July/August 2009

Thom Mariner
Co-publisher, Express Cincinnati & EXP/arts

As most of you know, we live in the Land o’ Brands here in Cincinnati. The refinement of the concept of brand integrity by Procter & Gamble is among the most important building blocks of our Cincinnati commercial infrastructure.

While I have been working as a singer in Cincinnati for over 30 years, my day job for the past 11 plus years has been “qualitative research consultant.” I now work for one of the world’s largest marketing research firms, helping corporations better understand how people feel about their products and services and giving them direction as to how they can be more effective. Marketing and brands are now my life, so when Beth and I attend arts functions in Cincinnati and other cities, I increasingly see the need for arts organizations to follow their business cousins in embracing the need for brand integrity.

People have a tendency to get nervous when one talks about business and the arts in the same sentence, so let’s take a moment to examine my meaning here. Artists or musicians or writers are free to create anything they choose for their own pleasure or satisfaction. Art for art’s sake is a wonderful thing, and many people create just for the joy of doing so. If, at some point, however, they decide to sell their creation to someone else, or perform in public for a fee, then their art becomes part of a business transaction.

Creative people who become successful typically do so because they have developed a consistent, recognizable point of view that is identifiable as singularly theirs – their brand. As people become aware of and grow fond of that brand, pay attention to it and seek it out, a relationship ensues, frequently a financial one.

How does one define a brand? Effectively, it’s the message an organization or company conveys, and the way it distinguishes itself from competitors. A brand identity communicates the organization’s business standards, principles and unique qualities to potential customers. Brand integrity is achieved when all components of an organization function in alignment with and serve the essence of that brand. For arts organizations, this means that sales, marketing, venues, printed programs, performances, exhibits, volunteers, concessions, galas…all sing the same tune…in the same key…so to speak.

For an arts organization to succeed financially in today’s market, it has to develop its own brand. It has to find a way to be the middleman between creators and consumers, to effectively market the artistic “product” it is selling in order to appropriately compensate the creators. This does not mean that the organization has to compromise artistic standards, but it is vitally important to 1) understand its audience and 2) consistently deliver on its marketing promises, whatever those might be. By so doing, the organization will build trust among that audience, and reap the rewards of repeat business.

The challenge for many arts organizations is that they are not established or managed with brand integrity in mind. Artistic directors typically generate the programs and exhibits. Some are more sensitive to the marketing needs of the organization than others. In many cases, marketing staff have little or no input in these decisions, yet are still charged with attracting an audience. This product-driven process may have worked in decades past, but the days of just putting together an attractive program or show and having people line up at the door are long gone. There is simply too much competition, and the marketing plans of competitors for the public’s time and attention (movies, sports, dining, etc.) are much too sophisticated. Arts organizations must fight fire with fire, while staying true to their purpose.

An essential foundation for success is the establishment of a distinct and compelling brand identity, something more than simply being known as “the orchestra” or “the museum.” This brand is developed by first listening to people who do and who do not (but perhaps should) attend your events. Discover their likes, their dislikes, and – most importantly – the emotion behind their decisions to buy or not buy tickets. Having a basic understanding of the target market, and what motivates their decisions, an organization can begin to shape a message and a plan to appeal to that emotion.

As stated previously, it is not necessary to dilute one’s artistic product – it’s about setting appropriate expectations and delivering on one’s promises. For example, if an organization wants to present avant-garde programming, they should first find out whether there is a market for this: what types of and how many people are open to avant-garde thinking, how to reach them, what motivates their desire to attend. The keys are: having a distinctive and compelling story to tell, having enough people with whom that story resonates, communicating that story, and then fulfilling their expectations.

Long-term organizational success is best achieved when ALL stakeholders understand, support and reflect the agreed-upon brand identity. Executive leadership has to drive the branding effort and get the buy-in of everyone involved. Artistic and marketing staff must work side-by-side, tell the same story, target the same audience, with the same goal in mind.
More attention to branding will help make the arts more attractive to consumers, and therefore more self-sufficient. And this means less reliance on the restrictions and unpredictability of governmental funding and private donations.