Posts filed under ‘Arts Marketing’
If we’re going to f$#@ subscribers, we should tell them we love them first …
Thomas Cott brought this to my attention an Interview with Michael Ritchie Artistic Director of the Centre Theatre Group in LA by Theresa Rebeck on HowlRound.
He shares his perspective as a producer to a variety of marketing issues such as subscriptions, memberships, pricing and discounting. The programming focus makes for interesting (if not colourful) reading:
“… fuck subscribers. I’m so tired of subscribers. They drive me nuts; they’re strangling me; I hate them. I don’t care how good they are; I don’t care how much money they bring in. Fuck subscribers! And someone there at the table said well if we’re going to fuck them we should tell them we love them first, and we should figure out a way that we can fuck them but they stay anyway. How could we have it all?“
7 July, 2011 at 5:04 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Tools and tips for assessing the impacts of arts programs
Intrinsic Impact has been launched by WolfBrown as a free resource for arts managers, board members, students and others who work in the cultural sector. The site aims to change the conversation about the benefits of arts participation, disseminate up-to-date information on emerging practices in impact assessment, and encourage cultural organizations to embrace impact assessment as standard operating practice.
“How are people transformed by arts and cultural experiences? This question cuts to the core of both policy and practice in the cultural sector. Yet, aside from talking to audience members at intermission or watching visitors as they move through an exhibition at a museum, the sector lacks an established means of assessing non-financial outcomes.“
“While much has been written about the economic, social and other instrumental benefits of arts programs (i.e., the arts as an instrument of achieving some other end), the intrinsic benefits of cultural programmes have not been investigated with much regularity. One might argue, however, that without intrinsic impact, other benefits cannot occur. In other words, if the experience itself is unremarkable and does not create meaning, it is quickly forgotten and little benefit accrues.“
“We assume that audiences and visitors are different, somehow, after an arts program than they were when they first walked in the door. But, how are they different? Is it possible to measure what happens to people in their seats in a theatre or concert hall, or as they stroll through a museum or gallery? Do different kinds of cultural experiences create different impacts?“
“The answers to these questions could shed new light on how arts and cultural organizations create public value, and could profoundly influence both policy and practice.“
The Australia Council for the Arts has also explored the issue of Artsistic Vibrancy with the assistance of WolfBrown.
5 July, 2011 at 11:24 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
To Groupon or not to Groupon …
That is the question!
I would suggest that the challenge for the arts (in particular) is not attract audiences once – but to get them to reattend, let alone with frequency.
“It is a great way to get people in to try your arena,” says Chad Nason, a Groupon spokesman.
Yes discounting can be one way to encourage trial, but the real risk is discounting the perceived value.
“… the burden is on us to put the best deal out there for places that people will go back to for full prices,” says Chad Nason, a Groupon spokesman. That seems an unwinnable challenge to me for a discounter?
The opportunity cost is significant “You are only making 25 percent of the full-ticket price,” says Melissa Grande, director of marketing for Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre.
But beyond the size of the discount, the major handicap to the audience development potential of Groupon and similar discount schemes is that they do not provide the names and contact details of purchasers who redeem the offer. So, there is no way to continue (or even) start to engage with these first time attendees attracted by the discount and build an ongoing relationship.
Read more about Groupon in Can group coupons deliver what cultural groups want most: Repeat customers and revenue?
20 June, 2011 at 1:08 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
The Tangled Web that Social Media Weaves
Theatre Bay Area commissioned Devon Smith of 24 Useable Hours (now Threespot in Washington, DC) to conduct a Social Media Audit of the arts and cultural sector.
The results have just been published and provide a valuable insight into a rapidly evolving area that seems to be characterised by enthusiastic adopters and sceptical recalcitrants, and little in between.
The study looks at 207 cultural organisations using over 20 networking platforms. I am not sure how internationally representative the sample is, but it does include a sprinkling of non-US organisations.
Two interesting top line findings are:
- The average arts organisation is active on 3 social networks (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) and uploads 66 new pieces of content each month.
- Facebook Pages that are updated multiple times per day, use a customized URL and feature a custom Welcome tab have more fans, who interact with the page more often, than those who do not.
The full report is available online here: “The Tangled Web: Social Media in the Arts”
It is well worth a read.
16 June, 2011 at 2:07 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Emerging practice shared with you from Chicago
I recently attended the annual CultureLab meeting in Chicago and as part of the meeting of cultural consultants, funders and practitioners. The second day consisted of a variety of international best practice case studies ranging from Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago to Malmö Opera in Sweden.
The presentations are available online at the CultureLab Emerging Practice Seminar
CultureLab’s Emerging Practice Seminar is a concerted effort to bring forward promising new practices in the cultural sector and transmit them to the field.
Each year, two practice areas are selected that represent important developments for the arts field. The 2011 seminar focused on:
- Uses of technology in audience engagement
- Revenue management and dynamic pricing
The discussion of each topic featured several case studies drawn from arts organizations from USA to Sweden, and Australia and New Zealand in between.
13 May, 2011 at 11:54 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
It’s OK to not like the Arts
A lot of interesting debate on audience development has come out of the UK recently preceding and following the recent funding cuts to the arts. Interesting pasages in the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee minutes and report on Funding of the arts and heritage.
The Director of the Theatre Royal, Danny Moar suggests that from his experience of dealing with the Arts Council he thought they had their priorities wrong:
“What I was struck by was the remorseless and obsessive preoccupation with what they would call audience development, which basically means making people who aren’t fundamentally interested in the theatre, come and see your show by any means possible. I think one of the real problems of the funding system in this country is that the system finds it very hard to accept that it’s okay not to like the arts. It’s okay not to like the theatre, it’s okay not to like music. All these things are fine, and it’s a testament to human diversity that some people like the theatre and some people don’t. I think that’s what the funding system has spent so much time doing, chasing after new audiences who, for perfectly legitimate reasons, are just not interested.”
19 April, 2011 at 1:50 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 1 comment
Forget new young audiences, we may be better off with the current oldies?
The Economist addresses the realities of changing media consumption in Peggy Sue got old.
Maybe the arts should take a cue from the media industry and focus on where it may have the most likely success now and into the future?
“media consumers are ageing even more quickly than the overall population. Rather than trying to reverse this trend by attracting younger people, many companies are attempting to profit from the greying of media.“
“If broadcast television is growing old gracefully (helped by Botox injections), newspapers are racing towards senescence.“
8 April, 2011 at 3:55 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Foursquare ‘Explore’ Tab offers new venue discovery options
I am not a big fan of the term “Social CRM
” as I think it distracts from the larger strategic focus of CRM by concentrating on one new medium.
Foursquare has allowed consumers a means for “sharing their activities and loyalty with their social network ” and a means for venues to allegedly attract new customers and reward the loyalty of existing customers.
Recent enhancements announced at South by Southwest (SXSW) may be taking Foursquare to a new level as described in Foursquare Upgrade Enhances Marketer Appeal.
It is adding more levels of potential engagement, rather than just a Mayor - “Previously, the most frequent patrons at some locations were named “Mayor” and were rewarded with special treatment by many businesses.”
The article also discusses the possibilities of “a new form of search optimization; B2C merchants will want to be sure their businesses show up at the top of Foursquare search results.“
“As we started to tinker with our recommendations algorithms, we started to see “expertise” starting to emerge from the data – we’re seeing friends that have been to every karaoke place within 10 miles or tried every burger in Los Angeles. … letting you seek guidance from your friends on the categories and places they explore most.“
It will be interesting to see where this development leads.
5 April, 2011 at 10:57 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Hot off the press – The 2011 Ticketing Software Satisfaction Survey Report
The Technology in the Arts Ticketing Software Satisfaction Survey Report is out for 2011. A survey is oftens very useful.
But this seems to be a measure of overall satisfaction levels by organisation size as opposed to an assessment of satisfaction with specific software options. Surely a brand compariosn is what people are after?
2 April, 2011 at 12:33 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
What Does it Mean to Have a Relationship with an Institution?
Nina Simon (author of The Participatory Museum) explores an interesting question in her Blog Museum 2.0:
What Does it Mean to Have a Relationship with an Institution?
How can we “develop relationships between organizations and users that are authentic, meaningful, and positive?“
Nina expands on three elements she believes can support “healthy, inspiring relationships between organizations and users.“
- Make room for personal expression and ownership–both by staff and audience members.
- Wherever possible, use institutional resources to encourage relationships among members and users rather than just with the institution.
- Support and enhance relationships through consistent multi-platform engagement.
22 March, 2011 at 8:18 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
