Cultural Marketing in the Performing Arts: An examination of how cultural marketing techniques and theories can encourage a new generation of arts patrons

From the onset let us be clear in our understanding and usage of the term “cultural marketing”. The fundamental concept in traditional marketing – meeting the needs of the consumer – does not apply in cultural marketing. In Francois Colbert’s words, “By nature the artistic product which cultural marketing promotes does not exists to fulfill a market need. Its raison d’être is independent of the market which is what makes it a particular marketing challenge." This article is predicated on this understanding.

Increasingly culture consumers want to be entertained through active participation, as opposed to passive participation. In a 2005 study conducted by the Arts Council of Indianapolis researchers found that America’s next generation of arts patrons want “to be engaged at a level beyond the art itself.” The published report goes on to say, “The next generation [of art audiences] wants a creative experience that includes learning, connection, and/or sensing.” In order to achieve repeat patronage of younger audiences we must not only get them in the door, but artists and managers must present events that provide interactive learning, and multi sensory experiences that touch them personally. Cultural marketing techniques and theories can aid artists and managers, to this point I have set out to answer three questions:

· In which ways have performing arts organizations formulated, considered, or reflected on a specific marketing concepts, models, or philosophies?

· In which ways have these organizations formally assessed or, come to an understanding of, the radically changing consumption environment, namely digital media?

· Do performing arts organizations perceive an exchange process among artists, civic and consumer interests to be relevant?

Theory

Interactivity, Relevancy and A Greater Social Good

In theory, if young (21-40) audiences are offered performances that are relevant to them and their contemporary lives they will buy tickets. Further, if young audiences are offered performances that are both relevant and interactive not only will they show up, they will also engage. Still further, if we as arts managers present young audiences with performances that at once are personally relevant, interactive and speak to them socially not only do we have an engaged young patron but we increase the chances of that young patron becoming a member of our organization.

Young and experimental artists can be understood as the advanced team in a marketing paradigm. Today, young and experimental artists are creating products that are not only relevant to our times, but engage the audience by situating works in unorthodox settings, and even challenging perceptions in traditional settings.

Classical ballet is not relevant. In an August 6th Los Angles Times article critic Lewis Segal makes this point so very clearly when he says , “ballet simply will not address the realities of the moment, and its reliance on flatulent nostalgia makes it hard to defend as a living art”. While several of his colleagues (older, establishment types) railed against Mr. Segals article, it seems that Mr. Segal understands exactly what keeps so many young audiences away from ballet and its cousins in the “high arts”

Burning Man could be argued to be contemporary America’s grandest and greatest example of artists and managers resituating art for public participation. Put simply, Burning Man removes the “high brow” from art.

Case Study:

Burning Man

1. Relevancy

2. Interactive

3. Greater Social Good

Managers of the arts generally agree with the notion that it is smart practice to deliver art to young people. Many art advocates advance this notion by insisting that exposing young people to the art engenders the next generation of art patrons. Mr. Colbert sites longitudinal research in his 1995 article Entrepreneurship and Leadership in Marketing the Arts that demonstrates that aesthetic tastes and preferences in the arts are formed before the age of 20. Mr. Colbert’s point is best made in his own words, “Researchers have identified four factors that affect adult cultural preferences: values transmitted by family, values transmitted at school, childhood exposure to the arts and practicing an art form as an amateur.”

Case Study:

Karen Carpenter, Artistic Director (2001-2004), The Old Globe, San Diego

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”

During a lecture at Carnegie Mellon University in September 2006 Ms. Carpenter presented a case in which a renowned regional theater used an internal asset (annual Christmas favorite) to build and sustain a new generation of arts participants.

“family gets involved, and brothers and sisters do the show together, coming through the ranks” - Samatha Berrie, casting director for the Grinch

1. Holistic Approach to Marketing (the Performing Arts)

The Experience Economy:

Authors B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore describe an emerging economy driven by experience of consumption, rather than simple consumption. By creating a unique event around the product or service the manager builds a strong brand, creates value and increases the chance of repeat consumption.

Reinventing our Performance Spaces

Do our current performance venues adequately meet the needs of the next generation of art patrons? Slowly we are seeing conceptual redesigns of museums and other art venues around the world that engage audience’s senses. Museums, because of their relative structural flexibility seem to be taking the lead in redesigning their spaces to accommodate the demand of the market.

1. The Spam Museum in Austin, MN was designed with interactivity in mind. The museum presents video consoles and interactive kiosks that fully engage its visitors.

2. The Argentinean troupe Delaguarda, an interactive performing group has left the “fourth wall” in the 20th century. The group performs to audiences who stand, turn and move about to enjoy the show, instead of sitting. As a crowd enters a Delaguarda show it is ushered into a large, empty performing space reminiscent of an empty night club, typically with about 100 fellow audience people. From this vantage point the show begins twenty feet above the audiences head. For over an hour performers fly, leap, land and crawl above the heads of the audience below. It is not uncommon for a member of the Delaguarda troupe to fly down from above and scoop an audience member up and fly away with them. A Delaguarda show entices its often young(er) audiences with pulsating surround sound, rain, and fantastic lights. Situating the performance, not to mention the audience in this way fully engages the audience and creates a buzz that encourages repeat ticket sales. Delaguarda is wildly successfully in economic terms, so much so that the troupe now has ongoing shows in several cities around the world.

3. The Metropolitan Opera of New York City broadcasts live opera in movie theaters across America and Europe.

Brand Identity

In order to foster a new generation of arts patrons arts managers must create value around arts and in impress this value upon the psyche of future patrons. Brand identity and association is a strong method for doing just that. Through brand identity we form associations, both social and personal to the consumption of art. It is on this premise that branding works.

Generations X and Y understand intuitively that art is valuable to a society, so the work of the manger has partially begun. The next step is to reinforce the latent value and have patrons associate with it. In their paper Understanding the Bond of Identification: An Investigation of Its Correlates Among Art Museum Members authors Bhattacharya, Rao & Glynn argue that by strengthening a customer’s identification with the organization arts managers can increase membership, decrease turnover and consequently increase its audience base. The authors cite two studies in which researchers find anecdotal evidence of product identification encouraging repeat purchase behavior. The first is from a study conducted by Peter and Olson (1993) where 94% of surveyed Harley-Davidson buyers would again purchase a Harley. The second study conducted by Aaker (1994) focused on Saturn owners and found that 95% of Saturn buyers would recommend the car and retailer to others.

The arts stand to benefit greatly from the advanced methods of marketing techniques employed by for-profit firms for decades. When arts managers position their product, albeit artistic, as a marketable brand the advantages of marketing are unleashed to create value.

References

Segal, Lewis. “Five things I hate about ballet; A repertoire that's decaying, danced by the disenfranchised. No wonder audiences are dwindling. It's not our fault.” Los Angeles Times [Home Edition] August 6, 2006

Pine, Joseph B. The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1999

Holbrook, Morris B. and Robert M. Schindler, Some Exploratory Findings on the Development of Musical Tastes, Journal of Consumer Research, v.16, 1989, 119-124

Bhattacharya, C.B., Hayagreeva Rao, & Mary Annn Glynn, Understanding the Bond of Identification: An Investigation of Its Correlates Among Art Museum Members, Journal of Marketing, v.59, 1995, 46-57

Peter, J. Paul and Jerry C. Olson (1993), Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy. Homewood, IL; Richard D. Irwin, Inc.

Delaguarda Performances, http://www.delaguarda.com/frontend/main2.html, sourced November 5, 2006

Jerry Coltin reviews the utility of podcasting for arts organizations: