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Marketing Team Structures at Performing Arts Organizations

September 2023

This article is related to a recently completed custom research project conducted on behalf of an ABA member. Our research team is always delighted to speak with members about tailoring research projects to your organization. To learn more or submit a custom research request, simply contact your member advisor or email us at info@advisoryarts.com.

How are performing arts organizations structuring their marketing teams in an evolving industry? This question, posed by an ABA member, led to a research project that included interviews with the heads of marketing at 9 major performing arts organizations to understand the challenges they are facing and the resulting changes to their team structures. Interviews encompassed several pressing topic areas in arts marketing, including institutional branding, the increase in importance of digital content, and marketing team’s roles in venue rental management.

Findings from the research include:

  • Organizations’ level of focus on institutional marketing remains dependent on financial constraints, but many have made efforts to invest in either full- or part-time data insights personnel to begin building a strong understanding of brand perception in the field.

  • The need for (and expense of) digital marketing is increasing, and arts organizations are frequently bringing those skills in-house in response — particularly investing in video expertise.

  • Ownership of rental marketing is not always clear within arts organizations. Some institutions take a more marketing-led approach, while those whose rental team leaders have more robust contacts of frequent renters rely less on the marketing team to advertise rental opportunities.

  • Many arts organizations are operating with lean teams, which can be challenging during times of high volume. Marketing leaders often expressed recent efforts to reduce their number of direct reports to allow them more time to develop effective strategies for their teams.

The full report, which includes organizational charts of the 9 participating institutions, is available to ABA members by clicking below.