to the vitality of the city and energize them to support the arts in their community,” Jones says.
Getting the word out on cultural activities in Atlanta seems to be needed. Using various media to accomplish this would help. Since technology is the communication of choice, I would concentrate on that area to inform the public about activities in and around Atlanta.
Those are really good points, Rosalie.
I know that Art Lives Here has a presence on Facebook, and I bet they’re on Twitter, too.
I know that at Encore Atlanta, we do a lot of promoting the arts on our social networks. If you’re interested, you can find us on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/EncoreAtlanta http://www.Facebook.com/PoshDealz and http://www.facebook.com/ArtEEncore pages and on Twitter @ArtsATL @EncoreAtlanta and @PoshDealz.
While the previous comments point to the viable and current ‘techno-options’, consider; that many of the arts-going/culturally active are NOT looking at twitter, facebook, or anything any more technical than a television, an email or text, a newspaper, magazine or billboard. I wouldn’t brush the newspaper, print and t.v. under the rug – keep the promo open to all your potential viewers!
Would sure love to help… I am a long-time supporter of Arts in Atlanta,
Sincerely, ACU
Funny you should point that out ACU, because I believe it’s just those low-fi marketing outlets — specifically radio and billboard ads — that Atlanta Art Lives Here is concentrating their marketing efforts on. And Encore Atlanta believes in print, too! After all, we are the show program for Atlanta’s major arts entites.
Thank you for being a long-time supporter of this city’s arts scene. I think the best way to help is always to tell your friends about the great shows you stumble upon. And that doesn’t require any technical knowledge at all!