When Everything Became Performance Art

It was in the 1980s, the era of Ronald Reagan and Bo Jackson, that everything became performance art.  That's what Michael Weinreb seems to be saying in his book BIGGER THAN THE GAME. Until then, only the very shrewd such as Counterculture figure Jerry Rubin understood that marketing was theatre.  In fact, what was understated could constitute premium branding.

Here we are moving into 2011 and it's obvious only the most skilled performance artists will survive.  There's no one formula for their staging and content.  They could be as varied as Betty White with her youthful geezer routine, including a few naughty allusions, or Mark Zuckerberg with his genius for controlling the conversation [review tape of "60 Minutes."]

Among the not so skilled are old-line Establishment types like the leadership at Dow Jones and New York Times Inc.  When their names are mentioned we tend to glaze over.

How to improve your  act?  Focus on the style more than straining to improve the substance.  Experiment in low-risk situations.  Usually small changes have big impacts.  One woman I coached needed to just tone down her trademark mega-gush.  What was left was energy, which resonated well with her clients.

Comments

[Devremülk]

i like to read your posts. thanks for this one.