Promo Idea

Julie Deane · 04-30-2004, 02:24 PM

Has anyone ever tried a "public service" promo like this?

The idea: Make a "Thoughtfulness Calendar". This is a long skinny calendar that has room per month for jotting down peoples' birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I had one given to me that I keep by my regular calendar. I've had it over 10 years, so I figure this is a good publicity vehicle.

Each month of the year a local charity that helps children would be featured. At the bottom would be one or two ads. I would have my artwork on the front cover (of children, of course) along with a brief mention of my name and company and would use the back cover to show several examples of my art, along with a general idea of prices. Plus a phone number and email address. I don't have a website yet, but maybe I'll get a small one up and running in time for
this project.

I would have to sell between 12-24 ads to pay for the printing of the calendar. And maybe put "Printing by the XYZ Company" in order to get a discount on printing. Then the charities could sell the finished product to raise money for their own organizations.

I figure it's a way to get my name known in the community as well as get charities a means of generating income. And provide a unique advertising vehicle to companies, who would know their ad could be seen for years to come.

Has anyone else done anything similar? Any tips on how to get the job done easier or what to watch out for would be appreciated.

Michele Rushworth · 04-30-2004, 03:03 PM

I would only concentrate money and time on developing advertising that was aimed just at the wealthiest people in your area. Anything else will probably get lots of praise but few results.

You don't really want advertising that reaches a large general audience. You want advertising that is highly targeted to your market. In my case, my target market is affluent moms. That's why I donated to private school auctions. Figure out who your target audience is and then figure out what they read, where they go, etc.

Julie Deane · 04-30-2004, 07:31 PM

Thanks, Michelle .

Joan Breckwoldt · 05-04-2004, 04:30 PM

Quote:

In my case, my target market is affluent moms. That's why I donated to private school auctions.

Michele,

Could you elaborate on this please. Do you donate the entire portrait and then get upgrades or do other siblings? Or a percentage of the portrait? My target audience is the same so I'm just curious to hear more about this.

Thanks,

Joan

Michele Rushworth · 05-04-2004, 06:23 PM

Check out the various threads that refer to auctions for lots more info. You can use the "search" function.

I did donate a whole portrait but I don't think most artists do that.

Joan Breckwoldt · 05-04-2004, 09:21 PM

Hi Michele,

I did do a search recently for auctions, charity auctions, etc. and I did find lots of different info. I did post a question on one thread because it seems like most artists are donating part of their portrait, as you said. It seemed to vary from $200 off to a percentage off with many other variations. I was just curious if you had anything specific to offer since affluent moms would also be my target. Our church has a silent auction coming up but I'm not ready to donate a portrait (need more practice) so I'll donate a still life, I'm just dreaming of future marketing.

Actually, I'm lucky to be surrounded by my target audience, I just need to get good enough by practicing more painting. Half of my friends already have portraits of their families hanging in their living rooms (above the fireplace!). Like the friend that came over the other day and said "Oh, I need art but I just don't have the time to go out and buy it". That's my kind of client!! (She doesn't have a portrait of her kids.)

Thanks,

Joan