||| September 29, 2025 by William Rogers

One Fish, Two Fish…uh…Three Fish

You have been asking for them and they are finally here.  The videos of Pete and Michael's Open Forum are up in Resources.  Check them out.  We also followed up with our "fish" to get reactions to their  consultations by some of Obama's best.  Read what they had to say below, and follow the links to watch the entire consultation.

Oh, and for good measure, here are the nuggets of gold our speakers shared with us before they went swimming with the fish.

Peter Giangreco

Michael Organ

FISH 1: Jean de St. Aubin; Executive Director
Gene Siskel Film Center Of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Watch it here

I am drowning in a fishbowl of ideas.
 
I would have loved the fishbowl experience to have been four times as long since it felt as if we only scratched the surface of how to use electronic tools to grow and engage our audience.  The ideas and suggestions from Michael and Peter were refreshing and made us realize that the Gene Siskel Film Center has a great-untapped potential in promoting our unique brand to a very attentive group of filmgoers. Some of the “to dos” that we brought back to the office;

• Learn more about and apply for a Google grant,
  
• Research advertising on Facebook pages to individuals who mention independent, foreign or classic films in their profile,
  
• Research our donor base to create psychographic profiles
  
• Create a call to action  before our films asking audience members to send us a text message to sign up to stay informed.
  

 
Knowledge shared about viewing our Facebook fans’ profiles is a helpful strategy as we can learn what else they do besides going to the movies which in turn can educate us on how to find more like-minded people through less traditional, non-movie-related activities.

FISH 2: Carla Stillwell; Marketing Director
MPAACT: MAAT Production Association of Afrikan Centered Theatre
Watch it here

Though I have many years of experience in theatre, this is my first venture into the marketing and promotions aspect of the business.  I am really learning as I go and the Fishbowl was an amazing experience for me!
 
I took so much away from the two presenters.  What stood out from their lectures most for me was the idea of making our website more interactive.  Giving people more of a voice to express their opinions about our work.  As much of what we do is very controversial, this is absolutely a take away for our organization.  And the information about Google Ads and Google Grants was just priceless.
 
However, the one thing that I feel really changed my ideas and will inform how we proceed from a marketing standpoint is the idea that our company voice is more literary than theatrical.  When I took this notion back to the company, we agreed that that was the bit of something different that we could never just put our finger on.  We plan to roll full speed ahead with the literary notion always on the back of our tongues.
 
I greatly appreciated the opportunity to be a part of this workshop!  Thanks to all!
 


FISH 3: Lara Goetsch; Director of Marketing and Communications
TimeLine Theatre Company
Watch it here

My head is still spinning.

It’s a crazy moment to have the folks who helped engineer Obama’s record-breaking and era re-defining online strategies tell you — in a “fishbowl” in front of hundreds of your peers, no less — that your organization is doing a lot right with its Web site. “An example of best practices” is a phrase I think I heard. I don’t know about that — there are certainly many many improvements envisioned still to come. But it was nice to have much of the recent work we’ve done — work rooted in Learning Circles sponsored by the Arts Engagement Exchange nearly two years ago — be endorsed in such a way. 

Before and after our intense 10-minutes in the “fishbowl,” I scribbled quite a few notes. Here are a few that stand out:

• Continue to streamline paths to action
  
• Make sure there is a benefit to signing up (“the popcorn”) … people need an incentive to take the action
  
• Seek/increase contextual relevance
  
• Invite participation (live chat with a director/actor?)
  
• Maximize opportunity while leads are fresh
  
• In direct mail, send only to “high score” prospects, as they are likely the only  segment that will generate positive net earnings
  
• Delve into our database using psychographics, and use what we learn to identify similar prospects from larger databases (I don’t know exactly how to tackle this yet, but anticipate it will be the next big thing for TimeLine.)
  
• Recognize and capitalize when you have a moment + a message + a messenger that can galvanize response
  
• When calculating return-on-investment, don’t forget to take into account lifetime value!
  
• Find ways to spark advocacy — a spike in advocacy leads to a spike in sales
  
• Remember, people have a very high opinion of their own opinion
  
• Test. Test. Test!
  

This event helped me gain perspective on my work and encouraged me to have confidence in what we have been doing, but also to try new things and approach the day-to-day with renewed enthusiasm. Who knew being a “fish” could be so great?!

Tags: Grants, Internet Marketing, Psychographics