About the MoabARTS Ad Campaign Starting July 15, 2007 |
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Greetings We have a vision of Moab as an arts destination. Not another Sedona or Santa Fe, but a marvelous and singularly unique arts community. This vision includes artists able to make a decent living through their art, various venues to sell this great local art, and of course, visitors with enough discretionary income to purchase this art. A strong and sustainable arts sector can help enhance and extend visitor stay, thereby contributing to Moab’s general economic health. This past year MoabARTS.com and the Moab Arts Council (MAC) partnered with the 8 annual arts events to secure funding from the Utah Office of Tourism’s (UOT) Cooperative Marketing Program. This program is specifically designed to market Utah outside the state of Utah. The program offers a 50% cash match. We raised $13,200 locally last year; UOT matched that with $6,600, giving us a healthy $19,800 marketing budget. Funds are only available to 501c3 not-for-profit organizations; hence MAC is the fiscal agent. We have found the funding to be very worthwhile. It has caused the arts community to work together for the common good. This fruitful effort resulted in a “brand” look for the arts in Moab, now known as MoabARTS. More than a website, MoabARTS is a vision, a campaign for increasing the visibility of all the arts in Moab. MoabARTS.com has been established as the portal for the arts in Moab. Through it, visitors can easily find artists, galleries, events and other art services as well as our supporters. We have reciprocal links with the Moab Area Travel Council, the Utah Arts Council and a growing number of tourism related businesses and organizations. Eric Trenbeath is the designer. He works in partnership with Craig Hibberd to create the MoabARTS.com website. MAC provides project leadership and grant writing. With our first year funding we created a print campaign to drive people to artists, galleries, and events through the MoabARTS.com website. Based on advice from the UOT and the Moab Area Travel Council we placed ads in Sunset Magazine (Rocky Mountain issue), Telluride Magazine (1/2 page, 6+month shelf life), and Inside-Outside Magazine (5 1/3 page ads May-October issue). More are forthcoming. Our plan for 2008 is to continue focusing on Colorado and the Wasatch Front. Pending the local and state funding total we’ll continue the ads in Telluride and Inside/Outside and try to find an appropriate magazine in the Summit/Eagle county and/or Boulder areas. As the program grows and we all realize its worth we’ll venture into other regions of the country. At the same time MoabARTS intends to place ads in select Salt Lake City and Park City magazines. However, UOT funds will not be used for in-state advertising. We are nearing the middle of our first year project and next year’s UOT funding submissions are due June 29. For the second year proposal we are reaching out to the gallery, individual artist and general business community for support. We believe that a healthy and vibrant arts economy can be of value to Moab and that by working together we can realize a sustainable future for the arts in Moab. We invite you to join us in this effort. Here’s the wind up and the pitch –
* for those who already have a moabart.com web page, deduct $60 from these prices ** call to discuss your event specifically *** new artist who has not sold art commercially This letter invites you to consider this proposal. While we would welcome you into this ongoing marketing campaign at any time, by joining before June 24th we can leverage your funds to secure a 50% cash match via the Coop Marketing Project. If you choose to join us we would appreciate a letter of commitment (naming $ amount) by June 24. That will enable us to put final touches on our proposal and mail it by June 26th. You will receive a follow-up phone call from Craig Hibberd, Eric Trenbeath Bruce Hucko between June 7th and June 15th. Thank you,
P. S. |
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