Beating the bushes to figure out how to promote Canadian art

Starting from a position so far in the rear of most G8 or even many G20 countries in terms of cultural influence (especially visual art), Canadians need to look for ways to jump up the stairway two steps at a time, if not faster. We need to build followings, we need to create buzz, we need to extend our reach and so forth. One way to build up a following of course is to start a Facebook group. This is something we have done just recently.

Initially Canada was one of the more connected countries on the internet. I have heard that, of late, our leadership position has weakened quite a bit.

However, this is something that can be corrected, at least as long as Canada remains in a position of some economic advantage in comparison to the vast majority of countries in the world.

In terms of visual art, it just so happens that most of the countries that are head and shoulders beyond us in terms of influence and prestige, are also the ones that are pretty much on a par with us economically, such as Germany, the U.S., France and the U.K.

We can look for advantages to exploit... for example, one advantage is that we speak English in Canada. This gives us a built in marketing advantage, even though most "competitors" in non-English speaking countries strive to master their English and are very often successful in impressive fashion. In addition to this, a lot of Canadians also speak French - so that could be another advantage to explore.

But what else is there?

OK, let's try to make a list:

* we have access to a "little pond"; beginning Canadian art marketers can test the waters in the smaller Canadian market
* we are close to the U.S. and have other commonalities
* we are very diverse culturally and ethnically
* there are no dominant, overbearing powers in Canadian art overshadowing everything else
* or... you almost have the Jamaican Bobsled phenomenon in Canadian visual art
* apart from that, I'm not sure, but I guess one of the keys would be to use all of these angles to best advantage by applying social networking and other web techniques

Anyway, this is the assignment in a nutshell.