Love Mondays

While some may think a charity can provide a relaxed environment, a Monday is a Monday in any office. As I stroll in during the middle of the day, I am welcomed by an opera rehearsal and the wind produced by the manager as she breezes past me on her way to meet a flyer deadline. After she catches her breath, she informs me that today is scheduling day. She works backwards as she gives me the dates and deadlines for copy, programming, designing, printing and stuffing. My head is spinning. Not only am I filling in dates for the whole year, I wonder how she can keep sane remembering all these dates. Each month, no, each WEEK has about 5-10 deadlines for flyers, the main source of information for Lauderdale House audience. These are professionally and neatly designed and sent out to a specific mailing list. However the effort it takes to make these paper wonders, make me wonder: Is there a better and less chaotic way? As I enter dates and deadlines, making names bold and specifying months and tasks, I slowly become inspired to write down a section to cover and analyze in my final project: marketing strategy. According to the Cashman (2004) in his contribution the Arts and Marketing Association, tactical planning is the first step to a successful marketing or communication campaign. Although the general manager doesn't have a "specific" campaign, the goal of her planning is to inform and attract the public. Therefore, while her day planner may seem overwhelming to the naked eye, it is actual a tactical plan in the works.

Cashman,S., 2004. 'Wot's All this Then?'. JAM, [Online]. 14, p.4-7. Available at: http://www.a-m-a.org.uk/publications_detail.asp?id=93 [Accessed 2 November 2009].