Where is arts marketing going, and how can the presenting field lead the way?   That question and more were addressed during one of the numerous informative super sessions and burning issues forums held during the 51st Annual Members Conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters that took place in New York City, Jan. 11-15.  The session was directed primarily towards toward those who market larger performing arts and cultural centers, many associated with colleges and universities. However, much of the presentation is pertinent for those promoting smaller venues and coffeehouses, house concerts, folk music societies and festivals – including the notion that personal referrals and social networking are key to building audiences.

During an hour-long session entitled “Rising to the Challenge: The Future of Arts Marketing,” Alan Brown, a principal with WolfBrown, encouraged his audience to suspend the present for a moment and join him in envisioning a future in which the following 12 ideas have become reality:

  1. Collaborative marketing and audience development efforts (including the sharing of mailing lists, calendars and prospects).  Maintaining that “supply can create demand,” Brown encouraged presenters to “share the work we’re doing to promote artists with other presenters.”
  2. Every marketing director has the support of a coach, and every coach has a coach – to harness our skills to benefit others.
  3. Audiences are offered several ways to relate to us, and we let them choose.  Brown mentioned ideas like rewarding people for bringing their friends and attending frequently.
  4. We are expert facilitators of social experiences.  Brown believes that “the lack of social context is the greatest barrier to arts attendance.”  He also urged presenters to adapt to online social networks.  “The biggest opportunity facing us as a field is to harness social networking on to our Web sites” he said, advising people to post links to online groups.  “We have the technology; we need to use it.”
  5. When asked about the success of our programs, we talk about impact instead of attendance.  Brown said presenters ought to think about the intrinsic value of live performances and how they make people better human beings.  He recently directed a research study, commissioned by the Major University Presenters consortium, measuring the intrinsic impacts of live performances.
  6. Engagement, enrichment, enhancement.  Engagement is not just an educational add-on, but an institutional philosophy and a retention strategy for every ticket buyer.  “This is why the marketing message is so strategic,” said Brown, “and marketing managers should see the shows that they are promoting so that they can talk about them intelligently.”
  7. Our customers tell us about their lifestyles, preferences, and attitudes about art, and we use that information to make highly personalized (relevant) offers (by knowing who in our audiences is interested in what).  “Your customers will tell you about themselves if you ask them nicely,” said Brown.  “It’s the marketing database of the future.”
  8. Everyone who opens your brochure, or who lands on your website, is provided with suggestions and recommendations.  Citing what he called “the current glut of choices and overload that makes it difficult for people to navigate,” Brown believes that people need relevant, nuanced, interest-based information about the programs in which they are interested and urged the use of target marketing.
  9. Overzealous graphic designers aren’t re-branding us every season.
  10. We have a great system for sharing lessons learned, and for sharing our own creative capital. “We need a way to share, harness and unleash our combined intellectual knowledge and best practices in so many areas,” maintains Brown.
  11. Every arts group has access to the best available ticketing and database software, for the cost of training and maintenance.  Brown considers technology to be a barrier between art and people today.
  12. The lines between marketing and programming have dissolved.  “We need to get into a mindset that information about our audiences is our friend, it’s not threatening,” said Brown.  “You need to have a profound understanding of how your audience befits from your programs and what they value.” 

Asserting that personal referrals and social networking are key to maintaining and building audiences, Brown said “We gotta believe that things gotta change and stop accepting the status quo.”

During a question and answer period following his formal presentation, Brown acknowledged that ticket pricing is a big issue facing presenters.  He cited examples of peer-to-peer marketing and encouraged presenters to adopt “bring a friend” ticket programs, as well as offering responders opportunities to opt in to social networking groups.  “You have to let go of the glue that holds the groups together,” he advised, “and activate people in your audience to be resellers for your programs through peer-to-peer social networks.”  Noting that surveys repeatedly reveal the value of word-of-mouth or buzz marketing, Brown said “It cuts through the clutter and gives people a concrete recommendation that they can say yes or no to.”