BRAND The role and importance of

cultural branding during times of change

Cultural marketing, brand, CRM, fundraising, digital and business development consultancy

“We  are  living  in  the  unstable  space  between  the  way  things  have  worked  for  a  long  9me,  and  

the  way  they  might  work  in  the  future”  

Diane  Ragsdale,  cultural  commentator    

Time for new thinking

Adaptive resilience:

the capacity to remain productive and true to core purpose and identity whilst absorbing disturbance and adapting with integrity in response to changing circumstances

Changing circumstances…

Economic  and  financial  pressures  

Changing  demographic,  need  to  engage  new  audiences  

Digital,  technology,  

communica9on  

Changing circumstances…

What  cons9tutes  a  cultural  experience,  how  will  it  be  delivered  and  how  will  it  be  consumed?  

How  and  where  will  our  brands  need  to  feature  in  the  future  in  order  to  reach  out  to  audiences?  

Adaptive resilience in practice…

•  A desire to clearly set long term goals and vision and to remain ambitious

•  A willingness to question everything that is currently done and to consider how it could be done differently

•  An understanding of the importance of defining the ‘non-negotiable’ values of the organisation – whether these be artistic, commercial or operational

•  An acceptance that working with others may now be highly desirable (or unavoidable). But, that

•  Retaining a clear and easily understood position in the marketplace is vital.

Finding solutions…

Economic  and  financial  pressures  

Changing  demographic,  need  to  engage  new  audiences  

Digital,  technology,  

communica9on  

BRAND

The customer perspective…

AFFORDABILITY

•  Wherever possible we need to encourage people to make value judgements about us based on ‘hearts’ and not ‘heads’.

The customer perspective…

TRUST

•  We need to build trust with audiences and funders and not sabotage it.

•  Deliver on our promises

The customer perspective…

PASSION

•  ‘loyalty elasticity’ •  Unwavering belief in the importance of

what we do •  Champion us to others •  Prioritise us over other things

The customer perspective…

PROMISE

EXPERIENCE

MEMORY

The strategic importance of brand

If YOU don’t know what you stand for, how can you expect

your audiences to?

Implica9ons  

Brand  Values  

Implica9ons  

Online   Offline  

Resources  Processes  

Programme   Facili9es  

Communica9ons  

Ownership  

Experience  

Brand  

Online   Offline  

Resources  Processes  

Facili9es  

Communica9ons  

Ownership  

Experience  

brand day to day organisational impact

•  Relationship with architects

•  Signage and way-finding

•  Retail and catering •  Technology and

digital strategy •  Sponsorship and

commercial partnerships

•  Fundraising and philanthropic giving

•  Ticketing •  Front of house and

customer experience •  Artistic programme •  Marketing and

communications

creating a great cultural brand

brand the big picture…

•  A brand is NEVER just about the logo •  Everyone owns the brand and can make it

stronger. BUT… •  Everyone can potentially damage the brand too •  Brands require investment - money, resources,

time •  Every decision you take within marketing and the

wider organisation should re-enforce your brand

the brand checklist 1.  Who are we and what do we do 2.  What are our values 3.  What is our mission statement 4.  Where do we sit in the marketplace 5.  What makes us unique 6.  What do people think of us now and what do we want

them to think of us in the future 7.  What is our positioning statement 8.  How are we going to represent our brand visually 9.  How are we going to live and breathe the brand 10. How are we going to communicate who we are –

brand strategy

characteristics of great cultural brands?

brand creating a recognisable identity

 LOGO  

living the brand

who is really responsible for shaping your brand?

Posters Telesales

Brochures/ Leaflets

Corporate Sales

Social media

Booking tickets

Direct mail

Internal service

Customer Events Newsletters

Email Campaign

Making enquires

Press articles

Eating at restaurant

PR

Walking through venue

Membership

Attending events

Booking a room Friends

Website

Your  employees  are  an  essen9al  element  in  delivering  a  

successful  brand  

Brand  can  act  as  a  catalyst  for  mo9va9ng  and  engaging  

employees  during  periods  of  organisa9onal  change  

Drive  from  the  top  down  Co-­‐ordinate  across  all  func9ons  

Engage  employees  

Barbican Experience

Personal Brand Action Plan Describe a specific current situation that you feel could be done differently:

How will this change according to the Barbican Customer Experience project?

How will you measure success?

Summary •  Brand should be at the heart of discussions

about change •  Consistency of brand will help retain audiences

and build their trust •  You need to consider how your brand will be

portrayed – changes to communication and consumption

•  Consistency of brand presentation •  Staff engagement and responsibility

Ques9ons?  

Chris  Denton  chris@chris-­‐denton.com  

Cultural marketing, brand, CRM, fundraising, digital and business development consultancy