Elias Gross
Submitted before Americans for the Arts’ National Arts Marketing Project Conference (NAMPC) on Nov. 6, 2014:
As an Atlanta (well, just north of Atlanta) native, I’m beyond thrilled that the National Arts Marketing Conference let out a hearty “it’s fall, y’all!” and headed south for its 2014 conference.
From receiving the first conference materials to downloading the Guidebook app, I’ve been looking forward to absorbing the marketing expertise gathered together for NAMPC. My position with the Lexington Philharmonic requires me to manage all of our marketing, PR, design, and the infamous field of “other duties as assigned.” Now in my third season with LexPhil, I am wearing and delegating the wear of all these hats better than ever, but I have gaps in my knowledge that need to be filled.
My top three goals for #NAMPC this year are to:
- Better understand the advertising dollars to revenue relationship
- Learn how to manage multiple marketing campaigns effectively
- Develop tools to best translate our artistic mission into a language that equally resonates with donors (communicating need) and ticket buyers (generating demand)
I’ve identified a handful of sessions designed to help me solve these questions and much more. The only thing left to do is pack my bags and hit the road!
Submitted after NAMPC on Nov. 20, 2014:
I never anticipated my first national professional conference would leave me longing for the great experiences I had and new friends I made like a kid coming home from summer camp. The comradery and free-exchange of ideas I experienced at NAMPC was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced!
The session that energized me the most was Pathways to Engagement: a Model for Meaningful Relationships with Underserved Communities by Arts Memphis. I hadn’t initially planned on going – my train into midtown stopped on the rails and made me miss the first session so I thought I would squeeze one more in before the closing keynote. As the Marketing Manager for a regional orchestra, I do my best to serve our community, but I was stunned with how I was hardly asking the right questions when trying to tackle community outreach. The shining example presented was Arts Memphis’ Arts Community Engagement Fellow New Ballet Ensemble and School, providing G.E.D. classes and computer labs to parents of dance students. Hearing of their rewarding work impassioned me to ask how best my organization can identify and satisfy our community’s needs through music.
As I learned in Jerry Yoshitomi’s session, Leading with Limited Authority, I shouldn’t be afraid to not have the answers to these new questions I have. Instead, I have a constellation of new thoughts and connections to help me navigate my organization to better satisfy its mission through authentic messaging and engagement.
As for my NAMPC goals? I learned that I can:
- Utilize a host of free marketing tools available to nonprofits to better use the limited funds I have for generating ticket sales revenue.
- Manage multiple marketing campaigns through organization tools like HootSuite and Evernote
- Speak our mission to new and existing patrons through the platforms that are important to them. Personalized, social communications help tell our story in a way that both encourages giving and strengthens patron loyalty.
Will I attend NAMPC again? It’s already on my calendar!
Editors Note: Would you like to blog before, during, or after one of Americans for the Arts events? Contact Caitlin Holland, our Communications and Content Manager, at cholland@artsusa.org.
