Atlanta Gift Show

Advertising… how do you get the word out that you have art for licensing?

I have had several questions recently about advertising and in a recent tele-seminar with Paul Brent the question was asked again. With January trade shows quickly approaching and the spring and summer not far behind, I decided today was a great day to do a little post about it.

Websites

Paul answered that he has his website, which he considers advertising, and you should too. We’ve talked about it before but it bears repeating: it is essential to have some sort of online presence. Blog platforms have evolved so much that at times you aren’t sure if you are on a website created from scratch or a well-designed blog. (And blogs are free or very low cost.)

A fellow artist recently made me aware of a site that is free for basic web design and then you can upgrade to a paid site if you want to add features like a private login area, video, audio, etc. I haven’t tried but after looking at their information it looks pretty interesting. www.Weebly.com

Print Magazines

Paul also talked about how and why he advertises in Total Art Licensing and License’s Art of Licensing magazines.

For beginners to the art licensing field he recommended the Artist Gallery section of Total Art Licensing in their Spring/Summer issue since that issue is distributed both at SURTEX and the Licensing Expo. They also have a Winter issue that is distributed at the Atlanta Gift Show and CHA, as well as the Spring Fair in Birmingham and a few other locations. (The Winter issue ad deadline is December 1st.)

I have done a Gallery ad every Spring since 2005 and do agree that it helps with art and brand awareness. I can’t say people come to my booth at SURTEX, ad in hand saying, “Because of this ad alone we want to license your art.” But they have mentioned seeing it and it creates an awareness of your name, logo, style, etc. The more people see it, the more ‘legitimate’ you will appear.

License magazine’s Art of Licensing has two issues that cover the same period, one for SURTEX and one for the Licensing Expo. So and artist would have to pay for ads in two issues of License magazine to get the same exposure as one ad in Total Art Licensing. Besides the Artists’ Gallery section, Paul recommends the front and back covers and the inside front cover as other preferable locations for an ad if your budget allowed for the expense. (Please note: you might have to fight Paul for these front and back cover spots since his art often graces those spots!)

If memory serves, I believe Art of Licensing started offering a lower cost gallery type ad last year but I can’t find the info this minute – I’ve put a call in and will keep you posted.

Direct Mail

I also send out promotional postcards each fall and spring to put my art, name and information in front of people in a different way. You just never know what will catch someones attention so I feel it’s good to ‘mix it up’ a bit.

That’s our recap on advertising for now. If you want to hear Paul talk about this and many other topics including trends, submitting art, keeping your art fresh and more, be sure to check out the audio replay available at www.ArtLicensingInfo.com/audio-archives.html

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara

P.S. If you will be exhibiting at the upcoming trade shows, don’t forget about the industry specific information available at www.ArtLicensingInfo.com/tradeshows.html

disclosure: Paul Brent and I have no vested interest in telling you about these advertising opportunities, Weebly.com or the licensing shows.

Three Reasons Why I am NOT at the Gift Show in Atlanta…

… and why I’m rather sad about it right now.

Atlanta is home to the AmericasMart buildings – three towering, 14-20+ story buildings connected by tunnels, elevators and escalators in the heart of downtown. Twice a year they have the big “Gift Shows” where many manufacturers who license art are opening the doors to their showrooms and selling their (our!) wares.

The biggest show is in January and I have attended that show every year for the past 4 years… I think. Maybe 5, I’m beginning to lose track. I went in July once… it was SO HOT I thought I’d melt! Guess that’s why they call it “Hot-lanta” in the summer.

So here are 3 reasons I’m not there right now, as I type:

I’m trying to be fiscally responsible. There are so many shows that an artist could attend or exhibit at to make connections that you’d have to make 6 figures to have 6 figures to ‘move about the country’. Since we are in business to make and keep some of our money, it is important to balance and analyze how any money is being spent. I have decided that going to the show once a year is fine. (Don’t forget – I live in Oregon so it is quite a trek for me. I’d make a different decision if the flight was 2 hours and $100…)
I need to get some art done. I’ve been on the move a lot this year and spring is always busy – so again, if I go to every show, when do I get the art done?
It’s just too darn hot in Atlanta in July. That’s a true reason why I don’t want to go… I just can’t stand the heat so I’ll stay out of the south in the summer if at all possible.

So why am I sad – you ask? Because even though there are valid fiscal reasons for me to be in my studio, I still hate to miss things! Artists have asked if I was coming, so I’m missing some fun. A few manufacturers asked if I would be there so I’m missing some face-to-face interaction. And look at this photo! I’m missing seeing a wall of my shoe art at the entrance to the Thirstystone showroom – how cool looking is that! I wish I had space in my studio to re-create it – it’s pretty sweet. And my studio is red so it would work perfectly… but alas, I don’t have that much open wall space so I’ll enjoy this photo for now.

atlanta-thirstystone If you are at the show – I hope you are making great connections, ‘visiting’ your licensed art and having some fun as well! Perhaps I’ll see you in the many maze-like halls in January…

Here’s to our creative (and fiscally responsible) success!

– Tara

Impressions of the Atlanta Gift Show – January 2009

Hey Y’all!
I’m in Atlanta enjoying some southern hospitality before heading to the hustle and bustle of New York City. I’ve been at the Atlanta Gift Show in the AmericasMart buildings for the past 2 days. MY FEET HURT!

If you’ve never been here, I’ll try my best to give you an idea of what it is like. But I have to tell you, you just don’t understand until you come. Can you imagine trying to describe Disneyland to someone who has never seen pictures of it or been to an amusement park, they wouldn’t really get it until they got there.

First, let me tell you, it can be just a tad intimidating! There are 3 buildings – aptly named “Building 1″, “Building 2″ and “Building 3″. Oh.. now they’ve added a “West Wing” to Building 2 and it had everyone confused. I still don’t understand why sometimes I had to leave Building 2 and go through Building 3 to get to Building 2, West Wing. But as many of us discussed, we were not consulted when they were doing the design. It is a classic case of resistence to change and confusion created by change– hopefully I’ll be less confused next year. Here is a map:

americasmartmap Now mind you, this is a cross section of the floors of the buildings, it doesn’t even begin to give you an idea of the size of each floor. Thankfully I didn’t have to walk every one! One thing that is nice is that once you are inside the labyrinth, you don’t have to go outside. They have bridges between the buildings. Here are some pics of the bridges and looking out of the bridges:

americasmartpics I spent my days walking the floors, meeting with clients, checking out new products (I had 2 new lines with new licensees come out at this show!) and looking for trends. I saw some fashion trends I won’t be adopting as well as others.

The word on the floors was “cautious” — manufacturers are on the conservative side, bringing out tried and true product line themes and cutting back on skus to weather the economy. There weren’t as many buyers (this is a show where store owners of all levels come to buy products for their stores) but I was hearing that the size of the orders was up a little over last year. Good news I hope. Several people I talked to also thought some buyers might not be spending the money to come “to market” (or “the mart” — knowing the lingo is important) but instead saving it to buy product. The sales reps in the field will be more important than ever — they hope!

On Saturday I had the pleasure of doing an “Artist Signing” with Thirstystone. I LOVE doing them since I really enjoy talking with everyone and helping sell the product. My goal is always to find people who don’t know about them and get them in the showroom. (We got at least 5 new customers signed up, from our estimations.) I signed a coaster from a new “Fashion” line that just came out and most women were THRILLED when I told them the coaster came with a “no guilt guarantee” — they didn’t have to wear stilletos to enjoy the coaster. (I was wearing Naturalizers — pretty funny!) Here’s a pic from that event…

thirstystonesigning-atlanta091 Not the best pictures but I decided to curb my vanity and post them!