What do food trucks have to do with the future of arts marketing?

http://rss.artsusa.org/~r/afta/blog/~3/bw71e_syD70/

Over the past few weeks, a new face has been popping up at street fairs and food festivals across the country: an Amazon “food truck,” doling out Kindle Fires alongside neighboring trucks’ hot dogs, hamburgers, and artisanal cupcakes.

Amazon isn’t angling to be a contestant on “The Great Food Truck Race,” though. Rather, it is making an effort to fulfill the needs and desires of today’s changing consumer. Amazon understands that today, technology is as much a part of the fabric of everyday life as eating and drinking, and it is addressing this shift head-on.

What does this have to do with the future of arts marketing?

People aren’t only blurring the boundaries between mobile devices and mac and cheese.

These open-minded audiences are also redefining what does and does not constitute “culture,” from visiting parks to looking at street art to—you guessed it—visiting food festivals. For these audiences, who don’t think twice about purchasing an e-reader alongside their lunch, watching TV or listening to the radio can be just as “cultural” as going to a museum or seeing a show.

This shift in the traditional definition of “culture” marks a key moment of opportunity to think outside-the-box, move beyond the borders of traditional disciplines, and experiment with fresh, innovative ways to engage audiences. Arts organizations can learn from Amazon’s foray beyond its usual model, making sure that all efforts are rooted in an understanding of today’s open-minded, hyper-connected audiences—for whom boundaries are rapidly disappearing.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of what makes these audiences tick, we at LaPlaca Cohen field Culture Track, the largest national tracking study focused exclusively on the attitudes and behaviors of U.S. cultural consumers. The results of our study can be downloaded here, and you can find a video of the panel discussion at our release event in New York City, featuring Julie Taymor, Jordan Roth of Jujamcyn Theatres, Rebecca Eaton, the Executive Producer of Masterpiece (aka Downton Abbey), Max Anderson, Director of the Dallas Museum of Art, and Stephen Bruno of film studio The Weinstein Company.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to present the findings of Culture Track 2014 at this year’s NAMP Attendee Lunch.Here is a preview of some of the stats, trends, and tidbits you’ll gain about today’s complex, ever-changing cultural audiences:

1. Boundaries are blurring. And yes, food trucks = culture.

While frequency of participation for traditional cultural institutions—including visual arts, performing arts, science and history museums, opera, and classical music—has decreased, the definition of “culture” is evolving to include a wider variety of activities, and people are very active in this broader landscape. This represents enormous opportunity for theatres to think about collaboration, innovation, and the development of new cross-disciplinary models.

Over half of audiences define the following as “cultural experiences”:

· Visiting national, state, and municipal parks (79%);

· Watching a live broadcast of a performance in a movie theater (66%);

· Exploring online collections or exhibitions (66%);

· Food and drink experiences (64%);

· Viewing street art (64%);

· Watching non-commercial television (51%).

2. People aren’t turning to culture to be “in-the-know” or to experience the next “big thing”: it’s still deeper than that.

When asked why they choose to make cultural activities a part of their lives, audiences responded:

· Spending time with friends and family (83%);

· Expanding knowledge and understanding (79%);

· Expose or introduce myself to something new (73%).