Kyle Golding Presenting At Oklahoma Arts Conference

Our CEO Kyle Golding was asked to present Focused Communication for Arts Organizations presented in the KOSU Studios in the Hart Building on Film Row as part of the 2018 Oklahoma Arts Conference in Oklahoma City. Here’s the description (outline below):

The full presentation now available on YouTube.

Art is for everyone, but your communication needs to be highly focused. Arts organizations should be creating multiple types of communication for different audiences for different reasons, such as event attendance, fundraising (individual and corporate), advocacy, and more. Effective marketing messaging needs to be focused, tailored, and specific to each audience and each action you’re attempting to create in order to best support and sustain your arts organization. Even though art is for everyone, you must be selective in your communication in order to be efficient. “Everyone” is not a target audience. Marketing that attempts to appeal to all doesn’t work. So, how do you stay inclusive in your approach and expand your audience while being specific and selective in your communication? Let’s talk about it. Artist, arts advocate, and professional marketing expert Kyle Golding will demonstrate the different ways for arts marketing to be focused on the best outcomes. Golding will present strategy, tactics, and measurements for highly effective communication to different stakeholders and supporters with the highest impact and with sustainable results.

• You Are Not Trying Hard Enough (Sorry, Not Sorry)
  • Audience Development
  • Audience Segmentation
  • Customization of Marketing 
    • % increase in effectiveness per level of customization 
    • Names are easy, what do you really know about them
    • You are not Benjamin Franklin 
  • CRM/Data Mining for budget effectiveness 
    • Time
    • Money
    • Effort
    • Attention 
  • Systematic Communications
    • NOT “that’s how we’ve always done it”RED FLAG! 
  • Long-Term Development
    • People do not what to be Sold, even when they are trying to Buy (support)
    • What works with you?
    • Retain and Attract at the same time
      • Solid Base
        • Age out
        • Attrition
        • Other use of the $
      • Future Base
        • Slower
        • Less $, more time and attention 
        • Will need them eventually 
        • Best time to plant a tree 
  • 2 Way Conversation 
    • Speak
    • Listen
    • Talk amongst yourselves

• What Are The Reasons We Communicate?
  • Attention 
  • Motivation 
  • Conversion
  • Champion

• Don’t Be A Cannibal 
  • Specific communication allows for more
    • Adaptation / Customization
      • Messaging
      • Delivery Channels
      • Timing 
  • No Cannibalization 
  • Effectiveness
    • Better messages based on audience segments not “everyone”
    • Stronger relationships with each segment 
    • Track and measure each segment, strategy, tactic, channel, timing, etc….
    • Allow everyone to think it’s “their idea” or “most important”

• Art Is For Everyone. Communication Is Focused
• Art is for everyone, but your communication needs to be highly focused. Arts organizations should be creating multiple types of communication for different audiences for different reasons: Event attendance / Fundraising / Advocacy / Brand Message
  • Event attendance
    • Buying tickets
    • Free events
    • Sponsors
    • Media
  • Fundraising Approach
    • Individual
    • Volunteers
    • Artist
    • Low $
    • Mid $
    • High $
    • Corporate
  • Advocacy
    • Stakeholders
    • Influencers 
  • Brand Message
    • Basic Idea of your org.
    • Consistency is king
    • Can’t be bad (as long as it’s consistent) 

• Effective Marketing Messaging Needs To Be:
  • Focused
  • Tailored
  • Specific
    • In all three cases
      • To Each Audience
        • Segment
        • Demographic
        • Tactic or Channel  
    • To Every Action you’re attempting to create (Call To Action)
      • Make available to happen
        • This is your problem, not theirs 
      • Make easy
      • Complete the transaction (technical)
      • Legal (receipts)
      • Data generated 
      • Say Thank you dammit! 
  • A/B Tested
    • Control groups for all messaging campaigns 
    • Measure
    • Find insights 
    • Use them

Unless you have an unlimited budget, this will the best way support and sustain your arts organization. Even though art is for everyone, you must be more selective in your communication in order to be efficient. Use technology to your advantage by stealing ideas from big brands.

• “Everyone” is not a target audience
• Marketing that attempts to appeal to all appeals to none 
• Start with the basics
• Most Likely First
• Common Sense
• Geography and other barriers 
• Preferred (gasp!) audience 

• So how do you stay inclusive in your approach and expand your audience while being specific and selective in your communication?
  • Core first
  • Most likely
  • Start 1 degree left
  • Start 1 degree right
  • Brand Pull
  • Champions
  • Quality
  • Bonus: PULL Marketing

• What’s The Point?
  • Welcome to 2018!
  • Efficient and Effective Never Go Out of Style
  • This is what the audience expects – This is real life
  • The world is more, more, more but attention is less
  • There are no rules!
  • Budget / ROI
  • ROIA – Reality Of It All