Newspaper Page Text
DRINKING FROM THE FIREHOSE
Recently I was listening to Daddi's House,
my friend Bugg's Wednesday-night Internet
show on Radio Free Athens, as Bugg was inter
viewing members of local punkbilly outfit Grim
Pickins and the Bastard Congregation. Amidst
the free-floating conversation, somewhere
between the on-air beer run and the question
of just what the hell happened to Metallica,
the topic of local rock shows came up, specifi
cally why straight-up rock and roll seems to
be foundering in this town. While a number of
theories about changing audiences and current
trends were batted about, one thing popped
into my head: marketing, or rather the lack
thereof.
Yes, it's a given that Athens is never going
to recapture the glory of its heyday in the
'80s, when every bar in town had its doors
thrown open or blown off by countless rock
bands and every kid on the street was rushing
between them to catch so-and-so before their
set started. The lightning that struck then
continues to crackle, however, and Athens
remains a vibrant town for bands, artists, per
formers, writers, filmmakers and other creative
types to practice and
disseminate their respec
tive arts.
The problem is that
while art is made in a
thousand different ways
here, it doesn't sell the
way it should. Bands
find the audiences of
their friends dwindling
rather than growing. Art
openings are attended
by other artists who
come for the wine and
cheese and leave empty-
handed. Community
theater openings attract
the season-ticket hold
ers and members of the
company and still draw
half-houses. Across the
board, the arts com
munity remains a closed
circle with diminishing returns. The reason?
Poor promotion, inadequate publicity and lazy
marketing.
Facebook provides my news, my gossip and
what passes for my social life. It's also where
I find out about upcoming shows and perfor
mances???that is, provided I've been invited
or happen to catch it in my news feed, and
recognize any of the bands or players, or get
a wild hair up my ass to click on the link. I'm
one guy who happens to have an interest in
supporting local artists and it's a crapshoot to
inform me of upcoming gigs. Flyers downtown
are one piece of paper among hundreds of
them. And much as I love this hippie socialist
rag you're reading right now, one band's blurb
in the Calendar is just not enough.
I know we're all artists here and we'd rather
be making art than hustling it, but in our cur
rent climate of information deluge, of drinking
from the firehose, we have to fit our heads for
an entrepreneurial hat. We have to become
salesmen for our work. We need to become
marketers, constantly on the hunt for new
ways to make our work stand out and take
off. We may not like to think of our creative
endeavors as commodities to be bought and
sold, but as author Joe R. Lansdale puts it,
"Flemingway cashed his checks."
The best marketing tool, in art and music
as in any other product or service, is word-of-
mouth, but how do you go about generating it
in our culture of constant and overwhelming
noise? Fortunately, Wharton professor Jonah
Berger addresses this issue in his crisp, tight
new book Contagious: Why Things Catch On
(Simon & Schuster, 2013). This remarkable
book is nothing less than a crash-course in
viral marketing, and while it may not address
the arts specifically, it outlines a simple but
effective formula for spinning any product
into widespread currency. Whether you're sell
ing widgets or rock operas, the book is worth
picking up.
Berger's book builds on years of research
into a broad sampling of viral phenomena,
many of which he recounts anecdotally here.
That guy Jared who lost 250 pounds eat
ing Subway and propelled the chain to top-
tier fast-food status. The inventor of the
iPad-eating blender whose YouTube videos
moved thousands of units. The creator of the
hundred-dollar Philly cheesesteak. Berger uses
these and other examplars of the ordinary
rendered extraordinary to demonstrate how
the right idea can infect the social conscious
ness and spread when
administered with keen
psychological and socio
logical insight.
The formula Berger
proposes boils down
to six steps, to which
he gives the acronym
STEPPS: Social Currency,
Triggers, Emotion,
Public, Practical Value
and Stories. As he out
lines each component
of his viral-marketing
concoction, Berger offers
up an array of practical
examples backed with
hard data that avoids
dry wonkiness and steps
lively. Take Kit-Kat candy
bars, a perennial favorite
(the jingle now resides
in our DNA) that was
nonetheless on the verge of extinction from
a market dip a few years back. While this
seems surprising, what is more startling is the
market surge the product received after one
marketer hit on the unusual idea of pairing
Kit-Kats with coffee in an ad campaign. Berger
shows how this bit of wildcat wisdom worked
through the application of the principles he
outlines here, which boils down to a simple
rethinking of the product from the consumer's
point of view. It's a concept all producers of
goods and services should keep in mind but
that few do, fundamental as it is. One needn't
necessarily change the packaging, advertise
it louder, or find ways to make it (ugh) "new
and improved!" Ultimately, it's not about the
product; it's about us.
Contagious is a great read, short (especially
for a business-oriented book by an academic)
and enjoyable throughout (ditto). More to the
point, it's a useful read with practical applica
tions for everyone with a product to sell, and
if you are an artist of any stripe, you've got
units to move. I for one would love to see
more musicians, writers, artists and creative
people in this town be able to quit their day
jobs. Learning to channel some of that cre
ativity into marketing their work uniquely and
effectively is a giant step in that direction.
John G. Nettles
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Contagious
WHY THINGS CATCH ON
JONAH BERGER
Tatce Me To
Your. R.eaoeR.5!
flagpole
eyifef
Place Your
Ad Today
for the 2013-2014
flagpole
Guide to Athens
(to be distributed in early August 2013)
Ask how to ^
T get 15% off the price
of your ad! ^
Great for newcomers,
visitors and locals!
The Guide features:
??? The only comprehensive restaurant,
bar and club listings
??? Hotel and park info
??? Local maps
??? Information about local art, theatre,
government, transportation and
more
Contact the Flagpole Advertising Department
706-549-0301 or ads@flagpole.com
MAY 15, 2013 ??? FLAGPOLE.COM 9