WHY SHOULD YOU SHOOT YOUR AUDIENCE WITH ARTISTIC BULLETS?
You’ve no doubt heard before that peoples decisions to buy products or services are driven by emotions - they decide in irrational and illogical ways.
You, me and the billions of other humans all do the same. We trust brands, names and organisation based purely on what they made us feel or what they made our friends and family feel.
So why do we still see so many HEARTLESS marketing campaigns, dull and boring activations, unimaginative TV or social media ads, and events full of unmoving entertainment?
We can all agree that the “unavailability of financial resources” is an all to common factor. But the real failure is human.
I truly believe that the biggest reason is that many of the decision makers are still blind to the fact that emotions are the only bridge, or point of connection, with their clients/customers or even employees.
The “emotionless” epidemy is the silent plague of the millennium.
People are becoming more and more disassociated from their own feelings and passions, both personally and professionally.
The two feed each other, and they need more than just leftovers.
This article does not intend to be an attack or criticism of decision makers, but rather, an artistic awaking to the reader, bringing fresh flavours like a hot new food-truck.
So then, you ask, why should I shoot my audience with artistic bullets?
Once you understand why you are buying products and services, and start laughing at yourself - remembering how illogical your reasoning was was when you decided to buy the proverbial golden toilet; or why you chose one faceIess ISP over another even though they had higher prices and did not offer daily free popcorn for your Netflix binge sessions- then you understand the reason for which we all make purchases: EMOTIONS.
There are shelf-loads of books written about the emotional process that happens in a person before making a decision on buying or subscribing, but that is not the purpose of this article.
The purpose of this article is to lift the Arts on to their rightful pedestal, as the most noble, elegant and effective strategy for creating connection with your audience.
Through the Arts you can penetrate the heart.
The Arts can transform a mundane moment into a surprising cocktail of exquisite awaken senses...
Or, in the words of Pablo Picasso, ‘Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.’
Good and intelligent art (yes, I am one of those who believes art can be good or bad) has the power to wrap around your audience's heart and open their senses to the playful joy-starved child inside, creating a heightened and receptive state for you and your message to be heard, seen and understood.
We have all had an encounter with the type of art that makes you forget about your rational existence, even if only for one minute, that froze the notion of time and replaced it with a total sense of pure being.
That magical moment, when the artistic bullet hit, is what audiences are in need of most.
That sense of timeless and universal connection that you feel towards an artistic work or performance and all its creators....That sense of being understood or deeply touched by someone you don't even know who is showing you a new world of senses, perspectives, talents and imagination...That sense of being part of something greater than the individual experience.
Art is as old as humanity. And then this new era of technology arrived. And as Daniel Bell said, ‘Technology, like art, is a soaring exercise of the human imagination.’
Technology has swept into our lives like a tidal wave, flooding through artists' minds and exposing new lands of exploration.
Technology is being embraced and celebrated by artists and audiences, rapidly becoming the new mode of connection and making new patterns within the creative kaleidoscope.
The traditional artistic communication channels and tools are now combined with digital-overlays, robotics, mechanics and AI, bringing unprecedented artistic techniques and works which have the power to impact audiences on huge scales.
We are seeing more and more top brands using the power of technological arts through artistic sessions and truly creative marketing campaigns.
But we are clearly not seeing enough. Can we blame it solely on budgets, or can we find limitations of thought among decision makers?
Do we see ignorance of differentiation between “entertainment” and “arts”?
Just like Makoto Fujimura put it (and he truly did nail it), ‘Entertainment gives you a predictable pleasure… Art leads to transformation.’
Let's be honest, our old friend,” Entertainment”, gets invited to the party way too often, when what we really need is the emotional nourishment of the deep cousin, “Art”. The problem here is that you are going for what is “safe”, rather than that which will leave your audience surprised, moved, changed, inspired...the list goes on...
Entertainment will barely register on your audience's already dulled senses, and will never generate in them a feeling of connection or trust that is possible through the transcendental power of artistic creation.
Do decision makers fear not understanding art, and so avoid going in that direction entirely?
Well, I’ll tell you, if you don't understand an art work – don’t go near it!
Art that plays “hard to get” or “too cool to be understood” misses the point, because we can not connect with something we do not understand. That is what I call bad art...it doesn't move me or change me.
Bad art is undoubtedly a result of the Artist suffering under the same numbing conditions and the “I don't know how to feel” plague that we are talking about.
Good art has the power to make an instantaneous connection between its creator and the audience, and also between the presenter/commissioner of the work and the audience.
Because the audience has been moved/changed/inspired, the presenter is perceived as a “giver” and not as a “taker”. That's what will make them trust you and be receptive to your message.
Through artistic connection, hearts are speaking to hearts, and everybody wins.
People are starved for connection. The world needs more artists. Decision makers need to trust and feed their own inner-child and awaken to joy, imagination and creativity.
Take aim with emotions and shoot artistic bullets – right through your audience's hearts.
Published on April 22, 2019 (LinkedIN)
About the Author:
My name is Mariana Rinaldi, I am a dancer and choreographer and the proud founder of VoxMagna Agency. I consider myself an avid reader but not a skillful writer. I do the majority of my writings in my personal journal, which I occasional re-read years later to find out that my new and mature perspectives are a much better recipe for happiness, and that time does actually do magic when it comes to valuing small things. I also write a lot of "hard to achieve goals" lists...but I am not sure they count..or do they? :).
Edited by my brother in life, Patrick Norton.