Have your say – Draft Culture Strategy for London. The Mayor has made culture and the creative industries one of his top priorities. He has set out his policies and commitments for culture and invites all Londoners to support him in the development and delivery of his ambitions for culture in the capital.

In this article, Fern Potter likens fundraising to choreographing a dance – starting with a clear vision that is developed into a strategy that can be used to achieve your organisation’s fundraising goals. A good fundraising strategy can help fundraisers overcome the fear of asking people for money.  

In this article, which was originally published in Arts Professional, Michelle Wright from Cause4 asks the question: are vision, mission and values at the heart of good cultural fundraising? Michelle explains why arts organisations need to be clear about their fundamental purpose; that vision, mission and purpose states the organisation’s essence, character and direction.

How important is the person who nearly bought a ticket?  US-based marketing consultant Trevor O’Donnell offers some firm but considered advice on where and how ticketed arts organisations should be placing their sales energies to ensure empty seats are kept to a minimum.  Trevor is a straight talking marketing consultant who has developed marketing/sales strategies ... Read more

After participating in an international ‘ask a curator’ Twitter event, with only a so/so response, the museum realised that a more dedicated and strategic approach to social media activity was needed.  The launch of #музейнаягостиная (#museumsalon) has since been hugely successful and in this case study Anna shares what they’ve learned so far.

In this short article Jim Rosenberg, National Arts Strategies (USA), promotes customer-centred strategies as the way forward for arts organisations.  He argues that an ‘ingrained’ fear of ‘pandering’ to customers could be holding arts organisations back and stresses that what audiences today seek is not necessarily very far from what many arts organisations strive to ... Read more

This non-arts case study demonstrates how the Scottish Government and its partner agencies used a strategy of ‘positive social norming’ to get over half a million people talking about organ donation. This paper outlines the rationale behind the new strategic approach (to get people talking) and the activity that underpinned the campaign. In particular, this ... Read more

Customer relationship management (or CRM) needs time, loyalty and dialogue. The author of this article explains what we mean by CRM, how you can benefit from a CRM approach and when it works best. You’ll also find examples of when things don’t go to plan – as well as tips and advice on creating your ... Read more

Subscription schemes encourage customers to buy a number of tickets for a package of events and thereby attend more frequently than they otherwise might have done. In this article, the author asks why they have not achieved the same popularity in the UK as across the Atlantic, and looks at the experience of the CIty of Birmingham ... Read more

An insight into how The Natural History Museum aims to create life-long relationships with its visitors which rely on them being connected with all aspects of the Museum’s work.  For an organisation that has 40 different logos and a complex structure, this is no easy task, and this case study shows you how it can ... Read more

In the year that the Edinburgh International Festival celebrated its sixtieth birthday, this presentation discussed how an understanding of audiences contributes to the development of the Festival brand, illustrating how in 60 years it has transformed a City not known for its festivals into one that attracts millions of visitors and generates over £200 million ... Read more

An article, The Unusual Suspects, contextualises arts audience segmentation but also seeks to provide a new model for the 21st century based on key understandings about how audiences want to engage with the arts and how they want to be communicated with. The Culture Segments segmentation model presents eight segments that offer a common language ... Read more

Case studies and research undertaken since the 1980s have shown that price is not the most significant barrier to arts attendance and suggests that there is scope for price increases. This article on Welsh National Opera’s experience found that for current opera-goers, a decrease in price could encourage more attendances and actually increase revenue.

A practical hands-on guide to writing a marketing plan and building audiences, aimed at people working in small scale organisations with limited marketing resources.

This seminar looks at how research can provide insight into audiences that will lead to robust business planning, more strategic marketing, and make your communications more effective. Taking Research, Why Bother? As it’s starting point It provides an overview of different research tools that can equip your organisation to engage with its public, and become ... Read more

This one-page guide visually outlines the steps to take when creating a digital marketing plan. From SWOT analyses through to measuring success, each step of the framework recommends different actions to take. Ultimately once you’ve worked through the different stages you’ll have the beginnings of a digital marketing plan in place.

Build a closer and stronger relationship with your audience with tips from this presentation by Vicki Allpress Hill.

BCMG created a family friendly policy that in turn enabled the organisation to strategically enhance its family and youth oriented programming. Out-of-school creative participatory workshops for young people conclude with sharing opportunities for parents and friends. Families are offered front row seats at concerts, and have a specially designed concert programme with specially briefed stewards, ... Read more

Free up time with a ‘marketing health check’ that will help you prioritise what works and gain the confidence to eliminate what doesn’t. This guide is a transcript from an AMA Conference 2011 session.

This document evaluates the pilot audience development training programme delivered by AAM to a selection of museums, libraries and archives in the North West. The aim of the programme being to improve understanding of what is involved in strategic audience development, how to place it more centrally in the organisation and ensuring it’s effectiveness. The ... Read more