Matt Lehrman on Audience Development
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...]
A well-worn copy of Danny Newman’s Subscribe Now! has been a treasured resource throughout my career in arts & cultural marketing. His influence is evident in the practices of the vast number of performing arts organizations that still orient their marketing strategies to the concepts first published in 1977: “The subscriber is our ideal. In an act of faith, at the magic moment of writing the check, he commits himself in … [Read more...]
In a "collective" - the component parts exist only to serve the good of the whole. There is no appreciation of individuality, independence, choice, creativity, dialogue, agility or soul. Collectives are imposed. As the Borg in Star Trek say, "You will be assimilated." "Collective" is NOT a synonym for "collaboration." Try gathering a group of people together to discuss HOW to address some shared need or pursue some … [Read more...]
Just posted to Slate.com, Arizona State University President Michael M. Crow offers a thoughtful, articulate and incredibly compelling argument for why the nation’s education system must pursue goals broader than STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math). Dr. Crow writes, “…resolving the complex challenges that confront our nation and the world requires more than expertise in science and technology. We must also educate … [Read more...]
“…The bottom is falling out of the way performing arts organizations do business.… People's short-term buying habits have made revenue unpredictable and precarious. This has forced performing arts companies to rethink how they allocate marketing dollars, plan their seasons and approach customer service...” New York Times, October 16, 2002 “You see,” I excitedly exclaimed to my CEO at our regular weekly meeting … [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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