It’s not a super big secret that the classical music field is suffering in the marketing and promotion categories. Just look at the perspectives most organizations tend to lean into. Focus is typically on the conductor and/or the orchestra, not the consumer; ads are basically just mentions of the concert date or guest artists; copy tends to be either too stuffy and elitist or sways to the counter opposite. Both miss the mark.
The problem is that non-profit groups typically don’t have revenue to cover salaries of top-level marketers, or if they do have the talented marketer, they don’t typically have the budget to execute an effective and fun ad campaign.
This is where I am on my knees, begging for the introduction to Ryan Reynolds. While an incredibly successful and hilarious actor, Ryan is one of the most effective marketers of our day.
I didn’t think it possible anyone could make me care about an advertising software company, much less a mobile phone company. I usually (rightfully so) tune those ads out when I come across them. But Ryan has a knack, a natural skill mixed with passion, purpose, and fun that helps create ads that are both fun and incredibly effective.
Looking at the typical orchestra ads, I wonder: What if Ryan Reynolds tackled classical music marketing? Can he transform it beyond self-congratulatory benchmarks into something thrilling and purposeful? Let’s rebrand and be less apologetic.
Typically, Ryan’s businesses have yielded massive profits after he’s sold them. There is no reward like that in the non-profit classical world, unfortunately. But surely the flex for Ryan could be turning around the mojo of today’s orchestras to be something more fun, more accessible, more intriguing. Maybe he could even sign a deal to sell Aviation Gin at the intermission concessions.
To understand Reynold’s method, click on this fantastic video interview from Washington Post.
Understand Reynold’s powerful and sarcastically funny narrative for his ad for Aviation Gin.
And for those who are impressed and perhaps a bit intimidated by the production value, check this ad for Mint Mobile. Simple, clean, effective, and funny.
In this field, so many people involved know we have an excellent product. We should not be selling that product to ourselves though! We need effective marketing to both stay alive and flourish, and to attract people who might be as blind to it as I was to an advertising software company that I’m now curious about!
Would someone please connect me to Ryan Reynolds? I have the challenge of a lifetime for him.