The old growth playbook is broken

It’s mid October. Your patrons are about to face one of their biggest holiday season frustrations: finding the perfect gift. Here are five consumer studies you need to know.

Personalization is billed as marketing’s holy grail. But most of what the industry calls “personalization” isn’t personal at all — it’s shallow behavioral tailoring, and consumers know it.

Forward-thinking organizations are applying universal design principles to their entire organizational structure, recognizing that inclusive design fosters innovation that benefits everyone.

For decades, arts leaders have been told to focus on people who already love the arts. Here's why that advice is limiting growth.

The headlines are exciting. "Arts sector grew at twice the rate of the total economy!" "We contributed $1.2 trillion to the GDP in 2023!" Here's what's actually happening.

If listening were a pipeline to attendance, our concert halls would be packed. They're not. Here’s why.

Golf didn't just stabilize a declining industry—they sparked record-breaking growth by making the sport accessible to people who never would have engaged before.

Most grant applications follow the same tired formula: Here's who we are, here's what we do, here's why we're great, here's why you should fund us.

Arts organizations too often focus their sales pitches on “cultural enrichment”, citing industry reports or in-house surveys that say it’s a primary driver of engagement. But those studies asked the wrong question.

Now is the perfect time to step back, clear your head, and scan the bigger forces shaping audience behavior. These aren’t arts-specific reports—but that’s exactly the point.

The subscription model that the performing arts world is built around? It only briefly aligned with how most people actually behaved—a narrow window in time when routines, loyalty, and consumer habits lined up.

It’s getting personal. And arts organizations need to get on board—because mission alone won’t save you when the funding dries up.

Researchers measured oxytocin levels (the “love hormone”) in concertgoers before and after a live performance. Here are the surprising results.

You listen attentively to every industry report, waiting for that one nugget that will change your strategy. But halfway through, that nagging voice in your head always whispers: “How is this actually helpful?”

Most arts organizations can’t tell what’s driving growth—and what’s just noise. Not because they’re not measuring. But because the system itself was never designed to give them real answers.

The arts sector can’t catch a break. Audience declines. Shifting consumer behaviors. A global pandemic. And now—drastic cuts in federal funding. It’s time to rethink our business model.