Традиционное прикладное искусство: история, современное состояние и перспективы развития
Традиционное прикладное искусство в современном мире
Tinkov S., marketing and PR specialist in Creative Center of Kalofer Bobbin Lace, Marketing specialist in Drama theatre Gabrovo, Master degree in PR for Art organizations in Academy of music, dance and fine arts in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, PhD student in Digital marketing and communication in arts in Academy of music, dance and fine arts in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Kalofer, 4 Hristo Botev str., email: stoyot@gmail.com
Тинков С., cпециалисm по связям с общественностью Творческого Центра Калофер^ого коклюшечного кружева, специалист по маркетингу Драматического театра Габрово, магистр в области связей с общественностью Академии музыки, танца и изящных искусств (Пловдив, Болгария), аспирант в области маркетинга и коммуникациям в искусстве Академии музыки, танца и изящных искусств (Пловдив, Болгария), г. Калофер, улица Христо Ботева 4, e-mail: stoyot@gmail.com
Digital marketing and audience development in Creative centre of Kolofer bobbin lace Цифровой маркетинг и расширение аудитории в Творческом центре Калоферского коклюшечного кружева
Abstract. Although it does not fully correspond to the description «museum», the Creative centre of Kolofer bobbin lace contains several exhibitions, which in an extremely interesting, different and innovative way for the town fit into the historical affiliation of Kalofer and its significance for the history of Bulgaria.
Opened in 2018, the Kalofer Bobbin Lace Creative Center houses the «Golden Fund» of Kalofer lace, established in 1999, but very poorly preserved so far. The original idea was to create a place to restore the long-interrupted bobbin lace knitting courses, while preserving and showing tourists and guests of the town this unique place and the specifics of lace, including the great historical significance, which it has for the development of Kalofer after the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.
Subsequently, the center acquired a completely different look, the exposures were increased and renewed. Old classic models find a place in the exhibition, along with specimens from other countries. The managers of the center often update the look of the halls and there is always something new and interesting that can be seen between the walls of the center. Donors make it possible to furnish the center in a specific style, suitable for exhibiting such examples of the lace art.
In less than a year, the souvenir shop in the center tripled the items offered and made a huge step towards online shopping. With the creation of the website,
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the creative center has the opportunity to sell the products of many artists, both from Kalofer and from all over the country. In the last year, the center has changed its appearance and with the idea to expand the opportunities for profit, a special corner was created, which offers hot and refreshing drinks. This additional activity provides to a large extent the activities that require more funds and do not have such a return.
At this stage of development of the creative center, exceptional opportunities for popularizing the lace art in our country stand out. Therefore, the team of the center is working on several ambitious projects to show something different to tourists visiting the town, as well as to support the development of textile art and in particular - the art of bobbin lace.
In the age of the Internet and constant communication, such a place, which finds it difficult to find funding from the state, must use all possible levers to fulfill its goals and mission. The team of the center, in addition to looking for audiences to visit the center and enjoy the magic of textile art, is also looking for all sorts of opportunities to promote the center and the art that can be seen inside. Digital marketing is a tool and a continuous process that can lead to new markets, new visitors and lovers of this interesting and living art.
Keywords: Kalofer, Bulgaria, Kalofer bobbin lace, digital marketing, art organization, crafts, culture management.
Аннотация. Несмотря на то, что Творческий центр Калоферского коклюшечного кружева - это не музей в прямом смысле слова, в нем тем не менее содержится несколько выставок, которые чрезвычайно интересны и новаторски для города. Эти выставки свидетельствуют об исторической значимости Калофера для истории Болгарии.
В открывшемся в 2018 году Творческом центре Калоферского коклюшечного кружева находится «Золотой фонд» калоферского кружева, созданный в 1999 году, но до сих пор находящийся в очень плохом состоянии. Первоначальная идея заключалась в том, чтобы создать место, где возабновилась бы работа по восстановлению забытых традиций плетения коклюшечного кружева, показывая туристам и гостям города это уникальное место и уникальное кружево, в том числе и говоря о том большом историческом значении, которое оно имеет для развития Калофера после освобождения Болгарии от османского владычества.
Впоследствии центр приобрел совершенно другой вид, экспозиции увеличивались и обновлялись. На выставке демонстрируются старые классические модели, а также образцы из других стран. Сотрудники центра часто обновляют внешний вид залов и всегда есть что-то новое и интересное, что можно увидеть в стенах центра. Благодаря попечителям есть возможность оформить центр в особом стиле, подходящем для демонстрации образцов разных видов кружевного искусства.
Менее чем за год сувенирный магазин в центре утроил количество предлагаемых товаров и сделал огромный шаг в сторону онлайн-покупок. Создав веб-сайт, у творческого центра появилась возможность продавать
работы многих художников, как из Калофера, так и со всей страны. В прошлом году центр изменил свой внешний вид и с целью расширения возможностей для получения прибыли был создан специальный уголок, где можно заказать горячие и освежающие напитки. Эта дополнительная деятельность требует больше средств и не приносит прибыли.
На данном этапе развития Творческого центра открываются исключительные возможности для популяризации кружевного искусства в нашей стране. Поэтому команда центра работает над несколькими амбициозными проектами, чтобы показать туристам, посещающим город, что-то необычное, а также поддержать развитие текстильного искусства и, в частности, искусства плетения коклюшечного кружева.
В век Интернета и постоянного общения такое учреждение, которому сложно найти финансирование со стороны государства, должно использовать все возможные рычаги для выполнения своих целей и миссии. Команда центра не только привлекает публику, которая посещает центр и наслаждается волшебством текстильного искусства, но и ищет разные возможности для продвижения центра и искусства, которое можно увидеть внутри. Цифровой маркетинг - это инструмент и непрерывный процесс, который может привести к новым рынкам, новым посетителям и любителям этого интересного и живого искусства.
Ключевые слова: Калофер, Болгария, калоферское коклюшечное кружево, цифровой маркетинг, организация в области искусства, промыслы, менеджмент культуры.
A brief retrospective of the development of Bobbin lace in Bulgaria and the
development of lace art in Kalofer
It is assumed that the first samples of bobbin lace in Kalofer were brought from Western Europe at the end of the XIX century, when the visible Europeanization of Bulgarian cities began. The beginning of the Kalofer tradition in bobbin lace knitting is considered to be the opening in 1910 of the only specialized school in Bulgaria for bobbin lace «Trudolyubie» [1].
In the period 1906-1913, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Education, free two-year courses for teachers of embroidery and lace were organized at the State School of Drawing in Sofia. In 1909 Donka Shipkova, sent by Kalofer, studied knitting on bobbin lace. After completing her studies, she became the first teacher at the Lace School in Kalofer [1].
«From the very beginning, Donka Shipkova began to develop models that differ from European models with their characteristic Bulgarian sound. She is entirely responsible for creating a sustainable style of bobbin lace in Kalofer. In a very short period of time, Donka Shipkova built a school in which products of comparable artistic value and quality are knitted with patterns made in countries with centuries-old traditions in bobbin lace knitting. The models created by her use floral motifs typical of Bulgarian nature - roses, tulips, carnations, sunflowers, wheat ears, oak leaves in many different variants. Images of people and animals
are not found in the Kalofer laces. Subsequently, some of the best students in the school began to create models» [1].
The creation of a sustainable style of the local bobbin lace and the formation of its name as Kalofer is entirely the merit of Donka Shipkova. Girls at school and many women outside of it learn to knit lace. They sell their products at home and abroad. Thus, lacemaking became a characteristic female livelihood for Kalofer, who brought relatively good incomes in the 1920s and 1930s. A women's labor cooperative was established to support the sale of lace [2].
Characteristic of Kalofer lace is its special compositional structure: light openwork, called «environment», is surrounded by dense elements and vice versa -the dense center is surrounded by loose peripheral parts. The solid part, filled with colorful motifs and small elements, as well as the various openwork parts, intertwine linearly with each other. The specific arrangement of the individual elements is achieved by connecting the large fields, interwoven with half a "sieve" cloak, to smaller decorative fields, by means of braids» [4] located motifs forming the overall composition of the product. The center and the sections between the main motifs are filled with various nets, which are most often a combination of chains and leaves. The pattern of the models is outlined with different types of canvases (smooth, different types of openwork, zigzag) and sieves, which in Kalofer have specific names that have survived to this day. Characteristic of Kalofer lace is that it is one color. It is knitted mainly with cotton threads in white and ecru. The products are mainly for the interior - napkins, tablecloths, tablecloths, lace for bed linen. It is less used in clothing - circuit boards, collars, cuffs» [1].
«In the development of Kalofer lace, as in any art, there are periods of prosperity and decline. In August 1935, the Lace School was closed and a lower Agricultural School was opened in its place. In the new school only two classes are preserved, in which the knitting of Kalofer lace is studied. Once they are closed, the making of lace is transferred entirely to the home. The ability to create and knit lace is passed from mother to daughter, from grandmother to granddaughter. The decline of lace production after the Second World War was particularly sharp, when all ties with Western markets were severed and this art was treated as a declining phenomenon» [3].
Gradually, bobbin lace is out of fashion, there is no demand and no longer brings good income, lacemaking remains the business of only the most zealous craftswomen. In the 1950s and 1960s, as well as in the 1980s, there were attempts to preserve the tradition by organizing training courses, but the results were very modest. In the 90s of the twentieth century, interest in bobbin lace began to revive through publications on how to knit lace and models for its manufacture, through organized courses and exhibitions [2].
Since 2000, on August 15, the day of the great Christian holiday -Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Feast of Kalofer Lace is held annually. The first holiday is attended by bobbin lace knitters from all over the country, as well as guests from England, Scotland and Belgium. A «Golden Fund»
of Kalofer lace has been created at the local community center, which collects its exhibits from donations from locals and participants in the holiday. The fund has over 100 arch. units and includes samples of Kalofer lace, models and tools, as well as photographs and written documents. In the following years, there was no particular initiative, thematic expansion of exhibitions, increasing the duration or enrichment of events to celebrate the holiday. The town still does not have a museum for permanent exhibits related to this essential part of the town's history
[4].
This situation ambitions the young team of the Community centre in Kalofer to direct their search in presenting the Kalofer lace not only as an intangible cultural heritage, but also its revival as a craft and livelihood. The main goal is the desire to bring lace out of the oblivion of modernity and to push it to a new period of rise, and in addition to preserving it for generations, it has become a livelihood for anyone who wants to dedicate themselves to it, seeing in it the only opportunity for sustainable development.
The above lays the foundation for the idea of creating the Creative Center of Kalofer Lace, which opens on August 15, 2018.
The town of Kalofer as a tourist center.
Kalofer is a town located in South-Central Bulgaria, on a communicative road, 160 km from the capital and only 60 km from the second largest city in Bulgaria - Plovdiv, which is also an extremely large cultural center, European Capital of Culture in 2019.
The town is the birthplace of the greatest poet and revolutionary in Bulgaria - Hristo Botev, who fought for the liberation of the country from Ottoman rule, which ended with the Russian-Turkish Liberation War in 1878. The history of the town and the revolutionary district in general attracts many Bulgarian and foreign tourists. Kalofer is at the foot of Stara Planina and is famous for several natural landmarks - the highest waterfall in Bulgaria, Central Balkan National Park and others, enabling mountain and eco-tourism.
All these features suggest the visit of many tourists, but still the infrastructure (including tourism) is not at a high level and is not well developed. The town has a National Museum named after Hristo Botev, which is the most visited site in it, but the museum itself is unfortunately moving too slowly towards its modern and contemporary management and development.
Despite the constant presence of bobbin lace as a textile art present in the history of the town, it is limited to poorly displayed and poorly studied by the local museum. The exposition in the museum is limited and the information provided is scarce.
All these factors should be taken into account when making development strategies and creating a mission and goals of the Kalofer Lace Creative Center, so that its development can go hand in hand with the development of lace textile art in Kalofer and in Bulgaria.
Development of the Creative Center of Kalofer Lace
In Bulgaria the financing and support of the Community centres happens on a specific principle. Quite often the Community centre is financed with projects (if there is available capacity of employees to prepare the projects), and the state supports only the «salary» fund with a certain number of employees for each center - usually 1 person. It is clear that there is no way to maintain such a place with this way of financing, so since the establishment of the center, various strategies have been developed to help this place be an attractive center for any audience and thus support itself.
In 2019/2020, during the development of my master's thesis, the main activities were identified, with which the center to develop and promote first among the local public, and subsequently among the guests of the city. For the local audience, the creative center should be a place where various initiatives and events of a cultural nature are often held, of course tied to the bobbin lace. Local audiences should know that the center presents in an innovative and interesting way part of the history of the city, which locals are proud of.
Over the years, bobbin lace knitting courses in the city have been held infrequently and without much success. A year before the establishment of the Creative Center, a lace knitting course was created again, which aroused serious interest in the local community, was attended by many interested people, who in turn gave a new impetus to the development of the art and art of lace knitting. The creation of new models was announced among the community.
The collaboration with other artists from Bulgaria and even from Europe was very important for the local community, who gave a serious request for the exchange of experience and opportunities for expression among local artists. For a small town like Kalofer, the information that the Community centre is creating a new creative center of lace, aroused initial strong interest from the local communities and resonated. In the first year of the center's establishment, the local audience attended events that had never happened before - large exhibitions of bobbin lace models, exhibitions of fine arts, theater productions, concerts, parades and more. All these activities attracted the local audience and introduced them to the activities of the center, as the team gave its request on how it wants to develop the center and its audiences.
For tourists visiting the city, the center is a new landmark that enriches their knowledge in historical terms, as the history of Kalofer lace is not widely known in our country. In addition, they are given the opportunity to touch the creation of specimens of lace, to understand how complex the process of weaving it, what cultural value it has and even to buy from it. The organization of exhibitions and other events attracted people to the lace, who encountered it for the first time and learned about its high and creative value.
For the categorical development and establishment of the creative center of Kalofer lace, first among the local community, and then in the search for audiences outside this community, it is necessary to categorically develop marketing and communication strategies. These strategies, in addition to attracting audiences,
must also offer consumers the opportunity to learn more about this art and to develop it together with the center, which is his home.
At the applications below you can see pictures of the centre now. (fig. 1, fig. 2, fig. 3).
Fig. 1. The Creative Centre 2018 and now Рис. 1. Творческий центр Калоферского коклюшечного кружева в 2018 году и сейчас
Fig. 2. The Centre before and now Рис. 2. Творческий центр до и после
Fig. 3. The new exhibitions Рис. 3. Новые выставки
Digital marketing and its application in the arts
Some of the definitions of marketing definitely apply to the business environment, but the arts, for their part, are already largely participants in and dependent on this business environment. Therefore, it is necessary to strongly use marketing strategies in the search and development of new audiences.
Definitions of marketing are given by a large number of specialists. In building our strategies, we read and focus on a few:
Philip Kotler: «Marketing is a business function that detects unmet needs and desires, determines and measures their size and potential profitability, identifies target markets that can be best served by the organization, makes decisions about products and programs appropriate for selected markets , and requires everyone in the organization to think about the customer and serve them ».
Peter Drucker: «The whole business in terms of its end result - the customer».
Chartered institute of Marketing: «Management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and meeting customer needs in a profitable way for the company»
Vasilena Valchanova: «Marketing can be any conscious action that the institution takes to create an attitude in the audience, which sooner or later lead to a profitable customer action».
In the environment in which we live, in the presence of all kinds of information in huge quantities, just at hand - in our phones, everyone is fighting for the attention of the user, regardless of his status. This requires a clear definition of target groups and target audiences to target our strategies. These audiences have already been discussed in my previous article - "Development and promotion of the Kalofer Lace Creative Center", published in the journal of the Academy in early 2021.
Definitions of digital marketing:
Digital marketing is a type of marketing that uses digital advertising channels for communication to distribute products and services to the widest possible audience in order to successfully promote the product. In this way a personal relationship with the client is built and an opportunity to gain the trust, patience and perseverance of the user. Digital marketing has many similarities to traditional marketing, but differs in that it is provided to an audience that uses digital technology. The term is a relatively new concept aimed at marketing and communication [5].
Some of the most popular types of digital marketing are:
Social media marketing
Email marketing
Content marketing or content marketing
Affiliate Marketing
Search Engine Marketing [5].
There are two main types of digital marketing strategies:
With PUSH digital marketing, there is a significant connection between the creators of the service / product and the customer. In this case, the marketer sends promotional messages to users via email, SMS or RSS. This digital form of marketing is extremely effective in sending and receiving direct messages. In this way the personal attention of the client is attracted. In PULL digital marketing, information and content are sought by the customer through websites, blogs and videos, after which the necessary offer for the needs of the market is prepared. This form of marketing is a kind of web-based method in
which there are no restrictions on the amount of content that will be presented to customers [5].
All these definitions give us the main direction in which we should take our marketing communications in order to gain the attention of our already targeted audience.
As many marketing theorists claim, the question of digital marketing is not whether it will happen, but when. According to most sources, it has already entered our lives, and this is happening even more strongly and significantly after the covid pandemic, which requires more and more digitalization in all aspects of our lives. This is a process that is irreversible and we cannot count on it to take a step back, but rather we need to interact and adapt, no matter how fast it develops.
For most of the cultural institutions in Bulgaria this is a real shock and challenge, because along with the unprepared staff, there is no desire on the part of the managers managing the institutions to define the marketing positions in their teams as managerial. This leads to the lowest level of digitalization of culture in our country.
In the Creative Center of Kalofer Lace, to a large extent, the activities that are set are carried out by non-profit volunteers. The development and popularization of the center as a cultural institution developing textile art and bobbin lace in Bulgaria is the main mission and we are gradually embarking on the search for audiences and the digital environment, which can always be transformed into visitors.
Creating a digital brand
Creative Center of Kalofer bobbin Lace has its own branding strategy, made since its inception. Specially created logo, visual concept and identity, branding of advertising materials and more. This is an extremely important element in highlighting the center among external audiences, which will visibly make a difference with the competitive environment. The imposition of the strategy from the very beginning predisposes only its development in the future among even larger audiences.
The digitalization of the Golden Fund of Kalofer Lace began in 2021 after winning a project from the National Fund of Culture to support cultural institutions that are not supported by the budget. The digitalization of the fund differs from the simple scanning of models and their uploading in the digital environment, and generally represents the processing of each model to be available in a quality image for subsequent detailed weaving: (Fig. 4).
The idea is that digital models should be available for free download and can be woven by anyone who has the ability to do so. In this way, the oldest models of Kalofer knitters will live a new life.
An important element of the creation of the digital brand is the creation of a website of the creative center: dantela.bg (fig. 5, 6).
In the digital environment, perseverance is important. The site is the communication center that provides a starting point for all subsequent content.
It sets the pattern of behavior in a digital environment. Even if it is not very modern, the consumer expects it to be always up to date, and if we cannot offer this, he can very easily refuse and turn to another offer.
Fig. 4. Digitalized model, scanned and digitally drawn Рис. 4. Оцифрованная модель кружевного изделия, отсканированная и нарисованная в
цифровом виде
Fig. 5. The main page of the site dantela.bg
Рис. 5. Новый сайт центра dantela.bg
Fig. 6. The e-shop, where everybody can buy lace Рис. 6. Новый онлайн-магазин, где можно приобрести кружевную продукцию
The website is important for several other reasons. Whatever the presence of the institution in social networks, for example, they are not our property, but someone else's and our presence there meets certain conditions and criteria. Managing the website and its location among search engines would require a reverse search - i.e. social networks mainly «advertise» our site, which in turn is always up to date and «ready» to use.
The last of the above types of digital marketing - the one for search engines - is seriously advocated here. To be useful in promoting art, the website must be designed and optimized to offer users the opportunity to interact with it when they search for something specific or something that is close to what we offer.
Search engine optimization goes through several important moments, as the site must offer specific tools and this should definitely be taken care of by a specialist. Important tools to work with are Google analytics, Google Marketing platform, Google ads and others.
Content marketing. Storytelling.
For me, definitely one of the most important aspects in preparing a marketing strategy in a digital environment is the content that is shared with audiences.
The Kalofer Lace Creative Center has a very solid historical foundation, which is absolutely sufficient to create impressive content. It, in turn, can reach different audiences in different ways and provide us with the necessary attention.
Content marketing is an approach that involves creating, organizing, distributing and enhancing content that is interesting, relevant and useful to a clearly defined audience. It is considered another form of journalism and publishing that creates deeper connections between brands and customers. Good content marketers provide customers with access to high-quality, original content while telling interesting stories about themselves. It shifts the role of marketers and turns them from promoters to storytellers...
... Content marketing is praised as the future of advertising in the digital economy. Internet connectivity allows consumers to talk and discover the truth about brands [6].
The historical basis on which the creation of the Creative Center is based and the fact that we want to promote this place among young and modern audiences leads us to create spectacular stories and share historical facts about the development of shuttle lace in our country, namely in Kalofer. Our target audience needs to understand why this is where this situation happened and why they need to visit this place, what they will get after visiting it...
An effective content marketing campaign requires professionals to select from external sources or create original content. You need to distribute it in the best way, through the best combination of channels. It must go through certain steps to be useful and effective:
- Goal setting - what we want to achieve with this campaign, how we will build the brand and how we will achieve growth in the metrics we set ourselves to monitor. The goals must follow the overall goals of the organization. [6]
In the creative center of Kalofer lace we follow the goals related to the brand - brand awareness, brand association, loyalty and more. Through them, we hope for more awareness and interest. When choosing this goal, the marketer must ensure that the content always corresponds to the nature of the organization. [6].
- Outlining the audience. Defining the audiences we need to focus on. Broad audiences should not be defined... They can be defined on the basis of geographical, demographic, psychographic or behavioral perimeter. Once the boundaries of the audience have been determined, its profile is outlined, which helps to define the need for specific content. Content should be created to help the audience realize their desires [6].
We have been working hard on this step in the creative center of Kalofer lace since 2018, as the audience interested in textile art in Bulgaria is very limited, so our goal is rather to bring to the fore the need to create new audiences to have an interest in the activity we have or at least part of the art. Of course, current audiences need to be developed and expanded by maintaining all existing strategies.
- Content design and planning. A combination of relevant topics appropriate formats and solid stories ensures a successful content campaign. It should be borne in mind that good content applies to the lives of customers, it must mean something to them so as not to be overlooked. It should help the audience to pursue their desires. Effective content has stories that reflect the symbols and codes of the brand. This requires deep thinking about the brand's mission and what it symbolizes beyond value propositions. Formats: press releases, articles, newsletters, books, catalogs, infographics, comics, presentations, games, videos, short films. According to Google - 90% of all media interactions today are on screen, which is a clear enough indication that you need to ensure visibility and accessibility of content in this way through various tools.
Comprehensive narrative of content marketing - episodic type of marketing with various short stories part of an overall storyline.
- Content creation - high quality, original, rich, intriguing. The creators of such content adhere to high standards and integrity. They should not be biased. A continuous process that at the same time takes a lot of time and effort [6: 150].
- Distribution of content. High quality content is useless if it is not targeted properly. 3 main distribution channels - own, paid and earned media. When the quality of the content is very high, the audience is motivated to make it «viral» wherever possible and thus the most effective and sought-after organic advertising [6, p. 152].
- Content Enhancement - How we plan to take advantage of content and interact with customers. Create conversations about content. Using influential people to distribute content.
- Content Marketing Evaluation: How successful was the campaign?
- Campaign metrics, achieving overall goals.
- Improving Content Marketing: Changing the Topic, Improving Content, Improving Distribution [6, p. 146].
On figure 5 there is a picture in our website, which provides the idea behind the visual content marketing - the good pictures.
Marketing and communications on social networks
It would be unserious to overlook the opportunities that social networks offer today. Their rapid development should be a signal to us that we must always be up to date with change and the new in order to increase interest and consumer demand.
In short, it is necessary for the specialists who take care of the maintenance of social networks to be absolutely aware of the goals and mission of the organization and to present their messages in a way to attract new audiences and support existing followers.
Social media marketing is the use of social media and platforms to connect and communicate with audiences to build a brand, increase sales or provide traffic to the institution's website.
This includes posting good content on social media profiles, listening to opinions and engaging with your followers, analyzing results and conducting advertising campaigns on social media.
Again, when creating a marketing strategy for social media and media, we need to segment the audiences we want to attract, configure the missions and goals we want to achieve, and then start creating content to distribute. An analysis and evaluation of the results is always needed after the end of certain campaigns.
Posting information on social networks should not be frivolous. It is necessary to do research on what kind of audience we will reach with the current algorithms in which social networks work and to assess if we want to invest in advertising whether our investment will lead to achieving the goals we have set.
Kalofer Lace Creative Center maintains several profiles on social networks. We first started working with Facebook, then with Instagram and Youtube. In 2021, the official website of the Creative Center was created, which will be the main source of content to be shared, and the idea is for social networks to maintain and publish some of the content. The center's Youtube channel has already uploaded short videos on how to knit shuttle lace, the Facebook page reaches the majority of fans and users of the center, and the Instagram page will mainly support the younger audience by sharing photos. content and guidelines for purchasing certain items.
The website www.dantela.bg
In 2021, after winning a project of the National Culture Fund, Kalofer Lace Creative Center had the opportunity to build its own web portal, which in addition to providing information to consumers where we are and what we do, can also provide access to articles, which are offered in the creative center to a wider audience. This is already happening through the online store that has been developed for the website. The site digitally promotes the art of shuttle lace
knitting to visitors who do not have the opportunity to visit Kalofer, but can greatly arouse their interest in doing so.
In line with the latest museum trends, the site also offers a 360 - degree digital tour of the premises and exhibitions in the center, so that we can even remotely provoke consumer interest and demand.
Proceeds from the online store go to the maintenance of the physical store and building and to the improvement of everything that happens in the center. Of course, they also bring profit to artists who have decided to create at the center and promote their art through it.
SEO (search engine optimization) is used for better placement of the site, and specific criteria and keywords are set according to which the site should be offered to a special segment of Internet users.
Consumer experience
Once the site and profiles are created in all types of social networks in which we plan to work, after the tools are built and prepared to process and receive our feedback, we must take care of our behavior in the digital environment.
Our main goal is to create a user experience that will leave good taste in visitors and art lovers, which takes place in the Creative Center of Kalofer Lace, whether they trusted us through their screens or visited us on site. At the heart of digital marketing is the study of consumer behavior. All users have digital behavior. They self-segment as people with a certain pattern of behavior and specific interests. The goal is to reach these users in the best possible way and meet their needs by using digital channels.
Here is the distinction between digital marketing and the positioning of cultural products. This can be a problem in some areas, especially when our marketing strategy efforts are not focused on the right audience. We often have to answer the question «How can I tell someone that they need to 'buy' culture or art?» There is probably no specific answer to this question. Offering art must be no worse than all the other "products" we are persuaded to buy, it just has added value that is often realized long after the acquisition of an object.
Digital approach:
- Study: Formulation of a hypothesis based on our knowledge so far
- Building: Creating a marketing activity to test the hypothesis
- We build an approach to see if the idea works
- We measure the achieved results
- We analyze and compare the results with the set goals
- We learn more about our audiences
- Successful experiments are included in the basic strategy, and unsuccessful ones provide experience and knowledge
This approach provides information and opportunities for the correct positioning of cultural products in the digital environment, as no one can answer categorically on a case-by-case basis what should be the approach when developing digital marketing strategies.
The need to develop marketing strategies for the digital environment did not arise with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it greatly increased the need to properly deliver digital marketing strategies everywhere. With the development of new technologies we are entering a new environment to which we must constantly adapt. Art and culture, museums and galleries must not lag behind innovations in the digital environment, otherwise they will become invisible to their audiences. In Bulgaria, according to various studies, the performing arts are the most digitalized, and museums and galleries are in one of the last positions of digitalization. Digitalisation will not rob the cultural sector, but can be a tool to provide a physical audience. It is possible that in most cases there is a fear in cultural circles of digital robbery of artists, but if we look at digitalization in terms of audience development, I am sure that much more will be achieved for the development of these arts.
Литература
1. Величкова Е. Возникновение и развитие коклюшечного кружево в Болгарии // Традиционное прикладное искусство и образование: исторический опыт, современное состояние, перспективы развития: Материалы XVII научно-практической конференции 2-3 ноября 2011г. Санкт-Петербург: Высшая школа народных искусств, 2012. С. 302-310.
2. Величкова Э. Болгарские корни - кто учит, кто создает и использует коклюшечное кружево, электронный каталог «Кто создает и кто использует кружево». - София, 2019. - 120 с.
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5. Писанчева Б. Кружево: культурные технологии и социальные практики: диссертация на сосикание ученой степени доктора искусствоведения. - Софийский университет Св. Климента Охридского, София, 2021. - 320 с.
6. Цифровой маркетинг: Элекронный ресурс. - URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_marketing (дата обращения: 20.09.2021).
References
1. Velichkova E. Vozniknovenie i razvitie koklyushechnogo kruzhevo v Bolgarii // Tradicionnoe prikladnoe iskusstvo i obrazovanie: istoricheskij opyt, sovremennoe sostoyanie, perspektivy razvitiya: Materialy HVII nauchno-prakticheskoj konferencii 2-3 noyabrya 2011g. Sankt-Peterburg: Vysshaya shkola narodnyh iskusstv, 2012. - S. 302-310.
2. Velichkova E. Bolgarskie korni - kto uchit, kto sozdaet i ispol'zuet koklyushechnoe kruzhevo, elektronnyj katalog «Kto sozdaet i kto ispol'zuet kruzhevo». - Sofiya, 2019. - 120 s.
3. Kotler F., Kartadzhajya H., Setifvan A. Marketing 4.0. Ot tradicionnogo k cifrovomu. Tekhnologii prodvizheniya. - Sofia: Locus Publishing, 2019. - 115 s.
4. Nikolova, A. Narodnye promysly - proshloe, nastoyashchee, budushchee. Bolgariya: Efir, 2007. - 215 s.
5. Pisancheva B. Kruzhevo: kul'turnye tekhnologii i social'nye praktiki: dissertaciya na sosikanie uchenoj stepeni doktora iskusstvovedeniya. - Sofijskij universitet Sv. Klimenta Ohridskogo, Sofiya, 2021. - 320 s.
6. Cifrovoj marketing: Elekronnyj resurs. - URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_marketing (data obrashcheniya: 20.09.2021).