Haven't had a chance to respond to this thread at all, but just
(yesterday)had a conversation with one of our host sites and bulk mail for
sending out the postcards is the way they go. Also, smaller posters are more
useful we have found for this and other programs --- and a graphics package
would be tremendous!
Thanks guys for bringing up these questions.
Jean
Jean Wortman
Program Officer
Maryland Humanities Council
108 W. Centre Street
Baltimore, MD 21201-4565
direct 410-685-4187
office 410-685-0095
fax 410-685-0795
email [log in to unmask]
www.mdhc.org
.
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
David Morgan
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2010 11:53 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: question about MoMS posters and postcards
All of the above methods are used here. I would suggest that this is a case
of smaller is better in consideration of possible postage costs.
David
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Davis, Robbie
Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2010 4:05 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: question about MoMS posters and postcards
Everyone,
A follow-up question ...
Mary is right -- the USPS postcard rate of $0.28 will not cover a 5x7
postcard. A piece that size would require a first-class stamp. So, my
question for you is:
What sense do you have of how your hosts do their postcard mailings? Do the
send them out individually with a postcard rate stamp? Do they bundle them
in an envelope with other materials? Do they use a bulk mail
service/account? Or do they use first-class postage because that's what they
typically have on hand?
If the higher rate for mailing a larger card is a financial hardship for
venues, it's a very important consideration for us.
Thanks!
RD
On Aug 18, 2010, at 9:02 AM, Chris Vallillo
<[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
Hi Carol,
For what it's worth here's my 2 cents worth. Postcards are great and always
get used in a wide variety of very creative ways. While I personally love
the big posters, I don't see too many of them out in the actual site
locations and agree that a smaller size might be more practical for many
small town who are generally putting them out in store front windows. 11 X
14 seems to be the current standard in the College town where I live.
I LOVE the idea of a graphics package, PSA and video clips. We had hoped
to offer some of that through the IHC but time and money just didn't permit
it. It's not uncommon now for individual artists to send a DVD of
promotional jpegs, press releases graphics and video with press materials.
If you put together a package for each exhibit, professional duplication
wouldn't be that much. RE a video PSA, 15 and 30 seconds would stand the
best chance of getting airplay.
I currently duplicate audio CDs for about 1.50/unit in lots of 1000. I
believe DVDs are in the same price range or just a bit more. These could be
handed out at the first meeting giving folks the joy of having something
(small) to take home with them (to misquote my cohort in crime Ryan Lewis).
I'd recommend a professional duplicator such as Oasis or Diskmakers to
ensure quality and consitancy.
Chris
Chris Vallillo
Illinois State Scholar
Smithsonian Institution New Harmonies Exhibition
PO Box 144
Macomb, IL 61455
309-833-4838
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
<http://www.chrisvallillo.com>www.chrisvallillo.com<http://www.chrisvallillo
.com>
On Aug 17, 2010, at 11:55 AM, Harsh, Carol wrote:
Thank you all for your insights and honest assessment of these publications.
This is enormously helpful!
One last question. Would there be any interest in us providing host
communities a graphics package that would be digital artwork for
invitations, advertisements, etc.? We are currently developing video public
service announcements for TV use for JS and NH and TWWW. These will be
available in the Fall. But we have been wondering if makes sense for us to
think differently about what we provide, especially in this digital age. Any
ideas?
Carol
From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Jack Shortlidge
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 12:54 PM
To: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: question about MoMS posters and postcards
Our experience in Ohio pretty much mirrors what Mark writes from West
Virginia. The number of posters could be reduced by half, I think without
seriously affecting their impact for most communities. Regarding flyers,
we're just starting to gear up for New Harmonies in 2011 and we'll see how
well host sites can use the quantity of flyers. I think the post cards are
very useful. Please keep the state council credit on them if possible, even
if that means reducing the number of images used overall.
Most all of the feedback I've gotten from past tour hosts has been very
complimentary of the MoMS tour materials, including posters, flyers, and
post cards.
Jack Shortlidge
Progrm Oficer
Ohio Humanities Council
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Mark Payne
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 10:33 AM
To: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: question about MoMS posters and postcards
Our venues have appreciated the postcards and used them for invitations and
announcements to a variety of groups and souvenirs for visitors. I agree
that four or five images rather than ten would be just Jim dandy. If
possible continue to credit the state council on the cards as they find
their way into many hands. I don't think our council needs many, if any,
postcards. We've used our allotments to fire up our board about the tours
but for the most part try not to scoop our venues by mailing them out in any
quantity. For the most part all our council needs is a sample quantity of
the materials.
Most of our small town venues couldn't use 50 posters productively. I've
actually gotten a couple of complaints from venues in the past that half as
many would have been plenty and not as wasteful. Typically I think they use
clear labels in-house rather than going to a printer. I have heard from some
that the size would not allow them to run the posters through their office
printer, if they had one. Our council alottment could be reduced to a half
dozen posters.
The number of flyers could be reduced to 250-500 per site. I think they were
used mostly to reach educators. Most of our small towns, being small towns,
don't need bunches and bunches of materials as the options for use are
limited. Overuse or misuse of promotional materials, like political signs,
can sometimes have an unintended negative effect. The quality of materials
you provide is excellent. The quantity could be reduced with no significant
harm to the cause.
Mark Payne, Program Officer
West Virginia Humanities Council
1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301
304.346.8500 ~ 304.346.8504 (fax)
<http://www.wvhumanities.org>www.wvhumanities.org<http://www.wvhumanities.or
g>
Cultivating the West Virginia state of mind.
________________________________
From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Paul McCoy
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 10:36 AM
To: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: question about MoMS posters and postcards
I don't mind one way or the other about poster size, but I'll second Julie
about the postcards. Fewer images is fine, but the council name is very nice
to have. We have a difficult time with acknowledgment from host sites as it
is.
paul
On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 8:49 AM, Julie Mulvihill
<<mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]<mailto:julie@
kansashumanities.org>> wrote:
Hi Carol,
Thank you for the opportunity to respond. I wish Dan was here to offer his
thoughts since he organized the last two MoMS tours in Kansas, but the sunny
beaches of Galveston beckon. Our loss. Anyway....
POSTERS
Some Kansas communities think the posters are too large. This came about as
we encouraged them to place them in storefronts, and we found out that store
owners think the posters take up too much space! Many of them use clear
labels to put their information on the posters, and we really encourage
that. Otherwise, the connection between the local venue and the Smithsonian
weakens. Primarily the posters are used as promotional materials, but they
are also used as give-aways or gift shop items. 50 posters is likely too
many. They could handle 30. KHC does not need that many to use as a
council.
POSTCARDS
The postcards are more popular in Kansas then the posters. Any size is
fine. Any number of images is fine. They would even be fine with only 1
image. The postcards are used primarily as invitations, thank you notes,
and gift shop items. KHC communities use anywhere between 350-500. I
really like having the Kansas Humanities Council on the back of the
postcard. I use them as invitations and thank you notes to legislators and
other statewide funders. Not having it there removes us from the
partnership. I confess; I would prefer fewer images printed but keeping the
councils listed on the postcard.
Julie
Julie Mulvihill
Executive Director
Kansas Humanities Council
<http://www.kansashumanities.org>www.kansashumanities.org<http://www.kansash
umanities.org>
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]<mailto:julie@k
ansashumanities.org>
785-357-0359
On Aug 16, 2010, at 12:10 PM, Harsh, Carol wrote:
Hi all,
Hope you are having a wonderful summer and have enjoyed some time of
relaxation.
We are in the early stages of designing and printing the posters and
postcards for The Way We Worked and we want to get some quick feedback about
posters and postcards.
We are considering a horizontal poster for The Way We Worked that may be
about 15" tall x 22" wide. As you know we design them in such a way as to
leave space for the host communities to overprint their names and
exhibition dates on the poster. Council names and logos are on the posters,
too.
. Is this size about right, or should the posters be smaller?
. Do your host towns use clear labels to put their info on the
posters or do they go to a printer and have them done?
. Is 50 posters per town about right? Or is that too many?
. Do you think your venues find the posters useful? Or should we
change them in some way?
For the postcards, we are considering changing things up a bit and making
them a little larger, 5" x 7" rather than 4" x 6"-and using 6 images rather
than 10 images. This will give the host communities more space to print
their program schedule or other info that they want to put on the postcards.
. How popular are the postcards?
. How are the postcards used in your states?
. Currently we print enough for each town to get 500 postcards. Is
that a good number?
. On the back of each postcard, we currently include a statement
like, "Brought to you by the XXX Humanities Council." It would save MoMS a
ton of money if we didn't customize the postcards. How important is it to
keep that phrase on them?
We would appreciate your responses to these questions. It will help us plan
appropriately and spend MoMS money wisely.
All the best,
Carol
Carol G. Harsh
Director, Museum on Main Street
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 941
Washington, DC 20013-7012
202-633-5333
202-465-5267 (cell)
--
Paul McCoy
Program Officer
Humanities Tennessee
306 Gay Street, Suite 306
Nashville, TN 37201
615-770-0006, ext. 17
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