Wildflowers As An Event Marketing Force Multiplier

Adaptistration People 075I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while and kept getting sidetracked but it isn’t often that a mailer catches my attention these days so kudos to the New York Philharmonic for their campaign to promote their 50th anniversary of Concerts in the Parks series by sending out a mailer which included a seeded, biodegradable card that grows wildflowers.

It definitely caught my attention and the cards have been sitting on my desk for the past month patiently waiting for this post.

NYPhil wildflowers mailer

Granted, as a high-rise condo dweller, coming by 1/8 inch of soil in a sunny spot is harder than it sounds; add to that, a pair of cats that were apparently trained in the dark arts of flower destruction and trying to do this in-house is pretty much out of the question.

Nonetheless, I’m bound and determined to find them a home I can visit from time to time and even though I wasn’t able to attend any of the June concerts, the NY Phil will still be on my mind every time I see the flowers.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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