This article proposes that in these times of neoliberal winds, the cultural world must begin to apply a new mentality of business and competition in search of quality, through the design and implementation of a cultural marketing strategy, which does not distance it from compliance with the social objectives - and non-profit! - that justify their full existence.
The success of organizations now depends on the ability they develop to adapt to the different internal and external changes that occur in the environment and their ability to reposition themselves creatively and with brand new proposals in the market. Because as Hernán Palacios, a commercial engineer at the University of Chile, reminds us, «art has the power to move the soul, lift the spirit and expand the mind. Art is an open system that is constantly creating, persuading, provoking, and challenging. Good art always endures transcending time and space. » And all this is directly related to the quality of artistic production -related to continuity, knowledge and training-, an aspect that makes the difference between a successful cultural organization and one that fails.
The objective of this article is to show how marketing inside and outside of cultural centers can help solve many of the different problems that arise in these non-profit organizations, professionalizing their administration to adapt to changes and respond to the needs and interests of its public, and making art an integral part of the daily life of citizens. The purpose cannot continue being that these organizations try to survive, but that they carry out their work in a viable and triumphant way.
Delicate time for art
Different cultural organizations, both in Bolivia and internationally, are going through difficult times. A number of factors influence this situation:
- Economic factors: crisis that is lived in the Continent and that forces to prioritize fundamental needs over the consumption of culture; reduction of contributions from private companies and public funds to the cultural world. Political-social factors: scarcity of government cultural policies; audiences accustomed to free shows which is related to the low value assigned to culture; Cultural organizations concerned with their financial statements and not with the demands of their audiences. Marketing factors: poor knowledge of art directors in promoting and selling culture.
In this framework, to achieve their mission it is crucial that cultural organizations learn new ways to attract resources and maintain their financial statements without losses, improve their abilities to increase and expand their public and build their own audiences, and learn to better satisfy the needs of your market segment.
Unknown role of cultural organization
If we start from the premise that art is the communicative relationship, that is, the interaction between the artist and his audience, then the cultural organization - as Palacios affirms - must serve as a link, a facilitator, a channel, that allows satisfying the interests and expectations of both. The challenge is thus to strike a balance between the artist's decision-making process and the needs and preferences of the audience.
In this regard, Palacios says that «the most successful cultural organizations are those whose products and services are directed separately and distinctively to each segment of the population they intend to reach, and whose cultural offerings are positioned according to the point of view of their public. The cultural offer is more than the artistic work. It is the total experience of the audience. ”
Therefore, the three great challenges of this type of organization are innovating and exploring in fields where there is social-cultural value, finding a market for its offer, and maintaining and expanding its market.
Cultural Marketing Strategies
The Chilean Telecommunications Company (CTC) and Chile Tabacos are evaluated as emblematic companies in the sustained financing of cultural projects because they admit responding to a public demand to generate new communication options, linking the corporate or product brand advisor with the public. objectives. Patricio Bellolio, Manager of Public Affairs for Chile Tabacos, explains his company's motivations for cultural activity: «We strongly believe that the development of society is closely linked to the spiritual and value enrichment of people. In this context, everything that takes place in the cultural sphere, through the promotion of a society more open to coexistence in harmony, respect and tolerance, is also part of our social role. "
In the direction outlined by Bellolio, the use of marketing to improve the well-being of a certain community is rescued and pondered. But what principles of marketing can be effectively useful in "positioning" and "selling" artistic production and achieving full public satisfaction?
The following are inspired by Palacios' proposal, a series of principles that support a successful marketing strategy that can be implemented by cultural centers to meet their challenges:
|
STRATEGIC PRINCIPLES OF CULTURAL MARKETING |
|
| Manage according to your mission | - Do not make decisions or actions that are not inspired by their reason for being- Each member of the organization needs to understand, support and be able to express clearly and concretely its mission |
| Focus more directly on your true abilities | - Achieve strategic alliances with other cultural organizations - Achieve sponsorships or donations from the private sector |
| Focus on quality | - Exalting artistic products that have advantages over others through direct mail, telemarketing, brochures, special offers, etc. - Capture the interest of people by enhancing the quality of presentation, production and promotion of the product |
| Know your consumers through market research techniques | - Focus main attention on the demand side: Your Majesty the audience! Remember that the essence of art is its communication with the audience- Knowing its audiences, both current and potential- Listening to people to find out what they like and dislike, what keeps them away from art
- Define segments of the population interested in your products and others who may be seduced - Be sensitive to the different artistic changes that are necessary for our different segments of the public - Investigate the environment and propose topics of social interest |
| Create accessibility | - Increase the size of the audience - Facilitate access to different types of art - Support projects that meet the needs of a specific segment of the public
- Accessibility can be increased through product expansion and effective positioning |
| Focus on the long term | - Successful marketing requires a long-term vision - Create a broad audience for the future - Promote art in schools and universities (study plans)
- Create dramatic art schools - Build an enthusiastic and loyal audience |
| Integrate art into daily living | - Cultural organizations should be more active in this direction, involving artists with the community, creating novel opportunities to bring art "through all possible means" to the public - Show that art can be integrated into the daily life of people and make your life more enjoyable |
The success of the strategic principles that have just been outlined lies in having sufficient marketing-oriented human and financial resources and, above all, people with full conviction and confidence in the role of marketing within a cultural organization. Furthermore, it is imperative that changes are seen as opportunities rather than threats. Resistances to change must be overcome by continuous changes in the way of doing things: changes in internal structures, ways of doing business and relating to the public and, even, in the mentality to face the future.
A good national example
Everything that has been mentioned so far is not the exception but the rule of what happens in Bolivia. However, successful experiences are perceived that have been able to take advantage of marketing to position themselves in the market. We refer specifically to the III edition of the Santa Cruz de la Sierra International Theater Festival, which has presented 56 shows put on by 28 national and international groups.
What is the key to the success of this festival?
- First, in-depth knowledge of your market segment. When the organizers considered the search for public attendance in theaters and their satisfaction with the enhancement of theatrical activity, they knew that they had to take the consumer's side: «People want quite predictable things. The public is not very interested in overly traditional things. He wants to see a fresh, well-made, direct and credible theater. (…) The public from Santa Cruz is extremely sensitive and spontaneous », explained René Hohenstein, director of the Festival. Secondly, the creation of accessibility, since the Festival planned to reach the town by approaching remote neighborhoods with medium-sized shows. The bet was to capture an audience that traditionally this type of artistic offer is more closed for economic reasons,educational and cultural, in addition to the little state support that is counted in this regard. As well as seeing these free shows, others such as the one in Tangokinesis (Argentina) cost $ 20 per person at the five-star hotel "Los tajibos" (tickets sold out). In summary, a wide and quality offer that had a range of theatrical possibilities for all tastes and budgets. Third, the achievement of strategic alliances with private companies, the State and the departmental (Prefectura) and municipal authorities (Town hall). The budget that was managed at the Festival was around $ 100,000, which would almost double if the sponsorships obtained through hotel and airline discounts were added. Fourth, focus on a competitive advantage: the theater.«Because it is the only instance of communication in which people look each other in the eye: not virtually but really. (…) The theater calls our attention to the value of memory, the importance of identities. Because it is the only thing that we can really oppose imported products »(Jorge Hacker, Argentine playwright and director). A clear example of this is the work Santiago de Machaca, by Jaime Sáenz, brought to the stage by the actor David Mondacca.by Jaime Sáenz, taken to the stage by the actor David Mondacca.by Jaime Sáenz, taken to the stage by the actor David Mondacca.
This Theater Festival, which takes place every two years, is the effort of an independent entity born within a civil society group: the Association for Art and Culture (APAC). This Association - which was also in charge of organizing three versions of the Baroque Music Festival - is made up of volunteers led by the historian Alcides Pareja.
We are not far from the truth when affirming that when cultural organizations function as autonomous entities, they assume a joint responsibility that forces them to discover keys to generate and sustain successful artistic events. This is directly related to an efficient and transparent management of economic resources that allows them to move forward.
Final words
In general terms, this article tried to demonstrate how some marketing strategies can be applied creatively and successfully even to cultural non-profit organizations, so that artistic production can fulfill its purpose of communicating with the audience in two ways: bringing art closer the public responding to their needs and expectations and, on the other hand, fostering in them a taste for art that leads them to seek their own spaces for human and spiritual growth.
