Economic Impact on the arts

Good overview story in the Washington Post on the impact the economy is having on arts organizations across the country.

One interesting example included in the article was from the Rochester Philharmonic.  They've elected to keep season ticket subscriptions open for those that have lost their jobs since January.  The Philharmonic has guaranteed that if the member is still unemployed by the time the season begins, they'll receive their seats for free this year.  It's a nice gesture that, hopefully, will build long-term loyalty.

Read the article here, Stage of Emergency. 

Can your Grandmother improve your bottom line?

My grandma Hazel was a great cook and a sharp wit.  She'd also set you straight in a hurry if you didn't say "thank you".   

"It's what properly raised people do", she'd tell us.  

Many arts organizations are cutting staff and programs in an attempt to stay afloat in the current economy.  Letting details slip is an inherent danger when there are fewer people and resources.  

While you aren't going to be able to do everything you did before with 30% less budget, there are certain areas that should be preserved at all costs.  I would argue that customer service falls into this category.

Your "customers", whether big donor or one-time ticket holder, are feeling today's pinch as well. But despite more limited budgets, these are the individuals still choosing to come to your performances and support your exhibitions.  They could have selected any number of other options, including leaving those hard-earned dollars in the bank, but they chose you.  That deserves your appreciation and recognition.  

So make sure you're providing a warm greeting at the box office window.  Make sure visitor services are at their best.   And for goodness sake, send your follow-up notes after meetings or when donations are given.  

Remember also, not all your competitors will attend to these details as carefully right now.  So by maintaining your customer service you may truly set yourself apart from other organizations.  It can mean that your budgets don't suffer as greatly in this lean time and you'll be remembered when greater prosperity returns.  

It's possible.  And it starts by doing the simplest of things.  Like saying "Thank you".  Your customers will notice and your grandmother will approve.

MOMA sees opportunity with locals

Last week I wrote about combatting a downturn in tourist attendance by focusing on your local market.  Looks like the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art was a step ahead of me.

The museum has started a campaign to bring New Yorkers into the museum.  The highest profile part of this campaign is their work in a Brooklyn subway station.  The MOMA has plastered the Atlantic/Pacific stop with images of work from their permanent collection, creating an underground gallery complete with audio guides.

The New York Times covered the story this month and you can also get an idea of the experience with this virtual tour.

Keep an eye on travel statistics

Over the last few months there have been conflicting reports on how much Americans will be traveling this year.  That's not really surprising with  so many people unsure about the economy and their own jobs. 

We are entering the time when vacation plans are made for the prime traveling season but this year there seems to be more of a wait-and-see approach.  

One small thought to combat a possible downturn in your out-of-town attendance, look at adjusting your media mix.  If travelers do decide to hold off on vacations this year, you'll probably need to pull out of some of the magazines and mailings targeted to visitors that you've used in past years.  

Then look at moving those dollars to media targeted for local audiences.  They're staying home too, but very few will be satisfied with sitting around the house as a substitute for their normal week at the beach.   

To keep an eye on the trends nationally you can get updates at traveldailynews.com.  And stay in touch with your local tourism and visitor's bureau to get their input as well.

2009 advertising budgets - Newspaper vs. Online

I was interested in a column that recently ran in the Raleigh News and Observer, the metro daily here in the Triangle.  The columnist, John Drescher, touted their growth in readership. This initially struck me as odd considering the trends for print have been steadily down the past decade.

It didn't take long to realize that the growth included online readers and that the online increases were overcoming declines in print circulation.  That would coincide with the national trend that shows newspaper website readership up an average of 12% or more last year.  For some the growth was even more dramatic.  The LA Times saw their online audience jump an astounding 78% in 2008.

For years the Arts section of local dailies have been mainstays in advertising plans for museums and theatres.  But with every dollar being precious this year, keep this move of readership from print to online in mind.

If the local daily is going to be in your marketing plan, make sure you take advantage of the soft advertising market by negotiating a presence online as well as in print.  While the online readership is up, some surveys show newspaper advertising revenues down to their lowest levels since 1996.  And as I mentioned in an earlier post, the current economy is making most advertising outlets very willing to negotiate deals.

The time is right to get the most out of your budget and take advantage of those increases in web readership to make your ad dollars go further.

Google Grants

If you work for a non-profit, you or your colleagues have likely spent plenty of time filling out grant requests.  Rarely will you see a grant that provides funds specifically for marketing.  This one does.

A Google grant winner receives an in-kind adword account from the search engine.  The accounts are for up to $10,000 per month in donated adword placements to drive traffic to your website.

As you'd expect, there are plenty of rules and regulations, but Google names the Arts as a specific area of interest to be funded.  So I'd encourage you to look through the Google Grants details to learn more.

The application is relatively straight forward, but make sure you think through how you'd use the grant, including which audiences you'd be pursuing and what you'll be asking them to do when they click on the adword link.

The application link is here.

Your advertising budget can go further in 2009

If you have an ad campaign planned for an event in the first half of 2009, there's good news. Your ad budget should buy you a lot more exposure.

The recession is hitting media outlets hard.   And no medium seems to be immune.  The New York Times group reports that revenue was off 4.6% in August.  Their New England Media division (including the Boston Globe) is down almost twice that at 9% below year-over-year revenues.  

A leading survey of internet expenditures shows sales for display advertising off over 50% in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Prime purchasers of advertising have dramatically cut their budgets, led by car manufacturers and car dealerships.  Nielsen's ad spending reports showed automotive advertising down 10% through third quarter.  And I expect the fourth quarter numbers to show a further decline when they come out in a few weeks..

If you were hearing about lower advertising demand but had a hard time negotiating in fourth quarter last year, keep in mind that many broadcasters and newspapers were still being buoyed by political campaign dollars and holiday retail advertising.  Now advertising sales managers are facing first quarter without those seasonal revenue bumps.  

We've negotiated discounts of 40-50% on some annual print contracts.  Savings on local TV and cable have been smaller but still represent substantial increases in reach and frequency over our normal ad buys.

While I don't advocate beating up your media sales reps just because they are down, you should expect that you will receive more for your ad dollars this year.  Remember to negotiate, ask for additional commercial avails or ad space.  Discuss value added promotions as well.  

One other note, if you typically place your ad buys direct, but aren't as comfortable haggling, you may want to try a limited arrangement with a media buyer or ad agency.  They'll likely have a better sense of what your local market rates should be.  Many times, the discounts they can secure go well beyond the extra fees involved.

Whether you do it yourself or work with an outside firm, take advantage of the opportunity to get more from your advertising dollars while it exists.