London Calling

Nobody wants funding cuts. Not the makers of work, not the supporting organisations, and not us.

This much is a given, but still apparently news to some:

Right now organisations like the Arts Marketing Association and Arts Quarter are mobilising the sector and gathering vital feedback and information on exactly how the impending cuts will affect our cultural sector and beyond.

If any member of our government wants to know just how extraordinarily efficient and budget-conscious the sector is already though, please just ask an agency like us. After all, we’re the ones whose job it is to ask our Arts clients just how much (ok, how little) budget they have available to engage audiences, sell tickets and make amazing work.

The Arts is bigger than just the subsidised sector, and the proposed funding cuts will surely have broader-reaching implications across multiple industries, both commercial and not-for-profit. There’s a big supporting business ecology out there.

All of us at London Calling are as concerned as our clients about what the short and longer term future might hold for us all.

We know that whatever happens, whichever side of 50% the axe falls, there are dark and turbulent times ahead.

We still remember the last recession, and how important it was to work in close partnership with our clients, no matter the challenges.

We want you to know we’re not just there for the good times, and as budgets tighten and plans change please do pick up the phone and talk to us. We want to help, so let us know what you need.

Right now though, please add your voice to the AMA’s crowd-sourcing initiative on marketing and anticipated arts funding here.

London Calling dispatched intrepid accounts man Tom Butler on a sightseeing trip into the future of collaborative and interactive arts at the Shift Happens conference, and this is what he brought back…

Over the last couple of years, the questions within the Arts industry have been ‘What is social media?’ What is this technology?’ and then swiftly followed by the sweeping statement of ‘I don’t think it’s for us’. Well thankfully, as Bob Dylan had the foresight to predict…‘the times, they are a changing’.

York was the setting for the fantastic, third annual Shift Happens conference last week, and amongst this beautiful, castle walled, cobbled street city it seemed oddly appropriate to attend an event that was embracing the future and had new media and technologies at its core.

No longer was the question ‘What is this technology?’ but ‘How best can we use it?’ ‘How best can we engage with and develop new audiences?’ The speakers talked with passion and knowledge and the delegates lapped it up and posed questions via twitter. Everyone came away enthused as to the possibilities within their grasp.

Such is the potential to reach huge audiences via social media these days that within 48 hours of the conference ending, the shifthappens hashtag had made 2.7 million impressions with over 3,000 tweets made by 410 tweeters over 2 days. My boss even knew I’d had quiche for lunch!

And what makes it even better is that because it’s new there’s a feeling that everyone’s learning from each other. There’s a willingness to share ideas and see the great collaborations coming together. Check out this great video by Sour which had a massive on-line presence in Asia and has since won loads of awards.

Within the arts industry and across all sectors there are new approaches to marketing and audience development taking place and a genuine excitement attached to each campaign to see the results. So lets, talk, blog, tweet, facebook and share what we know and find out.

I want to go to next year’s conference and hear about the amazing, intuitive, creative campaigns we’ve all undertaken and be equally inspired by each other. So thank you Shift Happens, and yes Mr Dylan, the time’s are indeed a changing!

We’re often asked what format and size of print are the most popular with different audiences and venues, so here’s what we found out.

Tom Butler investigates:

An interesting document arrived on my desk yesterday, it detailed every single piece of print that we’d taken out over the past 12 months. Initially I thought nothing of it, but once immersed in the facts it soon became clear of an emergent trend. We had more pieces of A5 print on display last year than all other sizes put together (DL, A6, etc). And we were looking at over 80 different sizes of print!

Now this is not to say there is a more effective size over the rest however. The sheer number and varieties of print we have successfully taken to market over the past year are mind blowing! If each piece of print was designed and coloured in the same way it would become mundane. So it’s this variety that keeps people interested.

But what does this variety mean!?! I hear you ask. Well I got to thinking, and in one sense it’s about familiarity and comfort. When a medium of marketing has worked so consistently well throughout the ages why would anyone veer away from it?

And yet in another sense, when a bold piece of print goes to market it creates that spark of recognition, that sense of excitement amongst an audience who know already they’re going to be entertained, fascinated and educated all at the same time.

Is this why print has become so endearingly popular? Is it because it’s visible? Is it because people think they’re getting a free guide when they should have paid? Is it because you can pick it up and put it in your bag? Is it because your going to mention it to your friends when you next see them? Well, amazingly, it’s all of the above.

So who is it that creates this raft of print in all shapes and sizes? Well research would suggest that it’s the traditional organisations, galleries and museums who produce the A5 print, film companies and contemporary organisations think up a postcard or something not seen before whilst the theatre world corners the market in concertina glitzy DL leaflets.

And in that sense, it’s also partly about brand recognition. Organisations are looking to develop a series of consistently designed pieces of print with the long term goal being for audiences to recognise the style and production of a leaflet in connection with the venue, exhibition or show.

So whilst the advent of Social Media has brought about a whole new raft of ways in which to reach your audience it brings a lovely sense of familiarity to see the multi-sized flyer defying the trends. In short, it’s become a core of organisations campaigns that shows no signs of slowing down for the foreseeable future.

Viva Print!

Last night saw us down at the Apollo Cinema for the opening night gala of the Raindance Film Festival.

London Calling has been working regularly with the Festival, distributing their print and poster publicity, but this is our first year supporting the event as an official media partner and we’re thrilled to be involved.

Speaking of print publicity, the full Festival catalogue can be downloaded from their site here. Counting in at a whopping 160+ printed pages it’s a little bit big for one of our display racks – I’d estimate we could fit maybe three of these in any one display point – and they’ve even divided up the digital version into four discreet sections to make it more manageable.

We’ve solved this by distributing both a single A5 leaflet and a smaller  “minilogue” highlighting specially selected events and the film cafe alongside a fold-out programme listing and screening pass promotion. It’s the perfect fit for us, and a cost-effective way of raising early awareness and directing traffic to their information-rich website.

Being partners with Raindance is not only a great opportunity to support the best in independent film and see some great new movies, it’s also the ideal opportunity for us to gain a greater understanding of new ways to engage with different audiences and the unique demands this can create when planning a campaign.

Festivals move quickly and then they’re gone for a year, so one of the biggest challenges was to be sure we were targeting a broad spread of potential new audiences and announcing the festival London-wide. The combination of different pieces of print meant we were able to generate advance awareness even while the festival programme was still being finalised with an initial burst of high visibility flyers.

Meanwhile the decision to use of the smaller minilogue rather than attempt to work with a full-sized brochure on display meant that we were not only able to follow up with more detailed information as the opening night approached, but we were also able to help the Raindance team keep a better control on their overall printing budgets. This put enough aside to make the full catalogue not only a great piece of print but a great piece of festival memorabilia in its own right.

Raindance 2009 runs until Sunday 11th October and will screen over 14,000 minutes of independent short films, features and documentaries across 12 days.

The Guardian recommends it, and so do we.

At the heart of our sustainability initiative lies the creation of greener ways to engage with audiences and the successful delivery of environmentally friendly marketing campaigns.

London Calling handles 24 million leaflets a year, displayed in venues throughout the Capital and across the South East. As the leading provider of paper-based display options for the Arts, we’re ideally placed to do our part in improving the sustainability of the Arts Marketing Industry. Our ambition is to work in partnership with our clients to deliver a range of sustainable marketing options and offer a greener alternative with no loss of effectiveness.

We believe this commitment is one we share with our clients. The biggest effect we can have on the welfare of the planet is to help minimise the carbon footprint of our services.

Intelligent Marketing
• Targeted display sites to focus effectively on target audiences.
• Geographic zoning of delivery routes to minimise mileage.
• Practical advice on eco-friendly printing and paper stocks.

Immediate Action
• Advanced on-site paper recycling facilities.
• Greening our fleet of London Calling vans (already over 50% LPG and electric).
• 100% recycled cardboard display holders.

Fresh Approach
• Strategic industry and government partnerships.
• Commitment to regular company-wide green audits with accredited agencies.
• London Calling staff training and detailed office environmental policy.

New Initiatives
• Free end of campaign collection of waste paper from client venues.
• Carbon offsetting packages available for all campaigns.
• Cutting the company’s carbon footprint in half within five years.