Sure it was just a coincidence. But the juxtaposition was just too priceless to ignore. In one day I received: 1. Online information commemorating the 20th anniversary of the first website. 2. A promotional email from Capacity Interactive Inc. pitching their inaugural Digital Marketing Boot Camp for Arts Marketers. 3. A LinkedIn message from Museums...

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...

While listening to panelists at the Crain’s Arts and Culture Breakfast titled Board Games: How to Build and Keep a Strong Board, I was struck by what was not mentioned as pivotal in building strong boards: functional expertise. But first what was mentioned. Panelists included Alan Fishman, chairman, Brooklyn Academy of Music; George Steel, general...