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Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing

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Practitioner perspectives on arts tourism marketing

Paul Copley a; Ian Robson b a Division of Marketing, Newcastle Business School, University of Northumbria at Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne b Dundee Graduate School of Management, University of Abertay Dundee, Dundee

To cite this Article Copley, Paul and Robson, Ian'Practitioner perspectives on arts tourism marketing', Journal of Travel &

Tourism Marketing, 10: 2, 23 — 46 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/10548400109511557 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10548400109511557

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Practitioner Perspectives on Arts Tourism Marketing

Downloaded By: [Duggan, K] At: 12:28 13 November 2009

Paul Copley Ian Robson

ABSTRACT. Public sector organizations in the UK, especially those responsible for tourism and leisure services, have embraced the private (business/commercial enterprise) sector paradigm apparently in order to improve efficiency, increase usage and provide higher levels of customer service. This paper presents the findings of an initial study of UK arts and leisure managers responsible for the marketing of their venues and services. Applying an interpretivist methodology, the study identifies perceptions and applications of marketing concepts to this highly sensitive area of cultural development and expression. Key marketing tools are identified and their suitability for use in achieving sponsor, provider and customer objectives evaluated, as is the impact of marketing activity. The rationale for (marketing) decision-making is explored. The methodology developed and employed in this research is transportable to other marketing applications and is therefore significant in terms of research development. The discussion and conclusions show the way forward to this end, particularly within the tourism and leisure field, which is the immediate focus of this study. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: Website: © 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.] Paul Copley is affiliated with Newcastle Business School, University of Northumbria at Newcastle. Ian Robson is affiliated with the University of Abertay, Dundee. Address correspondence to: Paul Copley, Division of Marketing, Newcastle Business School, University of Northumbria at Newcastle, Northumberland Building, Northumberland Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NEI 8ST (E-mail: paul.copley® unn.ac.uk) or Ian Robson, Dundee Graduate School of Management, University of Abertay Dundee, 40, Bell Street, Dundee, DD1 1HG (E-mail: [email protected]). Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Vol. 10(2/3) 2001 © 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

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JOURNAL OF TRA VEL & TOURISM MARKETING KEYWORDS. Marketing, tourism, arts, interpreti vism, postmodernism


INTRODUCTION This paper has two key objectives. Firstly, it seeks to evaluate the concept of Arts Marketing from a practitioner perspective, and secondly it introduces a refreshing use of qualitative methodology to the complex, value-laden setting of arts marketing. The premise from which this paper has developed is that marketing is seen as a necessary function of linking tourism and the arts. The transference of core marketing techniques from private to public sector is, in reality, extremely problematical. The myths of this situation are identified and discussed in relation to the research findings. The nature and difficulties in public sector arts marketing are explored from the point of view of the marketers themselves in order to obtain a "world view." Interview narrative has been themed and analyzed to provide a deeply illuminating discussion of the state and status of arts marketing, with particular reference to the tourism context.

MARKETING AND THE PUBLIC SECTOR The pressure to deliver a "free market" for UK public sector services, through tight fiscal control, increased competition (including compulsory competitive tendering), and many other policy measures, has driven public sector organizations toward the use of the tools of the various management functions. These have evolved in business in the post-World War Two period viz. marketing, total quality management (TQM) and business process re-engineering, to name but a few. Many would argue that the benefits of this apparent paradigm shift in public sector service provision are clear. The purchaser/provider relationship has, it is argued, transposed the previous regime of over-manning, misappropriation of resources, unwanted services and mega bureaucracy. Part of the net result has been the importance placed on marketing by, amongst others, tourism and leisure managers. The last ten years or so has seen a large body of literature on marketing for non-profit making organizations/the public sector/the voluntary sector emerge. Text books (for example Kotler and Andreasen, 1991), articles (for example Tibbetts 1994) and other materials such as video with accompanying handbook (for example Druce and Carter 1988)


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now exist. The main tendency seems to have been simply to apply what is known about marketing from commercial organizations to the aforementioned sectors, without any critical analysis or concern. Kotler and Andreasen (1991), for example, discuss resistance to adopting marketing in the usual "orientation" language which results in marketing being equated to promotion, research being given a minor role and so on. Tibbetts (1994) has a look at marketing and markets within the NHS where "marketers in the health service of the nineties have got their work cut out for them"-a none to oblique reference to resistance to marketing where training is seen as important to break down the "marketing equals promotion" and "marketing is commerce" barriers. Yorke (1985) begins his article by suggesting that "adopting a more customer-oriented approach, the twin problems (of increased private provision of leisure services and a reduction of public resources) may be tackled," where both the local authority and the community benefits. Much more focused work is in evidence, however. Dibb and Simkin (1993) advocate the traditional marketing approach to developing strategy in the arts. Verwey (1996) considers the targeting of arts audiences in a similar way as being formulaic and thus resonant of modern marketing theory. Maitland (1997) also takes a prescriptive view of how marketing can be utilized more effectively in arts contexts. Gold (1994) looks at place promotion as image communication which is of importance to the tourism industry, especially local authorities engaged in the marketing and promotion of places. Gold is interested in the message of the media and therefore meaning through encoding. What is evident from this is the reliance on social sciences and in particular cultural studies literature (rather than marketing literature) in order to construct discourse. Similarly, Goodey (1994) relies on arts, architecture, design etc. literature to write on the use of public art to help sell public spaces. This writer notes the tension between the promoter's and the community's requirements of place, advocating that the "pack-up-and-go" event is perhaps more appropriate for artistic innovation than traditional/permanent use of public space. While Evard and Colbert (2000) hint at a more eclectic managerial solution to the arts (and specifically marketing) management problem, the literature is strongly predisposed to the notion that an algorithmic managerial approach to marketing is the most effective method of harnessing the discipline to deliver larger audiences, more repeat business, higher revenues and thus higher potential profits.

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JOURNAL OF TRA VEL & TOURISM MARKETING


APPLYING MARKETING TO TOURISM AND THE ARTS Marketing research has been in use for a considerable time in the tourism industry generally, with the resultant infrastructure evident in research such as that of Clarke (1995).This kind of infrastructure can be seen to be developing in the arts arena, However, the use of marketing research in arts management is a relatively new phenomenon and there is a problem of gathering data and processing it because they do not have the equipment, the skill or the time. For some, a central notion of the use of marketing research by arts managers is that of treating what an arts organization provides as products, or at least services. Once this is conceived then the rest simply follows, i.e., that the arts are related to culture and this is linked to the development of tourism (Lewis 1990), that any organization should develop a marketing information system (Kotler and Andreasen 1991), and so on and so forth. Surveys are now common-place within tourism, local authority departments and now the arts. The "measurement" of opinion has been going on for some time. In the arts, the usual result is that arts attendance is linked to education and social class (Lewis 1990). It is really only relatively recently that such "user surveys," based as they are on cost reduction for standardized questionnaire design which makes data processing and reporting that much easier and less costly, have been criticized. Such surveys have been popular principally because of cost (when compared with, say, depth interviews), but also comparability (Strachan and Hope, 1995), yet they have serious weaknesses which can be found listed in myriad marketing and other research-type texts. For example, if dichotomous or multiple choice questions are used as is often the case with such large surveys, whilst the problems associated with more open questioning (of tabulating responses, etc.) are removed to a large extent, the actual data yielded is quite limited, often deliberately so (Kress, 1988). Qualitative research of sorts has, of course, been used in the arts before now, for example, McCart and Walshe (1987). To find out more about how attenders and non-attenders really think, feel and do, more qualitative research along the lines of that by Saker and Cave (1995), would be illuminating because of the rich data yielded by such an approach.1

ARTS AND TOURISM MARKETING The arts and tourism industries enjoy a symbiotic relationship in which tourists account for a significant percentage of the arts market


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(44% of all London museum and gallery visitors (ETB 1993)), and where the arts remains a crucial attractor to incoming tourists. An important analysis of the arts conducted by Myerscough (1988) maintained that "cultural tourism" is a growing market and that this growth will continue steadily due to an aging population and the tendency for older citizens to be more frequent attenders of arts events. The English Tourist Board pressed home the need for greater integration and a positive marketing campaign in the arts to take advantage of this opportunity. Some of the specific ideas contained in the ETB report of 1993 entitled "The Arts Tourism Handbook" included sharing of customer data, greater collaboration in planning, using each other's leaflet distribution and distribution channels, collaborating in advertising and joint training. Many of the words and phrases used to describe these ideas are directly related to what is generally understood by the term "modernist marketing."2 The link between tourism and the arts is therefore specifically embodied in the prevalent marketing paradigm. This presupposes then, that marketing of this nature is happening in the arts, thus providing the basis for this integration. It is against this backdrop that this work uses arts management as a vehicle to examine the philosophical underpinnings of public sector provision in the UK and the tensions, contradictions and benefits associated with the application of "classical" marketing concepts. That is not to say that more recent (if somewhat impervious) marketing thought in terms of postmodernism should be ignored. Brown (1995) seems to have sewn up the postmodern condition as applied to marketing, with his central attack on the positivism of modernism, just at a time when arts marketers and others are adopting these very modernist approaches. Brown (1993) points out that modernist marketing, born of capitalism, is essentially deterministic, prescriptive and therefore of dubious benefit in today's turbulent and chaotic marketplace. The implications of this stance are enormous when the link between the arts and tourism is considered. The primary research contained in this analysis is crucial to our understanding of this complex situation. Arts tourism seems to depend on marketing although the literature cited prescribes a much-criticized approach. What is missing from the picture painted so far, is a detailed understanding of what arts marketing is in reality, how this relates to the aspirations for arts tourism and what future research should be undertaken to produce more effective and realistic ideas for integrating the two industries.

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METHODOLOGY As the objectives of the research concern practitioner perspectives, it was determined from an early stage in the research design, that qualitative interviews were required to elicit detailed, experience-oriented views from informants who were managing the marketing function in a range of arts settings. The long-running qualitative-quantitative debate, well known in research circles generally and marketing circles in particular, was carefully considered. The form of methodology needs some clarification. Firstly, we must observe that an ethnographic study has not taken place. This would have involved the recording of discourse through observation of actual work (Bryman 1995). For example, where policy making is actually taking place, discussions could be recorded, transcribed and analyzed. The potential to carry out this type of qualitative research was extremely limited, since we would have needed a small number of managers to agree to a "fly on the wall" study, and subsequently the required availability of researchers would have been prohibitive. Secondly, "grounded theory" (Glaser and Strauss 1967) has not been applied in any of its various forms, since it was not the intention of this study to develop a theory of arts tourism marketing. Thirdly, since this study has sought to reveal the practitioners perspectives of what they actually do and how they perceive their work on the basis of analyzing interview transcripts, we are able to describe this research as interpretivist (Silverman 1993). This category of research is certainly more apt than some of its equally worthy qualitative relatives such as "action research" or "participatory research" (Biott and Reed 1995), since in this instance, we are not particularly concerned with longitudinal, educational research. The interpretivist methodology chosen, therefore, enables us to understand the rationale behind the behaviour of the arts marketer. The narrative from the interviews helps us to see things from the informants' point of view. It is also important to note that this type of research was developed from Husserl's work by Schutz (1967) as a rebuttal of the growing dominance of positivism in the social sciences. Its use in the sphere of marketing academe is rare, although, as an awareness of postmodernism and more generally, the critical school (Hammersley 1992), filters through to even the most die-hard marketing statisticians, we can expect more applications to follow. Contact Method and Sample The interviews were conducted around a framework of six questions, these being open enough to encourage reflection and contemplation, yet



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focused enough to obtain views which were pertinent to the line of inquiry. For example, the question "What does marketing mean to you in your work?," gave informants the opportunity to carefully consider their own experience and application. The remaining five questions sought to ascertain precisely which marketing techniques were utilized by the organization represented, what problems of marketing implementation were encountered in these business environments, the extent to which mission impacted on the specific tools chosen or deemed appropriate and whether the use of marketing tools was changing. The six questions were adapted and developed as the interviews evolved although the key issues covered remained within the framework described above. Twenty arts marketers provided a spread of venues and involved promoters, theatre and music groups and arts development officers. These were chosen on the basis of the criteria stated above relating to role and experience and also the type of arts organization which they represented. This sample of twenty was deemed relevant and valid by the researchers on the basis of the careful screening of potential respondents but also the position of qualitative methodologists such as Kvale (1996), i.e., that fifteen interviews plus or minus five produces a comprehensive bank of data for analysis purposes.3 Data Analysis The interview data were painstakingly transcribed and then analyzed manually. The themes which emerged from the informants' statements were then identified, with verbatim quotations from each respondent placed in a theme. In this way, the entire content of each interview was included in the process of determining precisely what the world-view of arts marketing consists of. It also provided a wealth of data in identifying problems, criticisms and potential benefits of arts marketing.

Steps Taken to Reduce Bias Potential interviewer bias was tackled by the use of the usual tape facility which Johnson (in Bell et al., 1987) stresses is a means of enabling reiteration. However, this provided a check on self-consistency as well as allowing full interview playback during analysis. The problems of this approach such as reluctance on the part of the informant to take part or to be candid were lessened by the fact that these informants are professional marketers and not "ordinary" informants. It was expected that they would feel that what they had to say was important. It was also ex-


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pected that any reluctance would come through being defensive, noncommittal and non-communicative leading to informants being less willing to express views, especially over sensitive or controversial subjects (Mouly, 1978). The interview schedule was written and the interview conducted with this in mind. Other factors which helped the situation along were the unobtrusive nature of the tape facility conducted in the informant's own office/workplace. Great pains were taken to book appointments so that ringing telephones and informants "dashing off (Burgess, in Bell et al., 1984) were avoided leading to, it is believed, an optimal atmosphere in which to conduct research. The schedule itself was developed using a small pilot study involving a group of people similar to the informants but who did not have a chance of becoming part of the main study. It was therefore felt that the resultant disaster that becomes all too predictable (Youngman, in Bell et al., 1987) would be avoided. Further, the analysis of the data was checked in accordance with explicit rules following Atkins (1984) so that it was not skewed by personal, unconscious, subjective considerations and that categories could be said to be fairly derived from the information. To achieve this, an independent judge was given a sample of open-ended questions and rules for forming categories and sub-categories were explained. A random sample of informants' answers was then presented to the judge who was then asked to categorize the answers. A second independent judge was given the same information and asked to do the same task. A comparison between judges and researchers was then made. A third independent judge was asked to code a number of answers into categories having been given the researchers' list of gross and sub-categories for several questions. A check was then made to see if the judge's allocation corresponded with that of the researchers. The results obtained from the "judging exercise" indicated that the identification of gross categories was very reliable and whilst the sub-categories had a lower level of reliability, the judging indicated that they were certainly not fictitious. Judge One agreed with (84%) of the researchers' categories but added a further ten. Judge Two agreed with (68%) of the researchers' categories but added a further four. This judge, however, had a tendency at times to use gross categories only. This is reflected in the smaller number of categories chosen compared with those of the researchers and those of Judge One and Judge Three who agreed with (97%) of the researchers' categories but added two more.


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PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS The findings that follow have been organized into themes. These themes have been derived from the interview transcriptions and therefore provide a more accurate picture than if the findings had been presented in accordance with the questions. This also allows the analyst to address the data reflexively in interpreting the meaning of the data from a personal perspective. The themes were arrived at following a process of coding. This entailed detailed reading and re-reading of transcripts to identify issues or themes arising from extracted statements from the transcripts. This form of coding remains at a general level (Miles and Huberman 1994) which satisfies the aims of the research. This approach enabled the analysts in characterizing the general thematic content of each interview (Coffey and Atkinson 1996). The attitudes and motivations of respondents could then be explicated in relation to both mainstream marketing and the applications proposed by the English Tourist Board and Arts Council. The interviews uncovered nine key themes, which are presented below. Theme 1. Is Arts Marketing Different? There seems to be widespread agreement that marketing happens in the arts. For example: You daren 't stop marketing... entertainment doesn 't need it, we can sell Val Doonican (an Irish crooner) out every night, but an obscure dance event is hard work, regardless of the quality. However, the unique nature of the product and the marketers themselves seems to cause some difficulty for informants: People in the arts are too arty-the market is not considered in relation to the product. Somehow the market is supposed to follow the inherently good product. Yet the actual function of marketing in the arts is seen as both poor and different from commercial contexts. As one informant put it: If you sold baked beans in this way you 'd go out of business in six months. The issue, it seems, concerns the ability of marketers to adjust or adapt the arts product to the market:... it is not a product that you can make a bit better by changing an aria or two, or knocking out some scenes because they are a bit boring, and If you are talking about a bar of soap or chocolate then if you take an undefined product like tourism or the arts then you have problems in marketing. To a certain extent it seems that tourism sells the arts regardless: The arts are a major component of the tourism industry. It's what

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we 've got to sell. Thus we observe a hiatus between the need to market in the same way as in commercial situations, and the need to preserve a tradition or heritage from a cultural perspective. The public sector context seems to confuse this issue for one informant: in the public sector there is a lot of bullshit flying around about public, service, quality.... in some ways the private sector is simpler.


Theme 2. Marketing the Arts Is a Heresy A traditional debate in arts marketing and more broadly, the "Thatcherisation" of the arts, concerns a clash of ideologies. This theme was understandably prominent and much revealing data was collected. The theme seems to concern the views of arts purists on the one hand, and those who consider marketing more positively and perhaps pragmatically: The arts are inherently good and we should subsidize it. The product is not flexible and cannot be moulded to a market. It is interesting to contrast this quote with an alternative view from an informant: The "heresy" tag is a load of balls. If you don't market your work, what do you do? The very people who scream for purity in their work would scream if no one came to see it. The more pragmatic view is represented thus: In the arts, sometimes there is a real tension between "quality" and "popularity.". It seems that, where financial issues and audience numbers are afforded more importance than artistic issues, we have an additional problem in this theme: Programmes are all based on "bums on seats" e.g., Shakespeare or musicals. It is artistically uninteresting, where is the interest, the energy and the imagination'? Could the crux of this problem lie in the public sector "mentality" of arts marketers?: in the private sector you are geared up to make money, to make a profit... err, and you 've got to flog your product. You might flog it dishonestly, but there's an honesty about this dishonesty and // would be nice to package tourism and the arts together, but we can't achieve it. Arts marketers are too wrapped up in the product and "bums on seats.". The heresy argument, however, comes in for extra criticism: The idea that arts marketing is a heresy is only proposed by people with a privileged point of view with a good funding base. Further to this, one informant tells us: We claim a uniqueness that is not valid since all organizations have these very conflicts.


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Theme 3. The Programming Issue This theme concerns the core activity of arts provision i.e., determining what the product is to be. Marketing clearly has a role in this, but the tension between marketing and artistic issues emerges from the data: The programming itself is where marketing beginsyou look out there and say "what do people want to see?" Marketing shouldn't take this process over though. It's a fine line between marketing and product. If the marketing is too aggressive, informants perceive a problem: You can't force someone to see something they don't want to see. There must be a genuine need there. The difference between arts and entertainment products also seems important to arts marketers: It's the line between balancing the books and having a venue open to present a piece of important theatre to a small audience. Informants do perceive a grave danger with this sort of "balancing act." In other words, using entertainment to fund more pure art forms can be hypocritical: The danger with balancing a programme is that you put on Chubby Brown (a risque comedian) or the Chippendales (an all-male dance troupe), so that you can afford to promote theatre that tackles racism or sexism. Perhaps, however, the high quality arts product generally has a new outlet: Arts tourism is a multi million pound market. This is a huge opportunity for the arts and should not be overlooked. Theme 4. Success in the Arts This highly controversial theme contains data on how success is judged in the arts and the difficulties of measuring success: It's a catch-22 situation. You can't win with arts marketing. If it sells out, it's a good product, if it doesn't, it's the marketer's fault. However, the quandary described above hints at the reliance on quantitative measurement: There is pressure to prove success and quality in the arts from a quantitative perspective. That's when you get into this cycle of maybe using marketing to say everything is fine when you know damn well it isn 't. Also: Success in its crudest form is a full house, showing an increase on figures on a week on week basis. In creative arts, it's about accessibility to all groups, not just AB's. The dichotomy of success through large audiences versus success through access and quality seems to emerge


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from several informants. However, one informant seems to suggest that the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive: It is a valid thing to get bums on seats, but there is a much more interesting thing in terms of arts development. You change peoples' perspectives of art forms. Another went a little further in terms of engaging with people on an intellectual and spiritual level:... get them thinking about the lives of others . . . obviously not for the worse . . . think twice about things . . . through other cultures as well.... we can try to bring one person's magic is another person's load of old rubbish . . . but quantifiable. .. . a letter from a school (about a play) it was the most moving piece of theatre they 've seen in their lives and they haven't stopped talking about it since. That to us is a big measure of success. However, it is also apparent that measurements of success are still found wanting despite their quantitative underpinnings: You can conform to targets and still no one would really know if it was a success or not. More and more these days you are called to account, it's just that the word "measurement" is problematic. Putting in it a nutshell: / think success is being honest about the product, targeting effectively, creating awareness of the product, a sense of value, and attracting the appropriate audience to target. Theme 5. Public Image and Awareness The practitioners clearly have a concern for public awareness. This clearly links in with ideas presented earlier on programming and policy making: it's crucial that people get to know who you are. You can 'tjust leave initiatives once they are over. You have to find ways that help and support people to continue their interest. For some informants, there was a regional dimension to this theme: We have to use marketing to position ourselves as an important part of the region. Mmm... It's like Newcastle United FC (a Premier Division soccer club) people who don't go and see them still have a great pride. One informant also directly noted the tourism spin-off: It's the slagheaps and flat caps image here, the Arts can help. This was also an area which further justified the use of arts marketing: If marketing means that more people know about your venue, and are therefore more likely to purchase a ticket for it, then its more likely to be valid.

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Theme 6. The Techniques in Use The techniques used by arts marketers reflect a lack of financial resources as well as a lack of knowledge of the scope of marketing. The informants were less able to describe the detail of the techniques used, partially because there was not much to tell. For example: Press conferences, advertising, press interviews, print production and distribution, direct mail, posters, leaflets, brochures. We aren't scientific with our targeting. It is apparent, however, that arts marketers do value audience data: We know the ticketing history of our customers and use this to inform them of similar forthcoming products. There is a degree of pragmatism and learning evident from this research: We don't expect to sell any tickets through newspaper advertising . . . A linchpin of the marketing we do is on the phone to key contacts ermm, having a good mailing list. One informant intimated a desire to link up with tourism marketers: Packaging our products is one area of great potential. Tourism and the arts could come together with events like those at Newcastle Arena. In terms of deciding on future arts programmes, it seems that informants are becoming more aware of the need for and uses of market intelligence: The (UKNational) lottery is encouraging research as part of feasibility work for bids. However, one informant outlined the inadequacy of their situation: We have no information on preferences or travel patterns, only Arts Council data, which is very generally. Another informant demonstrated a good knowledge of the sources and applications of research: Census, ACORN, TGI, mapping, box office databases, audience mass competition and access-we can "hot spot" for tourists and venue siting. While this latter response may sound just a little unbelievable, an informant put some clothes back on this particular emperor: AB's are supposed to be a good market, we use ACORN and TGI and find they have a red Volkswagen, so they will go to the theatre. This is not interesting to me, I am more interested in those without red Volkswagens and what have you, and I don't think arts marketers have an approach for them. While these comments relate to quantitative approaches to targeting and research, some informants referred to the growing need for qualitative research: In terms of the qualitative/quantitative split, the bulk is now qualitative-we have the quants sorted out. I'd like to conduct some focus groups. An informant also reminded us of the need to be practical with qualitative research: We

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like to think we get a balance between the more scientific side of marketing and analysis, with very much error, knowing the individual customers and getting to know people. Since much arts provision is funded and controlled by the public sector, at a local level elected council members form a key part of this policy making research: There are some councillors who may be pretty useful in their own community arts work, but they aren 't going to win any medals for blinding genius in arts policy making.


Theme 7. Advocacy, Accountability, Relationships and People This theme emerged in relation to several other themes, but is seemingly fundamental to the work of arts marketers: The arts is a people to people business with a wholly ephemeral product. Arts marketing is a way of communicating,... of linking groups of people. To gain support from the general public, sponsors and elected council members, it seems that relationships are at the heart of the job: We need to be in touch with what people are really feeling about the orchestra. Also: We've got the political element with councillors involvement, and I have to work quite hard to keep them up to date with what we're doing and to keep them on our side. There is also a crucial intelligence dimension to this: We are asking participants how they enjoyed events, and if they'd like to be involved in other events in the area. Where evaluation is concerned: The best way to get audience information is to spend time talking to them. Internally, people were deemed to be very important and essential to the marketing cause and success. For example, referring to non-marketing people: / think a lot of people in the company are great marketers. Also: People... everyone... can't take the marketing of the company away from the people who are behind it. If you're saying we are a really great company then you've got to believe it. .. you're selling the company. If anyone doesn't believe it, it's not gonna work. Theme 8. Marketing Can Be About Lying This theme was more unexpected than most, but is clearly a concern for the informants. The clarity of data in this area in many ways reflects the validity of the methodology. Such honesty and openness is rarely observed, in this kind of research, anyway. What remains unclear in this theme, is the degree to which infor-


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mants are satisfied with their personal role in deceiving advocates and funding bodies; customers were not included in this charade: . . . in terms of selling it (events) to your board, selling it to the Arts Council or whatever, it is in your interests to say brilliant, fantastic, you're doing well with this. But you know that there are so many fucking problems. And, specifically, where advocates are concerned in the public sector setting: There is a temptation to tell all our publics that everything is going well. In terms of our advocates, we never fail. Of the funding bodies themselves, one informant had this to say: I think the Arts Council is particularly guilty. If it is in the interests of the funding body to say something is good, the product becomes good when sometimes it is actually crap. A specific example came to mind for one informant: Take the year of the visual arts for example. There is a touch of the "emperor's new clothes" about it. The only public manifestation of this has been the Gateshead Angel (a large outdoor sculpture) and people in Gateshead are saying "Christ, you're joking aren't you?' While Gateshead council actually won an award for the brochure they produced, the reality is that the people in Gateshead think it's a load of crap. Theme 9. Criticism of Arts Marketing It seems to be the case that, regardless of their individual leanings, the informants all had a criticism to offer where marketing is concerned. These statements range from the arts purist perspective: Arts marketing came with Thatcher (the former Prime Minister)-maximize income, be cost-effective. What worries me is that it has become a side issue in itself and (to the more pragmatic arts marketer) I'm not one of these jargonistic kinds of marketing people. I think you can get too far away from the audience if you do too much of that. In terms of jargon and taking over the arts, one informant cautioned against the need for more scientific marketing: While we are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on computer technology for marketing applications, the most successful theatre in Ireland is run by two old ladies with a seating plan and two broken pencils. They are sold-out nearly every night, yet I'm sure thataform of marketing takes place in that venue. The heresy argument also comes into this theme: We can 'tjust react to what people say they want or need. I think, you know, that we have a living art form-if you stifle that, you stifle creativity. Then we

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come to some final thoughts: the danger in arts marketing is that we devalue the product through being aggressive, bombarding people with mailshots, for example. And Finally: 1 wonder if we took a Luddite approach, and slung out all the computers, if it would affect the business in any way, shape or form. DISCUSSION


A Socially Constructed Reality? The simple answer to this question is, of course, yes. However, it should be pointed out that the epistemological standpoint taken by the authors in relation to the data presented above follows a social constructionistperspective (Berger and Luckman 1967). The data presented represents evidence of the socially constructed reality for arts marketers. Whilst the essentially positivistic marketing theorists such as Kotler (1994), Baker (1991) and McDonald (1993) are in a sense defining and prescribing theory and practice for marketing and marketers, this paper has developed from the premise that arts marketers construct marketing for themselves. The data presented is thus evidence of the informants' knowledge of marketing reality in their specific (social) context. The ideology of the informants is therefore formed as a mirror reflection of other social actors and observers. The identities of arts marketers can be said to be constructed out of everyday interactions, particularly within the community of arts marketers. The mutuality of the informants' knowledge forms the individual, while the individual in turn forms society. The social world of arts marketers is shared on the basis of common knowledge and procedures. Clearly, where arts marketers are concerned, part of their identity is formed by interactions with marketers from other business organizations as well as marketing academics, the media and professional bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing. In considering the value and meaning of the data presented above, this rationale is offered as justification for categorizing such data as empirical. Theory and Practice Interestingly, marketing theory has been severely undermined in recent years by many authors (such as Brown 1995, Brownlie and Saren 1992). Nevertheless, academics are encouraged by several mainstream



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authors to continue to promote marketing as a panacea. McDonald (1993) states that he is "convinced that methodologies (Directional Policy Matrix and B.C.G. Growth/Share matrix) are just as valuable today as when their creators first introduced them into an excited business world." The data collected and presented in theme 6 above demonstrates that sophisticated marketing techniques are not widely used in arts marketing. This is not to say that the techniques are misunderstood, as one informant demonstrates in relation to profiling packages. The data shows us that other pressures are at work to nurture a more pragmatic approach to marketing. This is evident in themes which indicate the importance of the political dimension (themes 7 and 8) and also the programming dimension (themes 2 and 3). Rather than accepting that marketing can be applied pragmatically, marketing academics seem to cling to the idea that it this is a heresy, which is the fault of poor teaching. "The fault appears to lie with those responsible for writing about and teaching the subject rather than with those who try to use it" (McDonald, 1993). The data clearly shows that the "heresy" issue remains a problem for arts marketers. There is an obvious inflexibility in the product itself, which leaves little leeway for marketing. The political economy is referred to in several themes and illuminates a dichotomy between the arts and commercialism. Taking this further, we can see that in themes 8 and 9 in particular, the data shows that arts marketers are extremely skeptical of how marketing has manifested itself in the arts in recent years. Interestingly, both the ETB (1993) and Northern Arts (1995) reports call for a greater emphasis on training in arts marketing. This may be useful in terms of handling audience and market data and in handling advertising and research agency relationships, an increasingly common situation. However, the bigger (positivistic) picture alluded to above in terms of McDonald's views would seem to be at odds with what is required in the arts. Several themes demonstrate a lack of product flexibility, yet one issue not fully explained here is the extent to which the venue itself can be positioned in relation to the market. One of the keys to these issues is directly referred to in the data in relation to the "heresy" problem in that the mission of each arts providers must provide the focus for marketing and not vice versa.

A Unique Context? If the arts exist to promote the positive side of our very being, of civilization, marketing is the opposite-negative, narrow, creator of artificial wants-at least to some. For the latter, to apply marketing to the arts


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is to make the arts false, to make truth dishonest by association. As might be expected from the brief discussion earlier on marketing and the public sector, some of the same issues emerge when discussing marketing in arts management. Themes 1 and 2 above present a variety of views in relation to this. The uniqueness of the arts situation is expressed forcibly, although the imposed free market conditions also confuse the issue somewhat. The usual tools developed in marketing are applied by some writers to the context of the arts, for example, the augmented product (Kotler and Andreasen 1991). However, if the aim of arts marketing is to bring an appropriate number of people from a wide range of social backgrounds, economic conditions and ages into contact with the artist (as indicated in theme 6 above), and in so doing arrive at the best financial outcome (Diggle 1994), then profit cannot be part of the aim and commercial marketing has a different objective and philosophy. If the commercial road is taken, warns Diggle (1994), then we make the product subordinate to the need to make a profit and we would "end up with something that was not quite right; we might be cheaper to run but we wouldn't be worth running." For Diggle, what seems to be at issue is sensitivity to who the market is and what they want without diminishing the "rich sustaining nourishment" that is worth having. Others would have it that perhaps the purity, integrity, honesty of the arts can be preserved whilst at the same time using "modern marketing techniques" to get the most out of the situation.

The Realities of Arts Marketing For some of the informants, arts marketing has become a side issue in itself, which is not necessarily of obvious benefit to the arts. In theme 9, we are presented with clear criticisms of the approach which call into question one of the fundamental pre-requisites for integration between the arts and tourism, namely shared intelligence. If, as some of the informants suggest, we are wasting money in purchasing technology that wastes resources and provides no clear benefit, we are calling into question one of the fundamental building blocks of marketing-the need for detailed marketing research. Themes 8 and 9 provide us with the clear indication that financial constraints in arts marketing are critical to success, and any wastage should be avoided. Theme 6 provides us with the view that informants value audience data, but the form the data should take and the detail required are issues which vary dramatically. There is a clear call for better, more appropriate research design and not simply giving the client what is asked for in terms of a "customer satisfaction



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survey" when really what they require is core advice on how to meet their needs, how to solve their problems. As early as 1987 McCart reported on how the Royal Festival Hall was rejuvenated as a result of effective marketing based on information gathered from a qualitative survey, as opposed to the previously used conventional sampling techniques which concentrated on existing users via an in-hall survey. This switch was seen as being essential to the identification and meeting of customer needs, i.e., information gathered intelligibly via intelligible market research, which could lead to a clear marketing policy, which would be fully integrated into the organization's operation. The more recent example, as mentioned earlier in this article, of Saker and Cave (1995), who took a very novel, qualitative approach with non-attendees of theatre in Nottingham, is a case in point. This may mean more qualitative research, which is not, necessarily, a stranger in arts (marketing) management circles. If arts marketers know who is coming to which event and have the ability to target audiences and to make their effort more efficient, this may be as a result of both quantitative and qualitative research. What they eventually offer may in the end depend upon the "mission," on what they are trying to achieve. Johns (1999), in his article concerning services marketing, determines that tourism marketing involves low-involvement, experience-orientated buying situations. If correct we can identify a further jarring between arts and tourism service provision. Williams (1998) identifies mission as an important driver of arts marketing which concurs with the results of this study. In her article, Williams defines the mission of a repertory theatre as containing the following elements: providing an enjoyable and stimulating experience for our customers; excelling in our artistic and technical standards; creating an accessible, friendly and comfortable environment; providing a service which our customers perceive as value for money; recognizing our role in the life of the local community; being forward looking and innovative. These mission statement elements indicate the opposite of Johns' picture of tourism marketing. Arts marketing for this theatre and many of our informants, concerns excellence, accessibility, relationships and a community role amongst other things. Themes 7 and 8 provide clear evidence that marketing is in fact used as a propaganda tool, both internally and externally to ensure funding is maintained or that political support is gained. Arts marketers are using marketing data and promotion to justify programmes and to claim success regardless of the real circumstances. This is further evidence of an undermining of the potential links between tourism and the arts since

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there appears to be a critical need for resources and attention to be directed towards the political context of arts funding. If there is a spin-off for tourism, it is not deliberate and would not in any event concur with the suggestions for arts tourism quoted earlier from the ETB report (1993). One key area where perhaps similarities do exist between the aspirations of tourism and art marketers concerns image. It seems clear from the data that arts marketers see a direct link between regional or national image and the arts. They are committed to maintaining a "good" image with arts customers, and through a (imposed?) commitment to quality, can be seen to be actively working at maintaining this image. Themes 5 and 7 present clear evidence of this in relation to the general public and advocates such as councillors.

CONCLUSION The sub-text of the research conducted indicates that, while the political economy in relation to arts provision has changed drastically in recent times, the arts marketers have not fully embraced the modernist marketing methods which are associated with the private sector. A shift has taken place, however, in that arts marketers are clearly very knowledgeable in terms of the product they sell, the function of marketing and the political context of their work in terms of funding and accountability. Some specific issues in relation to success criteria and quantitative justifications of arts programmes form a fundamental part of this shift, but have not in themselves taken the arts marketers away from their belief and interest in their product. This does not augur well for arts tourism since it would appear that the prerequisite marketing approach for such integration (Northern Arts 1995) is not prevalent in the arts. The social construction of marketing in this industry has so far determined that the product remains the key focus for marketing, with a great deal of pragmatism and eclecticism at the heart of determining the role. It also seems that the status of arts administrators has been enhanced by the recent addition of a marketing focus. The paradox here is that while the ideology of the free market has been invasive in the public sector, the commercial skills and practices associated with it have not succeeded in changing significantly the marketing function. The case cited by one informant in relation to an Irish theatre is apposite to this point; marketing occurs and has occurred in the arts (and most other industries) for many years, although the specific techniques adopted have come about as the result of a socially constructed reality which is per-


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haps changing more slowly because of the unique characteristics of the product. Despite the blurring of boundaries between public and private sector and indeed between art and tourism, the data elicited from the research clearly confirms this uniqueness. As stated earlier in this analysis, tourism and the arts have a symbiotic relationship, which occurs irrespective of marketing and the adoption of marketing techniques. What this paper has shown is that the prevailing ideology will continue to thwart attempts to formalize the concept of arts tourism so long as the arts idiosyncrasies remain unaddressed.

FUTURE RESEARCH The notion presented by one informant that all organizations have unique problems in applying marketing should certainly be pursued in future research with great potential to deepen our understanding of marketing culture in a variety of management situations. The data presented in this analysis could also be used in different ways to further develop our understanding of arts marketing. Textual analysis could be conducted on a greater volume of quotations to investigate meaning, perhaps particularly in relation to the Foucauldian notion of power discourse. The question remains as to where this discourse leads. It was stated earlier that the methodology employed is transportable to other situations. Clearly this has been a piece of developmental research using an opportunity sample but a sample made up of the right kinds of informants to address some of the arts tourism marketing issues of today. It would certainly be important to continue with this line of philosophical inquiry not only with other arts tourism marketers but also in other public and private sector domains for the purpose of comparative discourse.

NOTES 1. This study took place over several months and involved twenty people who had never attended a theatre or formal concert hall in adulthood. Amongst other things, aspects of buying behaviour, perception of theatre generally and the impact of model/peer group acceptance are considered and marketing implications for theatre venues and touring companies are drawn. 2. As opposed to postmodern marketing. For Brown (1995) postmodernism is related in some way to modernism where a full understanding of the former is only possible through an examination of the latter. In historical and marketing terms there is no

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clear-cut starting point where modern marketing stops and postmodern marketing begins. Antecedents can always be identified giving rise to the problem of infinite regress. In simple terms here modern marketing is the type of marketing favoured by writers such as Kotler (1994) and postmodern marketing the type favoured by writers such as Brown (1993, 1995, 1996). With the former concepts such as the Product Life Cycle are the accepted norm. With the latter concepts such as the PLC are challenged not just for their lack of applicability but indeed for the damage the belief in them can do. 3. It is emphasized that no claim of being representative of all arts and tourism marketers is made. For the purpose of this developmental work the use of an opportunistic sample does not pose a problem to the researchers given the aims of the study as stated in the introduction. Location of the venues, the age or sex of informant and other such parameters does not, therefore, feature in this research.

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SUBMITTED: 02/20/00 FIRST REVISION SUBMITTED: 04/30/00 SECOND REVISION SUBMITTED: 09/15/00 ACCEPTED: 11/01/00 REFEREED ANONYMOUSLY