Jarin Hart
Will You Remarry Me?
Posted by Nov 22, 2011
Jarin Hart
Thirty minutes into the 2011 National Arts Marketing Project Conference and listening to keynote speaker, Scott Stratten talk about unmarketing, I suddenly became aware of 2 things: 1) Scott Stratten is a genius and 2) I was in the right place at the right time.
Being new to the arts world as well as the nonprofit world, I had no idea what to expect to gain (or lose) from attending the NAMP Conference. I recently landed a job with a small, nonprofit arts organization in Fort Wayne, IN, where I continue to encounter challenges with discovering effective methods of marketing for a unique, niche performing arts organization. Scott’s speech could not have come soon enough!
What Scott said, (though dripping with sarcasm), resonated in me, and judging by the tweets throughout the day, my mind wasn’t the only mind being blown!
I think sometimes we forget that marketing is a verb, and depends on our ability to engage our audience in fresh, new ways. Scott suggested we can maintain a successful relationship if we simply choose to “remarry” our current audience. I believe I heard an audible click in the minds of those around me as Scott nonchalantly suggested the concept of honoring our relationships with our current patrons.
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