In his entry today, Drew McManus labels me a “theatre management guru” for an entry I made last week. I tell ya, this puts a lot of pressure on me to make today’s entry (which is actually my 50th) significant.
I think I will play it safe and direct my devoted readers to ArtsMarketing.org. I honestly don’t recall how I came across the webpage, but it has some interesting resources. The web page is a project of the New York City based Arts & Business Council, but provides valuable information for people on an international basis. (Some of the questions on their forums are posed by people from Hong Kong and Singapore.)
Some of the sections are a little outdated and the information presented is a little more general than I would have liked. If you are starting out doing arts marketing or are more experienced and seek some new ideas, it is worth a look. If nothing else, it will supplement what one already knows.
One section of the website deals entirely with creating a marketing plan from pre-planning to situational analysis to developing strategies and tactics. There is also a Hot Topics section that features articles on various aspects of marketing like audience development, communication, web marketing and research.
There is also a case study section which unfortunately only contains one study. Despite the note that you will have to pay to view it at this point, it is actually free to read. Perhaps as they build a library they will begin charging.
The portion of the website I found most interesting was their resource link page. Some of the links went to consultants, but others went to information sources of which I was not aware. Among them was BoardSource which deals with non-profit boards. (It seems like it would be a very interesting resource at first look.) Also included as a resource was a link to a Free Management Library which deals with 75 management topics in some depth. For example, it doesn’t only talk about the role of a CEO, but also talks about combating “Founder’s Syndrome” where the identity of an organization is so closely tied to the personality and energy of the founder.
It would be interesting to see if the Arts & Business Council continues to develop the arts marketing page. Since one of my goals for this blog was to eventually become a resource for non-profit organizations, I might defer to them if they do a good job. (They are underwritten by American Express and I ain’t)