Four of the main Mad Men characters—Don, Betty, Roger, and Joan—are set to be released as versions of Barbie & Ken dolls.  (Ok, they’re not really action figures in the usual sense, but fans of the show know how much “action” these four get so I couldn’t resist.)

In a New York Times interview Kevin Beggs, president of Mad Men‘s production studio Lionsgate, said that several “nontraditional” marketing methods were being used to increase the show’s audience.  Besides the Mattel dolls, other licensing agreements have been struck with clothiers Brooks Brothers and Banana Republic.

Your art may not quite have the audience of Mad Men devotees—if it does, we so need to talk—and dolls might not be the best fit for your product licensing.  But this story is another reminder of how important it is to explore and experiment with as many different marketing methods as you can.

In addition to marketing methods that simply attract people’s attention, the show’s producers are creating and delivering more of the show’s value.  The more ways an audience can connect with the value they cherish in your art—be it a sculpture, play, feature film, or TV show—the more opportunities you have to profit from it.

Story & photo via the New York Times.

According to projections by arstechnica.com, 2010 is the first year that more people in the US will buy their music digitally rather than physically.  Globally, this same shift is expected in 2016.  Make no mistake, we’re still buying music; what’s changing is how it’s delivered.  People still want to have real-time voice conversations with geographically-diverse people, but now we use our cell phones instead of our home phones.  People still want to be entertained by movies and shows, but we’re more frequently using our computers to watch them instead of using movie theatres, video stores, and cable boxes.  Don’t confuse content generation with content delivery.

THE BOTTOM LINE – Your audience will pay for content it values, no matter how it’s delivered

According to a survey recently released by the National Endowment for the Arts, the number of US adults attending an arts performance dropped to nearly 35% in 2008 from 40% in 1982, 1992, and 2002.  At the same time, more Americans viewed or listened to broadcasts and recordings of arts events than attended them live (live theater being the sole exception).  Needless to say, the dynamics and demographics of arts audiences are in flux.  Movie actress Scarlett Johansson is set to star in an upcoming Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge and producers plan to offer discounted balcony seats to Ms. Johansson’s younger fans attracted to the show via their Facebook and Twitter outreach pages.

THE BOTTOM LINE – How are you addressing the changes in your audience?