Mary Carty

It is often remarked, in the context of exhibitions and openings, that the artist brings the crowd. If the artist is not local, then it’s a harder sell. So why not give some of your marketing budget directly to the artist to facilitate them bringing a bigger audience?

This phenomenon is borne out when you look at funding platforms like Kickstarter, Fndit and wedidthis. Artists who have built large networks around them, are more likely to get funded. In the same way, your audience is directly related to the network reach of each artist you programme. The bigger the network, the bigger the potential audience for you.

Lets face it most of our audiences are local. Sure, people will travel to see some events, particularly music gigs and festivals, but most of the time our audiences are made up of local people who love the arts and support it at every turn.

It’s important to ask yourself this question, what was the real return in investment for my last marketing campaign? Did publishing ads in the national press and industry journals give me any new followers or audience? Did printing thousands of posters and fliers have any real and lasting impact? Could you have achieved a better return by doing things differently and harnessing the power of your artists’ networks?

Image: (CC) Kmeron
I certainly think it is worth trying out.