Social Networking, Photography and Cultural Institutions' Marketing Paradigms

Social networking and 'photographic imagemaking' have added a new dimension to cultural institutions' marketing paradigms. In a way its all to do with the most powerful marketing tool of all time ... WORD OF MOUTH.

Would you automatically believe the self serving assertions – typically one dimensional by nature – of some far off museum asking you to part with your hard earned $s to visit and spend more? Not bloody likely we hear you say! But somehow the 'marketing people' seem to think you might or is it hope that you will – even if what they tell you has all the credibility of a snake oil advertisement. 

Maybe theses marketing types do not really care so long as their salaries arrive and super accounts grow .... maybe?

Back to the cursory tale from MONA, that cultural phenomena in Hobart devised to give the artworld the shits, and the story goes, let's call another 'punter' Bea, visited 'the place' on the chance of seeing something interesting. Surprised that it was all free Bea noticed that it was also OK to take photographs – not that she wouldn't anyway if the spirit moved her ... she's a lot like that as are the ARTdudez she hangs with.

Moving right along, Bea came across a whole lot of dripping raw meat hanging on hooks playing an art role so she got out her iPHONE, took a picture, and sent it, and a message in her vernacular WESTIEartspeak, to all and sundry saying "get Ur f@^#'n arsez downear this f@^#'nstuff is weeeeely weeeeely keeewel dudezzz" Then she came across that now famous C%@TZcollection and she got out her iPHONE again and well, you can guess what she did and over and over as she found more and more KEWELstuff.

Now back in Sydney, Belinda gets pictures on her iPHONE from Hilliary, Jo Lim, Robert, Taro, Lam, Pete, Jill, Mejia and THEartgang telling her this and that about their MONAexperience and Hobart and the ferry ride and and and how she was wrong about this and right about that and so on and so on. AND so too it seems that this story repeats itself over and over while the ques at MONA persist ... and there are lots and lots of marketers trying to work out why and what the secret is. 

The marketing moral here is clear ... "open up the opportunities and stand back!"