It’s hard to think about marketing planning — or planning at all — if you’re an arts organization that is simply hoping to make it through this challenging fiscal year. Yet marketing is even more important now than it ever was (and it is ALWAYS important for most arts orgs). So when I was asked to participate in a March 24 workshop panel on marketing planning, sponsored by the Arts & Business Council of Chicago, I said, sure! As a consultant and as managing director of a classical chamber music group (The Chicago Ensemble), I figure I can bring multiple perspectives to the questions of marketing planning. The fact is, the fundamental aspects of arts marketing are the same in any market. It’s the budgets and the consumer dynamics that change, and that’s one of the issues we’ll be discussing. Another issue is that of flexibility and nimbleness. Some arts orgs have changed their spring programming or even cancelled programs to avoid budget shortfalls–creating a major challenge for marketers who had planned around an entirely different program line-up. So what happens next fiscal year? How do we plan for the unexpected?
Workshop is Tuesday, March 24, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, at National-Louis University, 122 s. Michigan Ave. Visit the Arts & Business Council of Chicago website to register.
