Eloïse Malone and Rich Halliday from Effervescent discuss how co-production can be used to communicate more effectively with your audiences and to have a positive impact on society.

Challenges arise when multiple departments build separate relationships concurrently with the same stakeholder resulting in an organisation having varying tones of voice, and / or sending mixed or conflicting messages. This AMA conference 2014 session led by Stephen Pidgeon, fundraising consultant and visiting professor of Direct Response Fundraising at University of Plymouth, looked at how successful ... Read more

Johan Lindblom considers how a more strategic and creative approach to communications can play an even bigger part in marketing. This article was first published on Idek, a blog based in Sweden.

First published on Idek a cultural marketing blog based in Sweden, this article by Håkan Färje from the National Library of Sweden, considers the extent to which a cultural institution can or should use Wikipedia.

The UK is a recognised leader in the creative, performing and visual arts and many businesses have benefited creatively from working with the arts. This book of case studies shows how many companies are harnessing the power of the arts to add value to their businesses in terms of marketing, branding and corporate communications.

Graeae is the UK’s foremost disabled-led theatre company. Its audiences include Deaf, disabled and non-disabled people. This guide provides some basic guidelines for use of language and being confident with using language around disability. Appropriate use of language helps demonstrate that an organisation is committed to providing a welcoming environment and is the first step to ensuring ... Read more

US arts marketing consultant Trevor O’Donnell tells us from a strategic perspective why he admires the latest season brochure from the Austin Symphony.  The audience focused brochure uses visuals to bring to life the experience of a young couple throughout an evening at the Austin Symphony. Trevor is a straight talking marketing consultant who has ... Read more

Kroumata is a full-time chamber orchestra based in Sweden. Its mission is to perform contemporary music and promote the work of Sweden’s living composers wherever possible. This case study discusses how Kromata developed its audience and started to lead the way in contemporary classical music.

Is it just possible that technology might be alienating our audiences and creating a barrier to the arts? ICT is used to develop advertising and marketing strategies and to enhance sales and provide customers with information, but are computers getting in the way? This article argues that it is possible to do technology well – ... Read more

NEMO is a Science Centre in Amsterdam, and one of the Netherlands leading attractions. NEMO wanted to reassess its organisational priorities and worked with arts consultancy Wonderbird to establish NEMO 3.0, the vision of NEMO in the future, and to set a marketing strategy that can support that vision.

This guide for library practitioners draws on a large scale piece of research into the attitudes and wants of library users and suggests ways forward for library professionals as well as offering a series of case studies. Key recommendations around the user experience include: Pay close attention to stock performance Stock selection is arguably a library’s most ... Read more

This guide explores how an organisation can translate their brand into employee behaviour. It answers two key questions: how does an organisation keep their brand promise and how can it develop an employer brand.

This non-arts case study demonstrates how to effectively engage the school leaver/young student market.  It tells the story of how in 2012 MediaCom Edinburgh and Teesside University set about to increase student admissions in the face of double digit declines across the competitive set (post-1992 universities in the north of England).  With Teesside University having ... Read more

This non-arts case study demonstrates how to make effective use of an annual report. We learn how a charitable organisation, The Scotland Yard Adventure Centre (known as ‘The Yard’), with the help of Tayburn (brand and reputation agency), overhauled their annual report with incredible results. The Yard is a purpose built indoor and outdoor adventure ... Read more

This concise article explores the topic of co-creation – working together with an audience to create new work – and provides some helpful do’s and don’ts. How can we make co-creation work well, and is it an opportunity to engage less frequent arts attenders?

Develop a clear and well-defined communications strategy with help from this guide, which features interviews with thought leading practitioners and 10 top tips.

The Judging Creative Ideas guide is aimed at arming marketing professionals with a best practice guide to assessing creative ideas from communications agencies. While the steps outlined may not be relevant to every creative idea process that you go through as arts marketers this provides some extremely useful steps to go through and aims provide some ... Read more

Get the most out of your communications agency with help from this guide, which draws from research conducted among over 140 advertisers and agencies. This guide was developed by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, and partner professional bodies ISBA, Marketing Agencies Association (MAA) and PRCA.

A vital moment of truth in devising and implementing a communication strategy is when the divide between thinking and theorising is crossed. So it’s time to put all the shining creative thoughts and ideas of the plan into practical action.

In 2002, Manchester Art Gallery re-opened following a £35 million expansion and refurbishment project. Before the closure they had carried out extensive research and learned that there were issues with the gallery’s brand: a perception that Manchester Art Gallery was unfriendly and unwelcoming, and also lacking in prestige. These were issues they aimed to address both by the transformation of the gallery, but also with a wide-ranging communication ... Read more