Mid-day last Saturday, my husband and I headed downtown to a local movie theater to watch/hear a wonderful performance of Puccini's "La Rondine" -- broadcast live by the Metropolitan Opera. As usual, two of the venue's theaters were packed to capacity with enthusiastic local fans. Since I am such a total marketing nerd, I was soon putting this experience into the context of marketing.
With these videocasts, the Metropolitan Opera has engaged on a brilliant marketing campaign. The Met has taken an "elite" product like opera and made it more accessible to everyone -- through product, placement and price. The Metropolitan Opera is far away (for most of us) in New York City. Attending an actual performance is expensive -- and a fairly formal experience.
In Colorado (my home state) alone, the Met broadcasts one Saturday matinee performance (approximately once every two weeks) of each opera in its season live in high definition and surround-sound to 15 movie theaters (and multiple screens in some of these theaters).
You also could argue that the product itself is even better in broadcast format. Instead of sitting in the nosebleed section and squinting through your opera glasses, you can see the performers -- up close and in high def. You know you're getting the best performance possible, because each singer knows the broadcast is going out to millions of viewers/listeners around the world. Between acts, the broadcast takes you behind the curtain for scene changes and interviews. You can afford a ticket ($22), attend mid-day (while you are wide-awake), wear jeans and sneakers -- and even eat popcorn! What a model!
And you can bet that -- next time we are in NYC -- we are more likely to attend the Met in person.
If the "elite" Metropolitan Opera can break out of its traditional mold for marketing purposes, so can "elite" professional services providers -- like lawyers, law firms and others. It is time to seriously consider alternative methods of marketing. Social media can be for professional services providers what these broadcasts in movie theaters are to the Met.
Interesting side note: As we were waiting for the performance to begin, a woman sat next to us. She did not stare straight ahead and wait. She turned to us with a friendly smile, extended her hand, introduced herself and started a pleasant conversation about opera. During intermission, we learned that she was a lawyer who specializes in estate planning. We asked for her card.
When I mentioned that I help lawyers and others market their practices, she said, "In my 38 years of practice, I've never had to do any formal marketing -- and I've always had plenty of work." I replied, "If you always introduce yourself to complete strangers in movie theaters -- and everywhere you go (and she said that she did) -- you've found the marketing approach that works best for you (especially as an estate planner)! Keep it up!"
There are as many unique approaches to marketing as there are unique lawyers.
