Whether you are renting ArtSpring’s theatre or exhibition spaces, good promotion is the key to a successful event. ArtSpring can help you in a number of ways:
- Website event page.
- Online calendar listing.
- Email newsletter. Submissions must be in the 15th of the prior to your event.
- Facebook shared posts. Tag us @artspringislandarts. Create an event or post and tag us. We’ll share up to 3x to our page.
- On-site posters in ArtSpring’s Box Office lobby. Max size is 11″ x 17″.
- Optional 8″x 5.5″ inserts into printed ArtSpring Presents programs for a fee of $25.00/each performance inserts are used.
The promotional opportunities listed above should only be thought of as the beginning of your campaign to market your event. The success of your show or exhibition will depend also on how much attention you can draw to it through your own efforts. To this end we recommend:
1) Seeking editorial coverage of your event with local media and/or advertising your event. Here are some useful contacts:
Gulf Islands Driftwood
328 Lower Ganges Rd
Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 2V3
Tel: 250-537-9933; Fax: 250-537-2613
E: news@gulfislands.net
The Driftwood publishes Wednesdays – ad deadline Friday, editorial deadline Sunday
Weekender publishes Fridays – ad deadline Wednesday
You can also post your event to the Driftwood’s Salt Spring Community Events Calendar.
Salt Spring Exchange
High traffic volume local community site with free listings for local events. Updated multiple times daily.
-Post your event by logging in (or creating an account). Then, click “Post An Ad” and post your event in the Events section.
-Post your event on the Salt Spring Exchange Community Calendar by clicking on “Post an Event”
Salt Spring Tourism
This website, created by the Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce, has an events calendar where you can post your event.
Salty Fish Bowl
E: thesaltyfishbowl@hotmail.com
Monthly print magazine
Island Tides
Tel: 1-250-216-2267
E: islandtides@islandtides.com
Bi-weekly newspaper distributed throughout Gulf Islands
Islands Marketplace
Tel: 250-537-2905
info@islandsmarketplace.com
2) Using direct mail. Canada Post offers unaddressed admail services and The Driftwood offers opportunities to place advertising inserts into their newspapers. Both these options tend to be expensive, but may be worth exploring for important events.
3) Using e-mail. This can be a very effective way of calling people’s attention to your event. Privacy regulations prevent ArtSpring from making our patron database available to you (except in cases where you have held a ticketed event in the past, in which case we can pass on to you a list of patrons who attended your event and to whom you can send notice of your new project). However, establishing links with various groups who you know to have an interest in your event can often be very effective for spreading the word.
Note: In accordance with the Privacy Act, ArtSpring will not share email or mailing addresses of its patrons or members with other organizations. Renters using the Box Office are entitled to the list of those individuals purchasing tickets to their events.
4) Using social media. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter can be excellent ways to get the word out about your event. Posting on your organization’s Facebook wall or setting up a Facebook event encourages your contacts to attend your event. Posting images related to your event is also an effective way to capture interest. Likewise, tweeting information about your event is an excellent way to encourage people to attend.
5) Listing your events in community calendars. There are three key online community calendars that list upcoming events on Salt Spring. We recommend that you post your event in the following calendars: The Salt Spring Exchange, The Driftwood’s Community Events Calendar, and Salt Spring Tourism’s Event Calendar. The CBC also has a community calendar thats lists events.