arts & business council

MetLife National Arts Forums Series

Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston
Boston, Massachusetts

The Cultural Consumer: How the performance they see Saturday night can enhance your bottom line Monday morning
05/10/2005

Moderator: Michael Oliveri, Publisher- Boston Business Journal

Presentation by Patricia Martin, President & Founder of LitLamp Communications Group, Inc.

Panelists:

• Dan Salera, Former Senior VP, Community Relations & Sponsorships, FleetBoston Financial
• Que Gaskins, VP of Lifestyle & Entertainment Global Marketing, Reebok International, Ltd.
• Steve Maler, Artistic Director, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, VP of Artistic Programming, Wang Center for the Performing Arts

Everyone involved in a nonprofit knows that finding sponsors can be difficult. But what about a business looking for the right nonprofit? The right match can turn sponsorships into a competitive marketing strategy that benefits the corporate bottom line. Thinking creatively to take advantage of collaborative marketing is vital in today’s competitive economic climate, in which Boston has recently lost many corporate headquarters. 

According to Pat Martin, arts entertainment has become so diverse that research is needed to enable corporate marketers to efficiently utilize sponsorships. Martin has also determined that if the consumer views “it” as art then it is art regardless of what the “experts” say. Sixty-five percent of the American population are cultural consumers to varying degrees. Martin noted that the average art consumer is well-educated, energetic, imaginative and au courant, and 65 percent of these consumers believe their children should be exposed to art. 

Examples of companies who have “gotten it” and use cultural marketing include companies ranging from a small gear maker outside of Chicago to Apple, Whole Foods, Wrangler, Reebok, Oprah, Coke, Audi, the National Basketball Association, and the Major League Baseball Association. Absolut Vodka came to the United States 25 years ago solely on an artistic marketing platform with a sophisticated image, and since then 53 percent of beer business has gone to vodka. 

Que Gaskins of Reebok International related a personal experience with sponsorship, explaining that through research it was discovered that people who wear Reebok shoes listen to music more than they play sports. Accordingly, Reebok must connect to their customers through music sponsorships, not just sports sponsorships, to remain competitive. The speakers also addressed different barriers to sponsorship, suggesting that the way to overcome these barriers lies in finding the right match through which the business and arts organization’s brands, target customer and audience, and size align appropriately.