Workshop offers advice on strategy, legal issues
Wanda Miglus has spent 10 years designing a proprietary fabric that morphs from one pattern to another, depending on the angle at which it’s viewed.
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Last year, she incorporated Miglus Design to formalize the part-time work she’s put into marketing and commercializing the product and market.
Miglus spoke of her struggles and success as a designer turned business owner at a recent licensing, marketing and branding workshop for artists and arts organizations at Providence College.
The program was organized by the Arts & Business Council of Rhode Island as part of the National Arts Marketing Project, which is sponsored nationally by American Express.
“One of the things I’ve learned in this process is that developing a licensed product takes one to two years to bring to market,” said Miglus, whose office is in Providence “It’s a risk for the manufacturer. It’s not yet a sold product, so they’re going to fulfill other orders first.”
Miglus advised the artists and organizations to seek professional training and to network with entrepreneurs outside the arts to improve their business mindsets. “It gets you prepared with the insider’s language so you know what to ask attorneys and investors,” she said.
Valerie Tutson, a professional storyteller and executive director of the Rhode Island Black Storytellers, said she appreciated the combined the arts and business perspectives, because artists don’t always understand the legalities or the language of doing business.
Tutson particularly enjoyed a workshop on branding: “One of the things we’ve been focusing on is how to get more well known.”
The mission of her nonprofit is to promote awareness of black storytelling through its annual Funda Fest. But to effectively communicate that message, she said, the nonprofit needs to settle such little issues as the name by which it wants to be known.
Some know the group as the Rhode Island Black Storytellers, others as RIBS. “It would be nice if, when people heard RIBS, they didn’t think of barbecue,” Tutson said.
Getting everyone on the same page when projecting an organization’s image is half the battle, said Deborah Obalil, executive director of the Providence-based Alliance of Artists Communities, and a speaker at the seminar.
“Consistency is one of the biggest pieces of branding,” said Obalil, who also ran the Arts Marketing Center in Chicago for three years. “Repetition is key to planting an idea in the consumers minds … be clear, be brief.”
Branding is particularly challenging for arts organizations, she said, “because so much of what they offer is an intangible product.” Often, the one thing they can control is the way they represent themselves when they’re in direct contact with consumers.
Cathy Levesque-Gilbert, marketing and sales director for the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket, said the branding workshop made her realize “I’m not just selling a seat in the theater – I’m selling the entire experience.”
That includes interaction with the doorman, the usher and the box-office personnel, the appearance of the lobby, even restaurant suggestions to patrons.
“Branding lives in the mind of the consumer,” Obalil said. “It is their perspective of what you do. With every contact point, you shape what it is they have in their minds.”
Lara Sebastian, producer of the Cranston-based TV show “What’s Hot New England” on WLWC-TV UPN, in Providence, said learning how to keep an image in viewers’ minds was useful to her. The show, highlighting restaurants, activities and travel spots in New England, is in its second year.
Copyrighting is simpler than the trademark process, because it doesn’t require dealing with the federal government, said Amy Spagnole, a lawyer with Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, who ran the licensing workshop.
Trademarking worked its way into Miglus’ speech as well, because it pertains to her licensing negotiations with companies that want to use her textile technology.
“I still have full ownership of the technology,” she said. “But they have to use my brand and trademark. They have to make it clear it’s branded. It has its own logo, which is shown on tags on the end product.”
Miglus said a European automobile maker is interested in her product for upholstery, and she is working with some U.S. manufacturers to develop a line for commercial and residential furniture. She is also pursuing the fashion industry.
