Arts in Crisis Tour, Michael Kaiser in Wisconsin Part II

I finally got around to watching the rest of the Arts in Crisis tour with Michael Kaiser.

Before I get into my comments, I must say that the reason why I was attracted to the arts and sponsorship is because I wanted to change the way museums developed business with corporations. As for museums, the exhibition sponsorship model is broken. This has been clear for several years. Corporations and museums speak different languages and it is my goal to bridge that gap by applying the consultative selling model and creating innovate packages to achieve mutually beneficial objectives. I hope that the economic crisis will force museums to come up with new revenue models, fresh marketing campaigns and new ways to tap into corporate budgets (Other than corporate foundations).

I am a mentor for Arts in Crisis because I want to make a difference. I am frustrated with Mr. Kaiser's tour because I don't see it "assisting organizations in need" other than getting people "excited" about short term fixes that just put a band-aid over the financial problem. People who are working in the arts must realize that it is a business and excitement is not a strategy.

Now, having said that, here are my comments that focus on sponsorship, marketing and new revenue models:

* Mr. Kaiser feels that arts organizations have priced people out of the market. Because of that, they must find new revenue to continue to support their growth.
Interestingly enough, I found that it costs less to go to the Opera in Chicago than to a Bears game.
- 2009 Chicago Bears price per-game $68.00 to $350.00
- 2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago price per performance $46.00 to $207.00
By the way, I agree that new revenue must be found but how and where? Excitement is not a new revenue stream.

* Corporate support is usually available to the larger organizations because corporations are generally looking for visibility. I do agree with this and I hope that corporations will shift their thinking away from visibility which is so behind the times (I like the word passe). Savvy sponsors know that it's about achieving objectives and building business.

* It doesn't matter if you are a large or small organization. What matters is prioritization. I absolutely agree with this!

* Mr. Kaiser gave solid advice: think of two things to change about your organization over the next year, and make it happen. I like that this is simple and concrete. So often we get in over our heads because we can't prioritize and focus on key projects.

* In Mr. Kaiser's opinion, most arts organizations spend too much of their time at board meetings talking about money. To curb this, he would stop in the middle of every board meeting an have a performance of some sort. The goal was to remind the board that they are there for the mission, not to visit income statements. And that, my friends, just may be the crux of the arts being in crisis.