My daughter commented on the ubiquitousness of Shen Yun's marketing as we sat in the Harris Theater the other night waiting for the ballet to begin and perusing the Playbill. Shen Yun had taken a full-page ad. "I see this picture everywhere," she noted.
Even my teen could appreciate that this marketing was clear, consistent and constant. Same picture, plastered all over the Chicagoland area. And, importantly, the marketing campaign started far in advance of the actual show. Although the shows are this weekend, July 7 through 9 at the Civic Opera House, we have seen these ads for months and months. There has been a billboard on the 290 Eisenhower Expressway for a good long while. For months, retail stores around town have featured their poster. Now the ad in the Playbill.
We have some connections to the dance and performing arts world and can confidently say, "This is unusual." Rarely can a show afford so much marketing. Even Broadway blockbusters like "Lion King" don't have this much publicity. Lots of money behind Shen Yun, apparently. The posters in our local shops really give us pause. How do they get people to walk around suburbs and get small business owners to give them permission to hang posters? Because I assure you, there is no other way to get your flyer taped to the inside of retailers' shop windows without going door-to-door. Usually with your own roll of scotch tape.
My daughter's comments inspired me to do a little research. And, voila! Maybe this is the answer, maybe not. But it has got to be a contributing factor: Shen Yun is a performing arts group associated with the Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) political-religious group from China. Falun Gong was banned in China a few years ago and the leaders fled the country. The group has many followers in the US, Canada and other countries that enjoy a large population of mainland Chinese immigrants.
The Shen Yun Performing Arts Group has as its tagline, "Reviving 5,000 Years of Chinese Tradition." They do not publicize their affiliation with Falun Gong but they do not hide it, either. The show is intended to both celebrate Chinese culture and describe how that culture is being lost under the repression of the Communist government. The very same government that outlawed Falun Gong and its leaders. Reviews say that part of the performance depicts the specific repression of the Falun Gong movement.
My point today is not to provoke a political discussion or debate the merits of Falun Gong's position.
However... This can help explain the marketing campaign, can't it? If you have an international religious group behind you, one that believes firmly in you and your cause and is hoping to volunteer and donate money, then you have some resources. Falun Gong is pretty big, even as it flies below the radar in the US. I don't know for sure, but I'll bet they have lots of willing volunteers happy to grab a stack of posters and drive to a suburb and blanket the downtown with Shen Yun signage.
No judgement here, I'm just saying. I couldn't understand the economics of their marketing campaign. This helps me understand it better. What could you do to market your business if you had a tribe of folks behind you, making your cause their cause? Pretty powerful stuff.
Original text from: http://www.localoakpark.comew-posts/2012/7/5/marketing-a-higher-cause.html
