EDUCATION and marketing are needed in order to strengthen the country’s creative industry particularly the performing arts sector covering theater, music and dance, a marketing and communications expert said.
John Paul “PJ” Lanot, who spoke at the Business of Performing Arts Capacity-Building Seminar at the Negros Museum in Bacolod City on Tuesday, July 9, said the local creative industry is not growing fast.
Lanot, also a television host, actor, restaurateur and motivational speaker, said educating the costumers is one of the pressing challenges of the performing arts sector.
“Local costumers do not see its value so we need to educate them,” he said, adding that those appreciating the creative products and services are those from outside the Philippines.
Foreign costumers paid so much for the creative arts of the Filipinos because they see the value of these things, Lanot pointed out.
The capacity-building seminar was a joint initiative of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem) and Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).
The collaboration is positioned to strengthen the performing arts sector of the country including Negros Occidental.
This is part of their Create Philippines and Manila International Performing Arts Market (Mipam) initiatives, respectively.
Themed “Bridging Business and the Arts,” the activity is aimed at equipping local performing arts individuals and groups with the right skills and tools to run their organizations professionally.
The seminar is also designed to prepare participants as would-be exhibitors for the upcoming Mipam and Create Philippines event.
The three-day festival at the CCP Complex in Pasay City in September this year will bring together performing arts groups, design agencies and other stakeholders for business matching and networking opportunities alongside other activities aimed at improving their business and creative capacities.
During the seminar in Bacolod City, the second of the four areas in the country, Lanot talked on Managing Business for the Arts Sector particularly marketing for creatives, or creative individuals and groups.
He underscored the need to give importance to costumers and competition.
“All marketing efforts, products and services are targeting the costumers because in the end these are for the costumers, Lanot said, adding that “costumers are the reason for the existence of the group or business.”
He said in a business like this, anything that makes money is subject to competition.
“So the question is how do you compete against the competitors, how do you figure out where is your niche, how do you know that your different from others and how do you stand out,” Lanot said.
The speaker also highlighted the four pillars of marketing such us products and services, cost, placement and promotion.
Aside from educating the costumers, marketing is also important in developing the local performing arts sector.
Lanot associated the popularity of Korean-pop (K-pop) culture to the country’s ability to market.
Korea really knows how to market. They were able to enforce their culture on us while the Philippines has no brand of its own, he said.
“What sets us apart from other countries is marketing which should start from us,” Lanot said, adding that “we should market ourselves for the costumers then in effect we educate them.”