Tanglewood

Remember When Communities Cared

By Mickey Friedman
August 25, 2011

It’s been the best and worst of times for Lenox. Smidley, Crump and Crump’s innovative ad campaign: “Lennoxx: We’re More Than We Were; We’re More Than You Expect; And We’re More Than You Imagine” has borne fruit more quickly than some expected. A recent trip to Bean There, Lenox’s upscale coffee shop, found Town Manager Hartley Happ sharing details with doubter Ralph Spitster, owner of “Gazelles & More Gazelles,” the exclusive Church Street gallery.

The Old Lenox - Before Smidley, Crump & Crump's innovative "Lennoxx" Re-Branding Campaign

“We’ve had seventeen more tourists last week than the same time last year. And even though none of them bought a gazelle,” Happ explained, “the word is that six of them had lunch at Strudel, four bought kites at Flight, three spent the afternoon drinking at The Tavern, while only four of them ended up here accidentally. Abigail Starkfield-Crump told me they went the wrong way on the Turnpike. They were looking for Ye Olde Sturbridge and left in a huff without spending a cent.”

Spitster sneered: “Ye Olde, my ass. Sturbridge charges twenty bucks for their phony blacksmith, and their gristmill was built in 1937. As for Crump and Crump’s eighty grand for an extra n and an extra x …”

“Nobody said rebranding was easy,” Hartley Happ countered. “But we were on a roll, Ralph, until the dead dentist fiasco. Unfortunately I’ve been so busy with Smidley, Crump and Crump, I didn’t get a chance to do damage control.”

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Lennoxx: More & More & More

Editor’s Note: This is the story here in the Berkshires that will not die. A small town with big dreams, Lenox MA,, the summer home of the Boston Symphony’s Tanglewood, has once again looked to a big city for aid. The town has hired a New York City ad firm, Bodden Hamilton, to manage a campaign to attract tourists. It’s proposed “Lenoxology” campaign has split the town, and prompted Red Crow’s Mickey Friedman to imagine other possibilities.

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Mickey Friedman
July 30, 2011

No one was more surprised than I was by all the criticism.

If ever there was a smart and snappy campaign, it was Smidley, Crump and Crump’s “Lennoxx: We’re More Than We Were; We’re More Than You Expect; And We’re More Than You Imagine.”

I ran into Abigail Starkfield-Crump of the New York, N.Y., advertising firm that’s at the helm of the new $90,000 ad effort at Bean There, Lenox’s upscale coffee shop. Waiting to grab a mocha-soy-double-decaf latte-to-go before the big meeting, she was confronted by some irate locals. She tried to reassure the doubters: “Please remember, the message is the message. Trust me, we’ve known that in New York for quite a while.”

Starkfield-Crump, ever-patient, offered an impromptu lesson in the fundamentals of contemporary ad campaigns. “Quite frankly, the fact that so many of you think it doesn’t work, is an indication of precisely how well it’s working. If insiders are upset, that hardly matters. We don’t need you. You’re already here. It’s the outsiders we care about. They’re there, not here. The more you complain, the more people want to know what you’re complaining about. And, Lennoxx, we’re quickly becoming the about!”

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More For Mozart

For many, many years classical music lovers knew one of the best bargains could be found on Saturday morning during the Tanglewood season: the open rehearsals. Not only could you watch and listen to Sunday’s performance being shaped, but you could save a lot of money and get great seats in the shed.

Tanglewood Shed – Photo © Stu Rosner

Of course, during the years, the word got out and you had to get there ever more early. And if you wanted the best of the seats up front you had to be prepared for a minor sprint.

Well, Tanglewood just announced the end of those days. No more open seating. And with its new numbered reserved seats system, a raise in ticket prices. Clarence Fanto announced the sad news in Thursday’s Berkshire Eagle:

Starting on Saturday, July 9, die-hard aficionados of open rehearsals will have to go the route of buying tickets in advance or at the gate for a reserved seat — just like a regular concert.

They’ll also pay more this summer: $30 for seats up front in the Shed, $20 for the back sections, and $10 for a spot on the lawn.

Say a fond farewell to the $17 open rehearsal ticket.

Click here to read the entire article.

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An online newsmagazine based in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, Red Crow News covers what's happening and what we hope will happen.

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