Hercules Creative

The Pivot: From Offline Experiences to Virtual Activations

The Snapshot

There is no mistaking that the Covid-19 pandemic has done irreparable damage to our global economy and Industries that catered to live human interaction and experience seem to have been impacted the most. 

Just last week, Vice Media reported on the state of the F&B industry through the eyes of chef and restaurateur, David Chang. What he noted was both a lack of governance and preparedness for eateries to survive during these precarious times. What he also noted was how many purveyors have shifted their business model overnight from sustaining restaurants with ingredients, utensils, and equipment to providing direct-to-consumer fare. Restaurants have completely shifted to virtual or ‘ghost kitchens’ to prep delivery-only meals to everyone within the safety of their own home. 

The transformation of the F&B industry is what marketers & entrepreneurs like to call - A PIVOT. Eric Reis, in his book The Lean Startup, defines various ways in which corporations & individuals can redirect failures to rise anew - to survive terrible disasters and global issues through experimentation & adaptation.

While you & I are freelancers, with small companies attached to our name, learning when to change course, or rise again is essential to our survival right now! 

For this week’s edition of WHAT NOW, I’ve opted to break down an imaginary creative, one whose situation and issues are not unlike our own. Let’s dive in and see how aspiring fine-arts photographer Victor Loews (Washington DC, 25 years old) deals with the cancellation of his gallery at the Gallery X and manages to translate his narrative to cater to a digital market.


WHAT NOW 

w/ photographer Victor Loews      

WHO: Victor Loews, Fine-Arts Photographers

WHAT: Experiential Activations

April 11th. That day would have been spectacular. It’s the day Victor Loews would have displayed his first collection of fine-art images at Gallery X as part of a larger resolution on homelessness. While that day has come and gone, Victor’s gallery event was unfortunately canceled by an unforeseen turn of events - Covid-19.  

THE INTENT:

Victor’s aim was clear - to partner with Gallery X and utilize its audience and space to help get the word out about his collection and aid in selling his pieces. Not having to pay for an event space as well as the name-recognition that Gallery X provided Victor with two great motivations for his collections’ launch.

Part of his partnership with the Gallery X included providing all proceeds from his sales to help homelessness. 

THE STRATEGY:

However, Victor didn’t wish to only rely on the leverage Gallery X brought with their multi-disciplined events. He made sure to have his personal branding in place - building his followership on Instagram and selling more of his earlier pieces on his website. He even conducted various points of outreach to gain earned media from prospective journalists interested in his story and collection, reached out to notable fine-art photography collectors by researching online, and invited a number of colleagues of his who would most likely post about the event. 

THE PROBLEM:

What went wrong was clear and undeniable: with Gallery X closing its doors due to Covid-19 and all events cancelled, Victor was left with a collection that had no showcase. 

The main question on his mind, What now? How can he salvage his situation, cover the costs of printing, and get his collection out? 

THE SOLUTION:

Taking a note from the F&B industry, Victor must pivot from his initial plans of a live experience and see what other roads he can take to achieve his goals of reach & sales. 

Create a Digital Gallery

With a beautiful website & curated Instagram in place, Victor has the perfect opportunity to translate his upcoming collection from a physical launch into a digital one.

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Partnerships

Victor can choose which date he wishes to launch his digital collection on his website and tease key pieces on his social platforms. He talks to his connection at Gallery X and is informed he can still label Gallery X a digital partner - with negotiations, they divert the original money used to cover the space for the cost of his prints. Gallery X’s website will also feature his work post-launch.

Outreach

Victor can still do a lot to activate his online launch with the outreach he initially conducted. His narrative for journalists remains very much the same and touches upon an opportunity for the fine-art niche to write not only about his story and cause, but also his perseverance during the pandemic. 

The fine-art enthusiasts and buyers are still interested in seeing the pieces. Victor uses Zoom as a way to conduct a virtual tour of the pieces and setup prospective meetings to sell individual pieces.

Finally, the digital gallery also provides an unlimited showing and much more flexibility in launching a fine-arts photography show than a traditional physical one.

Many of his followers express interest in seeing the pieces in-person the moment stay-at-home orders are lifted, providing Victor with leverage to talk with galleries post-quarantine.


THE TAKEAWAY:

We can’t account for everything. But what we can do as freelancers is never give up. In the face of adversity, of difficulties, issues, pandemics, you name it - you can adapt and continue to grow your brand and make sure your creative efforts continue to be seen and heard. 

(Looking for ways to move forward in your career? Send us your questions! We will be actively answering your freelancer and creative questions in the coming months: