Walter | Cooler Insights

Rural Delights @ Collingwood Children’s Farm

April 27, 2009 • Blog • 1 comment

On the 3rd day of our Easter holiday, my family and I went to the Collingwood Children’s Farm at the recommendation of Tim Richards, to experience its pastoral pleasures just minutes away from the Melbourne CBD. Apparently, it has a farmer’s market every second Saturday which offered fresh farm grown produce (many organic) from participating farms in the greater Victoria region which surrounded the city of Melbourne. What this meant was that the farms could sell directly to end consumers (many of them were small family-owned establishments) without having to pay middle-men like retailers and distributors their share of the pie.

For a flat fee of just $2 for adults (free for kids), you can visit both the animal farm itself and the farmer’s market too. That’s pretty cheap considering that normal admission prices are about $16 for adults and $8 for kids. Certainly, a delightful way to spend a Saturday morning!

Can We Truly Market the Arts?

April 23, 2009 • Blog • no comments

Art or sheer marketing brilliance? (Damien Hirst’s £50 million For The Love of God courtesy of Secretly Ironic)

There is an underlying tension in the field of cultural management where one has to balance between giving customers what they want and preserving artistic integrity. This is especially prevalent in what we term as the ‘high arts’ like classical music, ballet, theatre and museums.

Against the ever growing competition from lifestyle activities coupled with the ever shrinking discretionary time of today’s consumers, it appears suicidal for art organisations to hold their ground for the sake of their art. Considered by many to be a discretionary expense (compared to purchasing groceries, fuel and homes), cultural activities have never faced such tremendous competition as the present age.

Our Easter Holiday @ Melbourne City

April 19, 2009 • Blog • 5 comments

Last week, my family came over to Melbourne during the Easter vacation period and we had a great time discovering different parts of the colourful city together.

We opted for a slightly different itinerary this time around (its the second trip for my family), exploring neighbourhoods that were slightly off the beaten tourist track and enjoying what typical Melburnians would like.

Night Festival @ University of Melbourne

April 7, 2009 • Blog • 3 comments

One of the things which truly impressed me about the University of Melbourne was how active its various student organisations are. I do receive daily emails and notices in my student email about various causes to support, talks to attend, concerts to participate in, and groups to join in. Some of the student ECA groups even have job descriptions inked on their websites, complete with the mandatory hours and duties that you need to fulfill.

Whenever I walk around the campus – either en route to the library for studying or the cafeteria for lunch – I notice that there is a constant hive of activity generated by various student clubs, societies and associations. Apparently, there never is a dull moment here. Having gone out of the education system for quite a while, it was interesting to see how various causes were so actively and passionately lobbied by these idealistic youths.

Last Friday, a couple of us decided to walk to campus to check out the night market organised by various student groups. Apparently, this was an annual activity pitched at raising funds for the various societies and clubs.

Lessons in Leadership from Don Quixote

March 22, 2009 • Personal Branding • 2 comments

Don Quixote Attacking The Windmill (source of image)

What could a short-sighted, slightly insane and fictitious “knight” from Spain teach us about leadership? Quite a bit apparently, especially if your heart for leadership has grown cold.

One of the greatest fictional works in the late 16th century by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote told the story of a seemingly deranged middle-aged retiree in his 50s who became obsessed with tales of knighthood, fantasy and chivalry.

Graffiti and Street Art – Vandalism or Marketing?

March 15, 2009 • Blog • 4 comments

Street art along a wall in North Richmond

Being an avid runner, I often jog around the Parkville and Carlton areas near my university campus and chance upon street art along various walls, pavements and fences. Some of the air-brushed displays are aesthetically beautifully and probably the result of considerable and painstaking effort to create enduring works of art. Surprisingly, I don’t see that many acts of graffiti which are overtly anti-establishment or vandalistic in nature (or perhaps I haven’t been to those neighbourhoods yet).

While musing on this phenomenon, I chanced upon this interesting article by Mark Holsworth who reported on how several merchants in the Brunswick suburb of Melbourne (just a stone’s throw away from where I am putting up at Carlton) have engaged street artists to decorate their shopfronts. Holsworth highlighted two examples of this could be done tastefully. The first is a convenience store located at the Lygon/Brunswick area:

To Market Or Not To Market?

March 11, 2009 • Blog • no comments

One of the greatest challenges facing communicators and marketers in the arts is the balance between satisfying artistic input and commercial (or public) interest.

How does one reach out to new customers and audiences without diluting one’s craft? Should we be setting the agenda and pushing the envelope in terms of experimenting with new art forms? Or should we cater to the most mass of markets and stick to what everybody likes to see, hear or experience?

According to some academics, the arts should be kept pure and undiluted from the transgressions of the commercial world. Artists, curators, musicians and dancers should exist in their own little bubble of creative experimentation, oblivious to the grind of dollars and cents while dreaming up that next original work of genius.

The role of marketers would then be that of publicists helping to generate the greatest amount of buzz, media coverage and advertising effectiveness. Visitors and audiences should thus be attracted towards their artistic inspirations in an organic fashion.

This is what has been termed as being “product focused”. Build it and they will come. Or arts for arts sake.

Author: coolerinsights