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September 2008 - Strategy Magazine
Who

Mobile, TV, WOM...must be a marketing "Trans-formation"

by Gariné Tcholakian
page 18

Advertising art is more akin to the complexity of Picasso than paint by numbers. In a climate of copyright restriction, decreasing leisure time (and dollars), media fragmentation and limited public funding, it requires finesse - and bold strokes.

Art galleries traditionally draw a high-brow culture consumer, and can be seen by the hoi polloi as intimidating. Relegated by many to school trips and major exhibits, they're often superseded by movie theatres, theme parks or sports. So getting "gallery visit" farther up on the masses' wish list is no small feat. Which is why Arlene Madell, the Art Gallery of Ontario's director of marketing and visitor services, is not only behind the rebranding of one of Canada's premiere galleries, but is also recreating the experience for consumers. Madell sees the Nov. 14 reopening of the AGO - the long-awaited "Trans-formation" - as an opportunity to redefine not only visitor perception of the art experience, but the AGO's approach to marketing itself.

Bold, but you would expect no less from a marketing executive who spearheaded a series of groundbreaking campaigns for the gallery. Recent years have seen her driving daring and award-winning campaigns for exhibits like Andy Warhol/Supernova: Stars, Deaths and Disasters 1962-1964 (July-October 2006). Designed to attract a younger audience by going beyond the familiar Campbell's soup paintings, taglines like "Sex, carnage, electric chairs: It must be summer at the AGO" showed a darker, edgier side of the artist's work. And for Catherine the Great: Arts for the Empire - Masterpieces from the Hermitage Museum, Russia (October-December 2005), Madell focused her team's efforts on drawing broader audiences: rather than relying on the beauty of the collection, she encouraged bold moves like placing Catherine the Great's coronation carriage in a suburban Toronto driveway and superimposing Catherine's image inside a TTC streetcar.

"It's not every day that you're presented with the opportunity to market your passion," says Madell who, prior to taking the position at the AGO in early 2002, spent over 20 years in the financial sector, most recently as VP sales and marketing, mortgages at the Bank of Montreal.

"Marketing strategies need to reflect a changed way of doing things, and you need to bring the institution along with you," says Madell. "Change has to start from the inside - you need to make sure other people are comfortable taking risks." And when it comes to a heritage institution, that can be a challenge. "Not everyone is always on the same page," explains Madell, "so it's about always pushing yourself and having good communications."

Doug Robinson, chairman and CCO of the AGO's AOR, Doug Agency, values that approach. "Arlene has been open to letting us do some very creative media," says Robinson, who worked with her on the Warhol and Catherine exhibits. "Arlene understands brands; she's very insightful, and she's got a great sensitivity."

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