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It?s all about connections. That?s definitely the theme at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in January each year when the city?s traditional music festival brings artists from the Celtic diasporas (ancient and modern) together for Celtic Connections, writes Jane Donald.

In its first year the festival had its critics who predicted failure, but ten years on they have been proved wrong and indeed many of them are established allies and friends. From its humble beginnings ? and long before Festival Director Colin Hynd entered The Scotsman?s list of ?Scots Shaping World Culture? ? the festival has grown from a single venue event to a network of performances by an impressive array of international artists in twelve venues across the city.

But how is it all marketed? The answer is more connections. The marketing also started from lowly beginnings: personal contacts and word-of-mouth but good performances with friendly press coverage formed an important basis for what is now considered a tradition ? a part of the annual calendar for Celtic artists to exchange ideas, form new associations and plan future events. The marketing team has taken the line that preserving all this and the spirit behind it is critical. Connections and networks are part of the characteristic nature of the product. But to grow the audience, develop and maintain sponsorship and become a welcome and significant element of Glasgow?s image, a considered, comprehensive and professional marketing strategy was necessary.

Each year goals and strategy are subjected to review and refinement. They are developed and implemented through an integrated approach involving the artistic, education and marketing functions of the hall. In 1996 Simon Drysdale arrived as Head of Sales and Marketing and brought a new vision to the marketing of the hall in general, into which Celtic Connections fits. He created a new structure: the arts department handles programming, budgeting and educational outreach. Sponsorship, vital to this event where the central support from our principal sponsor Clerical Medical needs to be supplemented by a complementary list of appropriate benefactors, is within marketing as a specialised function. And the marketing team has to support these activities with media and marketing strategies and campaigns (both traditional and new).

Part of the original remit was to sell the concert hall out of season. Post-Christmas was a flat spot for Glasgow ticket sales and the city was not the most obvious tourist destination at that time of year. In fact, the availability of artists, venues and accommodation made our success possible. This year we extended our co-ordinated effort with the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board to jointly target North America. We have successfully co-ordinated our media relations with our marketing, promotions and performances. We have formal media partners who work with us in several ways by sharing print costs, getting discounted advertising and jointly promoting strands of programming: new music and ?the young tradition? performers are the most obvious examples. Our media coverage has been impressive with significant numbers of local, national and international journalists accredited. This year our post-event media analysis showed that we had obtained placements well beyond the core arts coverage. We were mentioned in letters, travel supplements, news and even featured in a newspaper cartoon!

Celtic Connections is a base from which to nurture the interest in traditional music in Glasgow and Scotland. Throughout the year our education programme promotes folk and Celtic music and a reciprocal relationship has been created between it and the festival: many regional educational institutions participate in both. So connections and co-ordination inside and outside of the hall is the business of PR and marketing. We continue to develop a virtuous circle which draws audiences, attracts artists, satisfies sponsors, stimulates the local economy and interests the media.

Jane Donald is the Senior PR and Marketing Officer at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. t: 0141 353 8016; e: janedonald@grch.com; w: http://www.celticconnections.co.uk