FM Oct 04 PDF - Orlando Chamber of Commerce

COVER STORY
THE ART OF
ATTENDANCE
Orlando's arts groups join forces to build
audiences and create a cultural movement.
By Tracey Velt
When Electronic Arts (EA) wanted
to attract graduates from the Ringling
School of Arts in Sarasota to design video
games at its Maitland-based studio, the
multimedia company didn’t focus solely
on selling itself as a great place to work.
Instead, it gave potential job candidates a
run down of all the museums, festivals,
theaters and other cultural activities
available in the Central Florida region.
As a result, 13 Ringling graduates
are now employed at EA’s local studio.
When it comes to attracting businesses
to Central Florida, don’t underestimate
the power of a solid arts and culture
community. A diverse and deep cultural
environment helps to grow, attract and
retain businesses and knowledge workers.
The economic impact of the arts is
substantial. In fact, studies show the
direct impact of the arts on Central
Florida as $135 million.
“When people go out, they spend
money on parking, a babysitter and
eating dinner,” says Margot H. Knight,
President and CEO of United Arts of
Central Florida. “That money includes
all the spending that those groups do
in the community.”
As a result, Central Florida has
2,000 people employed in arts and
culture equaling $42 million in wages.
The arts generate spending of about
$300 million annually.
“The region has the cultural foundation
needed to attract these workers and
more potential income,” says Ray Gilley,
President and CEO of the Metro Orlando
Economic Development Commission.
“What they’re missing are the resources
to get the word out to the community.”
That’s why United Arts, the Central
Florida Performing Arts Alliance and the
Orlando/Orange County Convention and
Visitors Bureau recently joined forces to
form the Cultural Audience Development
Initiative, a plan to increase participation in
the abundant number of arts and cultural
activities in the Central Florida region.
Getting the Ball Rolling
In October 2001, community leaders
such as Knight and Gilley started looking
at the arts groups and realized that, due
to lack of funds, only a few groups had
a strategic marketing plan. As a result,
most of the region’s high-quality cultural
offerings were the best kept secret in
Central Florida. Not a good place to be
when your livelihood relies on ticket sales
and audience participation.
Knight decided to take action.
“Margot approached the Central
Florida Performing Arts Alliance, knowing
we attempted a half-price ticket booth in
downtown Orlando and were fighting
for a way to stimulate more audience
participation,” says Jim Morris, Executive
Director of the Central Florida Performing
Arts Alliance. “Since Orlando isn’t a
walking downtown, we knew the ticket
booth wasn’t viable, so this was our opportunity
to come up with some new ideas.”
She also approached the Convention
and Visitor’s Bureau, thinking it was a
natural partner as visitors are always
looking for different things to do when
they’re in Central Florida.
“We jumped in right away because we
saw this as an opportunity to not only
build a great tool for locals, but for the
tourists as well,” says Peter Cranis, Vice
President of Consumer Marketing of the
Orlando/Orange County Convention and
Visitors Bureau. “Long term, we hope it
will generate increased repeat visitation and
possibly encourage people to come back
sooner because of all there is to do here.”
“You don’t have to go to New York City to see good theater, and
this initiative will help Central Floridians realize they’re sitting on
something fabulous and affordable.”
— Ruth Katz
Director of Marketing, Orlando Ballet
Raising Money
As with anything else, it takes
money to do great research, which is the
cornerstone of any successful initiative.
The Elizabeth Morse Foundation, along
with some other groups, underwrote an
analysis of the cultural audiences in the
Central Florida region.
“We invited any group who wanted to
participate,” says Knight. “We ended up
with 30 groups.”
The underwriters put together a
psychological analysis of those 30 groups
and their audiences, and as a result got a
better handle on who was coming and
who might come to the different cultural
venues. From that research, Knight says
they identified 10 areas where they
could “move the needle” on audience
Photo by Richard Aguilar
participation. Only 11 percent of the
target market was attending Central
Florida’s cultural performances. Knight
believes that in a rising cultural city, that
participation should be 18 to 20 percent.
The goal is to be at 20 percent in three
to five years. “We’ve taken the research as
a catalyst to advance us and catch up to
what some other cities are already doing,”
adds Morris.
That research is helping other organizations
pinpoint their target audience so
marketing can be better directed. “My
challenge is to bring the ballet to the
people,” says Ruth Katz, Director of
Marketing of the Orlando Ballet. “You
don’t have to go to New York City to see
good theater, and this initiative will help
Central Floridians realize they’re sitting
on something fabulous and affordable.”
The biggest challenge has been to
widen the geographical boundaries of
the cultural audience base and to introduce
a younger population to theatre and
cultural arts. With more and more schools
dropping performing arts and music
from their curriculums, many pre-teens,
high-schoolers and even college students
are unaware of cultural and entertainment
offerings beyond television, movies, rock
concerts and video games.
“We have no problem in attracting
our older generations to the theater.
The challenge is to excite, entertain, and
enrich a whole new generation,” says Rick
Traum, Executive Director of The Mount
continued on page 22
18 OCTOBER 2004 FM