This week, agency president Arthur Lubow was asked to write a guest entry on culpwrit, the popular career advice blog of Ron Culp, Partner and Managing Director of Ketchum's North America Corporate Practice Division.

It was also a chance to remember two of our favorite ads created for Ron when he was at Sara Lee Corporation and Sears.

This week, AD Lubow media strategist, Cynthia Lugo, talks about the marketing potential of a new website by ALLLANCE FOR THE ARTS.

We at AD Lubow are always interested in how cultural consumers find out about what’s going on in the city, and have long wished for a comprehensive online database of all the city has to offer. A new site called NYC-ARTS.org has the potential to fill that void. Launched by Alliance for the Arts, the goal of the website is to bring together the myriad of cultural options available—from art museums to zoos—and present them in a single, easy-to-navigate format. An online guidebook of sorts, the website’s clean and compelling design combined with an impressive roster of participants—currently over 800 organizations are listed—make NYC-ARTS.org a potential go-to source for New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers alike.

We met with the folks behind the website and were excited to hear of its plans to expand their sponsorship opportunities (both corporate and institutional opportunities are available) and that each organization actually manages their own information. As of now, the website functions more as a repository for cultural institutions, and it would be great if more comprehensive events coverage were somehow integrated, making it a daily destination for patrons of the arts. (On a personal level, I was also thrilled that they had applied for a Google grant and had received it: this is a great way to increase website traffic for next-to-nothing.) If you’re an NYC-based arts organization, I urge you to contact Alliance for the Arts as part of your efforts to expand your online presence. NYC-ARTS.org has the potential to become an indispensable “one-stop shop” to everything arts-related in the city.

During the depths of War War II, Sir Winston Churchill famously said to the boys at Harrow:
“Never give in – never, never, never…”*

In the daily battle of business, I tell my team: “Sometimes you have to give in a little. Business is all about giving. But never give UP. Have patience. Be prepared. Be creative. Wait for the right moment. Then seize it." Jockey Calvin Borel in the 2007 Kentucky Derby demonstrates precisely what I mean. It's Street Sense. Watch and learn:



Don’t always play the favorite.
When Calvin Borel steered his steed from 19th place to seven lengths ahead of the pack, people said his horse was amazing. But, hey, sometimes it’s the jockey. Look what Borel did this year on a 50-1 shot:



Moral to clients looking for the right partner to steer them ahead of the pack: don’t compulsively pick the favorite. Choose a distinctive, smartly managed team who will give you everything they’ve got; and never give up!

* “Never give in – never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
Sir Winston Churchill, 1941 Speech at Harrow School