Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

Image Courtesy of Freefoto.com

Soft Drink. Pop. Soda. What do you call that sweet, fizzy drink that comes in cans, out of fountains, and sometimes in bottles? I call it coke.

In Southern Indiana where I grew up, a Sprite is a coke, a Dr. Pepper is a coke, and a Pepsi is also a coke. The Coca Cola brand has resonated so much in my hometown that it has become the generic term for the entire category of product. Coke is in good company. Kleenex, Xerox, Google, and even Q-Tip have all created such strong brand identities that their trademarked names are now nouns. (Definition of brand identity.)

Brands like Coca Cola appear to be every marketer’s dream. They seem to need very little advertising and messaging. However, the truth of the matter is that Coca Cola still spends millions of dollars every year on tv and print campaigns for Coke Classic. So what’s up with that? Read the rest of this entry »

From writing large-scale, big-budget marketing plans to proofing marketing pieces for the printer, I generally have about 15-30 different projects cross my desk every day. Some things take a considerable amount of attention, while others take seconds. Some days I have six meetings, while others I have just one. As with many jobs, my position requires me to switch back and forth between projects all day, every day. At times, I find the harried nature and varied scope of my work to be exhausting. But most of the time, I find it exhilarating. Regardless, I love every minute.

To give you an overview of what someone who works in museum marketing does , I thought that I’d outline my typical day. In order to do that, I recorded my activities throughout the past Monday. While some of you were relaxing (or partying) on your Columbus Day off, I was hard at work with my fellow colleagues at the IMA.

Image taken from ugotbling.com

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It’s a big day! The IMA was just named one of the 10 recipients of the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Services, the nation’s highest honor for museums and libraries. Indiana Senator Richard Lugar nominated the Museum about which he said, “The IMA provides the Indianapolis community with valuable arts programming, education and many special exhibitions through the exploration of art, design, and the natural environment. It is truly a treasure in Indianapolis and very deserving of this prestigious honor.”

The annual award presented by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) since 1994, recognizes institutions for outstanding social, educational, environmental, or economic contributions to their communities. According to IMLS Director Anne-Imelda M. Radice, the IMA was selected for the award based on the Museum’s “exemplary programs (that) respond to community challenges, positively impact people’s lives, and serve as models for the nation’s museums.”

National Medal for Museum and Library Service

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In 2004 when I first began at the IMA, our marketing offices were in a small  cottage adjacent to the main museum building. Built in the early part of the 20^th century, the home was part of the original estate on which the museum now resides. Fresh out of grad school and new to the working world, I loved the cottage for its warmth and coziness. The PR and marketing coordinators sat in what used to be the living room. The graphic designers were squeezed into two upstairs rooms that were once perhaps the nursery. I shared a corner bedroom/office with my colleague Jessica.

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The Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

kottke.org

Blog: kottke.org (thanks @cmalexander!)

Pronounced “cot”- “key”…I’m still not entirely sure how to describe this blog. I remember looking at it the first time and being, well, underwhelmed by the overly simple design. But as one scrolls down the pages, one is confronted with nugget after nugget of outrageously interesting info. It’s about the content, people. One of the many descriptions on the About page reads: “An attempt to track and make sense of “material that connects the insights of science and culture, rather than using one to dismantle the other” (as Steven Johnson puts it).” I describe it as: clever, clever, clever.

ArtBabble Video: Artist Talk: Nic Hess

For the Hammer’s Lobby Wall, Swiss artist Nic Hess presents Automatic Crash Response, a mixture of images in tape ranging from tombstone- like monuments of several recently failed banks, animals, how-to exercise diagrams, a generic shopping cart, the USPS logo and more to weave a lyrical quasi-narrative left for the viewer to decode. Nic Hess discusses Automatic Crash Response, as well as his other works.

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