Dalí in Atlanta

I recently got a chance to pop over to Oglethorpe University Museum of Art’s new Dalí exhibit, and it was wonderful.  The museum was gifted with 14 of the artist’s lithographs which had never before been exhibited to the public.  The images, which are now part of the museum’s permanent collection, range from precise and scientifically strange to loose and bright.

Particularly wonderful were the three lithographs from a proposed Tarot card series.  All three shared the same vibrant blues, and, since they were exhibited on the same wall, could be studied individually or as a set.

Love’s Promise by Salvador Dalí

Dalí is having quite the showing in Atlanta this summer.  The High Museum is poised to open their exhibition on the artist’s late work in August.  In the lead up to the opening, the museum has been using their Twitter feed to stir up excitement by posting links to behind the scenes photos and other fun tidbits.  Seeing museum workers uncrate works like “Santiago El Grande” or “Christ of St. John of the Cross” is pretty epic, and definitely has me excited to see the paintings in person.   The museum also teamed with Delta to put a Dalí mustache on a plane, which is awesome and hilarious.

And just today, they revealed their new Dalí microsite, which uses flash to “reveal” many of the works as well as provide basic information about the exhibit.  The site shows selected highlights — though it’s hard to truly get a sense of the scale of these works, many of which are massive.  Visitors can also “dissect a Dalí,” by mousing over particular elements of “Portrait of My Dead Brother” and reading explanations of the imagery.  The site is gorgeous and fun to play around with, with lots of tiny pieces of information.  It includes guidelines for teachers, as well as several videos relevant to the exhibition.

It’s nice to see the High use social media like Twitter and Youtube, paired with a well-designed site, to increase exposure and get potential patrons interacting with the art online.  Oglethorpe’s museum, which is admittedly much smaller, could have potentially gotten an increase in traffic by using some of the same techniques.  It would be as simple as updating their Twitter feed more often, possibly @mentioning the High and getting some dialogue going about the exhibits, and posting some behind the scenes photos.  The art is beautiful, but tucked away on the top floor of the campus library, how many art lovers in Atlanta are getting the chance to see it?

Dalí: The Late Work opens at the High on August 7th.  They will also run a Dalí film festival in late August and early September.  (Sadly, I’ll have moved out of town by late August, but hopefully I’ll get a chance to see and blog about the exhibit before I go.)  The Dalí exhibit at Oglethorpe is open until September 5th.

More on Utilizing Foursquare

One of the best ways to get ideas for your theatre (or any business) is to check out what others are doing, and there’s no better place to keep up with everything Foursquare than About Foursquare.

Two particular posts in recent days have highlighted unique check-in specials and their results.  Here are five creative specials, all of which make great jumping off points for creating your own.  (The escalating benefits for bringing friends seems like a particularly great one for theatres!)  On the topic of measurable results, Miss Shirley’s in Baltimore has seen a 427% increase in check-ins since allowing the Foursquare mayor to skip the line.

Utilizing Foursquare for Theatres

I’ve found myself in several conversations lately about how to utilize Foursquare, the location-based social media game, at theatres and other non-profits or arts organizations.  I wanted to compile some of my thoughts on the matter here for easy reference.

Tips for theatres:

Just because you only have a few check-ins, that doesn’t mean Foursquare is useless for you. Foursquare users are willing to go new places when offered incentives.  Adding check-in specials or detailed tips will get people looking into your theatre — clicking through to your Twitter feed, possibly even stopping by your physical location, or at least seeing where you are, what you’re near, etc.  You can attract more attention by beginning to use Foursquare, and could very well see your check-ins increase because of it.

Create check-in specials scaled to your season and your ticket sales. If you run 7 shows in a season, don’t offer something for free on the 10th check-in.  No one will get there.  Better to offer something on the first check-in, to encourage new patrons who are Foursquare users and returning patrons who are new Foursquare users.  Then offer another special on a later check-in, to reward your returning patrons.

The possibilities for specials are endless, but here are a few ideas:

• First check-in: 25% off tickets.  Or more or less, depending on how your tickets are selling and how much you already charge.
• Third check-in: one free drink at the concession stand.
• Checking in to every show in the season: buy one, get one free tickets for the last show of the year.

If your theatre has special events, such as dinner club nights or backstage tours, you can increase attendance by creating Foursquare specials to go along with them, thereby also bridging the gap between patrons who only see shows and patrons who attend shows and special events.  If you partner with a nearby restaurant, team up to offer specials to patrons who check-in both places in one night.

Claim your venue and check out what people are saying about you. The venue tips on Foursquare are completely user-generated, which makes them a great place to get feedback.  While it is harder to communicate directly with those patrons who’ve left feedback, negative “tips” can still be a great way to correct patron frustrations, and positive tips let you know what you’re doing right.  Google search your theatre’s name + Foursquare, find your venue page, and see what’s going on.

Advertise your presence on Foursquare in your physical location, as well as your online materials. Put Foursquare stickers on your door or box office window, to remind patrons to check in.  Foursquare users tend to be savvy social media users with a multitude of accounts, so link to your Foursquare profile page on your website and Facebook.  Announce new specials on your Twitter feed.  Retweet check-ins and thank patrons for attending or ask them what they thought of the show.

Find out whether visiting your theatre can help users earn badges.  If so, blog about it, publicize it in the lobby, or even print it in the program. Earning badges is one of the most fun aspects of Foursquare, and can greatly help drum up new visitors.  It may be a little more challenging to figure out if your theatre can help a user earn badges, but with a little research and creativity, it can be done.  Maybe there’s a great food wagon right outside that many patrons visit when they come?  Tell them they can earn the Ziggy’s Wagon badge.  Have a gallery in your lobby?  Make sure it’s tagged correctly, and your patrons can work on earning their Warhol badge.  If your venue is really lucky, actually checking in there can count towards a badge — such as the Center for Puppetry Arts and the Historian badge.  Do some research using a full list of badges, and see which ones you can help your patrons earn.

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The beauty of Foursquare is in turning real life travels into a game — with benefits both imaginary (earning badges) and concrete (getting discounts or deals).  Utilizing Foursquare at your theatre can create a sense of fun around attending.  Moreover, it doesn’t have to be time-consuming.  Set up a special, let it run, and see what happens.