NEWS ITEMS 
How Virgin Atlantic’s Marketing Nails It
4/15/2013
I had the pleasure of listening to Simon Bradley, vice president of marketing North America at Virgin Atlantic Airways, recently at the Customer Experience Leadership Conference and he shed some light on how they think about marketing... and it might just knock your Virgin Atlantic Upper Class socks off.
You may think Virgin Atlantic is a huge airline worldwide, but they're not. Maybe they're the No. 2 airline in the UK, but they don't even hold a candle to United, American or Delta here in the U.S. So how does this airline with 18 departures a day survive, and better yet, thrive?
By Janine Popick as seen in Inc.com
Facebook Makes Way for Complex Emotions
4/15/2013
Facebook is unparalleled for sharing photos of our vacation or a child’s first steps. All of the best moments of our lives look amazing on the Timeline. So what about the worst ones? What about when we have a stomach ache, get fired from a job, lose someone we love? Should expressing those ideas look different? Could something cue your friends so they don’t hit that “like” button inappropriately?
By Mark Wilson as seen in Fast Company
12 Ways to Hook an Audience in 30 Seconds
4/15/2013
“When you advertise fire-extinguishers, open with the fire,” says advertising executive David Ogilvy. You have only 30 seconds in a TV commercial to grab attention. The same applies to a presentation. The first 30 seconds of your talk is crucial. This is the time your listeners form an impression of you, and of what’s to follow.
By Bruna Martinuzzi as seen in AmEx Open Forum
Digital Marketing on a Shoestring
4/2/2013
One of the best channels for bootstrapped entrepreneurs is digital marketing. Here's how to do it right.
I personally believe that one of the hardest roads traveled is that of the bootstrapped entrepreneur. The hours are tremendously long, compensation is delayed, and the ability to grab meaningful market share generally will take many years. I found this out the hard way when I launched my company Rise Interactive in 2004.
By Jon Morris as seen in Inc.
How Do You Promote Arts Blogs?
4/2/2013
How does somebody who wants to write about the arts get an audience? In the old days you found a small local publication to write for while you learned your craft, and graduated to bigger publications and larger readership. Readership, and often influence, depended on the reach of your venue.
By Douglas McLennan as seen in Diacritical
Seven Tips for Giving your Social Media a Spring Cleaning
4/2/2013
It’s April, the second quarter has begun, and spring is here! Springtime isn’t just a great time to put your winter clothes away and clean your a garage. It’s also a great time to review and refresh all of your social media channels, especially if you haven’t reviewed them since after the holidays. Here’s a quick guide:
By Steven Shattuck as seen in Social Media Today
Bringing Interactive Art to the Streets
4/2/2013
The New Museum promotes its "New York in 1993" exhibit with 5,000 pay phones that dispense location-specific history from the people who lived it.
The cult hit, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, imagined a future where phone booths served as time machines. Although it doesn’t appear society has yet mastered the flux capacitor, the boothless pay phones of New York currently are in fact serving as time portals--back to the year 1993.
By Joe Berkowitz as seen in Fast Company
How to wage war on the Broadway Discount Sites
4/2/2013
Alright, let’s talk about how we can do some damage and start to take back our discounts! (Insert revolutionary cheers and french people waving flags and putting up barricades here.)
Yesterday we talked about how the discount sites approval payday loans are beating shows to the box office, because of the modern consumer’s desire for a lower priced ticket, and the easy-to-find codes on sites like BroadwayBox, Theatermania, etc.
By Ken Davenport as seen in The Producer’s Perspective
Are MFAs the New MBAs?
4/2/2013
An estimated 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65 every day for at least the next 17 years, according to data from the Pew Research Center. And while many of them might choose to work beyond the traditional retirement age of 65, leaders everywhere are facing the same daunting issue: A great tsunami of Baby Boomer retirement is coming.
Though it’s likely to reshape the workplace for years to come, many organizations say they aren’t prepared for such an unprecedented brain drain. The projections of younger workers entering the workforce are even more shocking.
By Steven Tepper as seen in Fast Company
Let Them Have Art
3/20/2013
When the Google Art Project launched in early 2011, it neatly brought the best of the Internet (and more to the point, Google) together in one erudite bundle. Conceived as a virtual art gallery that now houses the collections of 151 major museums around the world, it made accessible to everyone some of the world’s greatest works through super-high-res imagery, a discovery engine, user input, and virtual walkthroughs of select galleries (à la Google Street View). It was the ultimate mashup of art and technology.
By Rae Ann Fera as seen in Fast Company
Eight Common Mistakes Nonprofits Make When They First Join Twitter
3/20/2013
@NonprofitOrgs only follows nonprofit organizations, nonprofit staff, nonprofit service providers, and activists on Twitter. Each morning I browse those that have followed @NonprofitOrgs in the previous 24-hour period and if they are a nonprofit organization, a nonprofit staff member, a nonprofit service provider, or an activist, I follow them back. Many of these folks are new to Twitter and thus I get to see the Twitter debut of many nonprofits and there are eight very common mistakes that newbies make that unknowingly diminish their Twitter ROI from day one. Most of these mistakes can be avoided by simply spending 10 minutes setting up your Twitter Profile or by getting some Twitter training.
By Nonprofit Tech Team as seen in Nonprofit Tech 2.0
Who Is Really Visiting Museums Nowadays?
3/20/2013
Is your nonprofit or museum still operating under the assumption that most of the folks visiting zoos, aquariums, museums, and performing arts venues are doing so with their nuclear families? Think again. Data concerning visitor-serving organizations (VSOs) reveals that travel party constructs have evolved. While only seven years ago a majority of visitors attended VSOs with their nuclear families, the majority are now visiting with significant others.
By Colleen Dilen as seen in Know Your Own Bone
Is the Crowdfunding Bubble About to Burst?
3/20/2013
New York Times best-selling author Seth Godin is a fan. So is novelist Bret Easton Ellis. Ben Folds embraced it to bankroll his new album. Amanda Palmer has used it to raise over a million dollars and game studio Ouya just cashed in to the tune of $5.4M and counting. No longer the domain of the struggling indie artist relying on populist largesse, crowdfunding has gone high-profile. In the last year alone, Kickstarter has had seven projects that topped $1M. But when celebrity or corporate content creators move in, do they squeeze the little guy out? Are we seeing the gentrification of grassroots creative funding?
By J. Maureen Henderson as seen in Forbes
Focus Further Down the Digital Funnel
3/20/2013
No doubt you’ve heard of a marketing funnel, a model whereby prospects enter the funnel’s top (awareness) and through smart marketing are sent further down the funnel, closer and closer to becoming customers.
Typically, it takes multiple touch points along the funnel for a prospect to become a customer. Smart marketers know they need touch points all along the funnel in order to turn prospects into customers. But with limited budgets, marketers must prioritize where along the funnel to focus budgets and efforts.
By Ideas Team as seen in Capacity Interactive
Doing More About Diversity in America's Orchestras
3/20/2013
I have been reflecting on diversity and orchestras lately, prompted by some work we are doing at the League of American Orchestras and my recent participation in SphinxCon 2013 in Detroit, which examined diversity, inclusion and equity in the arts. Many of you are likely familiar with Aaron Dworkin, the gifted violinist, founder and executive director of the sponsoring non-profit Sphinx Organization. Aaron is one of the important voices in our field today and a colleague who serves as a board member of the League. In a concentrated and cut-to-the-chase fashion, the conference focused on a broad range of current issues, lessons learned, and best practices aimed at transforming the arts in a truly meaningful and measurable way.
By Jesse Rosen as seen in HuffPost Arts and Culture
