The Doris Bardon Community Cultural

Center

Brick House PR

The Doris is Back: A Public Relations Campaign by Brick House PR

Alyssa AgueroHeather Bateman

Iago BedimElizabeth BooneMonica Compte

Purvi Pandit

PUR4800: Public Relations CampaignsApril 22, 2015

University of Florida

April 22, 2015

The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center1315 S Main St., Gainesville, FL 32601

Dear Mrs. Norma Homan,

We at Brick House Public Relations would like to present to you our campaign plan for The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center. Our team, through our collegiate research and our specialized education in public relations, has created a one-of-a-kind approach to kick off the reopening of The Doris.

The recent change of location has given The Doris a opportunity to gain a larger following within the Gainesville community. We focused our research specifically on Gainesville resi-dents ages 24-50 because of their strong connection to the community and permanence of residence. We believe The Doris can be an innovative cultural hub center for all Gainesville residents to learn and spend time together. We hope to bring together a broad span of peo-ple. From the bachelor who’s new in town, to the couple who’s owned a local shop for more than a decade, to the newlyweds starting a new family -- everyone is welcome at The Doris.

Our research helped us understand what motivated and changed the behavior of Gainesville residents, from all walks of life, to come out and experience the city’s art culture. We hope our comprehensive campaign plan will assist in the success of the grand opening and overall awareness of The Doris. Finally, we hope our recommendations will help The Doris strengthen its relationship with the Gainesville community.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with you and offer our insight.

Best regards,

Alyssa Aguero, Heather Bateman, Iago Bedim, Elizabeth Boone, Monica Compte Purvi Pandit

Cover Letter

Meet the Team

Purvi Pandit Account Executive

Iago Bedim Public Relations Director

Heather Bateman Research Director

Elizabeth Boone Copy Writing Director

Alyssa AgueroCreative Service Director

Monica Compte Media Director

Executive Summary........................................................................................................................11 Introduction......................................................................................................................................12 Situational Analysis........................................................................................................................13

History....................................................................................................................................14 Mission Statement................................................................................................................15 Problem Statement..............................................................................................................15 Analysis of Similar Art Community Centers in Gainesville...........................................16 Media Coverage..................................................................................................................18 SWOT Analysis.....................................................................................................................20

Research Methods...........................................................................................................................22 Focus Group...........................................................................................................................22 Objectives...................................................................................................................22 Sampling Technique and Design.............................................................................23 Setting..........................................................................................................................24 Profile of Participants................................................................................................25 Main Findings..............................................................................................................26 Limitations.....................................................................................................................32 Survey.....................................................................................................................................33 Objectives.....................................................................................................................33 Design and Setting......................................................................................................34 Sampling Technique.....................................................................................................35 Profile of Participants..................................................................................................35 Main Findings................................................................................................................36 Additional Findings.......................................................................................................36 Limitations.......................................................................................................................38

Recommendations.............................................................................................................................39Campaign Plan.................................................................................................................................43Timeline..............................................................................................................................................49Budget................................................................................................................................................51Apendix..............................................................................................................................................53

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

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In 2006, the Art Association of Alachua County Board Member, Doris Bardon passed away and left her estate to provide seed money to open a cultural cen-ter in Gainesville, Fla. The center, located on North Main Street, features a gal-lery, classrooms, clay studio, printmaking studio and a small shop. In fall 2013, The Doris shut down due to a high rent and the desire for a new location.In January 2015, The Doris announced that they had acquired a new location at 1315 S. Main St. After being closed for more than two years, The Doris faces the challenge of re-establishing themselves as a cultural hub in the Gainesville community. Currently, it has the opportunity to expand current awareness of their center and increasing participation in the arts in the Gainesville community.We conducted research to learn how The Doris could re-establish itself as a community cultural center where artists, arts organizations and community mem-bers could collaborate, grow, inspire and create in the Gainesville community. We found that 77 percent of Gainesville residents had not heard of The Doris. Although, once provided with a brief description of the organization, almost 63 percent of participants agreed that they would enjoy attending the cultural cen-ter.Our research suggests that Gainesville residents would seek a cultural center that is interactive, family-oriented and encompassing of all art forms. Research revealed that residents not already involved in the Gainesville arts community would remain apathetic toward the new cultural center. Therefore, all outreach efforts should be targeted toward audiences involved in the arts. The Doris is presented with the opportunity of implementing a campaign that will garner attention and build support from the Gainesville community to ultimately result in higher attendance and more awareness of their new location. It can now establish itself as a cultural hub in Gainesville while solidifying community sup-port. To accomplish these campaign goals, Brick House PR suggests that the Doris de-velop an interactive presence on social media outlets. Additionally, The Doris should publicize unique event offerings through print tactics and media outreach.

IntroductionThe arts are fundamental in cultural engagement and for the nourishment of the community. According to the Americans for the Arts Public Art Net-work Council, public art is vital for communities. According to the Council, “places with strong public art expressions break the trend of blandness and sameness, and give communities a stronger sense of place and iden-tity” (para. 2). An established center for artistic expression is necessary for a community to gain cultural and social value and significance

Since 1985, the Art Association of Alachua County (AAAC) has been a driving force in developing and enriching the art community in Gaines-ville, Fla. With the monthly Gainesville Art Walk and The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center (The Doris), the AAAC has given Gainesville residents opportunities to create and experience art.

In October 2013, The Doris closed down its original location, 716 N. Main St., due to an increase in monthly rent, strong desire to purchase a permanent location and a need for a larger space. However, the AAAC is expected to reopen The Doris at 1315 S. Main St., the former location of Backstage Lounge. Since being purchased in December 2014, the new location is undergoing renovations to become a center that will serve as a cultural hub in the community, offering workshops, classes, art galleries and meeting spaces.

The Doris is expected to promote numerous arts and influence the art culture in Gainesville with combined old and new practices. The transition time The Doris is undergoing has created a window for promotion of the new establishment as well as the opportunity to attract residents to a new center.

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The current opportunity for The Doris is to involve the demographic, 24- to 50-year-olds, in achieving engagement with the Gainesville arts community. According to the AAAC, Gainesville residents, ages 24-50, have a record of poor attendance and support when it comes to promoting the arts, whereas other target publics such as Gaines-ville residents ages 18-23 and 65 and older have a more regular attendance. The reopening of this space will help Gainesville’s arts community strengthen their sense of place and identity as well as in-volve its residents in the arts.

The purpose of our campaign is to promote a cultural center in Gainesville that appeals to the target audience of Gainesville resi-dents, ages 24-50. We hope to attract and increase the number of individuals in this audience by accentuating The Doris as a cultural hub in Gainesville while building community relationships.

We conducted extensive primary and secondary research in order to develop a strategic campaign plan. The goal is to raise awareness, attendance and involvement for the AAAC within our target audience through the reopening of The Doris. Our research was two-fold. Focus was on:

1. What will engage this target public to get involved in the AAAC.2. How this target public can be attracted to The Doris.

Situational Analysis

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AAAC History: The AAAC was created in 1985 to promote the arts in Gainesville. When board member Doris Bordon passed away in 2007, she left her estate for the AAAC, and they turned it into The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center. The Doris houses a space for artists and community members to experience and create art. The AAAC de-veloped the 15-member Community Arts Organization to generate funding for cultural programs for the downtown Gainesville commu-nity. The funding received to create the AAAC came from the Alach-ua County Tourism funds through the Visitors and Convention Bureau, which included Gainesville Ballet Theatre, Friends of Jazz, Gainesville Association for the Creative Arts amongst others.

AAAC Officers: Ellen West, PresidentMallory O’Connor, Vice PresidentMelissa Gerhardt, SecretaryNorma Homan, TreasurerChuck Sapp, Facilities Manager

Board Members: Diane ArcherDon CavanaughEd CrapoDavid DeeterRichard HeippKaren KoegelErnest Lee Linda PiperAngela TerrellLaura Turner

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The Doris Bardon Community Center unites artists and arts organiza-tions throughout North Central Florida, providing affordable space, equipment and expert instruction. It is a place for networking, learn-ing and presenting work; it is a place for developing future artists, and it is a place for artists, musicians and audiences to enjoy various art forms in a casual environment.

Problem StatementThe opportunity at hand for the Art Association is to attract Gaines-ville residents, between the ages 24-50, to The Doris. Currently, The Doris faces awareness and communication issues with its target au-dience. This matter affects the organization because it hinders the growth of a larger, long-lasting art community for The Doris. Conse-quently, it prevents the Gainesville community from experiencing a fun and accessible way to learn and experience the arts, which re-mains The Doris’ mission.

Mission Statement

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Analysis of Similar Art Community Centers in Gainesville:

In order to better understand the needs and wants of the target au-dience, it is beneficial to research and analyze other art centers in Gainesville. The Thomas Center and the University of Florida’s Col-lege of the Arts are well-known and firmly established in the area. They provide the community with similar events and services as The Doris. Art centers resembling The Doris could present threats and op-portunities such as competition and partnerships; having a clear un-derstanding of different art centers will benefit the campaign by:

1. Giving insight to what our target audience is/ has been exposed to by art centers.

2. Highlighting the interests our target audience has shown through these centers.

3. Demonstrating where there is room for improvement.

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A cultural arts center located in Gainesville, this center provides ar-tistic opportunities for both artists and art-enthusiasts alike, and has won the 2014 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award. Not only does it house two art galleries, rivaling the art that would be displayed at the Doris, is also features historical exhibits and period-style rooms within the former private residence. This center offers facility rentals for art events like concerts, gallery showings and social gatherings. This serves as a competitor for the Doris as not only does it foster the arts community of Gainesville, but it also offers its own space for arts events, and therefore is able to draw more of a following through these multiple functions.

The University of Florida

This large institution not only serves as a financial competitor to re-ceive grants and the funding from private donors but also as a com-petitor to display student work. Due to its numerous galleries and other cultural events, it creates a large need for student submissions, creating a conflicting need for The Doris in both its artist public and its art-enthusiast public. A significant part of students’ everyday lives, the college continuously calls for their time and energy. Because of this the exhibitions by this college certainly serves as a competitor to the art and experience found at The Doris due to its large following.

The Thomas Center

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Media Coverage

The only articles that can be found online regarding The Doris are the six listed below. Most of the articles speak positively about The Do-ris’ arts community and the way it’s expanding. Other than that, the articles are fairly neutral, acknowledging The Doris as a secondary subject. For example, most of the articles mention The Doris being as a venue for certain events. The events themselves are highlighted, but The Doris is mentioned solely for location purposes. An exception to this is the most recent article published in, The Independent Florida Alligator on September 13, 2013, which asks for community involve-ment to help The Doris. The article was also a formal announcement of its closing. So far, the only update on the Internet regarding The Doris is that it would try and find a new facility by October 6, 2013. This date has passed and there have not been any updates since then. The following are the articles that show up in a Google search for news with the phrase, “The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Cen-ter.”

September 13, 2013, The Independent Florida Alligator• “The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center

seeks to relocate, asks city for help” • Written before their lease expired, The Doris

was asking for help from the community.

August 15, 2013, Gainesville Scene• “Gainesville Fine Arts Association hosts anni-

versary celebration”• This article talks about an event held by The

Doris.

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FacebookThe Doris Facebook page has 1,056 likes. Activity on the page was sporadic in years past but has been consistent in 2015. As the open-ing of the new center approaches, the online presence has increased. Content includes photos, status posts and art shares. Post consisten-cy and page maintenance must be routinely performed to promote awareness.

TwitterThe Doris’ Twitter page has 231 followers. A majority of the tweets are links to the Facebook page posts. In the past year, tweets engag-ing actual publics have been sporadic. For example, there are no favorites or retweets in the past year.

Social Media

July 5, 2013, WUFT News• “Local Art Galleries on the Rise in Gaines-

ville”• This article mentions The Doris being a part

of the Gainesville fine art community.

December 11, 2013, Gainesville Scene• “Gathering of the Artists returns for third

year with extra day”• Speaks on The Doris being a venue for an

art event.

February 27, 2012, Gainesville Scene• “Local artists recognized with Lifetime Art

Achievement awards” • Two prestigious artists were holding exhibits

in The Doris.

December 6, 2012, Gainesville Scene• “Gathering of the Artists holiday art show

and sale returns Saturday”• There was an event held at The Doris honor-

ing artists.

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SWOT AnalysisStrengths• The Doris has a community following established due to its

long-standing presence in the community.• The Doris is associated with Gainesville Art Walk, a well-known

event in the downtown area. • Younger crowds (under 18) and older crowds (over 50) are easily

targeted and obtained. • Because The Doris has not started programming events, it is rela-

tively easy for The Doris to alter and cater classes and activities to appeal to different demographics.

Weaknesses• The Doris has been closed for many months and is not expected to

reopen until late March.• There is no set date for The Doris to open, and that prevents any

concrete planning. • Community members (ages 24-50) previously, have not been big

supporters of the The Doris. •

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Opportunities• The Doris moved to a new location and is planning a soft opening.

The soft opening is due to the incompletion of renovations of its three rooms. For the soft opening only one room will be completely remodeled. The soft opening is a chance for The Doris initiate com-munity interest and establish its presence once again with its new center after leaving its last location on October 2013.

• The Doris is expected to have its grand opening at the beginning of fall, after all of its rooms have been completely renovated and operational. This gives The Doris an opportunity to continue its art galleries, performance and teaching facilities ensuring its long-standing presence and success in the community.

• Any new research or methods to connect with this new demograph-ic will be beneficial, as there have not been any standard methods in place yet.

Threats• The University of Florida and The Doris offer similar art classes.• In a college town, such as Gainesville, there are many other arts

associations that provide services similar to The Doris. • There is another cultural center, The Thomas Center, very close in

proximity to The Doris.

.

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Research MethodsFocus Group123

Objectives

The overarching goal for the focus group method was to explore the target public’s art type preferences and perception of Gainesville’s art culture. Gaining knowledge of Gainesville residents opinions is beneficial in identifying different methods to generate interest. Our focus group objectives were based on the following questions: 1. Awareness: Is the target public aware of Gainesville arts?2. Accuracy: Can the target public accurately describe experiences

with Gainesville arts?3. Understanding: Does the target public understand the importance

of art culture in a community?4. Agreement: Does the target public agree art culture is important in

a community?5. Behavior: Does the target public currently enjoy the Gainesville

Arts culture?

Findings for the focus group relied heavily on conversational topics and/or questions by the moderators. In order to get accurate re-sponses of participants opinions and experiences, questions were intentionally open-ended. Conversation between participants became natural as the study progressed and responses resulted in a variety of research findings not limited to original objectives.

1 Refer to Appendix A (pg.53) for focus group consent form. 2 Refer to Appendix B (pg.54) for focus group questions. 3 Refer to Appendix C (pg.55) for focus group transcriptions.

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Sampling Technique Our team used convenience sampling, because the proximity of par-ticipants made it easier to recruit them for the focus group. Members of our team reached out to people who fit our target demographic, which was Gainesville residents ranging from ages 24 and 42. The participants consisted of three males and two females.

Design

We conducted one focus group consisting of five participants, be-tween the ages 24-50, on March 16, to evaluate their previous in-terest in the arts, their opinion on the art culture in Gainesville and to evaluate the existing awareness of the AAAC and The Doris. The focus group also provided good feedback on what center-sponsored events would interest that specific demographic. The goal of this re-search is to determine the needs and interest of the aforementioned target public.

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Setting

Our focus group was held on Monday, March 16, in the Aha! Lab. Within the Aha! Lab, we used a conference room that is locked from the outside. The conference room has a glass wall, which allows peo-ple to see onto the rest of the floor. Another wall is a window that faces the outside of the building. Within the room, there is a large oval table surrounded by chairs, two televisions and a white board. Members of the team sat around the table. Members sat in the corner of the room, where they observed and took notes. The participants contacted the members of the team to direct them to the conference room. Once there, participants filled out a consent form. Once everyone had arrived, the two moderators introduced them-selves, and began the sequence of questions. The remaining members of the team recorded and transcribed the focus group. The atmo-sphere was comfortable and conversational before the focus group ever began. Most of the participants knew at least one member of the research team. The duration of the focus group was about an hour. Each of the mem-bers who were observing took their own notes.

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Profile of Participants

Participant A: Female, 24, Gainesville resident, Account Supervisor at a public relations firm

Participant B: Male, 28, Gainesville resident, waiter at a local restaurant

Participant C: Male, 28, Gainesville resident, Law of Mass Communi-cation graduate student

Participant D: Female, 31, Gainesville resident, advertiser for a local newspaper

Participant E: Male, 42, Gainesville resident, actor at a local theatre, father

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Main Findings

Opinion on art culture in Gainesville

We found recurring opinions and comments, regarding participants awareness of Gainesville’s art culture, to be biased with age. Al-though most participants felt well-informed about arts events geared toward students, such as on-campus activities and school-sponsored events, they noted the art culture beyond the school isn’t as present in the greater Gainesville areas. Another important factor our focus group considered is the Gainesville population variance. The transient student demographic plays a big role in the heightened art culture at UF. Our findings suggest permanent residents, non-UF four-year stu-dents, are not targeted as strongly or effectively.

“I think there -- to be honest with you, in my experience, there is a generational gap. I think a lot of older people that live outside of the walls of UF are quite familiar with the going on around here but I think college students don’t know what goes on beyond the walls of UF. But that’s the way it is in every college campus I’ve ever been on. There is what goes on here and then there is what goes on in the pe-riphery. I think there is a huge divide between those things.” --Partici-pant E

“...The students are here for four years, its very hard to sustain an arts culture here when people are constantly moving in and out and

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professors are taking sabbaticals and traveling for the summer. It’s very hard to sustain an art culture here when you don’t have commu-nity sustention.” --Participant E

“We have a rich culture here. If we could just do something historical, that would be pretty good.” --Participant C

Interest in certain types of arts

The prefered types of art amongst the participants in the focus var-ied. Participants indicated that they favored many forms of art in-cluding visual art, performing arts, and music. Performing arts along with music were significantly more popular than other art forms. Par-ticipants acknowledged that out of all types of art, music was the most popular art form followed by the performing arts.

“I like photography, impressionism; um I would probably go see a sculpture or a show. I really like a variety of things.” --Participant D

“I go to a lot of live music shows around town and I’ve been to a cou-ple of film festivals so those I guess those would be my top two forms of art.” --Participant B

“I went to SXSW like two years ago and they have a film festival like a week before they have the music festival and it was fun … I saw Dinosaur Jr., I just saw a bunch of bands that I like. I saw Bill Murray

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and RZA from the Wu Tang Clan. He walked behind a bar and just started serving tequila shots, no matter what they asked for they got a tequila shot.” --Participant B

Art events attended in Gainesville

Of participants who attended arts events in Gainesville, many re-ported dissatisfying experiences resulting from content diversity, distasteful use of children’s content and absence of advertising and promoting. Our findings show the outcome of one or more of these flaws inevitably results in low participation of many Gainesville arts events. Participants expressed willingness to participate and attend art events, however, they particularly noted the absence of advertis-ing and promoting is the strongest influence contributing to low atten-dance of the general population.

“But if there was an annual catalog that was sent out to people, I don’t know how expensive that would be but I used to like getting that because I would be able to go through and see what I could go to.” --Participant C

“But I agree you have to see it in multiple sources. You have to see it on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, those are social media. You also need to see it in print media. Honestly, half of the really cool stuff I don’t know is going on unless I hear it word of mouth.” --Participant D

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“You don’t see plays advertised anywhere. Half of the time, I don’t know what the dates are and I work in that building. I have to look for them.” --Participant E

Main points of attraction to an arts event

One main point made by the participants of the focus group, regard-ing what attracts them to arts events, was price. Participants indicated that an affordable event is far more attractive.

“For me, it would definitely be location and price. I love the Harn and I’ve been there multiple times. But if I had to pay to get in, I don’t know how often I’d go. Probably not very often.” --Participant A

Participants agreed that the overall experience should be a memora-ble one. Many expressed a strong desire to be influenced by the art during the event, but also after. Research suggests a lasting impact will repeatedly attract participants.

“Something that’s going to move me. Not only am I going to see something beautiful and original, but also I’m going to see something that moves me. That’s what makes me go.” --Participant C

“I have been to big fancy concert halls too with lots of lights and stuff and I think the most fun times I’ve had are being this close to a musi-cian and just talking to my friends and sitting in a bar and just listen-

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ing to these guys tell stories.” --Participant E

“I think that’s the important things too. When we have people come here, we’re not just paying for their name. They need to have a passion that’s inspiring.” --Participant C

“It’s an experience that you’re paying for and not just the show.” --Par-ticipant E

What would make The Doris more attractive

Participants indicated that interaction is important and essential to their experience with arts. Findings suggest verbal and/or physical interac-tion could attract returning visitors to The Doris.

“Interaction. My favorite part of the Harn museum is the butterfly gar-den because you’re there in the middle of it, not just watching it. So interacting in the cultural clause, would be getting to interact with differ-ent languages or artwork, maybe you can touch it. It’s a fun thing that’s more than just allowing me to walk and look. I think that would be really cool.” --Participant A

Participants also noted that family-oriented events, which include ac-tivities for kids to do, are very enticing and encourage our target de-mographics’ participation and attendance. Participants highlighted the notion of including children as a way to not only engage families as a whole, but also to provide kids specifically with more art expression op-

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portunities.

“One night a month [the Harn is] open late, until 9 I think. It’s a really great opportunity for some working mothers to get out ...It gives them a nice little break...They can just go and walk around...My kids take pictures of the art they like and then they go home and try to rec-reate that work. It provides them with the understanding of how the artist puts work onto a canvas and what the process is. So they get to learn about the artist and the process at the same time…” --Partici-pant E

“Those are two very neglected populations: kids and working moms.” --Participant E

“...I think something consistent every month or every other week, to al-low families to know that they can go there and continue to go there every month is huge.” --Participant A

“Kids have something to look forward to every week or every month and it’s just something they love going to. My kids take ukulele lessons at the Guitar Center every Saturday and it’s free.” --Participant E

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Limitations

Participants were recruited through convenience sampling, meaning some participants were formerly acquainted with members of our team. Although our selection method did not present an obvious lim-itation, we felt a previously-established relationship has the power to influence participant responses. All other participant requirements were met including familiarity with the Gainesville art culture and willingness to participate with extensive feedback and discussion. They were able to influence and elicit ideas from each other natural-ly.

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Survey4

Objectives

1. To discover the knowledge Gainesville residents had of The Doris based on their gender, age, income and time spent on art activities on the weekends.

2. To discover what type of art Gainesville residents prefer and how much time they are willing to dedicate to art on the weekends based on their gender, age and income.

3. To discover how Gainesville residents view the art culture in Gainesville and their level of participation in the arts.

4. To discover how often Gainesville residents go to downtown and how convenient it is for them to go there.

4Refer to Appendix D for survey form.33

Design and Setting

Our survey was conducted from March 16 to March 20. We want-ed to determine the general awareness and interest in the Gaines-ville arts for individuals, ages 24 to 50. We went to the Union Street Farmers Market (located in the southeast region of Gainesville), the Panera Bread on Archer Road (located in the southwest region of Gainesville), The Oaks Mall (located in the southwest region of Gainesville) and the Satchel’s Pizza (located in the northeast region of Gainesville) which resulted a random sample of individuals and groups residing in these regions and asked for their participation in our 28-question survey.

We distributed the survey and indicated that it was completely volun-tary. The average time it took to complete a survey was five minutes.

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Sampling Technique

Cluster Sampling: the total population is divided into groups (or clus-ters) and a simple random sample of the groups is selected.

We divided Gainesville into four regional areas: northwest, north-east, southeast and southwest. • The northwest region is defined by north of 8th Ave. and west of

13th Street - The Oaks Mall• The northeast region is defined by north of 8th Ave. and east of

13th Street - Satchel’s Pizza• The southeast region is defined by south of 8th Ave. and east of

13th Street - Union Street Farmer’s Market• The southwest region is defined by south of 8th Ave. and west of

13th Street - Panera Bread on Archer Road

Profile of Participants

Out of 134 survey participants were 24-to-50-year-old Gainesville residents. Out of 155 participants, 21 participants (14%), were in the age group 18 to 24 years of age.The participants included more females (n=89, 57%) than males (n=64, 41%) where two partici-pants marked other and unspecified for gender.

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Main Findings

• Out of the 155 respondents, N=155 filled out their gender; 57% (n=89) were females, 42.3% (n=64) were males, and 0.7% (n=1) were unspecified.

• 13% (n=21) of survey respondents were ages 18-24, 70% (n=107) were ages 25-50, and 16% (n=25) were ages 50 and older.

• Out of our survey participants (N=155), 25.6% (n=35), reported to have heard of The Doris.

• 40.8% (n=43) of respondents spent less than an hour on the arts on the weekends and 54.2% (n=64) spent more than an hour on the arts on the weekend.

• 25% (n=38) of respondents favorited visual arts as their pre-ferred form of art, 26.3% (n=40) preferred performance arts, and 48.7% (n=74) of the total sample preferred music.

Additional Findings

• Regarding time spent on arts activities we found a significant result in those who engaged in these activities that heard of the Doris. Of those who have heard of The Doris, 74.3% (n=26), of that sample were engaged in arts activities for an hour or more on weekends.

• Out of the 155 respondents who filled in their age, 107 were be-tween the ages 25-50. Of that sample, 37.5% (n=57) spend more than hour dedicated to arts on the weekend. After testing these

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variables, we found this data was significant. • We discovered there was a significant difference in art preference

and how much time they spent on arts activities. From this signif-icant correlation, we can conclude that people dedicating more time to the arts are more likely to prefer visual and performance art, whereas people spending less time on the arts are more likely to prefer music.

• Through our data analysis, we concluded that participants ages 50 and up identified themselves as more active members in Gaines-ville’s art community. After comparison between both age groups, 25-50 and 50 and up, participants 25-50 did not identify them-selves as members of Gainesville’s art community as frequently.

• After conducting a T-test analysis on the data results gathered, our research showed that females would more significantly enjoy at-tending The Doris over males. Our research found a strong correla-tion between female interest in The Doris.

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Limitations

In order for the survey results to be truly representative of the Gainesville population, the ideal goal was to collect 400 surveys. Incomplete surveys and low participation skewed the total number of surveys collected. Out of the 165 collected, only 155 were recorded. Survey limitations suggest the findings are not a true representation of the population.

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Based on the research conducted and the comparison of the data, we can concluded several things to help The Doris efficiently and effec-tively reopen its newly renovated cultural center. As far as the gener-al awareness amongst the participants in our survey gender was an insignificant factor. Because of this, we can conclude and suggest that any further outreach methods be general instead of gender specific to garner awareness for The Doris.

One of our key findings suggested that people who are already dedicated and are involved with the arts should be the target audi-ence of this campaign. Although the initial plan targeted those who did not participate in the arts, our research indicates that the desired audience is apathetic and would not be interested nor would they dedicate their time to The Doris. Therefore, we suggest that the target audience be those who are currently involved in the arts and dedi-cate their time to arts, and allow that audience to grow by focusing our campaigns efforts toward them.

Another promising finding was that residents ages 24-50 dedicate more time toward the arts on the weekend than other age groups that participated in our research. This is promising due to The Doris’ initial desire to target Gainesville residents ages 24-50, who would be returning customers and participants. Unlike the transient audience ages 18-24, which is made up of mostly students who live in Gaines-ville for a short period of time. Another thing to take note regarding age was the level of interest in the arts by people over the age of

Recommendations

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50. Although The Doris originally prefered to target ages 24-50, research findings strongly suggests focusing on the age groups above 50. When analyzing the data of how much time people spend on the arts on the weekend, we discovered that 80% of the sample who were over 50 years old reported they spend more than an hour ded-icated to the arts on the weekend.

After conducting a focus group consisting of five participants, we gained a lot of insight, not only on the general awareness of the Gainesville art culture, but also what can be improved and utilized by The Doris to increase its outreach and engagement with Gaines-ville residents. As far as the types of arts preferred by participants, our research provided us with two concurrent results that can be significant to The Doris. The first finding was that music was the pre-ferred art by a majority of our participants, whereas performing arts came in as the second most preferred art form. Therefore we suggest, based on our findings, that The Doris uses both music and performing arts to attract newcomers. By comparing our research we have also found that those who dedicate more time on the weekend to the arts preferred performing arts, whereas those who dedicated less time on the weekend preferred music. Furthermore, in order to target those who spend less time on the weekend on art, we suggest The Doris attract the audience using mu-sic as a medium. While those who spend more time on the weekend on art should be targeted through performing arts.

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Our focus group participants indicated that activities tailoring to fam-ilies, especially kids, are a high-priority need that should be met in the Gainesville art community. Therefore, it would in the best interest of The Doris to focus efforts to engaging that particular target public. By specifically targeting its efforts toward kids, The Doris would si-multaneously receive attention and support of parents, who fall within The Doris’ desired age demographic of 24-50.

Another key finding suggested affordability is a key factor in par-ticipation and attendance of art events in the community. The idea of reasonably priced and no charge events resonated with the focus group participants. We suggest combining factors such as family-ori-ented, kid-friendly and affordability into regularly offered events at The Doris to help attract our target public, ages 24-50. Our findings suggest that there is a lack of advertising and general awareness of art events in the Gainesville community. Therefore, we suggest The Doris utilizes different popular media outlets to adver-tise and promote its events. Participants in the focus group highlighted platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and the newspaper as popular outlets. The consensus, however, despite these efforts, was that word-of-mouth is the main source of effective advertising and promotions. We suggest that The Doris strategically promotes and advertises its events and its cultural center through various outlets such as local newspaper, television stations, radio stations and social media net-works to maximize the number of Gainesville residents it can reach.

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Goal 1: To increase the number of Gainesville residents aware of The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center from 23% to 35% by May 2016.

Justification: According to the 2013 United States Census, there are an estimated 127,488 residents in Gainesville. Applying the results of our survey sample, approximately 28,602 residents are currently aware of the Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center. If the Doris follows our strategic plan, awareness of the Doris will increase by 15,000 residents by February 2016.

Objective: To generate awareness about a new arts center opening in downtown Gainesville among 35% of Gainesville residents by No-vember 2015.

Strategy 1: To create multiple social media platforms for The Do-ris Bardon Community Cultural Center to establish a stronger on-line presence for advertising, marketing and promotional activities geared toward Gainesville residents to inform them that the Doris is reopening at a new location.

Campaign Plan

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Tactic 1.1: Conduct a Twitter campaign hosting a contest that will require Gainesville residents to tweet to the Doris for the prize of a year-long membership to the Doris.• Contest details: #DiscoverTheDoris is a contest that will bring Gaines-

ville families and groups together in a fun, scavenger hunt event while educating residents about locals arts in the community and increasing the Doris’ brand recognition.

• The contest will require Gainesville residents to find a small sticker of The Doris’ logo, which will be placed all over town, around art land-marks and take a picture with the logo once they find it.

• Gainesville residents will tweet the photo of the logo and art landmark to The Doris’ twitter account using the hashtag #DiscoverTheDoris.

• The winner will be randomly drawn from all participating Twitter han-dles and announced at the Grand Opening event.

Tactic 1.2: Feature a new local artist each week on Facebook. The artist receiving the most likes will be be featured at the Grand Opening and be on display at The Doris during the first month of opening.• Reach out to upcoming art talent in the Gainesville community and con-

duct an informal interview about what makes their art unique and why it should be featured at the Doris.

• Post “Humans of New York”-style photos of the artist with accompany-ing quote from interview.

• Post a new artist every Monday at 1 p.m. • Artist with the most likes by Grand Opening will have be featured at

the event and at The Doris for the entire month.• Messaging: The Doris provides an opportunity for artists and support-

ers of the arts to create one inclusive community.

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Tactic 1.3: Create a Soundcloud account and include weekly playlists featuring local artists and share on social media accounts such as Face-book and Twitter.• Use a college intern to create playlists of songs by local musicians from

a variety of genres. • Upload playlist to Soundcloud.• Distribute playlist through all other social media accounts such as

Facebook and Twitter on Fridays at 3 p.m., using the hashtag #Doris-GroovesGainesville

• Include artists on the playlist who will be playing at events for the Do-ris as determined by the Doris artistic staff.

• Messaging: The Doris is a resource to learn about local music and pro-vides Gainesville residents with an opportunity to engage with the musicians at events.

Goal 2: To generate 800 visits to the Doris Bardon Community Cul-tural Center among Gainesville residents within the first month of opening.

Justification: According to our survey results, we calculated that 32,000 Gainesville residents attend art events at least once a month. Due to feasibility and the size of The Doris, we agreed that 800 attendees over the span of four events would be attainable. We also took into account the various other art organizations and events going on in Gainesville that would serve as competition with The Doris events.

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Objective 1: To host four separate events at the new Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center during the first month of opening by No-vember 2015.

Strategy 1: Use local media outlets such as TV stations, newspaper, magazines and radio to reach out to Gainesville residents to inform them of The Doris’ grand opening and three other arts events.

Tactic 2.1: The Doris will host a grand-opening event to promote The Do-ris’s newly renovated cultural center.• Event will feature the a tour of the four gallery rooms, dedication

speech about Doris Bardon, live music, refreshments, a kids’ area with mini art classes and art demonstrations and a canvas unveiling.

• Canvas unveiling with be a mural-sized canvas art piece commissioned by the Doris to be raffled off.

Tactic 2.2: The Doris will host three events featuring local artists to gener-ate attendance at The Doris’s newly renovated cultural center.• The Doris Jams: A concert series where local music artists are featured

on Friday, November 13, 2015. - The event will feature five Gainesville bands and music acts. - The hashtag, #TheDorisJams, will be used to interact with attenees and further increase the Doris’ online presence.• The Doris Monologue series: a monologue series where local perfor-

mance actors are featured on the second Friday after the Doris’ grand opening, on November 20.

- The event will feature 10-12 Gainesville performance artists. - The hashtag, #TheDorisMonologues, will be used to interact with attendees and further increase the Doris’ online presence.

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• The Doris Improv: A performance and workshop of short-form im-provisation by the Much Ado About Doris Improv Theatre Troupe, on the third Friday after the Doris’ grand opening, on November 27.

- The event will feature Much Ado About Doris Improv Theatre Troupe, which consists of Gainesville residents and local perfo mers - The hashtags, #TheDorisImprov will be used to interact with attendees and further increase the Doris’ online presence. - The event will include workshops for kids afterwards to learn about the basics of improv.

Tactic 2.3: Create promotional materials to advertise the Doris’ grand opening and the three events: • Create 20 posters, 400 brochures and 500 flyers advertising the

grand opening and other special events. These materials will be dis-tributed to local community boards, downtown and at the University of Florida.

Tactic 2.4: Create a video news release promoting the grand opening of The Doris, and the three other events, to be distributed to local TV news stations and online. • Reach out to GTN, WCJB, WUFT and WOGX to create a contractual

agreement. • Distribute the VNR online through The Doris’ Facebook and Twitter

page. The VNR can also be posted on local Gainesville Facebook groups and Twitter pages.

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TimelineOngoing monthly tasks• Create social media accounts and schedule social media posts on

Facebook, Twitter via Hootsuite• Two students volunteers monitor social media posts and engage

with publics• Develop weekly playlists featuring local musicians and upload via

Soundcloud and share on Facebook and Twitter• Cultivate partnerships with local organizations catering toward

children and in support of the arts• Publish artists for contest on Facebook and monitor feedback up

until the Grand Opening

Specific monthly tasksJune 2015• Hire personnel to handle routine social media management and

event planning• Begin recruiting artists for Facebook contest

July 2015• Focus on strengthening social media presence and community rela-

tionships

August 2015• Work on video news release to distribute to media outlets• Recruit intern crew to carry out storyboarding, filming and editing

of video news release

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September 2015• Design advertising materials for grand opening and additional

events• Create guest list for grand opening• Print advertising material

October 2015• Distribute advertising material around town• Launch Twitter campaign• Start grand opening event planning and set deadlines for tasks

November 2015• Host grand opening• Host The Doris Jams, The Doris Monologue series and The Doris Im-

prov

December 2015• Write, design, distribute holiday and “thank you” postcards for at-

tending grand opening

January 2016• End campaign Jan. 8• Distribute evaluative surveys between Jan. 11-25• Conduct data analysis to evaluate to determine goal achievement

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Budget Item Number of Units Unit Cost and Location Total costMaterialsPromotional Material Printing (Tactic 2.1)

1,000 $0.69 (Kinkos) $690.00

Promotional Video Filming (Tactic 2.1)

1 Hours Photographer and

Videographer

100 (Megan Reeves) 100.00

Opening Decoration for Grand Opening (Tactic 2.2)

Miscellaneous Items 300.00 300.00

Food and Beverage (First Four Events)Hors d’oeuvres (Tactic 2.2 and 2.3)

16 sandwich plates 16 cookie plates

14.99 sandwich platters (Main St. Publix) 539.64

Beer (Tactic 2.2 and 2.3)

100 cases 25.49 (Stella Artois) 2,549.00

Wine (Tactic 2.2 and 2.3)

200 bottles 10.80 (Menage a Trois) 2,160.00

Soda (Tatic 2.2 and 2.3)

50 cases 3.33 (Amazon) 166.50

Water (Tactic 2.2 and 2.3)

100 cases 15.42 (Amazon.com) 1,542.00

Artist MaterialsArtist Compensation (Tactic 1.3)

4 artists 200.00 800.00

Social Media Con-test Prize (Tactic 1.2)

Doris membership 1 50.00

Subtotal: 8897.14Contingency: (10%) 889.71Total: $9786.85

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AppendixA. Focus Group Consent Form

Consent for Participation in Focus Group Research

I volunteer to participate in a research project conducted by Brickhouse PR from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communication. I understand that the project is designed to gather information about the un-derstanding of The Doris in Downtown Gainesville. I will be one of approximately 12 people participating in this research.

My participation in this project is voluntary. I understand that I will not be paid for my participation. All partici-pants will be compensated with refreshments during the study. I may withdraw and discontinue participation at any time without penalty.

I understand that most participants in the focus group will find the discussion interesting and thought-provoking. If, however, I feel uncomfortable in any way during the session, I have the right to decline to answer any question or to end the discussion.

Participation involves being interviewed by student researchers from University of Florida. The interview will last approximately 45-60 minutes. Notes will be written during the interview. An audiotape of the interview and subse-quent dialogue will be made. If I do not want to be taped, I understand that I am not able to participate in the study.

I understand that the researcher will not identify me by name in any reports using information obtained from this focus group. I understand that while the student researchers will keep the discussion confidential, they can not guar-antee that the other parties will do so. Subsequent uses of records and data will be subject to standard data use policies, which protect the anonymity of individuals and institutions.

I understand that this research study has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for Studies Involving Human Subjects: Behavioral Sciences Committee at the University of Florida. For research problems or questions regarding subjects, the Institutional Review Board may be contacted at 352-392-0433 or at irb2@ufl.edu. Any other questions can be directed to Account Executive Purvi Pandit at 321-482-7919 or at ppandituf@ufl.edu.

I have been offered a copy of this consent form that I may keep for my own reference.

I have read and understand the explanation provided to me. I have had all my questions answered to my satisfac-

tion, and I voluntarily agree to participate in this study.

Participant’s signature ________________________________

Date _______________ 53

B. Focus Group Questions

1. What is your opinion on the art culture in Gainesville?2. What kind of arts are you interested in? What do you like about that

type of art?3. Describe a memorable moment you had with the arts.4. Describe a place (area, city, etc.) where you experienced rich art cul-

ture.5. What events have you attended in the past six months? Describe them.6. What art events have you been to in the past six months?7. What’s the last art event you’ve attended in Gainesville?8. In the last 6 months, what types of art have you experienced or no-

ticed?9. Tell us a memorable moment you’ve had that involved the arts in

Gainesville in the past year (play, artwork, performances, etc.).10. What attracts you to an art event?11. What comes to mind when you think of a cultural center?12. What do you expect to/want to see at an arts center?13. The Doris is trying to reach out to your age group, what would make

you come and be more interactive?

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C. Focus Group Transcription

Assessing Gainesville Arts Awareness Focus GroupMarch 16, 20156:30 P.M. Moderator: What is your opinion of the art culture in Gainesville? A: I will start. I don’t really have a formed opinion of it. I just have heard about it here and there. I do believe that is something that is more talked about in the Gainesville community outside of the com-munity and I’m not too aware of it being brought in to, in regards to UF students, so I think it might have a little bit of a divide. But I am aware of it. Moderator: So you’re aware of it but not really involved in it? A: Yes. B: I’m not involved in but I’ll go the downtown art shows, like the spring and the fall one. But that’s my Gainesville art knowledge. Moderator: Are those free events? B: Yeah, they shut down downtown right in front of the hotel and down to Bo Diddley. I think the spring one is downtown and the fall one is on University, still kind of in downtown, near the Fat Tuscan.

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Moderator: Does anyone else go to those? Oh sorry, go ahead. C: I think it depends of the type of person you’re talking about, like if its someone that, then I think they are going to be more inclined to try university sponsored events, like a film center. Also, like the things downtown, like the Hippodrome. They are going to be open to these things. But once you go out of that target area then you find these people who are only familiar with the university because they’re con-nected to it or they’re more familiar with regional productions or gal-leries. So let’s say you go to Art Walk, and then you end up running into a lot more locals than university students. I think there is a little bit of a divide there with the target audience. D: I recently moved here so I’m not super familiar with the art culture her, in Gainesville. However, you know, without the knowledge, I think the more culture and the more things to do are always better for a city. I think getting people out and experiencing new things is always positive. It’s opening your mind, so I like that idea and I would enjoy that. Moderator: Would you as a new resident want to be involved in the arts community? D: Um, yeah, I like the arts. But it’s a matter of time. Would I take my time to do it? Probably not because there is so much I feel like I get to experience as a student here. There is so much at UF that there is to experience so I probably wouldn’t take my time to experience stuff in Gainesville, the city.

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E: The question was how familiar we are? Moderator: No, it was what is your opinion of the art culture in Gainesville. But yeah, it kind of encompasses that. E: Um, I think there, to be honest with you, in my experience, there is a generational gap. I think a lot of older people that live outside of the walls of UF are quite familiar with the going on around here but I think college students don’t know what goes on beyond the walls of UF. But that’s the way it is in every college campus I’ve ever been on. There is what goes on here and then there is what goes on in the pe-riphery. I think there is a huge divide between those things. Moderator: Okay, now we’re going to discuss what kind of available in Gainesville, what kind of arts are you specifically interested in and what do you like that about it. D: I like photography, impressionism; um I would probably go see a sculpture or a show. I really like a variety of things. To kind of pig-gyback off of the last questions, if it was somewhere like Orlando or Tampa, I’d probably be more involved. But like he was saying, this is a college town and you are kind of more centered around the cam-pus and what there is to do here. E: It’s transitional, too. The students are here for four years, its very hard to sustain an arts culture here when people are constantly mov-ing in and out and professors are taking sabbaticals and traveling for the summer. It’s very hard to sustain an art culture here when you don’t have community sustention.

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Moderator: Any more opinions on that or what about the types of art you’re interested in? C: I think it’s imperative that the college or university provides these op-portunities to people that are coming here for four years. Like you said, we have so many different kinds of people that are just kind of rotating in and out every year. But I think its important that we reach out of ev-ery one of them. I think all art forms are equally important. I like per-forming arts, visual arts, music, anything you could consider art. B: I go to a lot of live music shows around town and I’ve been to a cou-ple of film festivals so those I guess those would be my top two forms of art. Moderator: Can you guys describe a memorable moment that you’ve had with the arts? B: I went to SXSW like two years ago and they have a film festival like a week before they have the music festival and it was fun Moderator: Did that take place here? B: It’s in Texas. Moderator: What was memorable about it? B: I saw Prince! There was a bunch of good movies. I mean I only

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watched like three movies the whole week. I saw Dinosaur Jr., I just saw a bunch of bands that I like. I saw Bill Murray and Rizzo from the Wu Tang Clan. He walked behind a bar and just started serving te-quila shots, no matter what they asked for they got a tequila shot. Moderator: Well that is certainly memorable. D: Does it have to be in Gainesville? Moderator: No, anywhere at any point in your life. D: I lived in Southern California and they’re really into more visu-al arts, well film too. But I went to lots of art shows in the Pasadena area. One show the main feature I guess was color and the variations of the color and ever since then, I’ve wanted to contact the artist. I can’t afford his work. But someday, I would buy some of that stuff for my own house. But yeah, it was pretty impactful. C: Two weeks before the Beijing Olympics I was in southern China and they had the exact same ceremony there. They reproduce the entire opening show on the water. The thing that made it special was that the Phillips Center is known for bringing in performance of pop-ular artists and musicians, they’re well-known and I think that’s some-thing that could make this special for students is to bring well-known directors and large-scale performers and performances and bring it here. It’s important to have all levels of talent but it’s also to bring in those that are really inspiring.

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A: Something that’s been memorable? Not really. I can’t think of any-thing. I mean I’ve been to the Harn. Actually, I’ve volunteered there and I’ve had to gone there for class and I’ve bought their books. E: I saw, in early February, Glen Hansard, and it was great because he just played. I don’t think he took a drink of water. I didn’t see the stop once. He just played for two and half hours straight. After the show, he took an hour to get his gear packed up and he didn’t have a big road crew. It was just him and some guys. This guy is huge in Ireland. He has won an academy award and a bunch on of Tony’s. He is a pretty well-known musician across the world. At one o’clock in the morning, he just came out and hung out with us for half an hour. I actually know a guy, one of my buddies, who got to hang out with him too and he actual-ly got invited back on his tour bus and got to play with him. So I think, I’m not concerned with having well-known people here. But I like when artists give everything that they’ve got on any particular day to really make a unique experience for the audience that has paid, in some cases a lot of money for. I’m not saying it needs to be a dog and pony show but its nice, when you see that guy play his heart out for two and a half hours, take a shower and then come back out. He was still talking to people when I left. So at 1:30, he was still talking to people when I was driving out of the parking lot. He made it a point to talk to every per-son no matter how long it took. I think that’s what makes a cool experi-ence, you know. The guy is humble as hell too. C: I think that’s the important things too. When we have people come here, we’re not just paying for their name. They need to have a passion

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that’s inspiring. E: It’s an experience that you’re paying for and not just the show. C: Absolutely. Moderator: So those were some very memorable moments. But they’re not necessarily the same. Describe a place that you experienced rich art culture. Whether, it was where you had the connection or some-where totally different. B: Santa Fe, New Mexico has like a really big art scene. They have a bunch of museums like the Georgia O’Keefe Museum. I guess that’s the most artsy place I’ve been. D: I went to, I can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s the Holocaust mu-seum in Israel. It was very memorable. The bottom floor is glass and they have this mock of the bodies and skeletons of the refugees. They even warn you that it’s pretty impactful but people are just so moved. There was a lot of money spent there just to remind me people of what they had gone through. C: We have a rich culture here. If we could just do something historical, that would be pretty good. Moderator: Would you say it’s the richest that you’ve been immersed in? C: I would say Paris. We were going through the streets and there are

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all of these people who live there just to literally paint. They’re not big names. But if you went down to the Louvre, this stuff would be in a museum. But you’re just walking through the streets and there are peo-ple who are doing work on the side. I think that’s something that could be great here. Just to have people painting on the streets. It would be powerful. It’s really visual and it’s enticing to bring people to downtown Gainesville, to have these local artists performing right in front of your eyes. That would be pretty cool. A: Miami or Coral Gables. They are always having art shows there of very expensive things. I’ve never participated because it’s way above my level. But on the side of music, I went to Nashville and did not ex-pect to see that many people just performing music outside. It reminded me of what you said. If the talent is there, why are they not in the clubs playing? They’re all playing out in the street trying to make it. E: On any given day in Dublin on the streets, when its dark and there’s a whole lot of drunk people, especially Irish people because they love to talk. I’m Irish. We just talk, talk, and talk. It doesn’t even matter if the stories are true; sometimes they get progressively more outlandish as the night goes on. But having that kind of atmosphere there and watch-ing these guys. That kind of people busting on the streets is what I love. I’ve been to Red Rocks. I haven’t been to New Mexico, but I’ve been to Red Rocks and you know everybody kind of says oh its great. But I was like “eh, it’s an amphitheater in a rock.” I wasn’t that impressed with it. I have been to big fancy concert halls too with lots of lights and stuff and I think the most fun times I’ve had are being this close to a musician and just talking to my friends and sitting in a bar and just listening to these

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guys tell stories. Moderator: So what events have you attended in the last six months pertaining to arts? If so, describe them. C: Oh, grad school. A: A lot of music. I went to see a band in Orlando. A lot of the concerts I go to have older crowds or crowds that are a lot older than me. It might have been more than six months, I saw Rush. B: The hall of fame, Rush. A: I’m actually going to see them again. B: Really? A: Yeah. They’re coming to Tampa. B: They’re like thirty years older than me. B: In October every year they have Fest. Its in Downtown and I go to that every year. But that’s the most recent. Moderator: What’s it called? B: Just The Fest.

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C: Just in general, a few times a year, I go to Jacksonville to the Veter-ans arena to see an artist there. It’s one of the shorter drives to see an artist. I think last time I saw Dave Matthews Band. Moderator: Well just off of that, what was the last arts event you at-tended? E: Well, for my job I have to see a lot of plays but I’m completely unin-spired with what I see. To be honest with you, must of the time I am com-pletely uninspired with what I see. So I’ve practically stopped going be-cause I’m bored. Now, given to choice to go to a concert or see a play, I think I would choose a concert because they’re doing it right. But I saw, I guess it was about six months ago, I went to an art opening at Shands. It was part of the Arts in Medicine. I have seen a lot of dance shows that are really good because there is a skill level there that is beyond an acting talent. There is stuff there that they can do that I can’t do. So I constantly get inspired by going to see them. So yeah, that’s where I am right now. D: I saw the Nutcracker at YOLA. It was a free performance. But it was fun, yeah. B: I went to show on Saturday night at Boca Fiesta. Moderator: It was a concert? B: Yeah, my friends from South Florida were playing it and two other bands that are from Gainesville.

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Moderator: More specifically, what was the last arts event you attended in Gainesville? No pressure. A: I actually did but not because I attended specifically. I attended Frank and there was a lot of art at Frank. There were a lot of perform-ers there, like the acrobats and the people and the ribbons that come from the sky. There were bands at almost every event. So I did a lot, but I didn’t specifically go for the art. I went for the conference. C: Oh, don’t ask me. It was horrible. Moderator: It was a play? C: Yeah, I normally love going to the Hipp. But it was a free ticket I got so I was like I’m going to go. It was some sort of weird mash up between a Simpson’s episode and the apocalypse. Moderator: I saw the same one! C: It was someone’s theory on how we would be 75 years from now post radiation. I wouldn’t want to see that again. E: No! I didn’t. I talked about this in class a little bit in class. I am not going to go see a play about the Simpsons. C: I didn’t know it was about the Simpsons.

E: I especially don’t like to be told afterwards that I’m not smart enough

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to get the deeper meaning in it, which they put on their Facebook page. They put if you didn’t get it then you were just kind of dumb. I was like, “excuse me, don’t ever tell me that.” C: Did you see the play? E: No, I didn’t. I know about it. Its been making its rounds around here for a better part of a year or so. So I do know the play. I have friends in that play. In fact, all of my friends are in that play. C: The acting was good. I just didn’t understand. E: I didn’t even see it. I’m not going spend $30 or $40 or whatever it is for a ticket on a show that I have no interest in whatsoever. I’m busy planning for the apocalypse. C: What I did think was interesting about that performance is that they actually bring in local actors. So it’s very promotional. E: Sometimes. C: Well I remember there was from Ocala, one from Gainesville, one was a former UF graduate student. I admit they were good and it’s im-portant to have local talent in there. E: That’s another thing too. Talking about venues and what makes some-thing work. I like the idea of having a company over the works of what they have. But half of their acting company is from New York. They may

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have some sort of affiliation here but they’re not here anymore. Again, its very hard to build a community here when you’re importing actors all of the time and then they leave. There is no sustainability there. I would rather see them use and audition local actors here that are trying to break into the business. We could audition the students at UF and help them by giving them parts as opposed to importing actors from New York and then they’re here for six weeks and leave. C: this is a possible model that could work. There is a place up in Virgin-ia called the Barter Theatre. E: Yeah, I’ve heard of it. C: They’re very similar to us. It’s a local theatre. But, its regionally known. Actually, if you know about it then they must be more than re-gionally known and they do pretty well. E: Yeah, there are ways of doing it. But you know, nobody asked me. C: They should ask you. E: They won’t. They think they’ve got it all figured out. Moderator: This kind of relates to that. Tell us a memorable moment you’ve had with the arts in Gainesville in the last year. I guess that defi-nitely counts. It can be good or bad. Please don’t hold back. D: I mean I saw James Franco come to UF. I mean that’s kind of a direc-

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tor’s cut. I don’t know. But that’s the closest thing I’ve seen in Gainesville. A: Did you think it was good? I’ve heard a lot of complaints about it. D: It’s hard to separate. You know an event is waiting in line, being there, the company you’re with. Sometimes it’s hard to separate the ac-tual message. I had fun but was he worth the $85,000 or whatever we spent on him? A: Yeah, $80,000 D: Probably not. No. E: That’s more than my salary for two years. D: The way UF did it was kind of strange. It was very impersonal. He was really far away from the students that wanted to see him. I guess Accent, who is in charge of a lot of the art stuff, was super close to him. They all got to meet him. It was super strange. It just didn’t feel the way it could have been. Like what it was, a director’s cut, an interview. It could have been like a living room feel even with all of the people and it wasn’t and that was disappointing. I wish he had talked more about film and not what he teaches. A: What did he talk about? D: He was asked a lot of questions and he tried to make a lot of joke. He did expound on his answers a lot, which is good because I’ve seen

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interviews there other way, where they one sentence and someone has to ask them another question. He talked about his relationship with Seth Rogen to be funny. He mentioned that him and Seth Rogen smoke a lot of weed, to make it humorous and relative to students. He talked a little bit about some of the films he’s done. One of the things that I thought was the most interesting was someone asked him why he was doing the types of films he’ going now versus some of the more dramatic films he’s done in the past. They mentioned FlyBoys and Tristan & Isolde and Annapolis and some of the ones he was more acting in where now he is doing more comedy and directing. He said that he was trying to do what made him happy. He said that in the other ones he didn’t feel like he was being himself and you got to her the personalized story of his career. I didn’t realize how much he had been in and that was interest-ing. E: I didn’t go through this experience myself, but my wife took our kids to the Harn. There are two things that they do there that I really like. One night a month they are open late, until 9 I think. It’s a really great opportunity for some working mothers to get out and like I normally get home right around now. I can take care of the kids. She can go get a glass of wine with her friends at the hotel right across the street. Then, they go right over to the Harn. It’s just a nice chance for her to get away from the kids and they can walk around and look at the art rather than having to drag the kids around and have to watch them. It gives them a nice little break. And it’s free. They can just go and walk around. Then they do another kids thing too. They encourage the kids to walk around. My kids take pictures of the art they like and then they go home and try to recreate that work. It provides them with the understanding of how

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the artist puts work onto a canvas and what the process is. So they get to learn about the artist and the process at the same time. Its all paid by, you guys. But its cool. Those are two of the nice things they do. Those are two very neglected populations: kids and working moms. A: That’s true. E: There are not a lot of opportunities for them to engage and when there is, they latch on to it. I mean they’re going to go every month now. That’s what their plan is. Things change over there too. So it’s always something different. A: I think one of those things is Museum Nights. They do it every second Thursday of the month. E: That’s right. A: They’re sponsored by a different UF organization every time, or something like that. E: It’s a good way to get UF or the student organizations or whoever’s name out there. My wife is really good at re-patronizing those organi-zations. So if someone sponsors something she likes, she’ll go buy some-thing to support them C: I think they have a very successful model of rotation. It’s their whole foundation really. It’s cool because underneath the museum, they keep

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most of their exhibits. A lot of them aren’t traveling exhibits. They store them underneath the museum and rotate them often. Just like that rain forest, every two weeks they have new butterflies come in from around the world. Everything about it is always new, so it keeps people coming back. I think that’s important. You need to keep people coming back. Not coming just once. E: Cyanic. Moderator: What attracts you to an art event? B: At a music festival, it’s who is playing. D: I would agree. It’s the artists, sometimes the subject matter. Sometimes it’s really just the sponsorship or the advertising or the marketing that they did to bring you in. If its something you normally frequent, you’ll say yeah, I’ll give that a try. I’ve been to bars and restaurants or hotels and they’re displaying this, and because I enjoy where I’m at and have good associations with it, I think, “Well, if they’re promoting this, than this is something I would enjoy as well.” A: For me, it would definitely be location and price. I love the Harn and I’ve been there multiple times. But if I had to pay to get in, I don’t know how often I’d go. Probably not very often. C: Something that’s going to move me. Not only am I going to see some-thing beautiful and original, but also I’m going to see something that moves me. That’s what makes me go.

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Moderator: What comes to mind when you think of a cultural center? D: For me, I would definitely like to see something that not so American-ized. How can we bring a little bit more of a worldview to Gainesville? More importantly, bring to North Central Florida. I would go to learn more about the world. But its hard as a student because you’re already absorbing so much information. I like world travel. I feel like a lot of other students enjoy world travel here and I feel like they would enjoy something like that. C: I would second that. A lot of students don’t have cars and can’t trav-el outside of Gainesville. Sometime they would like an afternoon to see something different. If you have a gallery with something from outside of Gainesville, that would be pretty refreshing. On the other hand, is the mission of the center to exhibit Gainesville culture or world culture? I’m not really sure which one it is. Moderator: So it really could be either one for you? C: It could be either one for me. But I’m thinking maybe students would be more interested in world culture just because it would be something different. Moderator: What would you specifically like to see? C: Just for feasibility, start with Gainesville. Starting up, it’s hard to get things from outside of Gainesville.

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A: Something from outside of Gainesville or something from outside of the U.S. would definitely interest me because I was born in Columbia, from Miami and coming to Gainesville. It’s very flat. I think by bringing people into Gainesville, we could show off Gainesville. I think by bring-ing people in we can show that we’re not just a small city. If they come here to show their stuff off that they can also fall in love with Gaines-ville and bring people back. I think that would be a smart way to do it. D: I’ve only been here for a few months, so I will preface that. But I feel that overall, in my experience, this school, the university, kind of under-estimates the interest and intellect of the student population. UF has drawn some of the brightest students to this university. I talk to people on a regular basis of people who could have gone anywhere if it wasn’t for price. People come here for price. It’s going to become the top pub-lic school, especially for education. Sometimes it’s underestimated how smart and kind of, successful, these students are. Something with the arts could be another outlet these students could use for intellectual pursuit, among other things. Moderator: Anyone else? C: We have art galleries, but is there something we can do differently? Moderator: That is my next questions. With all of that in mind, what would you expect or want to see in an arts center? A: Interaction. My favorite part of the Harn museum is the butterfly garden because you’re there in the middle of it, not just watching it. So

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interacting in the cultural clause, would be getting to interact with differ-ent languages or artwork, maybe you can touch it. It’s a fun thing that’s more than just allowing me to walk and look. I think that would be really cool. D: I like the idea. I think cost too. We are on a budget as students. So making it feasible and available. Maybe even making it, there is so much going on and I know that they can’t orchestrate that but maybe if an exciting thing is going on and then another exciting thing is going on, it forces you to choose. Like I know Frank was going on at the same time as the James Franco thing. I heard a lot of people said that they would have gone to both if they could have. C: I think incorporating something like First Fridays. That could maybe help. B: I have never been to one of those. I work every Friday. Moderator: Would you if you could? B: Yeah, that’s as good as any day. D: So if it was a day like First Saturdays or a day you were available, would you do it? B: yeah, absolutely. Moderator: That brings us to our last question. Our client is the Art Asso-

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ciation of Alachua County and they’re opening up the Doris, or reopen-ing it. I don’t know if any of you have heard of it. It’s the Doris Bardon Cultural Center, in case any of you know it by that name. They’re re-locating and they’re reaching out to your age group and they want to know what would make you come to the Doris and be interactive with it. They’re opening in what used to be Backstage Lounge, which is right off of Main Street. E: In terms of performances, not necessarily music because I feel like mu-sicians have a really good knack for creating their own space because of the type of people they bring in. I think for me, from a performing standpoint, they have to start looking at things that I can’t get on TV. If I can go to a movie, why should I come to your play? If I can watch the Simpsons on TV, why do I want to spend $40 to watch live actors reen-act it? Along with that is the marketing of things. What turned me off of that play was that most of the marketing involved little Simpson figures around Gainesville so naturally in my mind I thought, “This play is going to be about the Simpsons.” It didn’t set me up for it very well to begin with. Then you have a perception problem. You need to think, what is unique? What are you going to get out of this performance that you are not going to get on TV? What goes along with that is the control of your social media. If you’re going to advertise something, or you’re go-ing to put something out there, you need to reign in the opinions of the people that work for the organization. There are a lot of people that run organizations, in my opinion of what I’ve seen since the late nine-ties when it really started to get fired up. There are certain actors and performers that I knew that turned a lot of people off because of their politics and it ruined them. They couldn’t get hired anymore. People just

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didn’t want to hear. If in your advertising and in your media, if you can rein that in and just let the work speak for it. Reach out to groups that are underrepresented. There are a lot people in town that I talk to. I’m catholic. I go to the church right here and I go to one in St. Mathens in High Springs and they say they stop going to shows. I ask why and they say because they’re all just one running joke against religion. They don’t want to see them and that’s the reputation that they’ve built up. It’s real-ly hard to give those people a second chance. Those people are turned away and it’s really hard to get them back. Once you’ve isolated them, you’re not getting them back. B: It depends what’s going on and when it’s going on. C: When would it be open? Because that makes it’s harder for students if its open in the middle of the day and doesn’t have later hours. Moderator: Well our demographic aren’t specifically students. C: Oh we’re old. Well there is like 15,000 grad students here. Moderator: Well like you said, students are here for four years and then they leave. So they wanted to focus on a community that was going to continue to come and stay here and that’s the whole point. E: And some grads too. Like I went to grad school here, left for a year and I came back and stayed. Families. Talking about underrepresented population. Where can I take my kids in Gainesville right now where they will see something they enjoy and understand? The last thing that I

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took them to myself that I thought was going to be really cool was The Christmas Carol that they did here a couple years ago that I was in. My wife got to come and watch it. Then next year, they changed it. This was a 25-year tradition here in Gainesville; they had been doing the same script with the same scrooge for 25 years. Just last year, they decided to scrap it and now I’m not sure if I can bring my kid to it because it was a shorter run and its all full of school groups and if they do have room, the tickets are outrageous. They don’t cater to home school groups. Massive amounts of middle schools come and get massive discounts. My wife was like I’d like to bring the kids, we home-school. It wasn’t even a possibility because all the shows were filled up. There is a huge home school population here. But things like that, for families, so that they can bring their kids too. It doesn’t have to be Disney-fied or Sesame Street but something to engage the kids. The Harn does that; they challenge the kids to think a little bit, things like that. You could teach them about Gainesville. How many musicians are from Gainesville or Jacksonville? Dozens. I mean Don Felder is from here. Tom Petty is from here. We have produced really good musicians and it would be awesome to in-troduce my kids to that, to see how many musicians and people have grown up here. My son is going to take guitar lesson next week and he wants to know about all of these guys. Something that is right here in Gainesville. A: Just to piggyback off of that, I think something consistent every month or every other week, to allow families to know that they can go there and continue to go there every month is huge. E: That’s huge. Kids have something to look forward to every week or

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every month and it’s just something they love going to. My kids take ukulele lessons at the Guitar Center every Saturday and it’s free. Are we going Saturday? Are we going Saturday? They just love looking for-ward to something. The guy is great. It’s no rush. It’s no pressure. It’s just great. Moderator: That’s great. Is there anything else you would like to add now that we discussed all of this? C: More advertising. D: I agree. I had not even heard of this. Moderator: In regard to art in general or to the Doris? D: To the Doris. C: Both. Moderator: What reaches you the best? Do you look at the paper? A: I don’t know what the right way is but I think you try them all. That’s how people will see it. If they see it on Facebook they might not pay attention. But if I see it on Facebook and then in the Alligator, and then I see it somewhere else, then I’m like okay there is something going on here. So multiple ways I have to see it and then it will stick.

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C: Is there a Gainesville catalog for cultural events? Moderator: The Gainesville Sun has an events page. E: But you’re right, you have to go look for it. C: But if there was an annual catalog that was sent out to people, I don’t know how expensive that would be but I used to like getting that because I would be able to go through and see what I could go to. Moderator: So you mean a paper? D: It could be a insert, or I know what you mean, like a little magazine. I work for the Alligator and I’m sure if something was presented to them. They thrive on special sections. It gets the advertisers to fund it and be able to print this paper and give it to people for free. I work in the advertising department and it would be an easy sell, even to locals. It makes them aware of it. It makes students aware. It would be something that editorial and advertising would have to work on. But I agree you have to see it in multiple sources. You have to see it on Instagram, Face-book, Snapchat, those are social media. You also need to see it in print media. Honestly, half of the really cool stuff I don’t know is going on unless I hear it word of mouth. C: that’s true. I hear most of my stuff word of mouth too. B: Fliers. At my work, we have a lot of fliers hanging up for events and

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that’s how I find out about like half of the stuff I go to. Moderator: Is this the general geographic area you’re working? B: Yeah, downtown. A: I think that’s great for families and students that are homeschooled because they’re not getting anything from school. E: Yeah, I usually have to bring that stuff home from work. You don’t see plays advertised anywhere. Half of the time, I don’t know what the dates are and I work in that building. I have to look for them. Moderator: Anything else? Well thank you, we really, really appreciate it. We will definitely take this information into consideration or well, let our client know. It was a lot of good information and ideas. Thanks for the feedback.

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D. Survey Form

Assessing the Awareness of Local Arts in GainesvilleBrick House Public Relations

We’re a group of public relations seniors at the University of Florida currently enrolled in Public Relations Campaigns. We are currently conducting research on assessing art appreciation and importance of art centers in the Gainesville community. The responses will be anonymous and used to create a strategic campaign related to the reopening of The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center in Downtown Gainesville. The survey should take less than five 5 min-utes to complete. Thank you for your time and feel free to skip any questions. How much you agree or disagree with the following statement:

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About “The Doris” and other arts centers in Gainesville:“The Doris” is a cultural center currently closed due to relocation. The newly renovated, downtown center, at 1315 South Main Street, will feature an art gallery, performance and teaching facilities, and meet-ing places for the community. There will also be music, art, workshops, and shows.

Do you know about/have you been to “The Doris”? Circle: Yes No

How much you agree or disagree with the following statements:

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Please select the answer that best describes your behavior regarding your interest in the arts:

1. How much time do you devote to the arts on the weekends? A. No time B. Less than an hour C. 1-3 hours D. 4-6 hours E. 6-11 hours F. 12 hours or more

2. How often do you at-tend arts events? A. 1-2 a month B. 2-3 a month C. 3-4 a month D. 4 or more a month E. I do not attend arts event

3. What kind of art do you prefer the most? A. Painting/Draw ing/Visual B. Performance art C. Music

4. I visit The Thomas Center: A. 1 - 2 times a year B. 3 - 4 times a year C. 4 - 5 times a year D. 6 or more times a year E. I have not visited the Thomas Center in the last year F. I have never visited the Thomas Center ever

5. I visit “The Doris”: A. 1 - 2 times a year B. 3 - 4 times a year C. 4 - 5 times a year D. 6 or more times a year E. I have never visited the Doris

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Please select the answer that best describes you:

1. What is your gender? A. Male B. Female C. Other D. Unspecified

2. What is your age? A.18-24 B. 25-29 C. 30-34 D. 35-39 E. 40-44 F. 45-49 G. 50-54 H. 55-59 I. 60+

3. What is your ethnici-ty? A. Caucasian B. African-American C. Asian D. Native American E. Hispanic/Latino F. Other

4. What is your total household in-come? A. Less than $10,000 B. $10,000 to $19,999 C. $20,000 to $29,999 D. $30,000 to $39,999 E. $40,000 to $49,999 F. $50,000 to $59,999 G. $60,000 to $69,999 H. $70,000 to $79,999 I. $80,000 to $89,999 J. $90,000 to $99,999 K. $100,000 to $149,999 L. $150,000 or more

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References

Arroyo, Jeanna. “The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center Seeks to Relocate, Asks City for Help.” The Independent Florida Alligator. N.p., 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. http://www.alligator. org/news/local/article_0527c65e-1c2b-11e3-81cb-001a4bc f887a.html

Farnum, Desiree. “Artists Annie Pais and Margaret Ross Tolbert Are Be ing Recognized for Their Efforts with Lifetime Art Achievement Awards from the Gainesville Alachua Cultural Affairs Board.” Gainesville.com. Scene, 27 Feb. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. http:// www.gainesville.com/article/20120227/ENT/120229579

Huertas, Jovahn. “Gathering of the Artists Returns for Third Year with Extra Day.” Gainesville.com. Scene, 11 Dec. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. http://www.gainesville.com/arti cle/20131211/ENT/131219948

Kallergis, Katherine. “Gathering of the Artists Holiday Art Show and Sale Returns Saturday.” Gainesville.com. Scene, 6 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. http://www.gainesville.com/arti cle/20121206/ENT/121209841

Morris, Ashira. “Local Art Galleries on the Rise in Gainesville.” WUFT News. N.p., 5 July 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.wuft.org/ news/2013/07/05/local-art-gal leries/

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Public Art Network Council: Green Paper (n.d.): n. pag. Blog.artusa.org. Americans For The Arts. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from: http://blog.artsusa.org/artsblog/wp-content/ uploads/greenpapers/documents/PublicArtNetwork_Green Paper.pdf

Schuyler, Samantha. “Gainesville Fine Arts Association Hosts Anni versary Celebration.” Gainesville.com. Scene, 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. http://www.gainesville.com/arti cle/20130815/ENT/130819873

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