Matt Lehrman on Audience Development
It is no secret that leaders of non-profit organizations feel an overwhelming pressure to “be more entrepreneurial” in a fast-changing and increasingly competitive world. Yet, the notion of “chasing dollars” stirs up deep anxieties. At best, non-profits search desperately to find the capacity and expertise needed to research, evaluate and pursue a new ventures. At worst, non-profits worry that the pursuit of $ opportunity necessarily … [Read more...]
I am a Trekker. I am not ashamed to admit that I own an (original series) Captain's uniform (don't call it a costume, please), my own set of "Vulcan ears" and an eclectic array of items both purchased and received as gifts including, yes, my very own tribble. As a kid, countless idyllic Saturday nights began with a Star Trek rerun (at 6pm on Channel 11 in New York) on a black & white TV while the babysitter heated up my frozen … [Read more...]
In the book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game Michael Lewis reveals how the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane crafted an analytical, evidence-based, sabermetric* approach to assembling a competitive baseball team, despite Oakland's disadvantaged revenue situation. (*SABR refers to the Society of American Baseball Research, an entity founded in 1971 to compile information of interest … [Read more...]
It is the obvious nature of politics that each candidate tries to throw their opponent under the bus. But that's not the part of the bus to which arts & cultural marketers should most be paying attention. We should be asking: Why does every Presidential candidate have a campaign bus in the first place? Consider the modern Presidential campaign: Each candidate possesses substantial financial resources and directs them to massive … [Read more...]
This post is based on a message shared today with the members & stakeholders of Alliance for Audience - the independent service organization to Arizona's arts & cultural community (of which I am the founder & Executive Director.) The “need” that led to the formation of Alliance for Audience (and to similar associations nationally that focus on the cause of "audience development") was grounded in shared, long-standing … [Read more...]
Forgive me if I don't get overly excited from this week's NEWS that OPERA America has awarded nearly $200,000 in "Audience Development" grants to 16 opera companies. Their announcement proclaims that the "Audience Development grants help opera companies to implement community engagement activities that develop new audiences for American opera and music-theater, engage diverse audiences, deepen current audiences’ understanding and … [Read more...]
![WeCanDoItPoster[1]](http://www.artsjournal.com/audience/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/WeCanDoItPoster1-150x150.jpg "WeCanDoItPoster[1]")
A couple of months ago, I accepted an invitation to teach a semester-long upper-level seminar on Arts Entrepreneurship this Spring at Arizona State University. Having conceived, founded & operated Alliance for Audience over the last 10 years, I accepted the invitation with confidence in my knowledge, experience & ability to convey the substance of strategic plans, cash-flow management, human resources, marketing, board management, … [Read more...]
Let's end the year on a positive note! If putting yourself first and your audience last leads to arts & cultural marketing sin, then it is to be expected that putting your audience first will steer you to the Seven Heavenly Virtues of Arts & Cultural Marketing: Temperance. This contrasts with the sin of gluttony. Go easy. Don’t expect to sell, sell, sell. Don’t expect anything but to discover and experiment and work hard. The … [Read more...]
The end of a year is a good time to remind ourselves to PURGE ourselves of counter-productive habits and beliefs - an opportune time to revisit the classical Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy and Gluttony. It's time to expunge the Seven Deadly Sins of Arts & Cultural Marketing: Wrath. Anger at the world for being the way it is makes no sense. Yet arts & cultural marketers who blame the media, the audience, … [Read more...]
Imagine if Albert Einstein, the greatest scientific mind of the 20th century had pursued a career in arts & cultural marketing instead of the arguably less complex field of physics. What would he have concluded? Imagine the young Einstein arriving for his first day of work as the marketing director for a theatre company, museum or symphony: "You need to shave 7 percent from this season’s marketing budget,” says the Finance … [Read more...]
For years, arts & cultural marketers have operated under the premise that the key to their organization's success is to "pick the low hanging fruit.” I have come to reject that premise. Fundamental changes in personal interests & … [Read More...]
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