Thanks to all my graduate students who joined me for the first class of KCP404 Advertising Creative: Introduction last night (yes, in spite of resigning from the university, I'm back doing sessional teaching). I hope those in attendance found the session useful, and feel better prepared for this course. Feel free to contact me should you have any questions about the course.
February 2007 Archives
My friend, Stephen sent me a link to this news story about the impending dancers' strike at the West Australian Ballet Company and has triggered in me a response I've now decided to share on this blog. Whilst I have enormous sympathy for the dancers in their struggle to survive on what amounts to a pitiful wage given the level of training and sacrifice required to pursue a career in ballet (even if it is substantially above the poverty line), I think the problems with management of dance are much more complex than the parties at the West Australian Ballet can even begin to understand.
I've included part of my conversation with Stephen on this issue below, and have responded to some of his comments following up my email. I'm considering sending this off to a dance journal at some later point.
I think we do need to view the West Australian Ballet (WAB) situation with a perspective on the problem rather than on the victims. It is, after all, a dancer’s choice to pursue his/her career. Some would say it’s a calling (I certainly would have done when I was dancing) but the truth of the matter is that there is a choice, and that there are other options for dancers. As sad as it may be to consider their plight, it is the dancers themselves that willingly submit to the atrocious conditions of their training, their performance regime and, ultimately, their pay.
What we should be more pro-active about, is the rights of dancers and the promotional aspects of their training, as well as the business of arts performance. It is right to consider dancers next to sportspeople, not just because the training is at least as arduous, but because the vast majority of sports operate on a very low to tiny budget on an annual basis. Do not compare them with golfers, tennis players, cricketers or football players because the popularity of those sports fund their development. Instead compare them with lesser-supported sports such as hockey or equestrian events, bowls or softball. Even in these sports the opportunities to sponsor the training of young potentials is explored. Dancers are rarely, if ever sponsored, and only prima ballerinas and premier danceurs ever get commercials. Most of these sports agencies are incorporated associations and non-profit institutions under Australian corporate law, thus they have a strong marketing and management team that seek funding from appropriate institutions for the continuation of their sports. Yet ballet companies the world over are supported by telecommunications companies (why???), mining conglomerates (why???), newspapers and lottery companies. Oh I can understand why such companies want to invest in dance (arts investment produces both a taxation benefit and raises corporate responsibility profile), but why aren’t dance companies being promoted by cultural groups, dancewear manufacturers and makeup companies? And don’t even get me started on dancewear manufacturers not having enough money – they should have merged with major sporting manufacturers like Nike and Adidas YEARS ago.
In terms of arts management, theatres are not adequately supported entities, limiting regular staging of free or subsidised performances for the masses. Arts management is generally a process of 40% grant application writing and report writing to defend funding allocation. The industry itself is full of representatives who see commercialisation of dance as a reduction of creative spirit, instead of seeing it as bread-and-butter income to support creative enterprises. Then where creative spirit is financially supported, the failure rate of creative ventures (often due to personality issues and poor management techniques) is abysmally high. Venture capitalists and corporate sponsors don’t want to throw money at dance because the risk-return ratio is too highly skewed to ‘risk’.
The entire dance sector is an almighty mess. This is why Graham Murphy and Janet Vernon have finally decided to bow out of the Sydney Dance Company (another entity that will probably fall in to disrepair) – and also probably why they should NEVER have been allocated as much influence over company management in the first place. It’s why the WAB dancers are so poorly paid. And it’s why governments and sponsors are less and less likely to invest in the arts. Until the state of dance is given an almighty revamp, the dancers can strike as much as the like: they’ll all be out of a job before the century is half over.
My friend has suggested that dance companies should be appraised against a sport like netball, where there are a large number of participants in the activity to an amateur level, but that very few pursue the career professionally, and most of these have to work at other jobs to make a living at the same time. However, he notes that the competitive nature of netball continues to attract participation in the activity on a long term amateur basis, because people attend matches and support a team of participants. I would agree with that comparison, but I would also argue that there is no reason why ballet cannot also attract participants well into adulthood with adequate classes and opportunities to perform, and there's also no reason why dance cannot pursue "team" competitive events. Dance companies could be assessed against each other (for artistic expression, innovation, quality and popularity from an audience perspective), and dance educators, physiotherapists, nutritionists and arts management coaches could participate in clinics at such events both to raise awareness and interest in the artform, as well as connecting sponsors with current and future dance stakeholders. This is, after all, how netball and many other sports operate.
My friend also suggested it may be useful for dance companies to call upon the expertise of sports administrators to more clearly benchmark the performance of companies. To some extent, the appointment of Board Members to ballet company executive bodies is supposed to give them that expertise, but clearly the roles and power of Boards and management teams of dance companies in revamping the industry is insufficient. After all, these structures are concerned with the operation of their own enterprises, and do not oversee industry-wide change. This is where a national dance review group may have a role. And certainly, the introduction of advice from sports administration and indeed media and communications company administrations may be of value. If such a body was given sufficient power to create and disseminate policy across ballet companies, both amateur and professional, it may be more likely that a cultural revival for dance would result.
But without such a body, and in pursuing the low intervention approach that characterizes the status quo for contemporary and classical dance in Australia, I foresee the closure, or at least the reduction of quality and investment (commercial or government) in dance over the next forty years. By 2050, I would not be surprised if the Australian Ballet is the only full-time professional company of the land. But the saddest part of this is that the industry itself will be at fault.
Wishing everyone a very happy Valentine's Day today! Whether you have a partner or not, it's a great day to revel in the prospect of romance. Enjoy it, one and all!
(And a huge thank you to Julie for her well-wishes - Julie you are an angel and I hope you and Stephen have a fabulous day today!)
EDIT: ... And I have to say being phoned at 8:45am, and having a Valentine's Day song sung to you down the line has got to be one of the most beautiful ways to start Valentine's Day!!!!!
It appears a recent bout of bronchitis has compromised my normal defences against chronic asthma. Instead of being able to control my breathing and prevent episodes of wheezing, I've developed a rather frightening, rattling cough that once it starts, can go for some minutes until with some pretty serious mind control, I can focus my breathing in a manner that will stop the coughing, but only keep it at bay, rather than relieve it.
I normally regard humidity in Brisbane as a relief for my lungs but I have a feeling the recent rain is actually adversely affecting my lungs.
All protective vibes much appreciated.
I have gone in to neural shock. I will be out of action until I understand what has happened at the Sydney Cricket Ground today.
*blinks*
Do I believe what I am witnessing? Australia in trouble at 2/33.
Come on boys. We managed 5-nil in the Test series. We beat England several times in the competition for the One Day Cricket finals. Surely we can win a final???
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON????????????????????????????????????
During the commentary of today's One Day International cricket match between England and New Zealand, one of the commentary team described the performance of the English team in Australia as if it were a new and completely different team; England 2, as it were.
Now, with less than 5 overs to go in the match and a required run rate of 12.00 per over, it actually looks like England will be playing Australia in the final of the One Day series.
*blinks* Wonders will never cease.
I realised I hadn't posted the final pics either from New Years Eve in Sydney and of my last days in Scotland, so have now uploaded and have ready for those who may be curious.
The shots from Sydney include a couple of my niece, Alissa, and the rest are of the fabulous fireworks from Cremorne Point.
The shots from Scotland are of the flat where I stayed in Glasgow (excellent value and fantastically located for anyone thinking of visiting Scotland - I'd highly recommend this place) as well as some shots around the West End and of my trip up to Aviemore and up on Cairngorm Mountain. Note the SNOW! And yes, the shots of my feet in snow and my hand holding snow are deliberate! :-)
Have managed to come down with an upper respiratory infection and need sleep and fluids. Will be back when better (probably tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest).
EDIT: And no, to those who have suggested it, I do NOT have Bird Flu :)
What? England are actually playing cricket well??????
Stop the world. I want to get off.
In my previous post I announced my resignation as an academic. In this post, I provide an example of why I am focussing on User Led productions.
For this year's US Superbowl, Doritos has been running a campaign for user-generated advertisement development and the finalists are all superb. Check them out here. The five finalists all get approximately US$14,000 of cash and travel but the winner from those five entries doesn't get any more money - just the glory of having their ad screened at Superbowl. Thinking about this economically, Doritos will still need to pay around US$2.5 million for a 30 second spot during the broadcast of Superbowl. But instead of paying an average US$350,000 for the production of a 30 second advertisement (and possibly missing the mark entirely in terms of innovation and popularity in the marketplace), offering US$70,000 to be split amongst five finalists is an absolute bargain for a company prepared to engage with User Led content production. Of course there's the cost of setting up the competition and getting Yahoo to host this online, but comparatively speaking, the cost of running an online promotion is substantially cheaper and more likely to produce some fabulous and innovative campaigns than using an advertising company's services. Essentially, Doritos is still saving about a quarter of a million in production costs.
This is why I am enthusiastic about my career ahead. There are so many ways that User Led production can save on costs and increase the diversity and innovation resting with stakeholders. These are exciting times for the future of a connected economy.
I'm still a bit affected by jet lag, as I'm waking early (around 4-5am) and keen on getting up and doing research very early instead of waking slowly, but I'm thinking this is probably not a bad little symptom. I'm adjusting to the heat and humidity too, and I admit to enjoying the capacity to draw a deep breath into my lungs and finding the warm, wet air almost anaesthetising. Life is returning to normal too, with appointments rapidly filling my calendar and work commitments beginning to establish themselves.
It's probably time I also announced officially that I have formally resigned from my career as a full-time academic. I will continue to be involved in teaching whenever the opportunity arises, but I have decided to focus solely on my consultancies and contract work for the next few months while I prepare for my next challenge overseas. I have thought long and hard over this decision, and feel that after twelve years as an academic (either full-time lecturer, or research staff member and part-time lecturer), it is time for me to properly extract myself from the security and predictability of an academic's career, and to trust to my expertise and enthusiasm for my consultancy work.
I am very proud of what I have achieved as an academic, and I know my interest in the scholarship of teaching and in social software and related disciplines will be sustained over time. I would like to think I have assisted many students in their career paths and in the development of their own expertise. There is nothing more rewarding than bearing witness to the achievements of former students who go on to great successes in their professional lives. I'm proud of them all, and I'm privileged to have been part of their development. I'm also privileged to have worked in my career alongside some of the greats in Australian academia, and I hope to sustain my connection with many of these great thinkers. In particular, I would like to thank Professor Peter Spearritt for his guidance and leadership over many years. I'd also like to thank everyone at the Brisbane Graduate School of Business for providing one of the most challenging and thoroughly collegial environments in my experience. And to Duane Varan, Jeremy Williams, Greg Hearn, Jenny Hocking, John Arnold, Chris and Janet Baker, David Dunstan, Paul Davidson and of course the wonderful Trevor Barr, I owe you all so much. Thank you for inspiring and supporting me at various stages of my academic development.
And now I face an uncertain, but decidedly exciting future. I embrace it with my whole heart, and hope that my academic life - which may not be over for ever - will only ever be enhanced by the challenges ahead.
