More out-of-towners key to Artown growth

Artown drew nearly a quarter of a million people 85 percent of them from Reno and Sparks to events last year, and its leaders think that much of Artown's future growth will come from increasing its reach outside of northern Nevada.

But here's the hard part: Artown doesn't have any money to spend on out-of-market advertising.

Instead, the nonprofit that organizes the 31-day festival in July relies on partnerships with hotels and other business sponsors to spread the word, and its public relations staff has been knocking on editors' doors since January to get free publicity.

A key message: Artown is part of the remarkable renaissance of Reno, particularly its downtown.

And while it's still too early to judge the success of those efforts, Artown Executive Director Beth Macmillan says the question raised by an out-of-town caller to Artown a few days ago hinted that the message is getting through.

"Is this," the caller asked, "the organization that's turning Reno on its ear?"

With no money of its own to spend on advertising, Artown's staff is particularly happy when one of its sponsors undertakes its own marketing effort.

Grand Sierra Resort, for instance, undertook a 14,000-piece direct mail campaign into the Bay Area to promote its sponsorship of performances by American Ballet Theatre and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock during Artown.

"People who come for Herbie Hancock and American Ballet Theatre are a good demographic for them," Macmillan says.

Similar thinking encouraged the Silver Legacy to undertake a 14,000-piece mailing into the Bay Area to promote a show by singer Michael Buble during Artown.

At the same time, Artown this year is fine-tuning its public relations approach.

Ronele Klingensmith, whose Reno-based RKPR handles out-of-market publicity for Artown, says her firm sliced Artown events into pieces that would appeal to a single demographic and promoted the slices to editors in the 11 Western states.

Dance-oriented publications, for instance, were pitched stories on the two top-name dance groups that headline this year's festival Hell's Kitchen Dance with Mikhail Baryshnikov and American Ballet Theatre.

Another target was in-flight magazines, and at least three airline publications those that serve Southwest, Delta and Alaska airlines travelers will include information about Artown in early-summer editions.

Increasingly, Macmillan says out-of-towners know about Artown, and that opens the doors of editors, performers and booking agents.

"I'm having to do less and less of the what-Reno-is-really-about," she says.

And that's important, the Artown executive says, as the Reno-Tahoe area continues to diversify its economy and lessens its reliance on gaming.

"Arts and culture can play a major part in that," she says. "We can be a player."