Know-How Exchange : Strategy

How about a seeding approach.
first, identify influentials and send a few complimentary packages to them (samples). request their feedback and flatter them for their stature. They will slowly carry your message.

Next, try namedropping. Create name awareness by hiring or engaging your PR team in moving about in the target community speaking about the gallery and artist in glowing terms. Be overly surprised when someone is not familiar with the names.

guerrilla tactics, but they may work nicely for you.

Best of luck!

You should let people rent or borrow some of the art to put in the homes or corporate buildings as long as they give credit to the art gallery. This would help with word of mouth/viral marketing efforts.

Hi Diana,

Thanks for the feedback. This answer addresses your request to share some ideas / examples of successful campaigns / tactics used in reaching a high-profile & hard to target audience, such as the one of an art gallery. You can choose and pick the ideas that fit with your brand...

As for ideas / info / leads on how to promote a premium package of works of art signed by a contemporary artist – I have one contact that buys arts for lawfirms that has expressed an interest in your product. Would you be interested in providing your product in Texas? In that case I’ll put you in touch with her. She will have some extra ideas for you.

Here are my promotional tips:

Think in creative ways to organize exhibitions – unique strategies will gain you exposure- below are some interesting alternatives to exhibitions

1 Open House Event

• Invitation to an open house event (with food, open bar and pianist)
• Have BRIEF vocal presentation, with, of course, examples of your "best" or even the complete collection of artwork. Having the artists attend the event would be a definite plus!
• Have brochures arranged on a table with a person there to answer questions. Not just any brochure,...I would have them screen printed or computer printed onto pieces of canvas. This would be a spectacular way of standing out and making sure everyone will not only remember you but talk about that "cool gallery with those canvas brochures/business cards". Your local print shop can do this for you.
• As far as approach: Mail luxury invitations: very nice stationary, ink, print, personalized, and perhaps a little picture card (made of canvas) of the gallery. Request an RSVP so you can plan your catering.
• Attire: I would suggest semi-formal. (The semi-formal attire will make people feel a bit more comfortable to "come as they are" rather than dust off the old tux and gown. -Given your target demographic, I doubt you risk anyone showing up in flip-flops and cut-offs!)

Give a short welcoming speech and a summary of the featured artists, future plans, etc. Inform everyone where printed information is located and there will be staff available throughout the event to answer questions. Perhaps the female staff can all wear a particular "crystal" necklace (colored) and the men, who can certainly where the necklace if they wish, can perhaps wear a matching crystal lapel pin or a custom-made tie for identification. This will avoid tacky name badges and exude a type of creative style... the exact "subliminal" type message you want to send out...being an affluent art gallery.

Have the champagne and/or wine glasses engraved with the gallery name (and let everyone take them home!).

Then, just let everyone mingle, eat and check it out!


2 Charity Event

• a fund raiser for a local charity, an art auction, a piano or other music concert, the launch of a local charity, something else.

The idea is to leverage the database, image, and promotional pull for an event that could benefit from hosting an event at your location. Having an event at a gallery is classy, I think. Look for social events that are attended by people who can afford the art you sell. Ask a few of your existing customers for events or organizations they participate in.

If you can't partner with someone else's event, think about a special event on your own. Bring a high-end artist, or promote an artist that has some disability, or invent an annual event that makes the occasion special and gives you an opportunity to sell the story to local media and benefit from their promotion.

3 Be hired

• Businesses have events all the time, and pay handsomely for venue hire. Their invitees may align to yours.

Maybe market your gallery as an alternative venue. Hook up with a local catering firm, waiting staff and creative team (mail outs) to offer a full service, but be very willing to work with their preferred suppliers.

Set your price aggressively - you want to be booked out.

Then have discrete applications to join the gallery's invitation list (or similar) on display at such events. Or maybe offer to your event clients the option of offering a door prize which they can say they are providing. As their guests / clients arrive, if they put their card in a bowl (yours), they will go into a draw to have a party for 50 for their favorite clients (clients of your client's clients) with venue hire and catering on you. And so the circle continues.

4 Throw party

Especially after a large purchase, this would be a very nice gesture.

5 Auctions
What more can i say?
Modifier to this idea: Get involved with local service organizations and charity events. Look for auctions where you can donate a moderate piece in return for publicity and presence.
6 Open air exhibitions in the middle of the city
7 Place exhibitions in museums (rent if necessary)
8 Develop alliances:
i. Look to local non-profit agencies and/or civic locations where you can loan pieces in return for a notecard and a few business cards.
ii. In Las Vegas they have First Fridays: https://www.firstfriday-lasvegas.org/
On the first Friday of every month, all of the area galleries host an open house with beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres from 5 pm to 7 pm. Patrons visit a number of galleries (not just the galleries within walking distance of each other) and use First Friday to open new shows, have artist signings/appearances, etc. This started with a few galleries but has grown so much that even coffee shops are participating. There is now a special section in the daily newspaper's weekend edition listing all of the First Friday events (of course, many of the galleries purchase small ads in that section as well). They also mail and email reminders to their own mailing lists, and sometimes they share mailing lists and collaborate on a "First Friday" postcard featuring 3 or 4 galleries. If your community is not doing this, get together with a few of the other gallery owners to see if you can make it work.
9 Parade: do a parade of paintings through the city
10 Do an art fashion show
11 Have copies and photos of the main art in main stores
12 Provide painting classes in the gallery
13 Make agreements with tourist organizations
14 Look for designer showcases (where a house is done room by room) and partner with designers - put your pieces on loan.
15 Bring customers in with a "holistic" approach. Create a free art appreciation lecture/workshop series and provide slide show "previews" to the hottest emerging artists. Discuss the changes in studio art and the evolution of new genres. These can be uploaded to your website and delivered to visitors.
IMPORTANT additional strategies:
• Capture additional information at the events through a drawing, silent auction etc.
• Sell the story to local media (internal PR)

Do you capture customer data now (from walk-ins – website)? Things to capture
• Email address
• Business cards
• House address (for magazine mailers, art calendars, postcards, etc.)
Do you do repeat sales? Are you leveraging your database? Things to do:
• Do you send email newsletters? (Double opt in: mind the CAN SPAM act!)
• Do you do any direct mail?
o If you need get mailing lists, I suggest joining your local chamber of commerce (usually around $300). They can give you zipcode and specific demographic address lists to send out your invitations. The post office offers discounts on postage for bulk mail as well!
o Send postcards with paintings from your exhibitions
Do you run ads in publications
• Can you ascribe any business to these ads (tracking)?
Do you have a refer a friend incentive scheme going on?
• Incentive: trendy party (status)
• I would seriously consider getting the appropriate photo releases from your artists and create a series of calendars and/or note cards - you only need release for one photo per artist and you can stipulate that it will be for limited distribution. These will make excellent thank-you gifts for referrals AND they will be an excellent awareness devices
Do you have a website?
• Provide a virtual gallery
Reach customers at "point of need". Think about hitting potential customers based on "triggers”.
• If an upscale family moves into town - there is most likely a need to decorate in a new space. Work with your local welcome wagon and realtors (referral business goes both ways) - specify the value of home that best fits - sample with the calendar.note cards, and provide an introductory discount for new neighbors.
• building new homes/expansion/renovation. Get to know the architects and designers in your area - distribute your calendars and gift cards - and offer referral fees if you can be incorporated into a renovation/expansion project. Perhaps you could even offer special consulting services where you work with designers and provide art to support an entire design theme (you could "acquire" novel pieces and grow your "cachet" with the client by having them feel unique).
 if you do indeed get involved in a major building or renovation project for an upscale client (where your art is very prominent), offer to throw the client a housewarming party in their new/renovated home. They choose the guests - they control the party - you simply meet and greet, receive accolades, and give out cards1 I always say this - after a major purchase - people LOVE to "tell the story".
Research – Call your customers and quiz:
• "Why did you buy (the item you purchased)?"
• "What brought you into the store?"
• "What specifically brought the store to your attention (was it an ad, word-of-mouth, listing, etc.?)
• "Where would YOU (the customer) suggest that I advertise (e.g., what magazines do you read? What organizations are you a member of?, etc.)
• "Do you have any other suggestions about how to get the word out regarding our store (customers will often come up with terrific ideas...).