Matt Lehrman on Audience Building
Whose job is "relevance?" Does the word appear in any job title on your company's organization chart? Does the word even appear in the job description of any position in your organization? Will you argue that "relevance" is the obvious province of your organization's artistic director or curator since it is they who are responsible for interpreting and advancing your organization's artistic mission? With all due respect to artistic … [Read more...]
I'm not, by nature, a pessimist. So I was struck by the reply of a respected colleague to an e-mail I sent that included the sentence, "As you well know, these are very tough times for the arts & cultural sector." She replied, "Interesting you say these are tough times. I don't hear that very much." Wow. Let's take a moment to take stock of where we are, shall we? I invite you, dear ArtsJournal blog readers, to respond: … [Read more...]
The word rolled off his tongue so easily, I almost didn't catch it. Steve Martin is the Managing Director of Childsplay, the renowned professional theatre company here in the Phoenix area whose chosen audience is children. We were discussing the evolving nature of the cause of “audience development” and the various implications of its growing number of metaphors – pathways, on-ramps, entrances, channels, passages, approaches, avenues, … [Read more...]
In the Greater Phoenix region, Actors Theatre isn't the oldest, largest or even most popular professional theatre company. It's just the most important. And this morning, Actors Theatre announced: "...the Board of Directors and Management have decided to take a PAUSE to assess and redesign our business model and to consider all options to “take control of our future.”... We are not closing. We are stepping back because we need to … [Read more...]
Crista Cloutier travels the globe teaching her original workshops, The Working Artist, The Working Creative & The Writer’s Life. More than a teacher, Crista is a nurturer, emboldener and coach to career-focused individuals engaged in all sorts of artistic and creative pursuits. Her website is: www.theworkingartist.info. In this interview we explore how the “marketing” and “audience development” challenges of individual … [Read more...]
I have the greatest respect for Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Viking's running back who improbably returned from major knee surgery to complete an incredible season in which he fell just 9 yards short of the all-time rushing record for an entire season. Oh so close. It made me recall my closest brush with marketing "perfection." As the marketing director of the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in the late 1990's, we had the … [Read more...]
Entirely wishful thinking on my part. But consider this: Now is an opportune - and incredibly necessary - time to connect the nation's arts & cultural policy to our country's most profound challenges. With all due respect and appreciation to NEA Chairs of the past, the ideal leader for President Obama's second term is someone who can substantially inspire, articulate and mobilize the significant opportunity of the arts & cultural … [Read more...]
New Years Day is an excellent time to reflect on the beliefs we choose to carry forward into the new year - the pillars upon which our future efforts will be based. Here are my TOP FIVE. I welcome discussion - and would love to hear yours, too! --- An empty seat never recommended anything to anybody. Arts & culture is a business driven by word of mouth. Every empty seat (or whatever that looks like for your type of … [Read more...]
On the occasion of its arts council's 50th anniversary, I was recently invited to Fort Worth to design and facilitate a "visioning" session by which 75 community leaders - representing an array of civic, municipal, political and arts & cultural interests - asked, "What investments in arts & culture might we make today that will pay our community dividends over the next 50 years?" Such a refreshing conversation! No speeches. No … [Read more...]
The work of arts & cultural marketing is a never-ending frenzy: pursuing PR, balancing budgets, gathering images, designing promotions, writing brochures, pulling mailing lists, designing ads, distributing fliers, reviewing sales figures, proofing draft after draft, scheduling mailings, managing print schedules, evaluating options, strategic planning, managing teams, coordinating with artistic, executive and board leadership AND SO MUCH … [Read more...]
As principal of Audience Avenue LLC, Matt helps organizations (as well as entire communities) find creative ways to engage every sort of audience - attendees, visitors, members, users, supporters, donors, subscribers, fans, friends, followers, volunteers, tourists, spectators & stakeholders - in arts & cultural experiences.
Matt Lehrman is a dynamic speaker! His AUDIENCES EVERYWHERE presentations offer thought-provoking & highly-actionable ways to pursue innovation in audience building, based on the latest research in audience participation and cutting-edge developments in technology & social media.
www.AudienceAvenue.com [Read More …]
For too long, 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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