1. Tips for Building Audiences at
Home and on Tour
John Michael Schert, Executive Director
Suzanne Callahan, Project Manager, Engaging Dance Audiences
Rachel Bell, Communications Specialist, Dance/USA
Rebecca Krause-Hardie, Manager, EDA Learning Community
Engaging Dance Audiences is generously supported by
the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the James Irvine Foundation.

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5. Introductions
John Michael Schert

6. Today’s Plan
• Personal interactions of TMP dancers
• Performances in non-traditional settings
• Brand integration across media
• SpUrbans=Spontaneous + Urban Performances
• Institutional Voice
• Long distance relationship building

7. What do YOU want?
• Any specific questions you have that you’d like us
to answer during this session?
• Any great examples you have to share?

8. Personal Interactions of the
TMP Dancers
• How they engage online and offline
• Examples
• Wearing TMP T-shirts on flights
• Being available after the show
• Twitter
• Blog

9. Tips: Personal Interactions of the
TMP Dancers
• Make this an expectation of the culture
• Be sure dancers understand what it means to
represent the organization
• Provide guidance on how to be most authentic
self

10. This is the social media page on their website. Suzanne and I were joking about how it’s a bit cluttered, but in fact, it shows links to many of their
online presences elsewhere on the web, and also conveys the connects with each of the dancers and staff people. Here you can see a live
twitter feed of each of them.
In SM posts like FB and Twitter, needs to be both concise and exciting & appealing. If they are posting a link to content, - say NYTimes article
about them, then they might requote a particularly interesting line from article and then link out to it. Creating some kind of a lead-in that
attracts people and encourages them to ‘like’ or ‘share’ or comment.

12. I want to show you her dancer profile page on TMP. For each dancer they have these sections noted in white below. The photos of the other
dancers below. And the words here are links to things that she loves. For example she loves surprises…

13. The tie-in to the live event is kind of humorous…. This event started inside the theater, then people were encouraged to follow the dancers
outside where huge videos were set up. The video screens showed pictures of the dancers, and also information about them… in this case….
Likes to be surprised….

14. The dancers had a little meet and greet afterwards…. Each at a different station….

15. Tips: Personal Interactions of the
TMP Dancers
• Make this an expectation of the culture
• Be sure dancers understand what it means to
represent the organization
• Provide guidance on how to be most authentic
self

16. Questions about Dancer
Interactions?

17. Tips: Performances in non-traditional
settings
• Example: Hospital
• Answer these questions about your event:
• Who is intended audience?
• How do you want them to feel?
• What is the ‘attitude’ of the interaction?
• How do you leave them with a feeling of
ownership?
• Logistics

20. Tips: Performances in non-traditional
settings
• Example: Hospital
• Answer these questions about your event:
• Who is intended audience?
• How do you want them to feel?
• What is the ‘attitude’ of the interaction?
• How do you leave them with a feeling of
ownership?
• Logistics

21. Questions about non-traditional
settings?

22. Tips: Branding Integration across
media from websites to print
• Establish a core artistic / design vision
• Codify company values into design elements
• Assess any piece of media, imagery or content
against those values

23. Trey McIntyre Project is a really good example of a dance company using social media.
This open airy image with lots of empty space is a classic example of their style. When Trey started the company he put a huge amount of
thought into what the company was, what it valued, what they were about, and where they would do it. They choose Boise Idaho because they
felt that they could have the greatest impact there.

24. Institutional alignment around mission, vision & values
They created a style guide - a copy of which we’ll post on the EDA learning site. Their values such as being transformative, captivating, honest,
innovative and personal, are translated into the look and feel of everything that they do. In this panel on the right they’ve further translated
these into what their communications strategy should be. A value of being “Personal” translates into being intimate, direct, candid….

26. The same look and feel has been incorporated here in their YouTube channel. This is a sweet video of John Michael, the ED, talking about
himself and approach to dance. They are creating a series of these informal videos with each of the dancers.

27. Tips: Branding Integration across
media from websites to print
• Establish a core artistic / design vision
• Codify company values into design elements
• Assess any piece of media, imagery or content
against those values

28. Questions about brand integration?

29. Tips: SpUrbans
• Location choice
• Logistics
• Sound
• Permissions
• Staffing
• Transportation
• Maximize social media & Press
• Assess any piece of media, imagery or content

30. Their online and off-line activities are well coordinated. This is a little video of a spUrban - sort of a flash mob kind of event. They bring their
boom box, and dance in various locations around town or on tour to help promote up coming events. Note their trademark TMP T-shirts.

31. Their online and off-line activities are well coordinated. This is a little video of a spUrban - sort of a flash mob kind of event. They bring their
boom box, and dance in various locations around town or on tour to help promote up coming events. Note their trademark TMP T-shirts.

33. Tips: SpUrbans
• Location choice
• Logistics
• Sound
• Permissions
• Staffing
• Transportation
• Maximize social media & Press
• Assess any piece of media, imagery or content

34. Questions about SpUrbans?

35. Tips: Institutional Voice –
Individually & Organizationally
• Must stem from Values
• Personal, human & honest
• Direct & Inviting

36. THis post from one of the dancers. Personal insights into themselves.

38. Tips: Institutional Voice –
Individually & Organizationally
• Must stem from Values
• Personal, human & honest
• Direct & Inviting

39. Questions about ‘Voice’?

40. Tips: Long Distance
Relationship Building
• People bring People
• Use all forms of communication
• Encourage post-show dialogue through social
media
• Follow up with self-identifying fans
• Encourage a feeling of ownership

43. I also wanted to show you their T-shirts - A little Later Holly is going to talk about them in relation to listening strategies. Here they were on FaceBOok asking fans
which color their T-shirt should be for next year.
Conversation notes…
What is his approach to SM…
JM - Has to be tone of authenticity, not institutuional talk, and not marketing, reflects the culture of the company. If its just institutional voice it becomes white
noise and nobody pays any attention. The tone is not so much ‘telling people’ but more as ‘inviting people.
Anecdote… The entire company always wear their TMP t-shirts when they travel. So recently they were in the Denver airport, and someone comes up to John
Michael and starts to talk to him about a friend of his who is on the TMP board in DC. The board member had been soliciting this guy for a donation but it hadn’t
happened yet. Because they were wearing the T-shirts – it enabled this great conversation to happen and for them to connect in person. Today TMP just got a
$30K donation check from them.
SC - So it’s a ‘rule’ that you have to wear shirts?
JM - nobody likes rules - rather we all understand the collective values, and our shared responsibility everyone has to play their part. JM’s job is to encourage
them and inspire them to do their part. It has to be from the top down - can’t be siloed. And then they see the results like the $30K check.

45. Tips: Long Distance
Relationship Building
• People bring People
• Use all forms of communication
• Encourage post-show dialogue through social
media
• Follow up with self-identifying fans
• Encourage a feeling of ownership

46. Questions about Long Distance
Relationship Building or
anything else?

47. Some Resources
• YouTube - Trey McIntyre Project Finds Dance Partner in Boise -
PBS NewsHour
• http://tinyurl.com/EDATMP1
• Boise and Trey McIntyre Project in a Deep Passion -
NYTimes.com
• http://tinyurl.com/EDATMP2
• Chris Petersen extols power of creative thinking -
USATODAY.com
• http://tinyurl.com/EDATMP3

48. Thank you!

49. Join us for the next webinar
Streb
Date: May 18, 2011
1-2:30 pm EST

50. Continue this Conversation
For additional dialogue about this topic, visit the
EDA Learning Community at
http://eda.danceusa.org
We’ll keep talking on the discussion boards
(Communicate tab, Discussions).