Gene Carr's Patron Technology Blog

Today's Waiting Game

Today, thousands of people will be waiting on line. They will bring blankets. They will eat, they will joke. They will get chummy with people on line next to them -- total strangers that they otherwise would never talk to.  They will hang around expectantly waiting for their nirvana experience.

I'll bet you thought this was going to be about the iPhone. After all, I'm predicting that today's iPhone launch will eclipse any new product entry we've seen in decades in terms of the sheer scope of the hype that's been created.

But I'm actually writing about another line that thousands will be waiting on today for hours. A line that formed yesterday and the day before, and last year, and for the last several decades each summer here in New York. I'm talking about The Public Theater's "Free Shakespeare in the Park." 

As a culture-going New Yorker I've spent many weekend days over the years getting to Central Park at the crack of dawn to wait with my fellow Shakespeare lovers for free tickets for a performance later that night. I can remember going there at 4:30 AM one year, when Meryl Streep was in "The Seagull." I remember waiting in 100 degree weather to see Patrick Stuart in "The Tempest." And, today a bunch of members of my staff are doing the same thing - they took the day off to go wait for tickets to see this year's "Romeo & Juliet" which got spectacular notices in the press.

As I reflect on these two waiting games, I'm wondering whether it's the same thing that motivates us to do this seemingly irrational thing?. Waiting on line for hours to buy a $500 phone? Waiting on line for hours to see Shakespeare?   Is it that they really want the phone or to see the play that badly? Surely there are suitable alternatives.

Or is it that there's a basic human desire to participate in communal experiences that make this kind of line waiting fun, rather than horrible?  I was at the MET Opera the other day, and its $20 "rush" ticket program generates the same kinds of enthusiasm -- and lines.

An economist would say it's merely about price - supply is short, demand is high. That's it. I think there's more to it than that - and buried inside, something of a lesson for arts marketers. The human desire to participate in "events" is very real. Today thousands of people will have their "story" about what it was like to be there. They will tell their friends, and repeat the story for years. It's real world viral marketing. 

Perhaps this is something to keep in mind when you're planning your marketing programs. We're reminded today of what can happen when you motivate a huge number of people -- it's great marketing pure and simple. Let's watch today play out in grand-scale in Central Park, and at the Apple store and see if we can't take back some lessons for our own marketing.

Classical Music Is Alive and Well In.... Mexico

I've just returned from a weekend in Mexico City, where I attended a concert by the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional. I was surprised by the experience in a few ways. First of all, the orchestra was really good and turned out a stirring performance by any high professional standard.

The bigger surprise was the age of the audience -- it was young.  I have no statistics to share, but my guess is that the average age was mid 30s. There were parents with little children - I mean, really little kids all dressed up and sitting quietly listening to the music. There were 20 somethings on dates. There were people dressed casually; There were people dressed up. And, when the concert was over -- the crowd was standing and shouting for an encore. I counted 5 curtain calls, and it looked to me that the conductor, the American Kenneth Jean, could have had many more.

Doesn't this sound like the world all American orchestras would like to live in?  I wonder what's going on there. The researcher in me wanted to immediately interview a dozen people and find out what their motivations were for coming to the concert. Goodness knows they don't have sophisticated e-mail, direct mail or telemarketing like we do. It's just part of their culture to go hear live classical music. Sounds like the oft reported death of classical music may be simply a local phenomenon. And, I also hear the same thing is happening with audiences in China.

I can't make a broad sweeping statement about why classical music works in Mexico City, or China for that matter. But it does. And it was great to see. So the problem clearly isn't with the art form, or it's relevance to our time. It's got to be either with our audience, or our marketing or both.

Maybe it's not such a bad idea to examine more closely why the arts are successful in other countries. Maybe we'd learn something?

Spam Quantified

I'm not necessarily proud of the fact that I have a lot of facts and figures in my head about SPAM, but I'm a junkie for facts that help explain how our business really works, and particularly why e-mail delivery is so complex and difficult.

An article last week about a spammer that got arrested, included some pretty revealing information. I think these numbers are worth remembering, and could perhaps even be useful at your next party, marketing meeting or Board meeting. And when your boss questions you on why you're spending money to outsource your e-mail to a company that can assure that your mail gets delivered and not filtered by ISP spam filters, bear this in mind:

Consider, email security company IronPort told the Associated Press that 70 billion spam messages were sent Thursday, the day after Soloway's arrest. That figure was unchanged from two weeks prior. It's also almost double last May's 36 billion spam emails per  day.

Shoving My Way Into Broadway

Last night I had a fantastic theatrical experience on Broadway, and a horrific experience on Broadway.

First, the good news. Frost/Nixon is a superb play - particularly if you like political drama. The performances are riveting and the theme is painfully germane.

Now the bad news. I arrived at the theatre at 7:45 PM - having paid about $180 for two tickets. The crowd outside the theatre was worse than any Times Square subway rush hour, with hundreds of people cheek-by-jowl, pushing and shoving to get into the theatre. I noticed that there were no fewer than 5 double-doors in the theatre, but only two single doors were open, with just two ticket-takers. By 7:55 PM people are pushing more and more, and the guy taking my tickets is shouting for people to keep moving and that the show is starting.

I felt like I’m in the middle of a herd of cattle. Once at my seat, I realize I'm sitting in the closest thing to coach class on American Airlines - tiny seat, no leg room. And then it hit me. At $90 a ticket, it is undeniable that Broadway is a luxury experience. The actual product itself was indeed worth it. However, the horror of getting into the theatre was anything but enjoyable.

People remember all sorts of things that go into an experience. It's undeniable that the 10 minutes of pushing and shoving were as memorable to me as the show itself. That's not good, and it's not excusable.

Broadway shows are on every night. Why can't they handle crowd control any better? I suspect they could care less. We're not seen as an audience to be wooed - we're lowly consumers who are buying at the highest price possible, with the fewest benefits. "No refunds, no exchanges."

But you know what? We're living in a different world today -- more and more of a luxury world. The local Cineplex has reclining seats that feel like I'm in my living room. JetBlue lets you change tickets for a small (and reasonable fee).  You can resell your sports tickets if you can't use them (www.stubhub.com).

Broadway just doesn't get it. And so much of the rest of the arts world doesn't get it either. As a follow-up to my post on "stupid ticketing fees" I also want to add that the box office representative that sold me those Carnegie Hall tickets (with the abhorrent services fee) sold me two seats that were separated by the column that supports the balcony of the Hall. So the person I was with and I didn't actually sit next to each other.

If the arts were thriving we could afford such transgressions. But unfortunately. it's not enough just to simply have great art on the stage. The whole experience has to be great, from start to finish. From the Web site, to the box office to the parking lot. Those arts organizations who understand this have a better chance to thrive in this increasingly luxury-oriented world, in which people expect to pay high prices, but also expect a first-class experience. 

 

Bowling for (Contributed) Dollars

I want to tell you about a wonderful event in which we participated last night and one which inadvertently provided a mirror for how online fund raising can really work.

 

Each year, Classical Action/Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids sponsors a bowling fund raiser here in New York. This year, it was titled "Up Our Alley IX: Classical Action's Ninth Annual Benefit Bowling Bonanza." I'm proud to say that our team, "La Bowleme" (pictured at right), raised a grand total of $2,783 which was part of the overall total achieved by the fund raiser of $140,000. (And we won a prize for "Best Team Name!")

 

We've participated each year for the last four years, and what's unusual about this year's event was that for the first time we could solicit donations online. It was amazing to watch the people on my staff rally behind the cause, and how viral marketing made the whole thing work so much better than before.

 

One of my staff members, Lily Traub, raised the most - $620, which she raised from over 18 friends. She did some interesting things to boost her results. "This year I got started two months before the event, and regularly sent e-mail reminders to my friends encouraging them to click on the link and donate. I also posted it on my Facebook and MySpace pages. I then harassed them gently and encouraged them to donate because it means they wouldn't have to hear from me anymore! And when my offer to match donations was unsuccessful, my co-worker Allison Klein and I decided to host a cocktail party for all those who decided to donate. The party is this coming Friday and I think a dozen friends are coming!"

 

For years, I've been talking about how online ticketing is rapidly becoming the preferred way to sell tickets. And, if this experience is any guide, I think it's clear that online donations will rapidly catch up as the preferred method for making donations to non-profits. 

Another way to see the future

For a long time I've been talking about the idea that the computer (desktop or laptop)  will become less and less important as a way to access the Internet, and the cell phone will evolve into an all-in-one unit.

When that happens, the Web will morph into a much more powerful tool for everyday living than it even is now. The various versions and competitors of the Blackberry that have been on the market for the last few years have been validating this concept.

But if you want to really see the future as I have been imagining it, catch one of the the new Apple i-phone commercials. From the looks of it Apple is going again move us a generation ahead. Watch the i-phone commercials here and see for yourself.

And, when you watch, you'll also see why I think text messaging will be a transitional technology.