About this Session

Get your need to know, what to expect and the ins and outs of the conference in this orientation session. 

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Ruby Lopez Harper, Vice President, Equity and Local Arts Engagement

About this Session

Eat your breakfast/lunch, listen to chill jams, do some work, keep your cameras on/off, and use the chat or Slack.

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Speakers

Ceylon Mitchell, M3 Mitchell Media & Marketing, LLC

About this Session

Flutist Ceylon Mitchell and friends present works honoring the musical heritage of Cuba and Brazil. Brazilian choro is a musical genre with roots in African syncopated rhythms and European dance forms, including the lundú, the polka, and the habanera, creating a very unique style. The improvisatory nature of choro mirrors that of North American jazz and virtuosity is a hallmark of the style. The Cuban flute tradition represents dance music at the heart of Cuban national and cultural identity with flute, piano, strings, and Cuban percussion as the core ensemble. Starting with the danzón and extending to other genres like the cha cha cha, mambo, and salsa, its elements include centuries-old European court dances, rhythmic complexity based on the clave pattern from the African Congo Basin, and a flute ornamentation style similar to the late-Baroque and early-Classical flute traditions.

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Ceylon Mitchell, Founder & Co-Owner

Speakers

Ryan J. Haddad, Actor/Playwright/Performer
Anthony Michael Lopez, Actor

About this Session

Playwright and performer Ryan J. Haddad tells stories for a living. But when his plays are produced, theaters, marketing departments, and publicists are tasked with telling stories about his stories. And sometimes, at least in first drafts, those marketing "stories" do not match the intentions of the plays themselves. Ryan is joined by fellow actor and longtime friend Anthony Michael Lopez to discuss the power of language and the dangers of trying to tell (and sell) a disabled narrative from a non-disabled point of view. They will talk with candor about community, friendship, and what it means to connect, both with audiences and with strangers on the sidewalk. The world is fixated on pervading, limiting, and harmful disability stories, but the expansive lives of these fabulous, sexy, and complicated queer men cannot be diluted to mere inspiration.

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Ryan J. Haddad, Actor, Playwright, Performer

Anthony Michael Lopez,

Speakers

Dabrina Sandifer, Esurient Arts

About this Session

Pause for affirming poetry led by performer, producer, advocate, and nonprofit leadership professional, Dabrina Sandifer

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Dabrina Sandifer, Program Manager|Artistic Director

Speakers

Dr. Zannie Giraud Voss, SMU DataArts
Emika Abe, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

About this Session

An important question to keep in mind as pandemic restrictions loosen and we re-engage our communities is “Whom will we gather?” The communal nature of the arts, where audience members interact with one another in the course of collectively experiencing performances and events, holds great potential for bringing communities together and for reaffirming existential meaning after prolonged isolation and polarization. But do large performing arts organizations have a history of equitably serving the diversity of their communities, and what influences help or hinder their efforts to do so? 

New research from SMU DataArts examines if and how donor priorities, an organization’s location, its subscription base, and its marketing actions all affect the extent to which the organization’s audience represents the diversity of its community. Together we will examine implications of this research as arts marketers, funders, and arts patrons navigate the challenges that lie ahead in post-pandemic reality, and with a social justice lens. Attendees will learn how funder priorities and strategic marketing choices enhance or inhibit opportunities for cultural exchange and understanding among the full spectrum of a community’s diverse populations.

During this session, attendees will:
1. Engage with new research.
2. Examine trends of income and racial representativeness of audiences.
3. Consider implications of how their current practices intersect with the diversity of their audiences.

Thanks to Claremont Graduate University for its generous support of this session. 

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Emika Abe, Managing Director

Dr. Zannie Giraud Voss, Director

Speakers

Devon Ginn, Madam Walker Legacy Center

About this Session

Join us in this immersive and deep experiential voyage of opulent sound and self-discovery. Ambient, calming vibrations have the power to nurture an intimate, liberating environment. Devon uses crystal/ brass singing bowls, bells, chimes, indigenous instruments, mantras, and poetry are tools used to facilitate this meditative adventure.

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Devon Ginn, Programs & Outreach Manager

Speakers

Pamela Jones, Black Opera Alliance
Garrett McQueen, TRILLOQUY
Eric Nelson, TRG Arts

About this Session

The Black Opera Alliance (BOA) has a mission to expose racial inequity and under-representation of the African diaspora in all facets of the opera sector and to promote reform. To achieve this, BOA and arts management consultancy TRG Arts have partnered to track the progress that opera companies are making towards BOA’s “Pledge for Racial Equity and Systemic Change in Opera.”

The Black Opera Alliance is committed to providing industry-wide accountability and shining a spotlight on where the sector is, and is not, making gains toward equity, inclusion, and racial justice. Black Opera Alliance has partnered with TRG Arts to create a framework to collect and share the data that provides this accountability. Join Leadership Council members of the Black Opera Alliance, Pamela Jones and Garrett McQueen, and TRG Arts Client Engagement Officer Eric Nelson, to discuss how the framework is structured, the latest insights, and progress. The data set includes over 106 U.S. opera companies.
The details of The Pledge can be found here: www.blackoperaalliance.org/ple...

Attendees of this session will learn ways they can work towards creating greater equity at their own organizations.

During this session, attendees will:
1. Learn the origins and goals of Black Opera Alliance and their "Pledge for Racial Equity and Systemic Change in Opera.”
2. Hear how Black Opera Alliance and TRG Arts are using data to understand and report to the performing arts sector the progress opera companies are making towards fulfilling the points of needed changes mapped out in The Pledge
3. For attendees to understand how they can make changes to achieve more equity at their own organizations.

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Pamela Jones, Chair of the Research Committee

Garrett McQueen, Executive Producer

Eric Nelson, Client Engagement Officer

Speakers

Frances Kao, Yoga Teacher & Personal Trainer

About this Session

Using yoga breath practices (pranayama) and easy-to-follow movement patterns (kriyas), let’s turn our attention within, nourish our body and mind with the expansion and flow of breath, and explore and play through the joy of movement.  
This practice can be done seated or standing as needed or desired. Optional props for the practice: a stable chair, a yoga block, or any lightweight object like an empty water bottle or a paperback book. 

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Frances Kao, Yoga Teacher & Personal Trainer

Speakers

Madison Cario, Minnesota Street Project & Minnesota Street Project Foundation

About this Session

We (societally) tend to think of community as a desired state pleasurable—a fixed thing that folks want to be a part of… something we seek. BUT in the arts, nonprofit, resource-seeking community we are often 'proving' our value and worth and the word 'community' is thorny... can be a pain point—internally, adjacently, externally, and (maybe most importantly) conceptually when we superimpose a mismatched, undefined, and loaded word/concept to our work. In this short talk we will explore some facets of ‘community’ from a first-person perspective and sketch a path to deeper understanding as we shift meaning from noun to verb.  

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Madison Cario, CEO

Speakers

Gilbert Guaring, UAP | Urban Art Projects
Prasan Kumar,  Publicis Groupe and Glasgow Caledonian New York College (GCNYC)
Kellie Honeycutt, Public Art Fund
Benoit Weisser, Ogilvy Asia

About this Session

Henry Ford's Assembly Line, FMCG's Compounded Annual Growth Rate or Product Innovation concept of Decoupled Growth are all archaic concepts we still use in Marketing and Business Strategies. For sustainable development to succeed, the lexicon of business, marketing, and financial theories need to change. This talk is an exposition of the dilemma. This talk is a call to action for academics to instigate the necessary change in education. Moreover, this talk is a plea for businesses to recognise that "business as usual" will not cut it and doesn't have a place in sustainable development.

This workshop is a co-creation lab with marketers who are also "change-makers." These are marketing and communications executives who are leaders, experts, and influencers who help shape the future of businesses, and most importantly, the future of marketing. They are the ones who drive the transition from the status quo to an ideal state of marketing and communications where sustainability is at the core of all strategies.

During this session, attendees will:
1. Realize how traditional business, marketing, and strategy theories and concepts need a reboot to succeed in the 21st century.
2. Review relevant examples of archaic concepts and why these glorified concepts of the past are no longer relevant today.
3. Co-create new concepts and develop a call to action to academic institutions regarding the need for change and encouraging businesses (large or small) to have a sustainability and systems thinking mindset.

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Gilbert Guaring, Global Head of Marketing, Sustainability and Engagement

Kellie Honeycutt, Deputy Director

Prasan Kumar, SVP, Strategy Director |Lecturer

Benoit Weisser, Chief Strategy Officer

About this Session

Eat your breakfast/lunch, listen to chill jams, do some work, keep your cameras on/off, and use the chat or Slack

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Speakers

Jamie Alexander, JCA Arts Marketing
Jennifer Sowinski, JCA Arts Marketing

Mark Cardwell, Cardwell Communications LLC

About this Session

A critical piece of any season planning is the price of a ticket, which is key to determining both your revenue and your audience’s perception of your art. In this session, experts Jennifer Sowinski and Jamie Alexander from JCA Arts Marketing will explore how to communicate value and maximize revenue through pricing. They will evaluate a number of pricing topics/ideas: pricing psychology, price sensitivity after COVID-19, equitable pricing, and more. They’ll review questions such as: How has audience behavior changed since COVID-19 and what impact does that have on pricing? How can you make up lost revenue through pricing? How does pricing factor into equity, diversity, and inclusion principles? Attendees will come away with basic knowledge of pricing best practices, radical new pricing ideas for equity, and ideas for optimizing revenue after reopening.

During this session attendees will: 

• Learn the core principles of pricing for the arts.
• Learn best practices for pricing based on changed audience behavior due to COVID-19. 
• Learn new ideas and concepts for more equitable pricing strategy.

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Jamie Alexander, Director

Mark Cardwell, Owner and Principal Consultant

Jennifer Sowinski, Senior Consultant & Analyst

Speakers

Dabrina Sandifer

About this Session

Center and ground facilitated by performer, producer, advocate, and nonprofit leadership professional Dabrina Sandifer. We will share a safe space of focusing on the power of intentional and focused breathing. The objective is to experience clearing, cleansing, and empowerment. 

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Dabrina Sandifer, Program Manager|Artistic Director

Speakers

Gianluca Russo, The Power of Plus 
Annie Schiffman, Downstage Media LLC
CorBen Williams, Podcaster 'How to Business in Show Business"

About this Session

So many organizations have had their ad spend dramatically decreased in the past year. Meanwhile getting attention on social media has gotten harder and harder. Your work deserves to be seen—whether or not you spend money on ads.

During this session, you will:
1. Discover little-used features of social media platforms to get your brands noticed.
2. Learn holy-smokes-that-just-saved-me-so-much-time content creation tricks.
3. See examples of tiny brands quadruple and quintupling their engagement on social media—and how that led to more donations.

Annie Schiffmann has spent over eight years using organic social media methods. With her company, Downstage Media, she has helped arts organizations increase revenue, garner media attention, and build their audiences. Because she has worked with so many arts-based businesses, she understands the unique challenges they face—whether it's not enough time, not enough money, or not enough people.

This session will be:
- Hands on
- Fast-paced
- Chock full of actionable tips you can use during the session

Plan to have your phone charged up, your favorite pen and notebook handy, and your social media accounts logged in and ready to go.

Will these methods take a lot of time?
Most of the methods discussed are meant to be implemented by one person who has too much to do. They are perfect for anyone with very little time.

Do I have to be a social media savant to benefit from this session?
You don't have to be a power Facebooker, but you do have to have a solid working knowledge of often-used social media platforms.

Will you be doing anything shady or against a platform's Terms of Service?
Nope. I am a stickler for following rules and I have made many shady marketing mistakes. I don't like going down that road, and I wouldn't want you to do that either.

Will you be showing proof of how these tactics work?
Absolutely. There will be screen shots and/or case studies to accompany each theory.

During this session, attendees will:

1. Discover little-used features of social media platforms that get brands noticed.
2. Learn holy-smokes-that-just-saved-me-so-much-time content creation tricks.
3. See examples of tiny brands quadruple and quintupling their engagement on social media—and how that led to more donations.

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Gianluca Russo, Fashion Writer and CEO

Annie Schiffmann, CEO, Founder

CorBen Williams, Podcaster

Speakers

Ashlee McKinnon

About this Session

Boost your energy levels by participating in an energizing movement session. Each movement activity will have a mental and physical intention to focus on in order to synergize the mind and body so you are ready to reengage with the conference afterward. Let's breathe, stretch, and shake together!

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Ashlee McKinnon, Educator, Artist, Advocate

Speakers

Marci Dallas, Art District Houston
Theresa Escobedo, Houston Mayor's  Office of Cultural Affairs 
Dorianne Kaboya, Medley, Inc.
Sara Kellner, Kellner Consulting

About this Session

Throughout the United States, 13 states have created cultural district programs. The goals for the program, as identified by Texas Commission on the Arts, are attracting artists and cultural enterprises to a local community and creating a hub of economic activity that makes an area an appealing place to live and visit.

Arts District Houston is one of nearly 300 state-designated districts nation-wide and one of seven in Houston. We believe that cultural districts have the capacity to be the building blocks that tell the story of Houston’s artists and arts organizations because these districts represent a cross-section of the diverse neighborhoods that make Houston so unique. Arts District Houston is a colorful, urban community situated in the city center. This lively, historically-designated area is bound by two bayous and made up of two of its oldest neighborhoods, the First and Sixth Wards. The district is home to 400+ studio spaces for local artists, designers, and makers, where you can see first-hand how art gets made. Cultural highlights of the district include over 20 murals spread throughout the area, artist studios, exhibition and event spaces at Sawyer Yards, internationally known photography powerhouse Fotofest, Houston artist champion Fresh Arts, multicultural arts organization MECA, and the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern, which exhibits art in a former underground water facility from the 1920s.

In 2019, Arts District Houston set out to show what makes our area unique. We wanted artists and locals to be the ones telling our story. We wanted to emphasize that this is a District where art gets made and that it is made by individuals who you can meet in person when you visit. We also wanted to build community by making sure that collaborations between artists and local businesses exist. Our goal was to show that this is a thriving creative community full of energy and that the area is a microcosm of the city at large—filled with diverse cultural presence, creative entrepreneurs, great food and drinks, and intimate live performances you can enjoy in any given week—theater productions, improv comedy, and jazz. Our goal was to prove that Arts District Houston is without a doubt one of Houston’s most dynamic places to experience art.
Through the process, we were reminded that we cannot tell the story of the present without examining the past and including the variety of histories that exist within the narrative. We were also reminded that people feel connected to a place when they see themselves reflected in it. We believe that storytelling is a radical act of affirming history and place, and that telling history builds cohesion, wayfinding, and a sense of place.

In this session, we will review: 1) the content creation phase of the marketing campaign including: a.) hiring artists to create a series of public art projects, including murals, spoken word poetry, dance, and music reflecting the history of the area, b.) building a robust website that allowed visitors to plan an itinerary, and link arts activities with bars, restaurants, and retail, along with nearby places to stay; and 2.) the distribution phase of the campaign including: a.) engaging artists, community residents, and small business owners to create a series of insider’s guides for the district which were distributed through digital and print advertising, social media, and the newly designed website, b.) building partnerships to promote pubic art locations, share guides, drive traffic to the website, and ultimately drive tourists and current residents to the area.
The goals of this project were: 1.) build new community ambassadors for the arts district (artists, neighborhood residents, business owners who provide their insight for the guides), 2.) make currently invisible neighborhood history and linkages visible, and 3.) provide content for both visitors and for marketing. This marketing work increased our social media impressions by 525%, engagements by 204%, and post clicks by 939%.

During this session, attendees will:

1. Learn techniques that can be used to support cultural neighborhoods.
2. Learn the value of working with local artists to tell the story of a cultural area.
3. Learn how to plan a marketing strategy focused on centering artist and neighborhoods stories.

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Marci Dallas, Executive Director

Theresa Escobedo, Civic Art Program Manager

Dorianne Kaboya, Public Relations and Digital Marketing Account Executive

Sara Kellner, Owner

Speakers

Ashlee McKinnon 

About this Session

This session will allow participants to settle their bodies and minds in order to create meaningful movement. Using verbal, auditory, and visual cues, participants will become more aware of how their daily routines can be used to create meaningful movement for themselves. Let's come together and create meaning.

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Ashlee McKinnon, Educator, Artist, Advocate

Speakers

Mark Cardwell, Cardwell Communications LLC

About this Session

We acknowledge that marketers have been under significant stress.  And that they continue to experience frustrations unique to the role, such as consistently being expected to ‘work magic’. We want to remind marketers that there is a reason for their endurance. That they believe in something…a cause, a passion, a purpose. That it matters and that they matter. That their talent and skills are indispensable especially today. We hope this encourages you to look up and lift up other arts marketers, to engage and share knowledge with one another, to be fully present today so as to ensure a brighter future. 

This session is a part of the 2021 National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

Mark Cardwell, Owner and Principal Consultant