{"id":1285,"date":"2012-03-07T07:01:24","date_gmt":"2012-03-07T12:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=1285"},"modified":"2012-03-07T07:01:24","modified_gmt":"2012-03-07T12:01:24","slug":"identity-as-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/03\/identity-as-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Identity as Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marketing has been on my mind a lot lately, notably in my last post, Systemic Marketing<\/a>. Several comments on that post expressed surprise (and, frankly, disbelief) that anyone in the arts community could (or ever did) think negative thoughts about marketing. Once upon a time there were some who did not want to identify marketing as a needed element of our\u00a0 work (or wished it could be avoided); now the field has grown up. Marketing is (and is seen as) valuable and necessary. Those who said they had never heard sentiments to the contrary bear out what was my real point.<\/p>\n

Fran\u00e7ois Colbert, a buddy from the Association of Arts Administration Educators who runs the arts administration programs at L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commercial (HEC) in Montr\u00e9al, asked me to do a very brief marketing case study as one of many for the Fourth Edition of his book Marketing Culture and the Arts.<\/em> That got me thinking again about Dorothy Gunther Pugh’s article for Building Communities, Not Audiences<\/a>. What follows is the result of that thinking\u2013a short look at Ballet Memphis’s approach to marketing: being who they are.<\/p>\n

———————————–\"\"<\/p>\n

Ballet Memphis is a medium-sized ballet company in a medium-sized U.S. city, a city in which 24 percent of the population lives in poverty, which has the highest infant mortality rate in the U.S., and in which women\u2019s wages are the lowest in the country. Memphis is not a city in which an arts organization can build a sustainable future via traditional arts markets: educated, wealthy, older, white. Its demographics demand a different approach.<\/p>\n

In addition, the U.S. is home to many regional dance companies. Standing out from that crowd, making a name for oneself, and crafting a market niche is difficult in the best of circumstances. From its origins in 1986, Ballet Memphis realized that to be recognized in the dance world and supported at home it needed to be unique, to develop an identity rooted in Memphis that would make it stand out from its U.S. peers. To do so, it embarked on a path of consistent focus on relationship building in its hometown. This involved programming based on Memphis\u2019s cultural traditions (jazz and blues to name two) and on issues important to the city\u2019s citizens.<\/p>\n

To assist with economic development, Ballet Memphis partnered with the Chamber of Commerce in the development of \u201cInvesting In Inspiration\u201d to support economic growth by fostering civic dialogue. Ballet Memphis supports public education through a long term dance program called Dance Avenue serving third graders in three elementary schools as well as a dance instruction program at Youth Villages, a secured facility for highly troubled teenagers.<\/p>\n

Ballet Memphis sees itself as a partner in addressing other community issues as well. Over the last five years, its \u201cConnections\u201d series and its \u201cAbunDANCE\u201d performances have addressed issues of architecture, food, the environment, religion, human sound, fashion, and gender. Dancers and choreographers and audiences are challenged while being entertained and transformed. Connections: Earth and Sky<\/em> featured an outdoor performance including dances based on land, air, and water. In a time when Memphis has been much focused on tragedy resulting from floods, this proved to be a moving event that brought many disparate people together.<\/p>\n

This work has grown out of the company\u2019s identity rather than out of separate \u201coutreach\u201d programs. The consistency of message in being a community citizen has established Ballet Memphis in the eyes of Memphis\u2019s population as a valued partner in building a better Memphis.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what have been the results of this work? For the first 2 years of the recession, in contrast to national trends, we increased donations and ticket sales by 17%. Although this growth did not continue in the third year of the recession, we have made tremendous strides in securing major gifts for our endowment and for capital reserves to sustain our annual operations. The future looks quite stable. Exciting new partnerships with minority arts institutions are in the works as well\u2013partnerships which will prove beneficial for our city.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFor Ballet Memphis, community engagement has been an inevitable aspect of our work and our growth . . . . [A]long with commitment to artistic excellence, in defining us it has also provided us a unique market niche and enhanced our financial viability.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ballet Memphis\u2019s approach to marketing grows out of its core self-understanding. It is not a separate or add-on function of the company\u2019s management. For Ballet Memphis, marketing is systemic\u2013a natural and inevitable result of being who it is.<\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marketing has been on my mind a lot lately, notably in my last post, Systemic Marketing. Several comments on that post expressed surprise (and, frankly, disbelief) that anyone in the arts community could (or ever did) think negative thoughts about marketing. Once upon a time there were some who did not want to identify marketing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1285","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-principles","7":"category-winds-of-change","8":"entry","9":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-kJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1639,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/06\/transitions\/","url_meta":{"origin":1285,"position":0},"title":"Transitions","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"June 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I am at the Association of Arts Administration Educators' Annual Conference in Claremont, CA this weekend.That by itself is in no way remarkable. I'm the Board President and I certainly ought to be here. But this particular occasion is a marker for several significant transitions in my life. Before I\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 5 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 5 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/06\/transitions\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1614,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/05\/singapore\/","url_meta":{"origin":1285,"position":1},"title":"My Excellent Singapore Adventure","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Regular readers of this blog know that I do not \"journal\" here. I attempt to maintain a myopic focus on issues related to the arts and community engagement. Therefore, I had not intended to write about my trip to the other side of the globe. That travel was related to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":956,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/01\/survival-first\/","url_meta":{"origin":1285,"position":2},"title":"Survival First?","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In my introductory course in not-for-profit management, early on I pose a question to the students, \"For a not-for-profit corporation, which is more important: mission or survival?\" There is usually some lively chicken and egg conversation around the fact that no good can be done if the organization ceases to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/6030164871_d59e4cd7c3_t.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5390,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2018\/10\/introducing\/","url_meta":{"origin":1285,"position":3},"title":"Introducing","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Introducing Achia Floyd of ArtsEngaged","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/AchiaFloyd-291x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2307,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/01\/mainstreaming-on-my-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":1285,"position":4},"title":"Mainstreaming on My Mind","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"My basic beliefs about the arts and community engagement are fairly well-known to anyone who reads this blog or who has read my book. 1) Community engagement is vital to a healthy future for the arts; 2) substantive community engagement is relatively rare in the established arts world; and 3)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Practice of Engagement"","block_context":{"text":"The Practice of Engagement","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/the-practice-of-engagement\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/OnMyMind.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1531,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/04\/the-magic-of-small-groups\/","url_meta":{"origin":1285,"position":5},"title":"The Magic of Small Groups","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In early April, as part of Americans for the Arts' Emerging Leaders blog salon, Gregory Burbage posted an article on small group organization in mega-churches and the lessons to be learned from them: Group Therapy in the Arts. The point he was presenting is that huge churches (the one he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/BibleStudyGroup.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1285\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}