Marketing delle arti creative, Appunti di Marketing

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CREATIVE ARTS MARKETING Introduction: Creativity is at the heart of arts marketing → imaginative solutions to create effective, persuasive communication for a variety of audiences. ➢ Product orientation: the organization is concentrated on its products as good enough in themselves → product orientated mind: if a product has a sufficient high quality, people will buy it → critic: quality is important BUT excellent work needs energetic marketing, or it runs the risk of not being noticed ➢ Sales orientation: the organization is concentrated on its need to sell products which its customers might not necessarily choose for themselves → critic: it is probably true that giving energy and application you can sell anything BUT you will probably only be able to sell it only if it satisfies a genuine need in your customer → BUT genuine success in the arts lies in seeing customers as partners rather than targets → Long-term relationships based on mutual benefit are the key to this!! ➢ Customer orientation: the organization is concentrated on its customers’ requirements → In the long term, such orientation produces organizations that are more profitable or more effective (depending on their objectives) than their competitors. Marketing = the management process which identifies, anticipates, and supplies customer requirements profitably. Marketing responds dynamically to the challenges offered by a changing environment. For their non-profit aims, in NPOs’ there is frequently internal disagreement on how achieving the effectiveness, namely the achievement of organizational objectives which include (but are not limited to) the financial ones → in NPOS Marketing’s role is to offer a route to effectiveness. Arts marketing = an integrated management process which sees mutually satisfying exchange relationships with customers as the route to achieving organizational and artistic objectives. In contemporary marketing, the focus is on two linked themes: 1. Stakeholders = any group or individual who has an interest (a ‘stake’) in the success of an organization (e.g.: for an art NPO such groups might include funding bodies, local and national government, the media, the local community, the professional community, etc.). Because of their lack of material resources, much of the marketing effort of NPOs has traditionally focused on establishing and maintaining a good reputation with a wide variety of influential publics. 2. The emphasis in many businesses has moved: from a transaction-based marketing (= recruiting new customers and hoping they will stay) → e.g.: single-ticket purchases in a theatre to a relationship marketing (= analysing and managing long-term relationships with existing customers for keeping them) → e.g.: subscription-based marketing in the performing arts Case study: the Belgrade Theatre has formed a much closer partnership with its customers, involving them in the strategic processes of the organization, seeing them more as stakeholders than end- consumers. *NB maintaining relationships with customers has been made easier by new technologies. Ideas like segmentation, which involves aiming at particular sections of the market rather than taking a scattergun approach or tracking individual customers in order to understand their needs better, are now part of the arts marketer’s toolbox. Chapter 1: the evolution and context of art marketing: Marketing the arts involves not only the day-to- day work of attracting audiences to events and activities, but also the need to understand and promote more widely the value of an organization’s work. The quality and value of cultural goods frequently depend on their originality or radical nature → Features such as familiarity, which might increase appeal to consumers, or political expediency, which might help access external resources, are not necessarily to be found in good art. In the past, theorists concentrated on the difference between commercial and arts marketing: Commercial marketing Arts marketing It conforms the product to the customer’ requirements The artist needs to create independently of such conformance, because of the special nature of cultural goods. Art marketing is more about matching the artist’s creations and interpretations with an appropriate audience. ➔ Arts marketing is a special case, because it needs to start with the product and find customers for it, rather than react to market demand. Thus, while artistic planning cannot be dominated by market forces, marketing needs to be an integral part of the process of artistic planning. That is one of the reasons why we argue that marketing is a creative process. BUT contemporary theorists affirm that commercial and arts marketing have more similarities than differences: 1. Both need to balance organizational and customer needs 2. Both need to consider a wide range of stakeholders alongside the immediate customer 3. Both are focused on creating and maintaining long-term relationships of mutual value Parallel to this developing understanding of the scope of arts marketing has been the growth of a professional infrastructure for workers in the field. At the beginning of the 90s, several performance goals have been identified; they covered the following four areas: 1. Becoming more scientific = improving the understanding of marketing tools 2. Developing a more consistent approach to market intelligence = improving the acknowledgement of audiences, current and potential 3. Rethinking the way audiences are seen and addressed = focusing on the customer in communication and customer care 4. Seeing an improvement in the infrastructure and resources (financial, human and technical) for marketing ➔ Some of these aspirations have seen progress towards their fulfilment. Using the STEP model (Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic and Political environmental factors) for analysing the peculiarities of the arts marketing environment, reveals long-term trends and forces which help to explain the opportunities and threats facing art organizations. *NB there are elements which belong to various categories. 1. Socio-cultural factors: a. Age: people do not define themselves by their chronological age, but as belonging to a particular cohort with shared experiences. Moreover, the improved levels of health have increased expectations of longer active lives for retired people, creating several opportunities for arts organizations. b. Gender roles and the family: gender roles are another area where long-term trends are having a significant effect on marketing in general and the arts in particular because of their impact on family life and discretionary time. The arts can provide quality time, allowing family members to have memorable experiences; on the other hand, traditional art organization may have to work hard to adapt themselves to the requirements of the family market, particularly in developing their portfolio of activity. c. Ethnicity: contemporary societies have an explicitly multicultural nature. present a great opportunity for marketing staff; on the other hand, the unfamiliar can challenge or threaten core audiences and thus offer particular problems with promotional or pricing decisions. Marketing thinking has an important contribution to make to the success of arts organizations, not only in improving their use of resources and helping them to operate more efficiently and accountably, but also in helping them think strategically about how they engage with their audiences. Marketing in its authentic sense is an overall orientation which requires organizations to be externally focused, adapting what they offer to the developing needs of customers. Instead of maintaining a frozen, reverential approach to their work, their creative efforts achieve a dynamic, flexible relationship with their customers. Similarly, being customer centred does not necessarily mean what is sometimes called ‘populism’ or dumbing down. Marketing input needs to be at a senior, strategic level. It needs to be involved from the earliest stages of planning to connect the organization with its customers. Chapter 2: audiences: Marketing has the responsibility to develop the audiences; consequently, the main task of arts marketing is to motivate people to attend performances and exhibitions or purchase art works or crafts → To do this effectively, arts organizations must understand the needs, desires and motivations of all those people who are, or could be, attenders at their events or venues. What is an audience? → various meanings: ➢ Audiences as arts receptors: Lamos and Stewart (1983) affirmed that an audience consists simply of those who experience art. From a marketing p.o.v., this definition is of limited value as it excludes the notion of intention. ➢ Audiences as stakeholders: an audience can also be thought of as comprising all those with whom an individual or organization has some form of communication. For an arts organization, this may include all those who support the arts in any way, or who have an interest in their development. Attenders of arts events are obviously central to this, but the definition also refers to those with less direct contact with the organization, such as: a. central government funding bodies b. regional arts funding agencies c. local authorities d. charitable trusts e. primary, secondary, and tertiary educational establishments f. the local/national/regional press and media g. potential customers for ancillary services h. local, regional, or national business sponsors i. other artists or arts organizations j. friends or members, trustees, or governors of arts organizations ➢ Audiences as customers: audiences as being those with whom the arts organization is trying to exchange something of value → for marketers it is the most useful definition, as it implies that people make choices about the art forms or events that they wish to be involved with and are willing to offer something in return for that participation. This definition sees primary audiences as those who do (or could) attend or participate in arts events. The idea of audiences as customers performing transactions is also of relevance to secondary audiences such as funding bodies, sponsors, and members, who are also looking to exchange value with arts organizations → marketing activity can also be used effectively in developing these relationships. In the long term, the task of audience development is one of improving access to the arts for a wide range of people, not just those who are already committed attenders. It requires that the arts are made more accessible in variety of ways (physically and geographically, but also socially and psychologically, breaking down traditional elitism which threatens to devalue the arts for sizeable proportions of the population. To achieve this, arts organizations need to understand people’s relationships with the arts and to identify the range of influences on the decision to participate. 1. Marketing is one of three approaches that arts organizations adopt to develop their audiences. 2. Education work is widely practised, tending to focus on the long-term development of an individual’s appreciation of the arts and usually aiming to create an ‘audience of tomorrow’ rather than active arts attenders today. 3. Artists also take part in audience development activity, by creating work that can be accessed by target audience segments. ➔ Collaboration between the marketing, education and artistic functions can create the most effective audience development activity of all. Everett M. Rogers (1962) concluded that society can be divided into 5 groups according to their propensity to espouse new ideas or new products: 1. Innovators: these experimenters make up less than 3% of the population. They tend to be younger than average, financially stable, well-educated, and confident. Their affluence means they can afford to be first on the block with new products, although their strong drives lead them to be selective and image conscious. They can be observed at first nights and private views. 2. Early adopters: following the Innovators into the market are the Early Adopters, a larger but less adventurous group. Their receptiveness to new ideas is reflected in high readership of magazines. They are educated and confident. They are usually already keen on the area in which the innovation is being made. Winning early adopters is crucial. Rogers found that there was a close correlation between this group and ‘opinion leaders’, people whose attitudes and behaviours influence members of their social and family groups. 3. Early and late majority: encouraged by the example of the early adopters, most customers then become willing to take an idea on board. Together these groups constitute more than 2/3 of the total market. The early majority tend to be solid and middle class. Late majority members are older and more traditional in their values, making them naturally conservative. They are reluctant about innovation, but finally come round to it once everyone else has done so. 4. Laggards: these are the arts marketer’s greatest triumph: the people who are on the far reaches of the arts universe but are eventually led to realize that arts experience has something special to offer them and climb on board. 5. Non adopters: no matter what the product or service under consideration, there will still be a group of people whom it will never reach. In the arts the ‘hostile’ segment of society is the resolute non- adopters. For the subsidized sector, arts non-adopters pose a dilemma as they have already contributed to the arts through national and local taxes. The diffusion model of how audiences respond to innovation suggests that it is a gradual and risky process. It confirms that, if you can identify it, there is always a market for new work. But it also predicts that at first, at least, it is a very restricted market. Even though the innovation-friendly part of your audience knows what they like, the majority like what they know. As we have seen, this scant 20% will tend to be established regular attenders. The figure recalls what is known as the ‘Pareto effect’, a phenomenon first noted around 1900 by the Italian sociologist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 20% of the people held 80% of the wealth. In many markets, 20% of consumers are responsible for 80% of the business. These heavy users need to be jealously maintained, but they are also the best prospects for innovation. So new and unfamiliar work is essential. It provides staff and performers with new opportunities to develop, and it provides audiences with fresh experiences. An arts organization that fails to innovate will gradually lose touch with its market. The reason arts attendance is not uniformly spread throughout the population is because, as in most buying decisions, people are influenced by a wide variety of social, personal, and psychological factors which either predispose them towards the arts or serve to alienate them. The better arts organizations understand these factors, the better placed they are to find ways of breaking down the physical and mental barriers which restrict access to the arts and hinder the development of wide-ranging audiences. Influences on arts attendance: 1. Social factors which can affect patterns of arts attendance considerably: a. Cultural factors → a culture comprises everything in society, both tangible and intangible, that is created by its people. This includes the values and behaviours which are acceptable, and these values and behaviours are learned and passed on from one generation to the next. Societies which value cultural features such as education, creativity and leisure are the ones most likely to support a strong arts infrastructure and place importance on the development of the arts and audiences. Subcultures can be found within cultures, where there are groups of people displaying even closer similarities of attitudes, actions, and values than in the culture; these subcultures are usually separated by geographical regions or ethnic background. Culture-specific events may be appropriate if subcultural groups are sizeable, but other factors may be influential in encouraging or discouraging arts attendance. b. Reference groups → a reference group is any group, including family, friends, and work associates, with whom an individual identifies so closely that he or she adopts many of their values, attitudes, and behaviour patterns. Parental influences are particularly strong, more so than the influences of school. Children whose parents actively support the arts, particularly those involved at the amateur level, are more likely to participate and to continue to do so as adults, than those from homes with little interest in the arts. If arts attendance is seen as irrelevant or alien to a person’s reference group, it is likely to be rejected. Arts organizations can turn this situation to their advantage by making special efforts to target the social secretaries of clubs and organizations, who can be relied upon to make party bookings and bring in groups of individuals who might not otherwise have been interested in attending. c. Social class → a social class is a group of individuals who are seen to have a similar rank in society. Those within the same social class tend to develop similar attitudes, values and behaviour patterns, and this is evident in arts participation. The gap between the classes becomes even more apparent when different art forms are considered, with opera and ballet being almost exclusively the domain of the higher social groups; this is likely to alienate those who are not familiar with the established social conventions. 2. Personal factors which can influence an individual’s predisposition towards the arts: a. Age → arts attendance is greatest in the 35–54 age band, but there are notable departures from this across the different art forms, and different patterns emerge within certain ethnic-minority groups, so generalizations are difficult and can be unhelpful. b. Gender → patterns of arts attendance are related to gender, but this varies widely across art forms. c. Income → a close relationship can be demonstrated between income levels and attendance at arts events though it is not clear whether this relationship is primarily due to social class, as the higher social groups tend to earn higher incomes. Undoubtedly there is a relationship between arts attendance and income levels, particularly among the unwaged and those on the lowest income levels, but the picture becomes less clear at the higher income levels. d. Education → attendance at an arts event is closely related to the age at which full-time education was completed. Attempts by marketers to create appeal are likely to fail if their target audiences have insufficient basic understanding of an art form to enable them to appreciate it. 3. Psychological factors which can influences on the decision to attend arts events: a. Perception → this is the process by which people make sense of the world. Each of us selects, organizes, and interprets information to produce meaning. Because we are unable to be a. Which are the most influential evaluative criteria? Organizations need to identify the most important factors that potential attenders take into consideration in deciding between alternatives. The knowledge of this should influence a whole range of factors, from pricing policy to programming schedules. They can also be highlighted in promotional materials to attract audiences. b. How easy is it for potential customers to complete the transaction? If galleries have limited opening hours or box offices have continually busy telephone lines, unhelpful staff or limited payment options, a decision to attend or purchase can be reversed even at a very late stage. c. Are expectations met and exceeded? Customer satisfaction needs to be continually assessed, as the consequences of dissatisfaction for the reputation of the organization can be very serious. ➔ The process of marketing research is how answers to these questions. Who makes the choice? Not every member of an arts audience will have played the same role in the decision to attend. Indeed, the whole decision-making process may have been divided up between a group of individuals, who collectively are known as the decision-making unit: 1. The initiator is the one who first suggests a visit to a gallery or museum, or a trip to the theatre 2. The influencer’s advice carries weight in the evaluation of alternatives and his or her opinion is valued by other members of the group → Influencers are particularly important, and the importance of critics as opinion leaders should not be underestimated. 3. The decider makes the final choice as to where and/or when to go 4. The buyer performs the transaction 5. The attender experiences the event The study of audience behaviour leads us to the conclusion that potential audiences consist of sub-groups of individuals with similar needs, characteristics, motivations and buying practices. For arts organizations, attempting to attract members of all these groups at the same time for the same events is unrealistic → Target marketing = the process by which the specific needs of different parts of the total potential audience are matched with the artistic product being produced. This process has 2 distinct steps: 1. Market segmentation = whereby marketers identify the nature of the relevant subgroups for their organizations. Market segment = buyers with similar needs and wants → Markets can be usefully divided up according to those buyer needs. Different groupings will be appropriate in different markets, and one of the most important tasks of the marketing function in an arts organization is to identify the most appropriate ways to divide up their potential audience. In dividing up a potential audience, two important constraints have to be borne in mind: I. Size: is the group big enough to be worth treating it separately? The numbers of people in each group have to be quantified so that decisions can be made as to whether the effort of reaching them can be cost-effective. II. Accessibility: how easy is it to communicate with this group? As the purpose of market segmentation is to enable potential audiences to be targeted more appropriately the segment is of no practical use, unless the sub-groups in that potential audience can be extracted from the overall market and exposed to separate marketing offers. With these constraints in mind, there are 4 broad bases from which to start the process of market segmentation: I. Geographic segmentation: audiences can be divided up according to where they live. II. Demographic segmentation: as we have seen when looking at influences on arts attendance, some demographic factors are good predictors of audience preferences. III. Psychographic segmentation: audiences can be segmented according to their psychological characteristics, as discussed earlier. Perhaps the most important of these psychographic segments are attitude groupings. Diggle (1994) suggests that potential audiences comprise: a. Attenders: those with very positive attitudes towards the arts and whose attitudes are translated into attendance, either just from time-to-time or on a regular basis. b. Intenders: those who think the arts are a ‘good thing’ and like the idea of attending, but never seem to get around to it. c. Indifferent: those who have no strong opinions on the arts and no strong desire to attend either. d. Hostile: those who dislike the idea of the arts altogether and have no intention of participating. The attitudinal segments most important and accessible to arts organizations are likely to remain the attenders and intenders, at least in the medium term. The task of converting the indifferent and the hostile is likely to require the resources of the funding bodies and a positive attitude from both government and the media. IV. Behavioural segmentation: this involves dividing buyers into groups based on their responses to the arts product, and for arts organizations can be usefully examined in the following five ways: a. When do they attend? b. Why do they attend? c. Under what circumstances do they attend? Some people will attend when there is nothing good on television; others will combine a theatre or gallery visit with a shopping trip, or only attend when they are on holiday. d. How knowledgeable are they? e. How often do they attend? Frequent and committed attenders can be identified and approached in a different way from those who attend occasionally. Season tickets, subscription schemes, friends and members clubs and similar activities may be appropriate for those who see the arts as a central part of their lives and who are looking for involvement as well as the pleasures of attendance. Little inducement is required to encourage them to attend, so the marketing emphasis to this group should be on providing information to make it easy to plan and book tickets. The irregular attenders are far more challenging as a promotional target. The promotional campaigns need to be more intrusive, as this group is not actively seeking information about arts events. 2. Market targeting = when different activities are aimed at different groups using different marketing techniques. Market targeting is the process by which the market segments are approached with appropriate offers. Most arts organizations are faced with a choice between: I. Concentration marketing strategy: some arts organizations have a specific mission which requires them to focus their activities on a single market segment, such as young people, disabled people, an ethnic-minority group, inner-city communities. These organizations will follow what is known as a concentration strategy, whereby they target their product and promotional efforts at just one homogeneous group and will attempt to build an audience by putting out a single clear message to this target audience. Credibility needs to be built up within the target market so that all members of that market know that ‘people like me attend this arts organization’. In many ways, this is quite a straightforward task. The organization is in a good position to build its reputation as it will have a good understanding of the needs of its audiences – vital if the matching process is to be effective. II. Multi-segment marketing strategy: Other arts organizations need to attract a diverse audience and typically their task is more difficult. Local authority venues, for example, which may be attempting to serve a wide range of people within their boundaries, will need to put out diverse messages about their activities and aim these messages at different parts of their total potential primary audience. This is known as a multi-segment marketing strategy. Organizations following this strategy often find it difficult to position themselves in the minds of their potential audiences. People can be unsure as to whether that organization is ‘for them’ as they may, on occasions, investigate what is on offer and find that it does not appeal to them at all. They may then exclude that organization from consideration in the future. Communicating with several different segments can be costly and is likely to require considerable marketing expertise. Computerized box office systems which enable arts organizations to use a direct marketing approach make the task easier and more cost- effective. Public relations are also a useful tool for addressing various segments. Chapter 3: Marketing research: Marketing research = the process of collecting, analysing, and interpreting information to help managers make better marketing decisions. Marketing research has the scope of gathering information from the environment which may be useful in the planning of marketing activity. Common objections to marketing research: 1. ‘. . . it’s too expensive’ → to say that marketing research is too expensive implies that an organization may not have fully considered the range of marketing data available and the very limited costs involved in most of the data collection. 2. ‘. . . we don’t want to be popular’ → this is a flimsy reason for ignoring marketing research, which can be a very useful tool for identifying the most appropriate programmes, facilities, and services within the ruling artistic policy, and without alienating existing interest groups and audiences. 3. ‘. . . we know what our audiences want’ → in the subsidized sector, marketing research is often the only tool available to arts organizations to assess the extent to which their own non-profit objectives are being met. Ignoring it is ignoring the core of the marketing concept, which places the needs of the customer at the heart of the organization. According to its purpose, marketing research can be subdivided into several categories, according to its purpose: 1. Audience research: in the arts, this is primarily concerned with profiling, that is identifying the nature, composition, and preferences of current and potential audiences. It is commonly used to help organizations identify market segments with similar characteristics and arts preferences, enabling visitor or audience profiles to be constructed for different types of exhibitions or performances. An audience survey will typically ask for details of demographic characteristics (including age, sex, income, occupation, education, and transport and distance travelled to the venue). This type of information helps galleries and theatres to target their future programmes, events, promotional literature, fund-raising and advertising more precisely, and it can provide useful quantified information when negotiating sponsorship. 2. Customer satisfaction research: this aims to measure the extent to which an arts event has met its audiences’ expectations. Word-of-mouth recommendation has been found to be the most influential factor in the choice of leisure services, so it is important for organizations to understand and respond to their customers’ perceptions of both the artistic product and the environment in which it is produced. 3. Motivation research: this attempts to get to the bottom of audiences’ reasons for attending a particular event or venue, again to enable better market segmentation and improved targeting of potential audiences. 4. Competitor research: it is important for arts organizations to understand how their audiences perceive them in comparison with other similar organizations. Competitor research can help organizations to understand these perceptions and then to differentiate themselves positively from other providers of similar arts services. 5. Product research: this is quite a difficult area in the arts. Commercial and industrial organizations conduct product research to help them improve the products and services they offer to their customers and to identify demand for new developments. Product research in the more tangible the original client was and their reasons for conducting the research. This will indicate whether a particular slant has been taken in the interpretation of the findings. The nature and size of the sample is also relevant. Findings should be treated with caution if the number of respondents in any sub- group is small, particularly if comparisons are made between different groups of people. Geodemographic profiling systems: these are consumer classification systems which have been created by combining geographic and demographic information gathered from a diverse range of sources, including the census. The systems work on the assumption that people living in similar neighbourhoods (defined by postcodes) are likely to have similar interests, incomes and purchasing habits. Collecting primary data: Audience or visitor surveys are very useful and effective ways of collecting certain types of primary data and the final part of this chapter is dedicated to the planning and implementation of such surveys. However, they are not the only methods of collecting primary data. Neither are they necessarily the best methods for collecting certain types of data, in particular qualitative data. There are four methods commonly used to collect primary data: 1. Observation: this is a technique which involves watching people, their behaviour, and their actions. It is particularly useful when people are unable to give accurate verbal accounts of their behaviour. 2. Experimentation: primary data can be gathered by experimentation, which is a particularly useful technique when some decision is under consideration and the results cannot be predicted from existing experience either of the organization itself, or from the experience of other organizations. In an experiment, the researcher tries out some marketing activity on a small scale, observing and measuring the results, while controlling as far as possible the effects of factors other than the marketing action being taken. The key advantage of experimentation is that the researcher chooses which factors (or variables) are going to be tested. One disadvantage of experimentation stems from the extent to which the extraneous factors can be controlled → the weather, the economic climate, the promotional campaign, critics’ reviews, and the style of production may have an equal, if not stronger, impact on audience profiles than the price of a ticket). 3. Interviews: a high proportion of qualitative data is collected using the technique of loosely structured interviews; qualitative research does not demand that a formal structure is imposed on the data collected. Types of interviews: a. Depth interviews are usually prolonged one-to-one interviews, during which the interviewer will ask questions on a series of topics but has the freedom to phrase the questions as seems most appropriate and to order them and probe them according to the responses. The interviewer has only a checklist of points to cover and will be using mainly open questions to encourage full and explanatory responses from the interviewee. b. Focus groups (or group discussions) are interviews in which an interviewer, known as a moderator, asks questions of a group of respondents, usually six to eight persons. The essence of a focus group is that group dynamics are used to draw out individual beliefs which might not be so freely expressed in a one-to-one interview situation. Conducting a group discussion requires that due consideration is given to the ambience of the occasion and the dynamics of the interaction between group members. The less assertive individuals may feel group pressure to conform to the norms of attitudes expressed in the group and dominant individuals can discourage a full discussion of topics about which they feel strongly. A good moderator can make all the difference to the success of a piece of research. 4. Survey: arts organizations most commonly use surveys in ad hoc research relating to specific marketing decisions, and in particular to find out more about audiences. If you wish to conduct an ad hoc survey there are a number of stages to consider: I. Stage 1: identify the precise nature of the problem to be solved and set specific objectives for the survey. II. Stage 2: identify an appropriate sample (*NB the larger the sample, the more representative it will be of the population from which it was drawn). A random sample will be most representative of all and you can be far more confident in assuming that the views of the sample reflect the views of the whole population than with any other method. Several questions commonly arise in sampling: a. When should I take my sample? Take into account the variations in audience profile caused by season (e.g. school holidays), day of the week, time of day and perhaps weather conditions. A gallery or museum may have access to historical data relating to attendance figures. The best method is simply to make an estimate of when the busier periods will occur. b. Who should be in my sample? The important issue here is how to obtain a good cross- section of responses which will be representative of most of the audience. A smaller, but carefully controlled sample can produce more accurate results than an uncontrolled attempt at a census. As most people attend arts events in groups a good method is to give out one questionnaire to each group of people and one to each person who comes alone. c. How many people should be in my sample? The more questionnaires that are completed, the more confident you can be that the responses obtained are representative of the whole population. In total, a figure of 500 completed questionnaires should be plenty to provide results which are statistically useful, though a minimum of 300 is acceptable under severe resource constraints. These 500, however, should be spread across the whole time of the research. III. Stage 3: for face-to-face questionnaires: a. interviewers can be involved in the sampling process by selecting an appropriate range of respondents using a quota system and eliminating those who are not in the target audience for the research b. the interviewer can encourage respondents to answer as fully as possible and check, where appropriate, that the question has been fully understood c. any materials, such as publicity items, that need to be shown to the respondents can be properly presented d. interviewers can usually persuade respondents to complete the interview and response rates are consistently higher than for other types of questionnaire administration These advantages cause a superior quality rather than other methods, but to some extent this depends upon the skill of the interviewer. The key to be a good interviewer is a good training. For this reason, most commercial organizations rely on market research agencies to supply well-trained interviewers, though this is too costly for many arts organizations. If this is the case, organizations should ensure that they arrange some form of interview training for their own (usually volunteer) researchers and ensure that they are thoroughly briefed as to the objectives of the survey and the instructions for sampling. IV. Stage 4: a couple of points need to be considered before starting to construct a questionnaire. Firstly, the way in which the data will be collected will affect the questionnaire length and layout, as well as the style of question. Another consideration is the way in which the data will be analysed. As each question is written, it should be evaluated against the relevance, clarity, brevity, impartiality, precision, an inoffensiveness. There are 2 basic ways to ask questions in a survey: a. Open-ended questions: Advantages Disadvantages 1. collect information with minimum direction to respondents 2. very useful if the possible range of responses is very broad 3. use the respondents’ own words and therefore allows them to vent strong opinions 4. help the researcher to understand the way that people really think about an issue 1. arises in their interpretation 2. very time-consuming activity b. Closed questions: Advantages Disadvantages 1. respondents tend to find them easier 2. less time-consuming to complete 3. encourage high response rates 4. can be used to investigate a range of issues, including facts, behaviour, attitudes and opinions 1. offer more limited scope for response 2. the limitations on response Moreover, every questionnaire should be pre-tested: it is important to identify questions which are unclear, ambiguous, annoying, difficult to answer or very time-consuming, and to make changes before the full launch of the survey. V. Stage 5: the data collection method has already been identified by this stage, so the survey is ready to be administered. If the preparation work has been competently undertaken, this can be a very straightforward part of the marketing research process. VI. Stage 6: data processing is how the raw data are converted into a form which will enable their underlying meaning to be identified. Data processing has 3 main stages: a. Data input b. Data summary c. Data analysis VII. Stage 7: the final step is to interpret the meaning of these facts and figures, translating them into usable information which can help decisions to be made. The interpretation is usually presented in the form of a report. If this report is to be used by decision-makers, their needs must be considered in its preparation. The 4 main points to remind are: a. Present only information which is of relevance to the reader b. Communicate the findings simply c. Do not imply certainty. No survey is definitive. d. Provide an executive summary Chapter 4: Product: Marketing mix = constituted by the four Ps (Product, Price, Promotion and Place), it provides the basic building block of any marketing strategy. Product is the most fundamental and the most important element of the four Ps. In the 1980s it became fashionable to talk about artistic product and, as we have seen, the arts industry is production led in a way which differentiates it from commercial marketing practice. But what concerns the arts marketer is not so Reflection on how the artistic experience works, and the kinds of needs it satisfies in its customers, can help identify what is unique about the arts marketing process and separate it from the related areas of leisure and hospitality marketing. The appreciation of the benefits which arts marketing exists to promote can be further enhanced by looking at the basic concepts of needs and wants. Needs are basic human drives that can be allayed for a while, but never go away completely. Wants are the individual expressions of needs, and are shaped by personal tastes and sociocultural circumstances. Thus, ‘I am hungry’ is a need, but ‘I want a bowl of cornflakes’ is a want. Marketing is often accused of creating needs and wants, but what it really does is to recognize needs and find ways of fulfilling them which consumers find appropriate and attractive. Thus a new brand of breakfast cereal is not creating a ‘need’, but will hope to establish itself as a possible ‘want’, among other alternatives, to satisfy the basic need for breakfast. What kind of needs, then, does the experience of the arts satisfy? Different needs and wants may be satisfied by the same experience in different market segments (*this is known as segmenting by benefits sought). Considering the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we can affirm that arts offer satisfaction at all the levels: The further down the hierarchy we go, the more remote from the actual experience of the art objects themselves the benefits appear to be, but they are all related to the experience of seeing the art objects in a given environment at a particular time, so it is impossible effectively to separate one aspect from any other, although we can recognize that there are priorities at work. We can conclude that the arts experience offers satisfaction to a complex of needs rather than only one. It also means that there is an inexhaustible number of ways in which managing the product effectively can introduce small but important improvements to satisfy needs more effectively. The central experience consists of the tangible aspects of the arts experience which surround the core benefit and mediate it to the customer in an acceptable and appropriate way. This level embraces not only the artistic element itself, but also every aspect of its delivery: venue ambience, staff attitudes, ease of access, and so on. Branding is also very important at this level for the arts because it is one of the ways in which organizations can respond to the high perceived risk of making an intangible purchase by reassuring their customers with an aura of quality. Seeing the offering in terms of its benefits rather than its features is the key to putting the consumer at the centre of the marketing process. The artistic product is delivered within an environment of which the physical characteristics have an important effect on the quality of the experience for the consumer. The ‘atmosphere’ is cited by audiences as one of the most important factors affecting attendance decisions. A venue, because of its physical attributes, can build a reputation among its users for quality, comfort, and reliability. The danger is, as is often the case in marketing issues, that the organization misses opportunities to improve matters by being too familiar with the status quo to notice or question it. A consciousness of design can be of great advantage to organizations wishing to increase earnings from trading. Staff attitudes and the systems in place for managing the flow of customers through an arts event are fundamental to the customer’s experience of the artistic product. A successful brand is one that Self-actualization → increased knowledge of artist or period; greater enjoyment through widened taste; ability to compare with previous experience Esteem → prestige of gallery surroundings; customer care includes an element of deference; enhanced self-image through being able to discuss the latest exhibition Social → pictures provide something to discuss with partner or companion; opportunity to join ‘Friends’ of gallery; possibility of meeting friends and acquaintances at the exhibition Safety → cloakroom facilities to store coat and bag ; secure car parking; properly trained staff and clear fire exits Physiological → adequate lighting and ventilation; warmth; clean refreshment facilities has created, in the minds of the customer, the perception that there is no other product on the market quite like it. It is a ‘holistic combination of product and added values’ which has several dimensions and exists at a far deeper level than simply the brand identity (the name, logo and imagery which are the normal outward manifestations of brand). Randall sees the central essence of a brand as being created through 4 interlocking dimensions relating to an organization and its products and services: 1. functions: what it does and what it is for 2. personality: how people feel about it 3. differences: what makes it better and different 4. source: what lies behind it, in terms of aims and values ➔ An organization which wishes to change its image, cannot hope to do it without a fundamental re- examination of all the 4 dimensions. Brand identity (=the brand message being transmitted to the market) will be strongest when there is consistency between the 4 dimensions, and they are supporting each other. Successful brands combine each dimension into a package which offers customers benefits (both emotional and practical) which they cannot find elsewhere. Branding, therefore, offers organizations the key to differentiating their offerings from alternatives in the market. If done in a relevant and compelling way, this can be a source of long-term advantage as it is very difficult for competitors to copy. For arts organizations this means that the basis of their branding needs to be the thing that makes them uniquely attractive. Brand management is something that arts organizations tend to be pretty good at, non-profits outperform companies in the management of their brands. The ‘source’ element of the brand, which includes the commitment and values of the organization’s staff, are inevitably stronger in the non-profit sector. At the extended experience level, product aspects tend to merge into other areas of the marketing mix. Offering an extended level of experience has a special role in arts marketing. As we have seen, the intangible can be rendered less so by surrounding it with various ancillary products. The extended level of experience can also play a part in audience development. Programmes are a service adjunct which should complement the experience of the arts. Normally programmes are produced on a contractual arrangement with publishing companies who sell advertising in them and offer them to the venue at a reduced rate per copy. As we have seen, arts marketing should aim at enriching customers’ ability to be better co-operators in the production of the arts experience and in this sense the performing arts can take some inspiration from the visual arts where the concept of a catalogue to accompany and interpret an exhibition is a well-established service adjunct. But in spite of the audience enrichment opportunity presented by programmes, their quality remains a weakness of many arts organizations. Time and resources may be the reasons for this deficiency. What is needed is an acceptable quality level which satisfies customer needs without sacrificing resources from other organizational objectives. Catering offers significant income potential with successful venues achieving profit margins of 55% or so, and 65% on bars, but it is a risky operation. Venues are faced with the decision of whether to run it themselves or to make an agreement with an external contractor who will bring expertise and systems to the opportunity and offer the venue a commission and/or fee for so doing. Whichever route is taken to catering, the image attributes will impact directly on the venue. Like catering, merchandise can offer a useful source of income as well as enhancing the customer experience. The financial risk of the operation has to be considered. Items related to a particular exhibition or production have a shorter life than venue-related branded items. A high proportion of audience members will not be paying full price (children, family ticket holders, parties etc.), yet merchandise allows an organization to recoup at least some of this. Badges, pens, related books, toys and videos are examples. Venue-specific merchandise (T- shirts, tote-bags etc.) can provide income if there are retailing facilities in the longer term. But such merchandise is also a useful adjunct to sponsorship deals. The quality of the merchandise itself is, of course, paramount. Careful selection and testing of items is very important, as is finding out as much as possible about suppliers. Regarding the potential experience, arts organizations need to be focused on the changing external environment to keep their provision relevant to new audiences and to refresh it for their existing ones. For an individual arts customer, the potential experience covers several forms of deeper involvement: affiliation or membership, becoming a donor or volunteer, or even becoming a more active participant by taking up a particular art form as a practitioner. Marketing success depends on an organization’s ability to add value to its offering. Using a multi-level approach to analysing your product or service allows you to spot opportunities which might otherwise go unconsidered. Like any good model it encourages the marketing strategist to think beyond the immediate situation and anticipate new developments in demand and provision. Friends are groups of enthusiasts who actively support their host organization by practical and/or financial means. From an arts organization’s point of view, the prime motivator for setting up a Friends scheme is usually to generate income for the organization, though cultivating long-term loyalty among audiences is also a key driver. Friends groups are usually autonomous, however, and power rests with the members. This can lead to tensions between the supporters and the organization being supported. Clearly there are issues for marketing here. And what about volunteering? Some fear the danger of projecting an unprofessional image, others (such as festivals) could not survive without a substantial input of free labour from the local community. Successful volunteer schemes should guarantee that both volunteer and organization reap the maximum benefit from the arrangement. This requires good management. Always be clear about what you want volunteers to do, providing written job descriptions, and treat them professionally. Decisions about products and services are invariably complex ones in the arts. They are fundamentally related to the mission of the organization; they will significantly influence the nature of the audiences the organization will attract, and they will have major implications for the ability of the organization to generate revenues. So, an understanding of the nature of product life cycles and the implications of product portfolios can be helpful: 1. Products and services have life cycles: new ways of satisfying needs are constantly emerging, existing ways are superseded. These changes are often driven by developments in the external environment, particularly technology. Product life cycles also exist in the arts: new forms come to replace the old ones. Their emergence can be led as much by the socio-cultural imperatives of fashion as by the advance of technology. But life cycles in the arts, as in other cultural industries such as fashion or broadcasting, can be short-lived. Technology has not only stimulated new forms of artistic expression but introduced new ways of enriching customers’ experience of traditional art forms. The implications for arts marketers are as follows: a. Elements of product need to be constantly reviewed for their relevance to the audience. b. Hard decisions have to be made about dropping initiatives (such as a subscriptions scheme in terminal decline) which have been superseded by needs from new segments. Otherwise, they will absorb time and resources uselessly which could be better applied elsewhere. c. The organization must maintain a focus on changes in the external environment (a key feature of marketing orientation). d. In a business that relies so much on its staff to represent the product, their skills and attitudes must be kept relevant to changing circumstances by a genuine commitment to training and development 2. Arts organizations need to spread the risk involved in producing arts experiences for customers by planning not only a balanced programme of artistic product, but also by maximizing the income they can earn from other activities. For performing arts venues these are often divided into performance- related items like programmes and catering, and non-performance related like room lettings and costume hire. The need to manage a combination of offerings in a way that optimizes the benefits to the customer as well as the returns to the organization has resulted in the development of several product portfolio management models. The first thing to say about such models is that, even for the a. Pricing intangibles: unlike physical products, services cannot prove their quality and reliability to their customers in advance of purchase. Service pricing needs to consider customers’ expectations based on previous experience of similar offerings. This makes pricing new or unfamiliar work particularly challenging. b. Pricing semi-tangibles: like the performance itself, the quality of the programme cannot be assessed until it has been read and thus here, too, the value will be judged retrospectively. The programme also serves as a souvenir of the performance and will only have a value in that capacity if the performance itself is judged of merit. c. Pricing tangibles: customers can gauge value for money with these items before purchase and make direct comparisons with the prices of competing products. Price setting is a matter of ensuring that the product is seen to represent reasonable value for money in the context of its presentation. Premium price can be justified here by the added value provided by quality, service attributes and convenience. Managers in the arts are faced with the task of creating and implementing pricing policies which will encourage demand for their services, generate revenue to help cover their costs and meet other artistic and social objectives. Pricing decisions have to be made at 2 levels: 1. Strategic 2. Tactical Arts organizations have to decide upon a general strategic approach to their pricing decisions which is commensurate with their: 1. Objectives: arts organizations are characterized by diverse objectives. While industry and commerce are driven by their requirement to provide financial returns to shareholders, the mission of many arts organizations is broader than this. Several potentially conflicting financial and marketing objectives needs to be considered in formulating pricing strategies. Financial objectives Marketing objectives The profit motive may be an influential factor in pricing decisions in some sectors of the arts. In the commercial arts, backers finance performances in anticipation of box office success and financial returns. Commonly in amateur arts, the focus is not on profit but simply on covering costs. Internal influences may exert a stronger force here than in professional organizations: all the cast may be involved in democratic decisions, as in a cooperative; this can lead to internal conflict between the desire for short-term returns and the longer-term interests of the company. The subsidized sector, by its very nature, does not expect earned income to cover all the costs of the company. Financial objectives will be set by the management to ensure that the combination of earned revenue, public funding and other fund-raising activity is sufficient to cover costs. Funding bodies may even set explicit targets. An appropriate pricing strategy is often the key to achieving marketing objectives. The kinds of competitive marketing objectives evident in industry and commerce, such as market share and market leadership, are of limited relevance to the arts. More relevant marketing objectives tend to relate to building a loyal core audience or developing new audiences. A core audience needs to be developed in the hope of gaining repeat business. Alongside this core audience focus is the equally urgent need to develop new audiences; this may be to attract new attenders, or to recruit existing attenders to a new art form or performance of minority appeal. Under these circumstances the task of the marketing function is to build audiences rather than maximize revenue. Ticket prices will have to be relatively low to attract these audiences, lessen the financial risk for them and encourage potential attenders, regardless of their financial status. 2. Market’s position: market position is related to the perceptions of an organization held by its customers and potential customers. Price can be a determining factor in creating these perceptions and, conversely, the perceptions held about an organization can limit its pricing flexibility. High- profile, high-status venues and companies are expected to charge high prices. Part of the pleasure experienced by the audience may derive from the exclusivity of the event, and high price is a contributory factor to this exclusivity. To charge lower prices would devalue the experience. To avoid the charge of elitism which might lose them public subsidy, high-cost art forms like opera and dance companies often have access policies and engage in outreach work which, by segmenting their market, allows them to reach the widest possible audience base without sacrificing their premium price position. On the other hand, if an organization is perceived to be offering lower quality, whether in terms of environment or performance, the opportunities for selling high-price tickets are limited. This is particularly problematic for amateur companies. Regardless of their levels of expertise or the costs they incur in staging a performance, there is a relatively low ceiling on the ticket prices that their audiences will be willing to pay. 3. Market’s composition: when making pricing decisions managers have to assess the importance of price to their target markets. The nature of the target market will determine not only ability but also willingness to pay certain price levels. Regional markets may not support the price levels accepted in major cities. Touring companies may provide identical performances in different venues and locations, but pricing will be at different levels to meet the expectations of the local markets. The market for amateur performances may consist largely of friends and family of the performers: they are paying not for the cultural experience but rather to support the cast. Price levels which are set too high may restrict audiences to a loyal core, alienating more peripheral supporters. The market for educational art forms tends to be more price sensitive than the market for arts entertainment. 4. Competitors’ nature and strength: In formulating a pricing strategy, it is important to be aware of competitive prices. However, for most arts organizations, competition is difficult to define, so the influence of competitor prices on pricing strategy will be limited: two adjacent galleries may be showing respectively a multimedia experimental exhibition and a Victorian retrospective, in this respect there is little justification for price comparison. Only if two similar events are simultaneously presented by organizations of similar artistic status at similar venues in the same region are competitor price levels likely to have a major impact on ticket sales. So, although general price levels within the sector tend to set a framework for customer price expectations, pricing strategy is often remarkably free from external competitive constraints. Sometimes, internal competition can be just as significant, if not more so. In venues with more than one auditorium the management may wish to price each performance space equally if they are considered to be of equal artistic status. However, the public may persist in valuing one space over another which may force the management to differentiate its product and price in a way which the audience demands, thus reducing internal competition. Another form of competition arises from substitute activities such as watching television, going to the cinema, or going out for a meal. As the price of these substitutes may range from virtually nothing for watching television, to an indefinable amount for eating out, the practical influence of substitute prices on pricing for arts activities will be limited. Implementing an overall pricing strategy requires managers to set prices which will meet the objectives of their organizations within the constraints imposed by market and competitive factors. A balance has to be struck between internal (costbased) and external (demand-based) factors in operational pricing decisions for the arts. ➔ Cost-based pricing: regardless of their specific financial targets, all organizations will set prices sufficient at least to cover costs. Costs can be classified in 2 ways: 1. Fixed costs = do not vary with the volume of activity 2. Variable costs (or direct cost) = relate directly to the activity of the business and vary according to the volume of sales For much activity in the performing arts, there is no correlation between variable revenues and variable costs. Most arts organizations face a very different competitive environment, and while break-even analysis may be a useful tool in setting a floor for pricing decisions, it is unlikely to be the best starting point. ➔ Demand-based pricing: by assessing the value that the customer places on a product or service, a demand-based approach attempts to set prices according to what the market will bear rather than the costs incurred in providing the product or service. The value audiences place on an exhibition or performance is likely to be a function of the: 1. Reputation of the artists or performers: popular artists and highly regarded companies or orchestras also offer greater value to audiences, though this may or may not be related to the actual quality of their work. Higher price levels can be achieved simply based on their reputation. Audiences may consist of people ranging from the highly discerning to those with very little knowledge or understanding of an art form. The former group will be willing to pay for the pleasure of appreciating the quality of experience provided by top-class performers, while the latter may gain value from the fact that others rate that artistic experience. Their own perceived risk is reduced by the endorsement of others. 2. Expectations of the performance or exhibition itself: prices must be set to overcome the inertia that stems from unfamiliarity. Although some people are highly motivated to attend or participate in new and different arts experiences, they are relatively few and far between. For most people, doubts over whether the performance will be enjoyable depress their willingness to part with their cash, and special incentives may be required to generate an audience. 3. Nature of the venue: part of the total experience being purchased by audiences is the ambience, location, comfort, prestige, and size of the venue. The venue can either add to or detract from the perceived value of the event and price levels must take this into account. Price sensitivity = the extent to which raising or lowering prices will affect a potential customer’s decision whether to buy a ticket. The price elasticity of demand model can be used to estimate the extent by which demand for tickets will fall if prices are raised, and conversely, by how much demand will fall if prices are increased. A market is defined as having elastic demand if a small increase in price leads to a large reduction in sales. This is a characteristic of highly competitive markets, where customers can easily substitute one product for another if they think something is too expensive. Direct comparison with competitive offerings is very difficult in most sectors of the performing arts, so ticket prices are sensitive only to a limited extent. Research consistently finds that price does not have a major impact on the decision to attend an arts event. Economists believe that ticket prices for the arts are relatively inelastic, and that raising prices has little effect on the number of seats sold; although this view is often contested by those who work in the arts, who argue that price is a major barrier to access to the arts. A lot can be learned by analysing price/sales relationships in the past and using the information to predict the price levels that will generate the highest revenues in the future. A scientific approach is the best guarantee of objectivity when setting prices, a process that can frequently involve a highly charged but not very well-informed debate. Despite the relative inelasticity of demand which has been observed in pricing research in the arts, a range of pricing tactics can be effectively used to tempt more people to experience the arts. Much tactical pricing is based on the principle of market segmentation which asserts that different parts of a market have different needs and expectations from others, and that service providers can meet the needs of their total market best by concentrating on the needs of the individual segments rather than approaching the market as a single entity. Consequently, price discrimination is practised to recognize that different groups of buyers value products and services differently and that some are willing to pay more than others. Different prices can be charged according to the characteristics of a performance and other aspects of the arts experience. 2 criteria are commonly used to determine price structures: 1. Sightlines: seats with particularly good visibility are of great value to certain sectors of the audience. of arts funding. It takes several forms, including donations, corporate entertainment, and in-company training, though the most significant of these is undoubtedly sponsorship. Sponsorship occurs when a company provides funds to support a particular arts activity, and in return wants to gain benefits, usually in the form of publicity among its target markets or its stakeholders. A close connection between the nature of the arts event and the aims of the company is usually vital, but this is not always obvious. Price can be a key factor in achieving appropriate sponsorship and setting a price for a sponsorship opportunity is a notoriously difficult exercise. Sponsorship usually represents a desire on the part of the sponsor to gain value by association with an activity or organization that is perceived as enjoyable, of cultural merit and highly visible. As with all customers, relationships with sponsors should be seen as long term. As well as being clear about the sponsorship opportunity being offered, it is important to be clear about the benefits that a sponsor is seeking. The arts organization should ensure that: 1. unreal expectations are flushed out before rather than after the event 2. all activity associated with the sponsorship should be of high quality, including catering, printed material, and media activity 3. senior personnel are in contact with the sponsor throughout 4. ‘positive stroking’, both during and after the sponsorship, is maintained through a systematic process of evaluation and review. In a highly sponsored arts organization, a variety of different companies can be involved in support of the same event. Although sponsorship deals often involve cash, it can be easier to attract sponsorship in kind; in other words, the supply of a product that the arts organization wishes to acquire free of charge, or at a considerably reduced rate. This is more likely to be successful if it is a product that is not usually in demand in the charities sector. So, too, will it be hard to get sponsorship in kind if the arts organization is a primary customer of the sponsoring company unless it is perceived as a loss-leader as a prelude to a long-term relationship as supplier. The benefit for the sponsor is that the cost of the sponsorship is limited to the cost of the goods. The benefit for the arts organization is the saving on the full price of the equipment. One of the hidden benefits of sponsorship is the opportunity it offers for new audience development. A big local corporate sponsor will employ many people living in the local community, who form the potential audience of the arts organization for much of its activity. To generate enthusiasm among sponsors’ staff, marketing activities can be specifically targeted at them, including: a. special prices for employees b. a special staff evening, with special activities c. visits to the workplace by actors d. tours of the theatre e. attendance at an open rehearsal Many of the people who work in arts organizations have a very different perspective from their counterparts in commercial life; this needs to be recognized at a basic level in the soliciting and servicing of sponsors. The board of governors and staff in an arts organization need to be happy about owning the sponsorship, and there are certain areas of business which may cause difficulties here. Ironically, it is often such companies who are in greatest need of the sort of responsible image which sponsorship can provide. Both sides of the exchange need to be comfortable with the transaction for it to be a success, as in any form of marketing process. If not, the whole arrangement becomes enormously vulnerable, and potentially counter-productive. Another way in which companies can support arts organizations is by membership of a corporate entertainment scheme. A premium price is paid for a personalized service that might include use of a private bar, priority booking and a free programme. Some arts organizations provide different levels of corporate membership, a neat example of segmentation, although in some cases it is hard to distinguish between the benefits offered. Chapter 6: Promotion: Promotion = the element of the marketing mix that communicates the benefits of what is on offer to the target audience. By its very nature it is the most visible aspect of marketing activity. It plays an extremely important part in arts marketing strategy, especially where the aim is to reach not only existing arts customers, but also to arouse the interest of new audiences. The costs of such activity need to be carefully weighed. Because of its visibility, it is tempting to confuse promotion with marketing itself. Promotion can only work as part of a successful marketing mix. If the price is too high, or the product is unattractive, irrelevant or inaccessible, no amount of clever promotion will guarantee success. On the other hand, if promotion is not carefully planned and executed the product will not reach as many customers as it ought. Most marketing theorists talk about promotion by subdividing it into 4 main areas of technique: 1. advertising is an extremely expensive business, but (when used in the right context) it can offer significant image benefits, particularly for art forms with a strong visual appeal. E.g.: press advertising, poster advertising, social media advertising, etc. 2. the emphasis on public relations is understandable because artists and actors are people in the public eye. Furthermore, media critics can be important influencers over a very wide potential audience. Their accolades play a valuable role in attracting people to events in which they might not otherwise have shown any interest. 3. sales promotion is designed to increase the amount or speed involved in a transaction. 4. personal selling 5. Some add direct marketing as a fifth element, and it is appropriate that arts marketers adopt this extra element because of the fundamental importance of developing long-term relationships with their customers. Although usually considered to be a ‘promotional’ technique, direct marketing is much broader, referring to a group of techniques which help organizations create and sustain direct relationship with their customers on a one-to-one basis. The associated philosophy of relationship marketing sees the customer as an appreciating asset with whom the organization has a mutually beneficial relationship over a lengthy period. Because of the uniquely collaborative nature of the arts transaction a continuing and developing relationship with customers is central to the success of arts marketing. ➔ Different industries tend to use different combinations of techniques in their promotional strategies. The importance of keeping the balance of promotional activity constantly under review has been drawn into sharp focus by the ever-increasing speed of adoption of new media by the public. It is important, then, to be prepared to think laterally when planning promotional activity. If, as suggested by advertising research, one of the ways in which marketing communication registers with its recipients is through salience (= standing out from the background), then it makes sense to look for different and fresh ways of getting the message across. The 3 main influences on the shape of a successful promotional mix are: 1. the nature of the audience (*the most fundamental of these three factors) 2. the nature of the message: all effective communication involves speaking the audience’s language, not only in the messages sent but how they are conveyed. But managing this without preconceptions can be a difficult process. Research and careful observation are important to safeguard your approach. One of the signs of an organization’s successful espousal of marketing is the consideration of the customer in each decision. Promotional decisions are particularly important in this respect. The nature of the message content can also have an important effect on choosing the means for its delivery. 3. the size of budget available: promotion is a cost, so the limits imposed by the promotional budget will be a guiding factor as well. How much money should be spent on promotional activity is a hotly debated issue in any organization. It has to consider: a. The competitive parity: what do other organizations of a similar size and turnover spend? Funding bodies, annual reports, and informal contacts with colleagues in other companies can help build a picture of the industry average. b. The percentage of sales: important is in building imagery and communicating benefits to a wide range of audiences, the higher the advertising-to-sales ratio is likely to be. c. The objective and task: this is the most rational method of budget setting; it operates on the principle that you should first decide what you want to do (the objective) and then cost the necessary action (the task). ➔ None of these techniques used on their own offer a watertight solution to the problem of establishing an infallible figure. But used together they can give the marketing department invaluable arguments for defending or developing the promotional budget. Advertising = paid-for media exposure to inform and/or persuade potential (and existing) customers of the benefits of your offering. The difference between ‘inform’ and ‘persuade’ here is an important one. The research suggests that attitude changes because of advertising are slight and take effect only in the long term. Nevertheless, the advertising industry has developed a terminology of its own which talks in terms of ‘impacts’ and ‘impressions’, as if consumers were easily manipulated into purchase. An effective advertisement helps your customer to decide in your favour by stressing the advantages of choosing your offering over the alternatives. The lesson to be learnt here by arts marketers is to keep their advertising simple and relevant to the product, and to make sure it is effectively targeted. Simplicity is the key to effective communication. It can be encouraged using 2 templates in the creation of advertising and other promotional activity: 1) AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) is attributed to the American advertising guru E.K. Strong in 1925. It can be argued that AIDA is over-simplistic in the way it predicts that advertising draws people through a series of stages to the final goal of purchase. People are not that logical, and they are certainly not as innocent of advertising as the model suggests. But the beauty of a model resides not in its accuracy but in its usefulness and flexibility. From this point of view AIDA is very useful indeed. It can serve as a checklist for message structure, or as a guide to the layout and design of an advertisement or piece of printed publicity. It concentrates the mind on creating communications which are simple and relevant and can also help in the evaluation of creative work. It is understandably popular. AIDA is helpful from the point of view of structuring a piece of communication; in fact, practically any press advertisement you can find will demonstrate the principle: • A headline grabs the attention. • The reader’s interest is then captivated by an illustration or a photographic image. • The words of the advertisement (known as ‘body copy’) demonstrate how the product or service on offer will provide a sought-after benefit (thus stimulating desire). • A coupon, telephone number, or list of stockists, will complete the structure, allowing the reader to become a customer by converting interest and desire into the action of purchase. 2) USP: Rosser Reeves coined the phrase ‘USP’ in the late 1950s, standing for a philosophy of advertising based on what he called the ‘Unique Selling Proposition’. This proposes that: • Every product or service, in order to justify its position in the market place, has to have something unique about it. • This feature has to be strong enough to persuade customers that the product boasting it is more suited to their needs than rival offerings. • All promotional activity needs to drive home this unique proposition in a simple and single- minded way. The USP of any product or service needs to be reflected in its performance. The USP you discover for your organization needs to be a recognizable feature of its operation. There may even be more than obtained before any work is started. The schedule for a piece of printed material should include time for conceptualization, copywriting, briefing a designer, commissioning or sourcing visuals, gaining necessary approvals, getting printers’ quotations, proofing, printing and delivery. Each of these is potentially a time trap. Artistic directors in arts organizations will inevitably (and justifiably) want to be involved. They can be a useful resource, but it is better to manage their involvement at the early, strategic stages. This will save time later, particularly when it comes to approving proofs. Despite its obvious attractions direct marketing is not a panacea for all ills. Furthermore, badly targeted direct marketing is not only highly wasteful (because of the expense of production and postage), but can also have a negative image, dubbed ‘junk mail’, or ‘spam’ in the case of e-mailing. Most direct marketing approaches invite customers to make response (e.g.: to buy a ticket, to sign up for a special offer, to attend an event). One of the most effective ways in which direct marketing techniques can be used is for a ‘call to action’, the effectiveness of which can be tested and then evaluated. However, direct marketing is not the only way to solicit a measurable response. The key difference between ‘direct’ marketing and direct response marketing is that with direct marketing the approach is made to identifiable individuals rather than an unidentifiable mass market. Some arts organizations are in the happy position of being able to collect the names and addresses of all existing customers during normal business. A key characteristic of direct marketing is its capacity to be evaluated. Direct marketers quickly know how successful their marketing activity has been, as they can identify the responses to specific pieces of marketing activity by coding the response mechanisms. This kind of accountability helps marketing managers plan and justify their budgets for direct marketing campaigns in a way which gives the marketing function credibility in frequently sceptical arts organizations. Types of direct marketing: 1. Direct mail 2. Text messaging 3. E-mail 4. Websites → There are 3 desirable qualities in any website: a. Magnetism: the site needs to attract people. To do this, it’s important to use appropriate keywords. b. Stickiness: when people arrive at the site, something has to grab their attention. c. Elasticity: making people want to come back to your site time and time again is a real achievement. There is no greater accolade than to be ‘bookmarked’ as a site worthy of repeat visits. That is the point at which true relationshipbuilding can really begin. Outcomes such as tickets sold online, levels of registration, and return of feedback forms are the ultimate measures of the marketing impact of a site. Chapter 7: Making the arts available: Place/distribution = is concerned with making an organization’s offering available to the customer when and where it is required. Distribution decisions are a crucial element in marketing success. Distribution addresses the issue of how to establish an appropriate relationship with the maximum number of relevant customers at the minimum cost to the organization. Attention to distribution can lead to coverage of a wider audience, accessing more customers and enabling existing customers to have a more satisfactory experience. Distribution deals with managing effective supply. Done successfully, it fulfils the opportunities that the rest of the marketing elements create in the market, establishing the all-important final link with the customer. Advertising and publicity can attract the customer, but the sales effort at the box office or the gallery counter is what seals the relationship. Distribution patterns in all areas of marketing have been a major area of change driven by new technology and lifestyles. The combination of credit cards with information and communications technology has fuelled the boom of ‘direct’ marketing. It has changed the way we buy and sell several goods and services, including tickets. Distribution needs to work with, and complement, the other marketing mix elements. The kind of Product you are dealing with has a fundamental influence on distribution decisions. In marketing tangible goods, the emphasis is on physical distribution (= getting the product to the customer in the right condition and at the right price and time). Galleries and museums have to deal with issues of transport and security for their exhibits. Travel and transport activities represent a major investment in resources, and are therefore appropriate operations to keep under review from the point of view of savings or alternative strategies. They offer the closest analogy we can find in the arts industries with the physical distribution strategies, finding the most appropriate methods of transport and storage to ensure that the product is available in the optimum combination of quality and accessibility. These activities take place in the human context of a marketing channel, which adds the functions of selling and transferring goods from manufacturers to consumers. The actions in such channels are performed by organizations and individuals known as channel intermediaries, who connect the seller to the buyer. The marketing channel needs to place the customer at the centre of the process. As well as Product, Price is a very live issue in distribution. Specialist forms of distribution can be combined with special pricing to appeal to specific segments of the market without devaluing the product for other customers. Promotion is an important element to reconcile with any distribution pattern. If channel intermediaries are required to play a role in communicating the benefits of what they are making available, this is known as a push strategy. It concentrates promotional effort on each stage of the marketing channel to drive the offering towards the eventual end user. This is usually carried out in tandem with a ‘pull’ strategy which aims its promotion at the consumer in order to stimulate demand and ‘pull’ the offering through the chain. Intermediaries like ticket agents provide an essential service in any distribution chain by reducing contact costs for suppliers in reaching their buyers. Intermediaries are also worth cultivating because of the entrepreneurial role they can play in presenting opportunities to individuals or organizations in the arts which would be unavailable otherwise. Just as organizations need to segment their customer market and decide which parts of the market to prioritize in line with their mission, so a venue must decide on what kind of agent to work with. In this area of management, as in so many others, Pareto’s law of 80 per cent of the results coming from 20 per cent of the effort applies. Increasing effective effort by not squandering scarce resources on sluggish agencies needs to be a priority for arts marketers. On the positive side, relationship marketing approaches point the way to close regular contact with the more active agencies, sharing information and providing active promotional support. Marketing channels, as we have seen, are made up of several intermediaries connecting organizations to their customers. While at first sight all the parties involved in a channel have a mutual interest in the success of the process, there are plenty of potential clashes. This is known as channel conflict: 1. vertical conflict: is caused by trouble down the channel (like a manufacturer in dispute with a retailer for not granting it enough shelf space). 2. horizontal conflict: this kind of conflict is across intermediaries at the same stage in two parallel channels. An analogy here might be with two rival supermarkets trying to outdo each other on lowering the price of a particular special offer. ➔ Both kinds of channel conflict can be minimized by negotiation and clear lines of communication. But the only sure way to stamp out the possibility of conflict is for one of the members of the chain to assume a dominant role. This can be in one of 3 ways: a. horizontal integration = it spreads ownership across the same stage in several marketing channels. b. vertical integration = it involves ownership up and down the channel. c. contractual vertical marketing system = it governs relationships up and down the channel. Distribution chains are deemed long or short depending on how many intermediaries are involved. While there is no golden rule about the length of a chain, the shorter the chain, the more control a manufacturer has over the presentation of the final product. As well as institutional or personal intermediaries, marketing channels can incorporate new ways of mediating artistic experience, either through innovative organization or new technology. Technology can also be used to broaden the potential audience for an artistic event. This aspiration underlines the way in which distribution is linked into the other marketing mix elements of product (excellence) and price. Physical accessibility: The importance of the physical elements of the environment presented by the venue itself in mediating an arts experience should not be underestimated. It is a salutary fact that attendance at arts events still presents an enormous amount of difficulty to many disabled patrons. New buildings to be designed with access for wheelchair users in mind and to include the latest technologies to improve the arts experience for disabled customers. Hearing difficulties particular needs of its disabled customers effectively. Many galleries now provide Braille labels and audio guides for their exhibits, giving information about the artist and the object on display. Access in more general terms is an important issue for arts marketers. Same for facilities as pushchairs, baby changing and family areas. are usually rudimentary if they exist at all. With increasing daytime use of arts venues, the opportunity presented by family audiences can only be realized by catering for their needs through the right kind of access environment. Time: Often this will involve a tradeoff with other audiences at particular times of the day or week, as a marketing mix which works for families can often be off-putting for adults. Segmenting the audience of arts attenders may lead to fresh thinking on performance times or opening hours. Lengthy queues used to be one of the characteristics of blockbuster exhibitions, and while these queues provided valuable public relations material in terms of talking points and photo opportunities, they were a source of some inconvenience to the exhibition-goer and were seen as a deterrent to attendance. The crush of people at very popular events can also mean that the art objects themselves are more difficult to enjoy because it is impossible to get near to them, or to appreciate them at one’s own pace. The distribution solution of a booking system has the advantage of minimizing the waiting time for the customer, and maximizing the quality of the experience by limiting the crowds in the gallery at any particular time. Ticket selling channels: Helping box office staff to develop their skills in handling such encounters can make an enormous difference in the efficiency of this potentially circuitous and time-wasting procedure. Box office training encourages staff to be more active in their response to customers by structuring their contact with customers and retaining the initiative throughout. It might be objected that a structured approach to selling, however gently, is uncomfortably close to manipulating the customer. After all, the first principles of marketing enjoin us to respect what the customer needs rather than the organization’s desire to sell. However, such an objection misrepresents the nature of the procedure which aims to bring the standard of customer service up to a uniformly high level. The box office is in many ways the public face of the organization. One of the biggest marketing advances in recent years for both performing arts venues and museums and galleries has been the widespread adoption of computerized box office systems. This has transformed what might once have been seen as the simple business of selling tickets into a crucial source of information about customers and their needs. By capturing data at the point of sale, a picture builds up of the preferences and behaviour of individual customers. Over time, this forms into an audience profile which can inform and guide marketing strategy. Collecting data of any sort involves ethical issues of privacy. It is important that the customer knows which organization is collecting the data and why. Furthermore, computers have increased the options available to marketers, and there is evidence that the online purchasing audience is growing → Through online sales they can reach customers anywhere in the world. Chapter 8: Marketing planning: The external audit (environmental analysis) is concerned with the appraisal of those factors which affect the fortunes of the organization but over which it has limited, if any, control. The purpose of the external audit is to identify trends in the environment so that actions can be taken to exploit the positive trends and minimize the impact of the negative ones → 3 areas need to be considered: 1. the business environment, economic and social environment (sometimes known as the macro environment): the STEP factors are a useful model for identifying the most important trends → e.g.: I. Socio-cultural factors: a. The mobility of populations b. Increase in crime c. Leisure patterns II. Technological factors: a. Improved software b. Penetration of home computing facilities c. Advances in telecommunications d. Improved home entertainment III. Economic factors: a. Unemployment b. Rising interest rates c. Recession IV. Politico-legal factors: a. Arts funding policy b. Health and safety regulations c. Data protection legislation These STEP factors are inevitably beyond the control of an arts organization. They will produce opportunities for the organization to respond to and threats which it must face up to, but they cannot be ignored. An assessment of the significance of changes in the STEP factors should therefore be the starting point for a marketing audit. The next stages of the audit require an assessment of trends among target markets and developments in competition. These give an organization a much clearer picture of the more immediate opportunities and threats that it faces. Continuous efforts to obtain current marketing research through both primary and secondary sources can produce the data on which such an assessment can be made. 2. the market: the audit needs to search for any changes and trends in the following aspects of the organization’s target market (including actual and potential audiences): a. the geographic and demographic characteristics of the primary target market b. the characteristics of different market segments within the overall target market c. the benefits sought by different market segments (e.g. facilities expected; types of programme or exhibition; or quality of artistic product) d. the price sensitivity of different segments e. purchasing patterns f. information sources used to find out about arts events This type of knowledge and understanding of the market can enable arts organizations to identify opportunities such as emerging market segments or new means by which they can communicate with their target audiences. It can also help them prepare for eventualities such as increased demand for improved facilities or a decline in the popularity of certain art forms. Information can be pooled with other arts organizations to gain a more complete picture, or funding bodies may be able to provide an overview. 3. the competition: the audit also needs to recognize changes and trends in competition although. This is a complicated area in the arts. 2 important questions need to be answered in building up a picture of the ways in which competition of various sorts may be affecting attendance patterns: I. What is the nature of the competition? Competition may come from a wide range of sources: a. Desire competitors b. Generic competitors c. Form competitors d. Brand competitors II. How threatening are the different competitors? If audiences are simply deserting one venue for another in the locality, for example, then marketing strategies need to address the impact of a brand competitor, perhaps by identifying a niche in the market that the other venue is not well placed to serve. On the other hand, if audiences are deserting a particular art form, or even the arts per se, marketing communications may need to be enhanced to change attitudes. A perceptual map is a useful tool for evaluating the extent of brand competition. It is developed by identifying the most important criteria by which audiences judge different arts organizations on 2 axes and plotting the competitors within the framework. Qualitative market research is a useful tool for identifying both the criteria and audience perceptions of different organizations. If an organization is positioned well away from its competitors, audiences are likely to perceive the product offerings of the various organizations to be quite different, so the intensity of the competition will be relatively low. An understanding of the nature and strength of competition usually leads arts organizations to one of two conclusions (and occasionally a combination of both): a. That marketing strategies must involve collaborating with competitors: if the arts organizations work together, programme schedules can be designed so that different segments of the overall target market are attracted to different venues at different times. Joint promotional activity becomes possible, bringing economies of scale which reduce costs for each participating organization. b. That marketing strategies must involve proactive competition, namely attempting to defend oneself against competitors while simultaneously trying to attract their audiences. *NB in the commercial arts, this has always been and will no doubt remain the overriding attitude towards competition. The commercial competitors are looking for audiences for live entertainment which are very likely to overlap to a large extent with the segments being targeted by the arts organizations with non-commercial objectives. The internal audit aims consist of indicating how the organization is prepared to meet the demands of the changing environment identified in the external audit. The internal audit should evaluate 3 broad areas: 1. The marketing achievements (usually over the past 12 months) are evaluated by looking at the extent to which the organization has met its objectives (which can vary widely). This information is particularly helpful if it is collected over many years so that trends can be identified, and conclusions drawn as to the effectiveness of previous marketing strategies. 2. The marketing activities of the organization’s marketing mix (4 Ps): a. Product evaluation b. Pricing evaluation c. Review of the impact of promotional activity d. Assessment of distribution 3. The marketing resources committed to the generation of income and the development of audiences must also be considered. Not only do they indicate the efficiency with which the marketing function operates, but they also create the constraints within which the marketing function is performed. 4 key resources should be examined: a. staff (including job responsibilities, organizational structure, staff experience and support from higher levels of management) b. budgets (including box office systems and opportunities for increasing revenues) c. information technology (including box office systems) d. other help (e.g.: from public bodies such as local authorities or universities; board members; volunteers; funding bodies; etc.) The most useful way of drawing conclusions from a marketing audit is by conducting a SWOT analysis. From the list of issues identified in the external environment, the specific opportunities and threats facing the organization can be drawn out. The strengths and weaknesses of the marketing function in meeting the opportunities and counteracting the threats can then be developed from the evidence in the internal audit. Although this is a largely subjective process, it is a useful way of summarizing the marketing audit. Not all the strengths and weaknesses of the organization should be listed; neither should all of the opportunities and threats. An arts organization only has a strength if it is perceived as being good at something in the eyes of its customers and relative to its competitors. The SWOT analysis should draw out the major opportunities and threats facing the organization, together with those strengths and weaknesses which affect the way in which the opportunities can be seized and the threats avoided. In doing this, it creates a framework for the formulation of objectives and strategies, helping the organization to decide ‘where do we want to go’. Planning: Strategy = ‘how’ you plan to achieve your objectives. It is a general statement which gives direction to the activities (or tactics) that must be undertaken to achieve the objectives. For the purposes of a marketing plan, these objectives and strategies relate to the arts provision, the related facilities and the audience (or sponsor). Marketing objectives have 2 very specific dimensions: 1. customers 2. products ➔ Consequently, there are 3 possible generic marketing objectives: a. Loyalty building: aim to attract those who are currently attending your artistic experience to do so more consistently. b. Audience development: aim to attract new customers for the artistic experience you currently offer or aim to attract your current attenders to new types of artistic work. c. Diversification: develop new types of artistic work and aim to attract people who do not normally attend. Depending on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats identified in the marketing audit, any or all of these generic objectives may be appropriate and will need to be further developed into specific statements of planned achievement, which need to be written very carefully in the form of SMART objectives → SMART stays for: 1. Specific (make it quite clear as to what the target is) 2. Measurable (be capable of evaluation of progress) 3. Agreed (supported by all who are involved in achieving them) 4. Realistic (not unattainable dreams) 5. Time-constrained (to be achieved by a specific deadline) Marketing strategies outline the way in which the organization’s skills and resources should be used to achieve its marketing objectives. Marketing strategies are broadly concerned with the 4 main elements of the marketing mix and should provide general policy in each area. Moreover, a set of overall marketing objectives and strategies should subsequently be translated into a detailed statement of planned marketing activities indicating exactly what actions need to be taken. For planning marketing tactical activities, a useful device is a tactical marketing planning grid, which takes each marketing objective and recommends a series of activities to lead to its achievement. Cost and revenue forecasts should be generated for each of the activities on each of the grids, and the activities should be prioritized in the event of financial constraints curtailing some of the plans. The timing of the activities should also be indicated and, if possible, the name of the person responsible for implementing the planned activity. performance will always be one of the key indicators for evaluation. Marketing teams generally tend to be viewed as high spenders in their organizations, and this charge can best be countered in value-for-money terms. Other performance indicators would be: 1. attendance figures, against budgets and against previous years; 2. customer perception surveys; 3. audience development data, such as party bookings or subscribers. The practical effect of this sort of evaluation will be seen in the next cycle of planning and budgeting, as well as in the appreciation of the contribution of marketing throughout the organization. One other practical aspect to monitoring the financial resource available to the marketing department concerns cash-flow management. This means ensuring that money comes into the organization before it has to go out. For the marketing team, promoting ticket sales in advance of the performance represents an important contribution to the overall cash flow. Human resource management: The scope of a typical marketing manager’s human resource responsibilities is likely to widen to include staff responsible for customer contact, sales and fund-raising. As well as the people with whom the manager has a line relationship, there will be several other people that relate closely to the marketing department. These relationships will also need to be managed. An understanding of the structure and organizational culture of your institution will enable you to plan and implement marketing more effectively, and help you to work with, rather than at cross-purposes with, your colleagues. An understanding of organizational structure (of which there are many different structures, each with its advantages and disadvantages) can help an individual manager implement marketing plans or drive through changes to make an organization more customer- centred. It certainly helps to have the clear lines of communication and accountability and defined spheres of influence which a formal structure provides. However, such definitions are not always explicit, and effective managers need to take account of informal as well as formal power structures in their organization. Power, in this context, means the people with authority to take decisions and make things happen. There are different types of power: 1. resource power – influence derived from the control of key resources 2. position power – also sometimes called ‘legitimate’ power, that derived by virtue of being, for example, chief executive 3. expert power – this might well be ‘artistic’ or ‘creative’ power in an arts organization 4. personal power – or ‘charisma’, although this is often more tied to position than the powerful individual would wish to admit 5. negative power – the power to delay or prevent things from happening, which can often be wielded by quite junior people in the organization ➔ Understanding the sources of influence within your organization and cultivating the right contacts are essential to getting ‘buy-in’ to your marketing ideas and their possibly unpopular consequences. Structure and power are components of the wider issue called corporate culture. Much of current thinking on culture in the workplace started with Edgar Schein, who describes the sorts of assumptions about an organization’s values and practices which are commonly held by its members (Schein, 1985). Another definition of culture is ‘the collection of traditions, values, policies, beliefs and attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think in an organization’. The organizational leader has an important role in managing the corporate culture, but does not set it, may not understand it and may not be able to change it in time to learn a new culture for new circumstances. The marketing department is likely to have its own culture, which may or may not be at odds with the wider organizational culture. However, understanding the wider corporate culture will be a key to the success of internal marketing. Effective marketing to external audiences stems from your understanding and knowledge of your own staff to play to their strengths and overcome weaknesses in order to develop their full potential, and your ability to manage them as a team which balances individual skills to produce something greater than the sum of the individual parts. In an area where there is often rapid turnover of staff, recruitment and selection skills should be a priority for arts marketers. The recruitment process should be planned in advance and should accord with any personnel policies on appointments that have been developed within the organization. A job description should be drawn up that identifies the key areas of the role, rather than one that seeks to include every possible task that the new employee might be asked to perform. A marketing team, like any other, will not come together without effort. A systematic effort must be made to harmonize the individual’s own objectives and goals, which are based around their career development, with the requirements of the organization. The better this harmonization, the greater the eventual contribution of the individual. Team building goes beyond this, as it seeks to create a unit to support and encourage each member, so that together their achievements amount to more than the work of each member in isolation. Marketing involves a great deal of teamwork in any context, but especially in the arts. Although unpaid, the principles of working well with volunteers are akin to those of managing employees. Points to bear in mind are: • They will not be with you for ever • Clear communication should reinforce their value to you • The ‘motivators’ and ‘hygiene’ factors (e.g.: offer tickets, invitations to previews, include them in first night parties) • Include volunteers as part of the marketing team, making sure they understand why they are doing things, and how their actions contribute to the wider marketing effort • Give them work to do which is within their abilities, and with which they feel comfortable • Make sure someone is looking after them and ask a senior member of staff outside the department to thank them for their efforts from time to time The team leader is one of the team, but with a special role. There are many styles of leadership: a. Authoritarian: statement rather than confrontation is the preferred mode of operation; opposition is disabled or ignored. Might be the original founder of department, or organization. b. Managerial: operates systems and has documented policies and procedures. Leader works with senior management team, or through line structure. Has meetings and committees. c. Interpersonal: high visibility and mobility; consultative and empathetic; avoids formal situations; may have problems taking decisions. d. Adversarial: encourages and participates in debate; believes in ‘creative conflict’; uses public arena to get messages across, persuade and gain commitment. ➔ All these styles have advantages and disadvantages, and all managers will tend to adopt a mixture of approaches. The leader needs to possess an impressive list of attributes, ranging from consistency to flexibility, the ability to take decisions and the ability to delegate to staff empowered to take them, the ability to provide inspirational vision and the ability to operate invisibly so that the team are self- motivating, and, perhaps, most importantly, resilience and bags of energy. Individuals are most motivated by growth and self-realization through their work. It is a necessary precondition of such self-realization that the environmental factors surrounding the job should be satisfactory. This sort of thinking can be paralleled by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The arts sector in general is not very good at facilitating individual self-development within the framework of a staff appraisal or review scheme, usually because of the size of the organizations in question and the resources of time and expertise available. There are, however, benefits to undergoing a formal process; it establishes that progression is something that competent staff have a right to expect, and it demonstrates the institutional commitment to developing staff to their full potential. It also means that the organization’s customers are better served by more effective staff. As a marketing manager you should make it a priority to lobby for such a system if it does not already exist in your organization. Many other forms of staff development: 1. Mentoring 2. On-the-job-training 3. Team training 4. Shared training with other art organizations 5. Funding bodies may well be willing to support training activity, if the need is made clear Inevitably there will come a time when even the best manager has to deal with a discipline issue. All organizations should have a disciplinary policy, and it is important to follow this exactly. The marketing team in an arts organization will work with 2 different groups of creative workers: 1. the practitioners of the art forms which are the product of their own organization 2. designers and copywriters from external marketing services agencies While being very wary of applying a stereotypical view of creativity to the artists with whom the marketing staff work, some understanding of their perspectives may help facilitate the relationship. With the creative suppliers who work for the marketing team, the situation may appear more straightforward. This will not necessarily be so. Particularly at the start of the working relationship, their interpretation of a brief may be very different from yours, and they will inevitably bring their own ideas and inspiration to bear on it. Problems at a later stage may be largely avoided if care is taken at the planning stage to be very clear about the brief, the deadlines and the design standards. Briefs should be in written form, and should contain accurate information about time, budgets and any other mandatory elements. Managing the marketing effort requires considerable powers of communication, both verbal and non-verbal. The most important of all of these is the skill of listening. Just as it is vital for marketing organizations to listen to their customers, so marketing managers need to listen to their organizations. The ability to stand up in front of an audience and speak persuasively is a great asset in arts marketing. The marketing team has a role to play in facilitating both: 1. Formal communications may include briefing sheets, a staff bulletin, staff meetings, focus groups, upward information such as the show reports, box office printouts, management reports. 2. Informal communications include the famous meetings in corridors, the grapevine, gossip and rumour. Rumour may be a symptom of unrest, fear or hostility that needs to be addressed, even if the actual rumour is without foundation. Handy identifies the following reasons for communication problems: 1. perceptual bias by the receiver – ignoring unpalatable information 2. omission or distortion by the sender – either consciously or unconsciously 3. lack of trust – on either side 4. mixed messages – contradictions between what is said, and the body language or tone which accompanies it 5. overload – too much information 6. distance – physical or hierarchical 7. lack of clarity – jargon, woolliness, ambiguity, and imprecise thinking Presentations are a personal way of communicating your organization’s message. But an effortlessly assured performance does not just happen. It is the result of careful preparation and rehearsal. Some advice for a presentation: • Consider your audience • The presentation surroundings: physical environment plays a crucial role in presentations: equipment needs to be checked → Furniture, lighting, heating, and ventilation • It is important to maintain your audience’s good opinion of you by making a good initial impression: introduce yourself, say how delighted you are to have the opportunity of speaking to them today, tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you have told them • Eye contact is important • A little humour can enliven a presentation, but it can also be distracting, embarrassing, or simply irritating. So, it needs to be approached with care → *NB The focus of the speaker needs to be on communicating first and foremost rather than being amusing or entertaining