Arts Marketing Conference Update

Zeek Weil
Director of Communications and Events 

I spent four days in November in San Jose, California for the 2010 National Arts Marketing Project conference organized by Americans for the Arts. I have attended this conference, that brings arts marketing professionals from throughout the United States together for several days of instruction, networking and workshops, in the past, but this year I had the opportunity to present a paper as part of a panel discussion titled, Beyond Cocktails & Facebook: Strategies to Attract Young Adult Audiences.I was joined on the panel by Sarah Lee, a Senior Associate at Slover-Linett, an audience research and planning firm for the mission-driven world, based in Chicago, Illinois and Susannah Greenwood, Director of Local Marketing, Artsopolis Marketing Partnership in San Jose who moderated the discussion.

The presentation was in the first group of discussions on the first day of the conference and it was standing room only. It was both a humbling and enjoyable experience. I presented research conducted as part of my thesis requirement in arts administration, which I completed in May 2009. My paper was titled Audience Stewardship in the Arts through Preferred Communication Pathways and Places and it examined the preferred communication mechanisms of college-aged students. In a communications environment that can utilize hundreds of different communication mechanisms to reach audiences, arts marketing departments must begin to identify what communication mechanisms are preferred by their audiences. 

For the purpose of my research I asked college students what they preferred in four different communications categories: mass media, electronic media, social media and in-person. Any audience member can and should be asked about their communication preferences and arts organizations should deliver their communications via mechanisms preferred by their audiences. It doesn't help the organization or the audience member to send an email message communicating an arts experience if the recipient prefers communication via text message or Facebook.

Beyond the presentation, the conference provided a keynote kickoff lecture by Chip Health of Made to Stick, co-written with his brother, Dan, and a plenary lunch featuring Susan Medak, Managing Director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Chip talked about how to make our communications and messaging memorable or stick to recipients and Susan showed how nonprofit arts organizations can bridge the worlds of mission-driven art and commercial enterprises. She did this through the successful development of Green Day's American Idiot, transforming their album into a rock-opera that is currently running on Broadway at the St. James Theater. There were countless sessions, dine-arounds and an opening reception at the San Jose Museum of Art that brought everyone together in a great space filled with contemporary art. It was a memorable and educational experience and I want to thank the Westphal College and the Arts Administration program for allowing me an opportunity to attend. Attending the national arts marketing conference demonstrated to me that writing a timely and thoughtful thesis can offer any arts administration student an opportunity to present your work at a major national conference. So good luck thesis writers, I hope to attend your presentation in the very near future.