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PROGRAM


CANADIAN ARTS MARKETING, DEVELOPMENT & TICKETING CONFERENCE, TORONTO

06.25.24 - 06.26.24

PLENARIES & KEYNOTES

Run It Like a Business

If you hate that phrase, you’re not alone. But the arts are a business, a sector worth billions whose institutions serve almost every region in the country. Today, arts organizations are trying to rebuild audiences, reclaim relevance, and confront centuries of systemic discrimination.

The solutions are right before our eyes though. Volumes of data, research, and case studies from the for-profit sector demonstrate how to achieve success across customer engagement, the user experience, company culture, the subscription economy, digital content, new revenue streams, and brand relevance.

Just because arts organizations are non-profits doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make money; it means the money we make goes back to fund the mission. And it means a sustainable model is still necessary. Running it like a business isn’t unwitting board speak; it’s essential to revitalize this critical, massive economic engine and ultimately better serve the art and its consumers in the new normal ahead.

Aubrey’s book, Run It Like a Business, will be available for sale.


Aubrey Bergauer
Chief Executive Officer Changing the Narrative

 

Are the Performing Arts Imploding Before Our Eyes?

The Toronto Star recently pronounced that “Toronto’s Art Organizations Are In Decline,” citing potential crises that are looming at the Fringe Festival, Just For Laughs, Harbourfront Centre, Luminato, the Shaw Festival, and many other organizations that include challenges with artists, audiences, finances, programming, sponsorships, and staff.  There is a popular formulation that a crisis is the intersection of danger and opportunity.  Colleagues working in academia, practice, and public funding will share their perspectives on what combination of crisis, danger, and opportunity currently confronts the performing arts in Toronto and across Canada.
Moderator: Jamie Bennett
Thought Leader Lord Cultural Resources

Kevin A. Ormsby
Artistc Director KasheDance

Nasim Niknafs
Associate Dean, Research, Associate Professor: Music Education, Coordi University of Toronto

Kelly Langgard
Director & CEO Toronto Arts Council

Owais Lightwala
Assistant Professor Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University

 

AI: What is Real in 2024 and What Could It Be Going Forward?

Since the arrival of ChatGPT in the fall of 2022, the hype machine deluged us with both utopian and dystopian stories about the future impact of AI.

Let us get real!

At this session, we will explore: Where are we with AI technology? What does this technology offer us in 2024? How to start using this new tool? And look at what AI could do and mean for us going forward.
Patrick Courtin
Consultant

 

Digital Ads for Arts Organizations

Keith will demonstrate techniques, for both ad creative and placement, that have successfully driven ticket sales. Takeaways include increasing conversion rates of prospective ticket buyers on the Google and Meta ad networks.
Keith Tomasek
Founder Keith Tomasek and Co. Inc.

 

BREAKOUTS AND PANELS

The Fundamentals of Corporate Sponsorship

This session is designed for anyone interested in learning more about the business of Corporate Sponsorship and Naming Rights.

Using case studies, items such as prospecting (who gets on your list), packaging (what should the sales document look like) and the sales process will be covered in this highly interactive session. 

Judy Haber
Senior Partner Performance Sponsorship Group

 

Creating Art for Art: Visual Storytelling for Arts Organizations

Explore the transformative impact of visual storytelling for arts organizations in this presentation. Delve into creating engaging video, captivating photography, and strategic social media content to amplify your brand, reach, and revenue.

Discover the secrets of crafting content that resonates with your audience, fostering a passionate community around your organization. This roadmap will guide you in leveraging visual storytelling as a dynamic tool for success in the digital landscape.

Join us in unlocking the potential of compelling narratives that propel arts organizations to new heights, creating lasting impact and growth. Let's craft a story that captivates, resonates, and fuels your organization's journey toward enhanced visibility and financial success.

Jason Clark
Sales Lead / Video Producer rTraction Canada

 

Turning the Tide: Growing and Rejuvenating Your Donor Pool

In an era marked by a declining proportion of Canadians donating to charities, attracting and retaining new donors becomes paramount for the financial sustainability of your organization -- both in the short and long term. This presentation delves into one The National Ballet of Canada's mission-focused fundraising campaign to inspire ticket buyers, subscribers and lapsed donors to replenish and revitalize a diminishing donor pool.  

Key takeaways:
  • How to launch a mission-focused branded direct response campaign to inspire your community to support your cause.
  • How to inspire gifts through the power of storytelling by leveraging copy, images and video.
  • How to segment your database to make your direct response campaign feel personal.
Richard J. Lefebvre, CFRE
Associate Director, Individual & Legacy Giving The National Ballet of Canada

 

Simple Ways to Attract a Younger Audience

The challenge of attracting a younger audience is not new to our sector. It can be a daunting task – how to design it, how to fund it, how to manage it? In this session, the National Arts Centre of Canada will share learning from their recent approach to attracting younger audiences to the performing arts.

Then, we’ll turn the microphone over to the audience and dive into what strategies other groups across Canada are finding effective.

Shannon Urie
Marketing Director National Arts Centre

Rebecca Lee
Senior Strategist Banfield Agency

 

SEO in the Age of AI: Events (And The Organizations That Present Them)

Despite its remarkable progress, AI still struggles to make sense of cultural events. But if we tell AI exactly what kind of information is on an event page, it is more likely to find, share and recommend that information to arts-goers.

In this two-part session, you will learn how to use Entity SEO and other discoverability tools to demystify your event pages for the latest Web technologies. By putting a few key recommendations into practice, you can harness the power of these technologies to reach new audiences!

It will be helpful if you bring a laptop to this session.
Dessa Hayes
Digital Transformation Agent CAPACOA

 

Subscriptions: Are They Down for the Count?

With changing demographics, shifts in consumer and social behaviour, new technologies, and life in a post-pandemic context, how is all of this affecting loyalty and subscriptions?  What are the ramifications for programming?  And what will it mean for donations? 

Our esteemed panel will discuss one of the most pressing topics of today.

Shannon Urie
Marketing Director National Arts Centre

Moderator: Katherine Carleton
Executive Director Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada

Maya Lohcham
Director of Marketing and Communications Victoria Symphony

Connal McNamara
Marketing Manager The Cultch

Kathy Vito
Patron Development Manager The Cultch

 

Branding Your Organisation: Putting the You in UVP!

Too often, individuals and organisations think they know exactly what their brand and UVP are, but do they? Join us for this 50-minute workshop where we go into what branding really is, what your UVP (Unique Value Proposition) is, how to make sure YOUR brand rings true and how YOUR UVP can work for you. Remember, your brand is only as good as others think it is, and your UVP is all about what others think as well.

Using handouts, participants to work together in groups to assist one another in discovering the true brand and UVP of their organization. 

Sue Edworthy
Consutant Sue Edworthy Arts Planning

 

The 5 Metrics Worth Investing In

In this time of unique buyer behaviors and shifting priorities a new landscape has emerged. How does your team determine where to dig in? There is so much you could be doing at this time but take a moment together to illuminate your goals through the lens of your data. Explore 5 key metrics from your CRM and ticketing system and how they track against your wider targets, including email engagement, transactions, audience behaviors, and more. Together we’ll share actionable ideas, success stories, and essential technologies to improve performance across communication channels.
 
Key Learning #1: Establish the benchmarks that matter most to inform your organization’s strategy.
Key Learning #2: Explore practices and technologies to measure and improve these key metrics.
Key Learning #3: Compare your organization’s performance to current sector trends.
Bethany Nothstein
Sector Strategy & Community Manager Spektrix

 

Is Your Business Model Broken?

Successful revenue creation and capture is essential to a thriving arts organization, but it's only half of the story. Your business model defines and drives the larger story of all the moving parts working together. Join this interactive and collaborative workshop to make sense of your arts business in ways that inspire action. Leave with fresh understanding and a more coherent and compelling narrative about what makes your arts organization work.
Andrew Taylor
Associate Professor of Arts Management American University

 

Unlocking the Future: Building a Legacy Giving Program

This session will delve into the transformative power of legacy giving. In an era where sustaining the arts for future generations is more crucial than ever, creating a robust legacy giving program is critical for your organization’s future financial health. This session will explore and provide you with strategies and best practices, empowering you to embark on your own journey toward securing a lasting legacy for your organization. Whether you're a seasoned fundraiser or just beginning to explore legacy giving, this session will offer invaluable insights to propel your institution forward in securing its future. 

Key takeaways:
  • You will learn how to harness the power of storytelling to connect donors with your organization's mission and inspire them to leave a lasting legacy.
  • Learn how to effectively segment your donor base to tailor legacy giving appeals.
  • Discover easy and simple marketing techniques to raise awareness of your legacy giving program and attract potential donors.
  • Learn how to equip your staff, volunteers, and board members to serve as ambassadors for your legacy giving program, spreading awareness and driving participation.
Richard J. Lefebvre, CFRE
Associate Director, Individual & Legacy Giving The National Ballet of Canada

 


Our Sponsors

  • Images

    Dream Warrior Group provides graceful yet technologically savvy solutions for Arts organizations. The goal-driven services focus on audience and action. As your technology advocate, we will be your ally and can manage and fully implement your online presence. Our services (à la carte or contracted) include: Web site design and development, e-marketing, e-promotion, social media management and optimization. We implement your message in a digital environment.

    More Info
  • Images

    InstantEncore powers over one million patron experiences every year. helps arts and culture organizations thrive. Our two innovative mobile services – Appscension and InsideGuide - breakdown barriers to attendance, increase convenience for patrons, and drive ROI for you.

    More Info
  • Images

    BroadwayWorld is the largest theatre site on the internet, covering Broadway, the West End and beyond to 100 US cities, 45 countries and in 12 languages worldwide. With over six million monthly visitors, BroadwayWorld delivers complete up-to-the-minute Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theatre news, in-depth interviews, extraordinary photo coverage, entertaining video features, lively message boards, ticket discounts, reviews, and more.

    More Info
  • Images

    Spektrix is a complete solution for ticketing, marketing, fundraising, and CRM, designed specifically for the performing arts. With world-class technology and support, Spektrix helps 650+ organizations across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. grow their revenue and deepen patron relationships. Powerful, intuitive software, at-a-glance insights, frequent and seamless upgrades, training, support, and strategic consultation with experienced professionals come at no additional cost - making Spektrix the fastest-growing solution for arts organizations today.

    More Info
  • Images

    Arts organizations that put their audience in the spotlight will fill their houses. We work with you to make sense of the chaos and create a​ ​plan​ that gets your audience excited for your next ​show.

    Count on us to be your steady partner on anything from strategic guidance to tackling Tessitura or executing a campaign — all while helping you find ways to be relatable to your audience members. ​You also won't be left figuring out how to implement a lofty plan. We can execute it ​for you so you can focus on your endless to-do list. Or help you prioritize and get efficient execution systems in place that work for you and your team.​ Get to know us better at one of our Executive Roundtable Discussions. Learn more and RSVP at NEW-MarketingSolutions.com/events.

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  • Images

    EleeHub was founded in 2021 to address a critical gap in the nonprofit marketing domain. It became evident that most nonprofits could be categorized into three groups: those unaware of the Google Ad Grant, those who had attempted to utilize it but were deterred by its complexity, and those engaged with costly consultants yielding minimal or expensive outcomes. EleeHub emerged as a beacon for small to mid-sized nonprofits seeking an efficient, cost-effective, and impactful marketing strategy.

    As a certified Google Partner, EleeHub champions the belief that all nonprofits should fully utilize the Google Ad Grant, with professional assistance, to optimize their outcomes. The EleeHub team brings together over thirty years of collective expertise in nonprofit marketing and Google Ads, positioning itself as a leading force in the sector.  https://www.eleehub.com/

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  • Images

    Elevent is the multi-event ticketing & membership platform made to modernize all things ticketing for professionalized venues, festivals, and seasonal event organizers. White-label by design, high-scale, omnichannel, and holistically blended with a real CRM, Elevent digitally transforms your event organization into what you envision. https://readyset.goelevent.com/

    More Info
  • Images

    At Ludus, we believe ticketing, marketing, and fundraising should be effortless, allowing you to focus on what truly matters: your events. Our simple, web-based software simplifies event management with integrated tools for ticketing (both online and in-person), marketing, fundraising, and built-in CRM tools. Additionally, Ludus offers Collections for payments beyond tickets, registration tools, a streaming platform (AnywhereSeat), and volunteer management features. Ludus is completely free, with no contracts tying you down. Plus, enjoy live support every day and night, including weekends. We listen to our community and continuously evolve, creating new features and updates to serve you better. Simplify your operations and free your time with Ludus, ensuring a successful and streamlined event season. https://hello.ludus.com/

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Schedule

June 25, 2024:
Opening Plenary (Program starts at 8:45 a.m.)
Keynote
Breakouts
Lunch on Your Own
Breakouts
Opening Reception with one-on-ones

June 26, 2024:
Breakouts
Networking Reception with one-on-ones
Lunch with the Experts
Closing Plenary
Conference ends at 3:45 p.m.
Program and speakers subject to change.

Among other benefits, Arts Reach Members receive significant discounts on conference registration. Join NOW!