The marketing plan was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. You're the marketing director of a theater. It was your plan, but you knew it was dead. It's a Wednesday afternoon and the mid-week matinee happening in the theater two floors down was half-full. You can hear over the monitors the actors trying desperately to get the audience to laugh, but it just wasn’t working. You check the sales dashboard in your CRM and the social media accounts. Your Instagram post … [Read more...] about A Christmas Carol as an Arts Marketing Parable
Row X Wrapped
Everyone's seeing their end of year summaries of their year in music listening on their Spotify Wrapped or Apple Music Replays this week. It's a fun feature that these companies do each year, a great engagement point for those companies and their customers. I've also seen some arts organizations building on the trend with their own Wrapped features, like Blumenthal Arts in Charlotte, NC, that highlighted the highest attended shows, and the top selling drink from their concessions stands (the … [Read more...] about Row X Wrapped
It’s all about the Vibes: Lessons from the election for arts marketers
What can we learn about arts marketing from how people consume information about elections? Here are three observations: The 2024 Presidential election has been called the “vibes election”. Believe me, I wish people didn't just vote based on vibes and everyone spent serious time looking at high quality, factual information to inform their vote. But looking at the reality of how some people consume information, let's see what we in the arts can do to get more people in to experience art so … [Read more...] about It’s all about the Vibes: Lessons from the election for arts marketers
Imagine if the arts were funded with $27 donations
In a recent New York Times article, Barry Edelstein, Artistic Director of The Old Globe, a large nonprofit theater in San Diego, gave a quote that caught my eye. He said, "We’re not going to solve the structural financial problems facing the sector through Bernie Sanders-style $27 contributions. It’s going to take really significant infusions at the scale that Roy is doing them.” The person that Edelstein is talking about is Roy Cockrum. The Roy Cockrum Foundation has quickly … [Read more...] about Imagine if the arts were funded with $27 donations
5 reasons declining media coverage of the arts isn’t the problem
At the end of a long list about why audiences are shrinking, a burned out, defeated arts manager's last bit of ire will be directed at the declining arts coverage in the mainstream media. It will be the final gasp of their venting session. Then their voice will trail off, they’ll throw up their hands, and reach for their glass of bourbon. An anecdote from an artistic director of a “struggling theater in Florida” was the centerpiece of a story by Cara Joy David’s latest piece for Broadway … [Read more...] about 5 reasons declining media coverage of the arts isn’t the problem