Bob TarrenDirector of Marketing It’s Your Art

Limited Communications Budgets, Unlimited Possibilities

“The art of pro-bono”

Today’s reality was yesterday’s reality for state agencies, non-profits, and small

companies

Pro-Bono – When you can’t do it alone

• Ad agency (substitute free- lancer, etc.) ego

• Opportunity to do good

• Often free-rein creative

• Need to differentiate

Why should anyone do work for free (or near-free)?

• What is your objective?

– Specifically, what problem are you solving?

• Is there history with external resources?

• Can internal resources be challenged ?

Before you get started…

• Organize your assets and be clear with your mandatories

• Make sure you are driving to a measureable outcome

• Make sure you have support from leadership, because you may need to defend the work

Before you get started…

• Know how to talk their language

– Small project, simple direction, land mines pre-identified

• Ask for recommendations

• Clear communication of situation

• Be willing to stretch

How do you make it work?

• A recent example of ‘setting the table’ for a pro-bono creative resource– VMFA to SGS

• Know how to talk their language

– Small project, simple direction, land mines pre-identified

• Ask for recommendations

• Clear communication of situation

• Be willing to stretch

How do you make it work?

• Perceptions

• Institutional Ambitions

• Strategic Architecture

Current Situation

• Marketplace research already in place

– Alan Newman

– LaPlaca Cohen

• Summary…

– Stodgy, formal, unfriendly, exclusive, class-centric

– Quality collections and staff, well-loved and respected by those who were frequent visitors

Perceptions

• The Grand Opening – Reopen or reinvent the brand?

– Communicate a new brand promise, and establish the foundation of a new brand position

• A museum for all Virginians

– Free general admission all the time, eliminate barriers to visitation

– Diverse audiences

Institutional Ambitions

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES• Reset perceptions and

expectations of VMFA

• Activate ‘persuadables’ and reinforce ‘evangelists’

• Create evocative messages that leverage the VMFA experience– World class art– WOW venue (Wi-Fi, Café,

etc)– A “Third Place”

UNDERSTANDING THE AUDIENCE

B

‘Persuadables’Create new visitors

A C

Evangelists Unengaged

• People who consume art/culture offering once a

month*

• People who consumer art/cultural offering once a

year *

• Younger audience, College to 35

Horizontal axis

Vertical axis

VRE Card Car Billboard

OUT OF HOME

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Thank you!