Programming will always be at the heart of any arts brand. It’s what sustains the arts organization, provides its reason for being, is the focal point for its vision, and provides the platform for the organization to live up to the promise of its brand. The Los Angeles Times reported this past week that the...
Sometimes when we receive an RFP from a potential client or conduct a new business presentation, a cultural organization will tell us that they want a new logo, but what they really need more, or before that, is positioning. I’ve described in a previous essay the differences among an arts brand, arts branding, and arts...
I was presenting my company’s credentials recently and afterwards the potential client, a performing arts administrator, asked, “what’s the return on investment for branding? Part of me was incredulous that he would ask this. Weren’t our amazing services and sparkling case studies alone enough to warrant the investment? Another part of me was glad he...
As the annual American Association of Museums Conference gets under way in Houston I thought it might be fun to riff off of their theme for this year’s conference: The Museum of Tomorrow. Having grown up in southern California, when I hear “tomorrow” I always think of Disneyland’s Tomorrowland and its promise of a different...
When you saw this essay’s title and saw the accompanying image, did you immediately know what I meant by brand champion? I chose Steve Jobs because he is probably the most recognized brand champion in the world. Could anyone embody the Apple brand more or better than him? As I head off to the American...
A while back I posted an essay on Name changes: the real process. I based it on the merger of the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company with Dance Theater Workshop, a groundbreaking event in the performing arts and dance world. No one had done anything like this in the U.S., although London...
