To remain relevant to the communities they serve, arts organisations need to change – or they will die. This article examines a range of barriers to arts involvement, including marketing which might itself create barriers. It concludes that both organisational and social change are needed.
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
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
In this article, Owen Buttolph, Business Analyst at MediaCom Edinburgh, discusses the importance of website analytics and provides a brief overview of two approaches to analysing digital data.
Develop a clear and well-defined communications strategy with help from this guide, which features interviews with thought leading practitioners and 10 top tips.
Why do some festivals thrive, while others fail? Knowing what is likely to go wrong is a good first step to avoiding problems and creating a sustainable organisation. This study looks at a lifecycle model of organisational development and applies it to Buxton Festival, to see if the forecasts used in the commercial sector can … 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
This non-arts case study demonstrates how an innovative behaviour change campaign from the Scottish Government and The Leith Agency led to a 50% increase in women acting early on the symptoms of breast cancer by going to the doctor. In an advertising first, the campaign boldly used images of real women’s breasts with visible signs … Read more
In 2012 Vandejong, a creative agency based in Amsterdam, created the branding strategy and campaign for the first ‘Unseen’ international photography fair, which took place at the Culture Park Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam. This case study outlines how Vandejong positioned Unseen – the first fair of its kind in the Netherlands – as a new cultural brand: a ‘photo fair with … Read more
The Manchester International Festival (MIF) is a biennial international arts and culture festival with a focus on original new work. In this case study, Katie Moffat, social media and digital communications consultant, speaks to Robert Martin, digital marketing manager at MIF about the Festival’s digital marketing strategy. To level off the peaks and troughs of audience … Read more