We feel sorry for the arts. Like Mercedes, Nordstrom, and Vera Wang, arts organizations put most of their eggs in the Baby Boomer basket. And now they’ve got a gooey mess. (“The Shrinking Boomer Economy,” Business Week .)
Not to overstate how badly the arts in the U.S. are doing, but Michael Kaiser is on a 50 state tour called Arts In Crisis . We attended in Madison (video here ), and Rebecca tweeted her brains out. (You can follow her on Twitter @ngcrebecca.)
None of what Mr. Kaiser said seemed revolutionary, but it may have caused some to wince. The truth is like that; sometimes it stings.
But as rock star symphony CEO Simon Crookall says, “Never waste a good recession.”
Now is the time for arts orgs to pick themselves up, post their first tweet, and begin to engage a new generation of patrons and donors with sexy programming, barrier-breaking marketing and bold leadership.
After five years of studying what works to engage a new generation, here are the sacred cows we think need to be killed. STAT.
- Fire that hateful heiress from your board, who demands Carmen in exchange for large gifts. Replace her with a well-connected 24 year old entrepreneur who knows how to Twitter.
- Get naked. Stop playing it safe with your programming. Do something bold. And visual. Especially if you’re a symphony.
- Replace your no-nuts, nice-guy CEO with a newly laid-off corporate executive. Seriously. They’re cheap and plentiful right now. Bonus points if it’s a woman. Hillary Clinton would’ve never let your organization fall off a cliff. Research shows that orgs with women execs are are better run . Who doesn’t want that?
- Tear a page from CharityWaters’ playbook and learn to raise extreme cash online.
- Print more business cards. Hand one to every single patron who’ll take one. Invite them to call you anytime for any reason, and ask them to come back again and bring their friends.
- Start giving back-stage tours to every single patron who shows up early or stays late. This stuff works! Do you think we’d still be Ozzy fans if we hadn’t gotten the backstage pass via The Osbournes?
- Frame the first piece of hate mail you get from a honked-off donor or patron. Put it in a huge frame in your office. When someone asks, explain that it’s a badge of honor that shows that you’ve started to once again give a damn about making art that makes a difference. (And causes a ruckus.)
If you want to drink more from this well of whoop-ass, please make plans to join us at the Next Audiences Summit October 15-16 . Take a peek at the schedule, view our slate of awesome speakers , and register today.
