Leading Roles: 50 Questions Every Arts Board Should Ask

Board and Marketing

board and marketing 26 how do we evaluate a marketing plan? While board members are generally far more involved in fundraising than in marketing, it is still essential that board members understand and concur with the marketing plans supporting both earned and unearned income. Arts organizations that do not pursue smart, integrated marketing efforts are doomed to failure, no matter how good the art is. But for many board members, the marketing plan is simply about attractive brochures and a cute logo. Marketing activities should be divided into two categories: programmatic marketing and institutional marketing. Programmatic marketing is to persuade people to buy tickets. Institutional marketing is to entice audience members and donors to support the institution. Programmatic marketing is the central focus of most arts organizations , whose marketing departments thus devote almost all their time and resources to this effort. The prevalent but incorrect notion is that the benefits of marketing are limited to ticket sales. In reality, a balanced approach to programmatic and institutional marketing can have as big an impact on fundraising as it does on earned income. Programmatic marketing plans must be understood by the board, before it can approve a ticket-sales forecast in a budget. In particular, the board should understand the nature of each production and how that affects the choice of marketing techniques. Although many arts organizations have a template for the way they market each production (for example , one direct-mail piece, three print ads, two e-mail blasts, one radio ad), not every event requires the same selection of media or size of marketing budget. Some programs are easy to sell: when the artists are famous, or the repertory is popular, it is not a challenge to sell many tickets. These programs requireonlyinformationalmarketing,simplyannouncingtheprogram,the 64 board and marketing artists, the dates, and the phone number to call for tickets. The marketing budget for these attractions can be small, and simple techniques can be used: posters, e-mail blasts, and maybe a postcard. Sometimes when these programs are announced, the media attention alone is enough to sell all the tickets. Other projects are far more difficult. When the work is unfamiliar or the performers are unknown, substantial effort and budget must be devoted to filling the house. Potential audience members need substantially more information. They benefit from seeing photographs and video clips of the performance, and learning about the creators of the work and the performers. This type of marketing is called missionary marketing. A good missionary marketing campaign includes a substantial use of public relations activities, web sites, direct-mail pieces, and well-designed e-mail blasts.Postersareusuallyineffectivetopromoteaworkorartistunknown to ticket buyers, since posters do not offer enough of the information necessary for people to make a buying decision. While board members do not need to know the details of every programmatic marketing campaign, they do need to know that the staff has correctly evaluated the programs in the season and designed a marketing campaign tailored to each event. The board members must also evaluate the programmatic marketing cost and compare it to the revenue potential . Many arts organizations spend too large a portion of ticket revenue on marketing. However, board members should be even more familiar with the institutional marketing efforts of an organization, since institutional marketing directly affects the organization’s ability to raise money and attract new board members. While board members frequently blame the development department for a lack of fundraising growth, the blame more often lies with a weak institutional marketing effort. Whatis institutionalmarketing? Institutionalmarketing is anything an organization does to build visibility in the community. That can be major performances or exhibitions, educational activities or special events, announcements of forthcoming seasons or special grants. The impact of the institutional marketing effort depends on the regularity of these types of activities. In today’s information-dense world, repetition is the key to getting a message across. The level of excitement generated by the campaign and the number and potency of media reports are also central to the campaign ’s success. board and marketing 65 At the Alvin Ailey organization, the institutional marketing effort featured a series of events reflecting the mission of the organization. These included appearances on television, free outdoor concerts, a museum exhibition about the history of the organization, books published about the company, and a major annual gala. The gala was important and effective because it involved many celebrities—always...