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How to market Ashland By Jack Hardesty To the casual observer, Ashland seems like an ideal, small, fine-art town. Ashland and vicinity are home to a relatively large number of artists, and there are more galleries here than any other place in Southern Oregon or northern California. The only things missing in this equation are customers. But wait a minute, our casual observer might say, several hundred thousand people visit Ashland each year to attend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and they must be interested in art. And how about all those wealthy Californians retiring here? "Ay, there's the rub," as the Bard said, or even several rubs. The first is that people who are interested in theater, especially traditional theater, are not necessarily interested in fine art. Then, there's the matter of demographics, both for the theater crowd and for our new residents. Both groups are loaded with seniors and juniors. There are relatively few people in between with disposable income and an interest in acquiring rather than downsizing. Comparing the same age groups, the median age for the U.S. is around 45 to 46, while for the OSF it went from 44 in 1988 to 50 in 1994. For Ashland, the percentage of people in the 65 and older age group is 27, while that for the nation is 17. The aging of the audience on which OSF has depended to attend and support its program is what the New York Times has called an "insidious threat" facing many cultural institutions. The problem, the Times points out, is that younger Americans are unlikely ever to attend "highbrow" performances in the same proportions or with the same intensity as previous generations. Not only is there less interest, there is less generosity in terms of support. The graying of the OSF faithful is also an insidious threat to the galleries and other small downtown businesses of Ashland, as we seem to have placed all our out-of-the-region marketing eggs in the OSF basket. Even without this development, gallery owners and merchants should be looking elsewhere for their customers. A 1994 OSF audience survey showed the median daily expenditure for shopping and gifts was $10 a day. That kind of budget doesn't leave room for a good T-shirt - not to mention fine art. So who does buy fine art here? Some locals, but mostly people from out of town, the Bay Area, and Portland area being at the top of the list. Generally, they are here not to buy art, although they have an interest in it, but for the festival, business, or just to enjoy the ambiance of Ashland itself. Finding a gallery or work of art they like is just an added plus to their visit. One thing is for sure, though: They have more than $10 to spend on art. Encouraged by the fact that Ashland was listed as the eighth best small art town in America, there is talk about promoting Ashland as an art destination. This would be a mistake in my opinion, both as a former gallery owner and long-time press officer. The people who buy fine art are a relatively sophisticated lot, and know what an art destination is and what it is not. When tempted to hype something up, it always pays to remember that if a person is satisfied with the experience, he or she tells two others. If not, they tell eight others about it. Think of what might happen if a large newspaper or magazine art critic were lured here by the idea of Ashland as an art destination. Thousands would learn quickly of their disenchantment. What the sophisticated art buyer or art critic would find is quite a few shops calling themselves galleries and relatively few fine-art galleries. Many of the former carry some quality art, but most of their merchandise would be classified as gifts. Overall, much of the art on display, while technically competent, is not very different than what is available in other small towns. This is not a reflection on anyone but rather on the economic facts of gallery life. As a result, there are some outstanding artists living here whose work we seldom see. In my gallery, I had reasonably priced original art, some priced at less than $100, by some nationally known printmakers. I also carried ceramics by some of Oregon's best potters, but I would have had to sell coffee mugs and cards to try to keep the doors open. Visitors, who knew what they were looking at, bought. Unfortunately, there just weren't very many who fell into that category. Relatively early on, it became apparent to me that we have to attract more visually-educated people with disposable income here if the fine-art scene is ever going to get off the ground. The question now becomes how to accomplish this. To me the answer is simple. Promote Ashland for what it is: a unique, sophisticated small town with big-town attractions. It is unquestionably the cultural destination of the Pacific Northwest with fine art, dance, literature, theater, as well as sports, shopping, fine dining, wineries, and a welcoming overall ambiance. We can't miss. How would such an approach pay off for the galleries? First, it would attract a broader spectrum of visitors than we are getting now. The lure of ambiance draws a younger, more ready-to-spend crowd than does traditional theater. Promoting "small town values," including Fourth of July parades and sidewalk sales with shop-worn merchandise, won't do much to attract educated, discriminating 35 to 55-year-olds with money in their khakis. As a matter of fact, these activities undermine the image we should be working to develop. The promise of big-town attractions in a beautiful, laid-back setting, on the other hand, is very enticing. In other words, market Ashland as a place to be, and the sales of art, as well as other quality merchandise, will increase as the mix of visitors changes. And we don't even have to come up with a new marketing slogan. Sunset Magazine, in describing Ashland, has already given us a wonderful one: "Where the town itself is the main attraction." Jack Hardesty is a former Ashland gallery owner and president of the Asian Arts Society. He also has had extensive experience in public relations and communications. NEW Click here to visit the Daily Tidings archives. Email your... 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