There are several performances for the upcoming Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe that are actually encouraging folks to keep their cell phones on–after the show that is, and to use for instant reviews.
“Turn Your Cell Phone On!” is a campaign designed to promote live reviews of performances via text messages submitted from patrons cell phones. The reviews will be displayed live at the performance and online at Philly Fun Guide. The campaign is an initiative of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and funded through a PNC Arts Alive grants initiative, a five-year, $5 million commitment to support the visual and performing arts in the region.
“We see this as a fun and easy way to engage cultural consumers,” says Cultural Alliance president Peggy Amsterdam. “Just as TripAdvisor is valuable for travelers, the Phillyfunguide Turn Your Cell Phone On! Campaign is our latest effort to provide useful and timely event information for the public.”
Encouraging this kind of audience participation, it is believed, will help attract a new brand of arts supporters during a time when non-profit arts organizations’ budgets are shrinking. The initiative will be tested at seven shows–ranging from dance to music and multi-media performances–at the festival, which runs tomorrow through Sept. 14 throughout the city. Participants can choose one of five ratings for each show, ranging from “Amazing” to “Not so Great,” and can add more detailed reviews on phillyfunguide.com, an online events calendar produced by the Cultural Alliance.
Turn Your Cell Phone On! Is a pilot program the Cultural Alliance hopes to replicate at other arts and culture venues throughout the region during the 2009-10 season.
Source: Peggy Amsterdam, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
Writer: Joe Petrucci