BizVox Discovers New Program That Brings Art 2 You

Welcome to BizVox, part of the Electric Secrets variety podcast. We are dedicated to small businesses, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits. We're here to build knowledge, spur productivity, and have a few laughs along the way. My name is Scott Leon Smith and I'm your host. Let's talk some shop.

Hello everybody. This episode of BizVox comes to you from the Crawford County Arts Council. We're here to talk about a wonderful new initiative called Art 2 You. And I have with me the executive director of the CCAC, Kaylee Powers. Welcome, Kaylee.

Kaylee:

Hi, Scott. Glad to have you. Oh, thank you. Thank you for having me

Scott:

Thank you for being on the show. What's your background and how did you get involved with the Arts Council?

Kaylee:

Sure. So I have been the executive director of the Crawford County Arts Center since May of 2023. The Arts Center is the brick-and-mortar retail gallery and classroom location for the advisory Crawford County Arts Council.

Scott:

Okay.

Kaylee:

So I am in charge of the day-to-day and they are more of our governing body. My background is really largely in many different hats in marketing, as well as digital analytics and product management. But I am a born-and-raised Galion-ite and have been really involved in different community organizations from history to arts and more really for my whole life. So moving back here, it has been really a cool challenge to be able to take on the Arts Center and bring kind of that marketing and more analytics and strategy-focused background into nonprofit administration.

Scott:

So tell me a little bit about this new initiative. What's the background and how did you come up with this initiative?

Kaylee:

Yes. So Art 2 You is actually really kind of born from my background in e-commerce. The idea behind it is really to bring art to where people are in the community rather than requiring them to have to come into a dedicated gallery during limited open hours. We found that being tethered to a gallery while we love it here is a little bit prohibitive to folks who maybe aren't able to leave the home as often. 

Scott:

Oh, okay.

Kaylee:

So we really want to bring art to where people are in their day-to-day lives, whether that is their doctor's office, their bank, their grocery store and really give them the opportunity to experience local art while they're out and about. And then from there, another need that we wanted to address was really making owning a piece of that local art and decorating your home with art created by people around you more accessible. So for Art 2 You, what we will be doing is having the actual art itself out and about in the local businesses. And those presentations will feature a QR code where you can actually scan the QR code and be taken directly to the Art 2 You gallery website to make a purchase. And you are able to purchase a high-quality print of that artwork to be shipped directly to your home.

Scott:

Wow.

Kaylee:

So we are doing that fulfillment with local business A1 printing.

Scott:

Okay.

Kaylee:

So you can be at the bank waiting in line, see a piece that you love from a local artist, take one minute, scan it, complete your purchase, and have that art on your doorstep within the week for the same price that you would pay to get something mass produced from a big box store.

Scott:

That's incredible. That's wonderful. So it's, it's exclusively local art?

Kaylee:

Yes. Yes. It is exclusively local artists members that are here, members here with us.

Scott:

How many members do you have right now?

Kaylee:

We have over 115 members right now and are hoping to be growing that. 

Scott:

So painting sculpture, what mediums are they working in? 

Kaylee:

So our members actually are in a wide variety, everything from fiber arts to jewelry to more traditional medium like painting and sculpture. For the Art2You program, we will be focusing on works that really translate into that 2D format well. Right now we have acrylic pastel and oil lined up but are always seeking more.

Scott:

Wonderful. So you just moved into your new location here at 117 North Sandusky Avenue and you're getting things set up, everything is looking nice with your gallery. So Art2You is your phase one of a bigger plan?

Kaylee:

So phase one is really just getting the initial hosts and initial early adopter artist for the Art2You program.

Scott:

Gotcha. 

Kaylee:

But then we will be expanding further into more hosts and businesses. So that phase one launch that we are actually currently in the process of is really kind of a three-pronged approach. So we have our online gallery with purchasing is available actually right now at Crawford County Arts Center dot com slash art 2 you. And that is I would like to say art the number two and then YOU spelled out. crawfordcountyartscenter.com/art2you

Scott:

Yes, very important.

Kaylee: And then in addition to the online gallery being posted, we do have a select number of host businesses that are our early adopters including Raven's Cloak, Reiki, and Treasures in Galion, the First Federal Community Bank here in Bucyrus, the Crawford Partnership along with a few other folks who are signing on with us. So those businesses will be the first to actually host the physical art pieces with the actual activations where people are able to purchase. And then the third piece is a portable gallery that we were actually able to acquire. This program is funded by the Arts Next Innovation Grant from the Ohio Arts Council, as well as a grant from the Community Foundation for Crawford County. And with those funds, we were able to purchase a portable gallery that will actually allow us to take this to all of our various different tabling activations and other community activities and folks will be able to look at the gallery and actually be able to purchase from that.

Scott:

Wow.

Kaylee:

So that portable gallery will be launching at the Crawford County Chamber of Commerce Economic Development and Business Forecast Breakfast. So those business owners will be able to get a little bit of a preview of all of the different assets that we have available and be able to sign up right there.

Scott:

And when is that happening?

Kaylee:

Tuesday, February 25th.

Scott:

All right. So coming up.

Kaylee:

It's 7.30 AM, bright and early. 

Scott:

It's bright and early, a couple of weeks.

Awesome. And a term I'm not familiar with, early adopters. Was that what you said?

Kaylee:

Yes.

Scott:

Can you explain that term?

Kaylee:

Yes. So we are referring to our beginning hosts as well as artists as our early adopters. So really just folks who believe in the program and are willing to sign on and be kind of our test subjects.

Scott:

That's a wonderful term. Early adopters. I like that. I've never heard that term before. That's interesting.

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All right, welcome back. We are talking with Kaylee Powers about art to you, the new initiative from the Crawford County Arts Council. So Kaylee, tell me about you have all this knowledge of online marketing strategies. So what kind of strategies did you use for this particular initiative?

Kaylee:

Yeah, absolutely. So we are really working to make sure that we have a seamless omnichannel experience and that we are tracking our performance and making sure that we are understanding which of the different strategies we are using are really helping us the most. So one of our main ways that we are getting people into the online gallery, if they aren't interacting with our in-person activations that we have is through digital advertising. We are going to be doing digital advertising with the North Central Ohio Media Group. We were very fortunate to receive some generous funding from the First Federal Community Bank. And through that program, we actually are going to be receiving $200 of monthly advertising to get people into that digital gallery and to really see it even if they aren't interacting with one of our in-person activations. So we have been working really closely with our designer on that and they have been super helpful in helping us to put that together. Additionally, we are really going to be looking at Facebook marketing. We have a pretty active online presence there and have really found that it is a place that the community goes to find not only events and things that are coming up, but to really kind of hear from other folks around them what they are doing, working on and what people are really putting their backing behind. So we found that putting a little bit of dollars behind some social ads actually have a pretty great follow-through for us. So we'll be making sure that those are all tracked and going to give us that impact that we want and to really see when people come from Facebook, are they ultimately converting and making a purchase or are they going to other areas of the site? Are they coming from Facebook to take a look at events or really kind of see what kind of qualified leads we're getting there?

Scott:

And I just want to take a moment to remind my listeners, you're going to hear me talk about this a lot. It is so important to if you're not going to hire or work with someone who has digital marketing knowledge and can talk you through these things and how they work and maybe give you some strategies to utilize for your particular business, you need that, not even a basic knowledge. I mean, it seems very complex, but it's so necessary in today's economy to be able to see what people are responding to, just like what Kaylee is talking about to see where you need to focus your dollars, your energy, your digital footprint or whatever you want to call it to make sure that you're getting to the right audience and sending the messages that are working. Kaylee, would you agree?

Scott:

Yes, absolutely. So with that, we really will be utilizing Google Analytics quite a bit, just to make sure that our tracking is in place and everything looks good. But then we really, in addition to getting people to this site, are going to be focused on optimizing that actual landing page that people are interacting with. So we will be doing a lot of A/B. testing on how that content actually looks, what's being shown and really seeking user feedback as well. So after you complete a purchase, you will be able to fill out a survey, giving us information and also we'll be able to email us or give us any other flags if you happen to run into any technical issues. So we're really focused on making sure that we're getting that user feedback and really paying attention to the full process and not just getting them to that page and kind of hoping from there as it can sometimes happen.

Scott:

Yes. And if you don't mind, we'll get away from the technical stuff a little bit and talk more of the creative angle. I love to talk about creative branding and since the Arts Council has a new location and has gone through a rebranding process. Kaylee, can you tell me a little bit about that process and how it worked and maybe the more artistic the better.

Kaylee:

Yes, definitely. So the branding that we have gone through has actually really been born from paying close attention to how people were speaking about us and really resolving some confusion because we are sort of a two-pronged organization. We were formerly known as the Crawford Center for the Arts and we found that almost everybody we spoke to verbally was referring to us as the Arts Center. So when you would try to search for us, we wouldn't show up because we were Crawford Center for the Arts. So after taking in a lot of that feedback as well as taking into consideration that our nonprofit advisory board is the Crawford County Arts Council, we decided to jump in feet first and change our name to the Crawford County Arts Center and that actually allows us the fun little trick of sharing an acronym. So now when we say CCAC, we can refer to both organizations.

Scott:

That's great.

Kaylee:

And we've actually gotten great feedback.

Scott:

Good.

Kaylee:

We've seen so many people even with we have fundraiser tie-dye shirts with our logo on them and things of that nature. People love to just refer to us as the Arts Center now. So that has been huge. With that, we had a new logo created. It was really important to us to use intellectual property that was owned and created by us. You can kind of really fall into that trap of just hopping into a design software and choosing a clip art that was already in existence or maybe even committing the sin of going online and selecting one. So we really wanted to make sure, especially as an arts organization, that we really put our stamp down and said this was created by a local artist for us, for this purpose. It is ours. So we ultimately landed on a logo that is splotches of color without any other indicators of a medium. We've found that in the past, we've used things like brushes or pencils. And that can actually be sort of limiting and can sort of scare people away and say, well, I do sculpture, but your logo has a paintbrush and I feel like this isn't for me. So we really tried to be agnostic of the medium and really get that across in the

logo.

Scott:

That is so interesting how people can respond so quickly to just a simple image and think that it's not for them. And it's just something that we have to deal with when you're branding. That's interesting. 

Kaylee:

Truly. So really making sure we weren't being exclusionary was huge for us. And in addition to that, kind of in more of the sense of what a logo is for and what it should do for you, we decided to make sure that the typography was really something that could stand alone and really hold up even just as simple line art, especially when looking at things like we want to get a t-shirt with this embroidered or things of that nature where sometimes you can overcomplicate your logo a little bit and it can be difficult to then use it in all of the context that it's needed. So we actually had the artist hand-drew and altered a custom font so that we are able to have our logo connect together as it does. And then ultimately because we are a nonprofit, we do have a little bit of an interesting context in that a lot of things are designed by committee, which some designers don't love. I personally think that it drives innovation. So we ultimately had any interested board members step forward and then had multiple rounds of voting on the new logo and brand identity, which is a little bit out of the norm for branding and marketing and other contexts. But as a nonprofit, it is something that's really important to us to make sure that everybody who is promoting the organization is aligned and fully believes in, one, in the mission of the brand that we're putting across, but also just feels proud to wear it and have it around.

Scott:

Absolutely.

Hey, did you know BizVox is just one segment in the variety podcast we call Electric Secrets? More segments are being added as we speak, including Dedicated to the Craft, a segment that reveals the secrets behind the often misunderstood professions of acting and directing. I host that one too. Keep an eye out for more segments in the next couple of months. Now back to the show.

We are here at the Crawford County Arts Council and the Crawford County Arts Center. The CCAC serves as an acronym for both and I'm talking with the Executive Director, Kaylee Powers. What's the future of the CCAC? What projects or initiatives do you have for the upcoming year?

Kaylee:

So as you know, we have moved into a beautiful new location here at 117 North Sandusky Avenue. And with it, we have expanded our capabilities greatly. We have a larger classroom and gallery space as well as a full kitchen that we are able to operate out of. And with that, we are really opening up the opportunity to be an event rental location. So this is huge for us as a nonprofit because it opens up a new revenue stream. And we've also really heard from members of the community that there needs to be more gathering space. We need places to host meetings to do those corporate bonding activities and even just to really get folks out into the community and see what else is available and also to host those celebrations. We love having birthday parties and bridal showers and all of that good stuff here. So with this new space, we're really able to facilitate those more effectively. And that is really going to be our mission for 2025 is really establishing us as a space not just to go to for the classes that we've planned, but to host really anything that you can dream up. 

Scott:

Beyond 2025, do you have anything beyond this year, long term?

Kaylee:

So we are really focused in addition to our brick and mortar space here to really building bridges out in the community and helping to bring opportunities for creativity to meet people where they are in a way that best serves them. So whether that looks like us setting up at all of the Chamber of Commerce events and having a make-and-take activity or doing off-center art nights at the Galion Golden Age Center, we are really trying to break down those barriers within our community and really unite Crawford County as a whole and bring all of our different resources together. Because when we work together, we're stronger. We all know this. So the Crawford County Arts Center along with the newly combined Crawford County Chamber of Commerce who've worked really closely with us. Really I think the theme for this year and years going forward is just ensuring that we are all coming together to understand that what we can create together is bigger than just a city dividing line and that, you know, taking that 15 minutes to go check out what's happening in Crestline or Galion and New Washington is just as important as coming into the location here in Bucyrus. And we really want to make sure that we are helping to facilitate that conversation and really giving people that opportunity to meet each other and see how when you get together in a room, you can really create something much bigger than yourself.

Scott:

My thanks to Kaylee Powers for lending her voice and expertise to this episode. Kaylee, thank you so much. Lots of great information. I hope you had fun.

Kaylee:

Thank you very much. It is actually very exciting. I love to geek out about marketing. So it's nice to have an opportunity to speak about it and kind of really give it behind the scenes of what's happening behind the nonprofit work that you see.

Scott:

Well, you provided us with some great information. I thank you so much. Everybody, thanks for listening. I'm Scott. Until next time, let's get to work.

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