Uncanny Valley – why clowns are scary

Coulrophobia – the medical term for fear of clowns – is quite common, although not always a pathological fear, you sense they are creepy. Well it turns out that there is a good reason for this. While psychologists think it stems from their transgressive behaviour (unpredictable and antisocial), neurobiology has a different take and is […]

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The press is dead, long live the press!

“It’s not a good time to be talking about press and public relations” says Heather Maitland in the opening salvo of the latest JAM(1), but then goes on to do just that. And quite rightly too. The problem it seems is over saturation (read competition) and it has always been thus: proprietors were complaining of […]

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Magnificent Maps at The British Library

A new, free, exhibition opens on April 30th at The British Library called Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda and Art, running until September 19th, it brings together some of the most impressive wall maps ever created – some of which have never been exhibited before. Why are maps so fascinating? I just find myself being able […]

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JAM today, jam tomorrow

If you are not a member of the Arts Marketing Association, you really should be. The latest issue of JAM (their magazine) focusses on customer development and includes excellent articles by Heather Maitland (looking at research tells about audience loyalty; Katy Raines on how assessing audience loyalty is essential (as she says “do the maths” […]

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