Another Michigan art gallery has forever closed their doors in downtown Birmingham, Michigan. In its place stands an empty door front and dirty bay windows covered in crinkled packing tape with a sign that reads – Coming Soon. It’s been that way for about two years. Art enthusiasts are still waiting on what is going to come next and they will continue to wait. Meanwhile up the street a new Thai restaurant has moved in and there is another kitchen remodeling business popping up. Art has taken a backseat in the ongoing growth of this Metro Detroit suburb.
The business model of fine art galleries have changed in recent years. Many galleries have published their artwork online in hopes to lure new buyers. Others have taken out pay per click advertisements and are selling prints. A lot of artists have left the gallery circuit altogether and are selling their work on their own terms. This leaves galleries with a burning question and that is – how will they be able to compete in this age of information?
The art world is not the only place where digital media and independent thinking has caused a disruption. The music industry has long felt the aftershocks of Web 2.0 and social media with sites like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. But when it comes to independent galleries getting the word out about new emerging artists and talent the game becomes more challenging.
Online marketing expert Ted Cantu and the team of Hot Metro Finds began looking at creating a new aesthetic for art galleries, artists and musicians. The Metro Detroit based Cantu has digitized artists, bands, retail, as well as music and has literally plastered urban environments with upcoming personalities. His team has done this without the use of any type of online paid advertising and zero print ads. The response has been overwhelming.
“We started doing this for tech companies and it new product launches and it worked beautifully. The next move for us was to reevaluate the stagnating magazine and newspaper industry. We started to create new living environments where consumers could actually see the people behind the art. We didn’t create edited video or try to oversell. It’s not Hollywood. But what our projects are designed to do is showcase new artists and promote retail and shopping environments online.” Says Ted Cantu.
The effect is amazing. Since the launch of Hot Metro Finds – Ted Cantu is following right behind such media giants as The Detroit Free Press, Entrepreneur Magazine and Metromix. Their press releases have been picked up in USA Today, Wall Street Hour, CBS Media, and ABC.
“The art world needs to wake up and grab some of this hot media promotion. Nobody is looking at Yellow Pages anymore. If you aren’t on page 1 of Google you are literally lost. We put companies on page 1 multiple times through a variety of resources. I would even go as far to say that traditional SEO – search engine optimization – is not enough to get you visibility. Art gallery owners and record labels need to look at larger penetration. That’s what we are after.” Says Cantu.
