Arts leaders: Reclaim your relevance—and refill those empty seats

(even if your budget—and team—is tiny.)

Learn the marketing approach that has helped other industries adapt and thrive in the digital age.

(It will change the way you do marketing instantly.)

“If arts organizations don't switch to a customer-centric marketing model soon, their organization will be in trouble. Ruth makes that crystal clear and has the data and the experience to back it up!”

—John Wilson, Director of Cultural Arts, Jewish Community Center of Saint Louis (course participant, January 2024)

You work in a powerful medium. 

You know firsthand the depth of impact that art offers the world.

So why are so many arts organizations seeing empty seats and facing closure? Here’s the thing:

The arts sector has relied on product-centric marketing for decades. This might have worked before the internet, but…

In today’s digital, global, customer-controlled world, the product-centric approach has become at best, ineffective—

and, at worst, a total turnoff.

Those empty seats underscore the need for change.

Event marketing and artist worship won’t convince consumers that your org understands them—and can offer something they will value.

If you want to refill those empty seats, you’ve got to stop driving away potential patrons with egocentric marketing that ignores them—and start centering the customer.

It’s a pivot that has enabled countless organizations and corporations to unlock impressive growth.

And it’s a pivot that I can help you make.

“Ruth is a champion for your patrons. She sets aside all of the expertise and just asks one simple question: What matters to your customers? It’s revolutionary.”

—Sean Kelly, Founder, VATIC

Let’s be honest:

Working in the arts can be exhausting and stressful. Rewarding, yes, but still incredibly demanding. And the pandemic brought new challenges that persist four years later.

Even your core audiences are not as reliable as they used to be.

You’re tight on time, strapped for resources, and trying to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape on a daily basis.

Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to employ strategies that are proven to reach, attract, and nurture a broader audience.

In other words, less spaghetti and more customer-driven data.

Because a larger, more diverse, more engaged patron base means higher revenue and increased donations—

which also means your stress levels will start moving in the right direction.

What if you could transform your marketing without spending a single penny?

Imagine having a simple framework that helped you create engaging, audience-focused ads every time.

Imagine using your marketing to connect your target audiences with something they truly needed in their everyday lives—rather than just trying to sell as many tickets as possible.

That’s the power of customer-centric marketing.

And that’s the secret sauce I help arts leaders achieve.

“Ruth Hartt brings a broad and deep background…There are so many clear and concrete takeaways…that organizations can use to guide their own exploration of how to connect more widely and more deeply with present and future audiences.”

—David Prentiss, President & CEO, New Bedford Symphony Orchestra (course participant, January 2024)

I’ve distilled powerful insights from visionaries like Nina Simon, Priya Parker, Bob Moesta, and Mark Schaefer into a six-module roadmap for arts leaders like you.

It’s a roadmap built on a powerful innovation framework that I learned from Harvard Business School’s Clayton Christensen—

a totally new way of thinking about attracting customers that instantly gave me hope for the future of the arts sector.

It’s packed with insights designed to help you stop driving away potential patrons with outdated marketing strategies and

start selling more tickets.

Welcome to…

AUDIENCE ALCHEMY is a six-module program for arts leaders who want to reach a broader audience and sell more tickets.

  • "This may well be the salvation that audience-hungry arts marketers are searching for."

    —Trevor O’Donnell, Author of Marketing the Arts to Death

  • "For any org wanting to center their customer and community, Ruth's thinking on this topic is hands down the best I've ever seen."

    —Aubrey Bergauer, Changing the Narrative

  • “Ruth is a breath of fresh air. She cuts through traditional jargon and bias to focus on solid, practical solutions. Her commitment to a patron-first approach empowers managers across all departments to drive real results.”

    —Drew McManus, CEO, UpStage Technologies

  • "...an incredible thought leader. Ruth's insight is what we need to hear as a sector right now. "

    —Sarah Weber, Executive Director, Association of California Symphony Orchestras

  • "Ruth has an extraordinary vision for arts marketing, and the arts sector needs it now."

    —Mark Schaefer, Author of Marketing Rebellion and Belonging to the Brand

  • "So grateful that Ruth is not only putting the Jobs to Be Done framework out there, but also providing illustrations on how to enact it."

    —Timothy Myers, Music Director, Austin Opera and Music Director, Spoleto Festival USA

  • “Ruth is a champion for your patrons. She sets aside all of the expertise and just asks one simple question: What matters to your customers? It's revolutionary.”

    —Sean Kelly, Founder, Vatic

  • "If you don't yet follow Ruth Hartt, drop everything and follow. A superhero in all things marketing and perspectives!"

    —Holly Mulcahy, Concertmaster, Wichita Symphony and founder, Arts Capacty

  • “This is one of the most, if not the most, important presentations in my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

    —Thomas Cooke, President, Voce

  • “The room was vibrating during Ruth’s Chorus America plenary...lightbulbs were going off, pens were furiously writing.”

    —Alex Gartner, Artistic & Executive Director, Pensacola Children’s Chorus

  • “Thank you for delivering two remarkable presentations. Your work is transformative!”

    —Kevin Eberle-Noel, Executive Director, Redlands Symphony

  • "Your presentation was truly exceptional."

    —Donny Thompson, Executive director, Jazz Outreach Initiative

  • "You were spectacular and opened up a host of necessary questions with which we need to grapple. It was a terrific session."

    —Nick Adams, Executive Director, Cantata Singers

  • "Ruth was an amazing speaker and was incredibly well received."

    —Maggie Plaster, Director of Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Affairs, City of Las Vegas

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

Evaluate current marketing strategies through the lens of customer centricity

Establish customer-centric strategies proven to increase engagement, build brand reputation, and deepen patron loyalty

 Develop marketing content that resonates deeply with today’s consumer and makes your art relevant for them

Foster alignment across departments through a shared focus on the customer

Implement touchpoints across the entire customer journey (and not just for your core patrons!)

“I thought I was doing an acceptable job of marketing…Ruth's course showed me how wrong I was—and what I can do to improve, step by step. Every arts organization, from tiny nonprofits to esteemed legacy groups, can benefit from Ruth's research, analysis, and leadership.”

—Eden Casteel, performing artist and concert producer (course participant, January 2024)

Here’s what we’ll cover in Audience Alchemy:

  • → Learn why traditional arts marketing has become ineffective

    → Explore a new framework for what it means to be relevant in today’s world

    → Discover the power of customer centricity and why it matters for arts organizations

  • → Assess your organization’s marketing through the lens of customer centricity

    → Identify the traditional marketing paradigms that ignore the customer

    → Discover the elements of a marketing approach that resonates with broader audience

    → Shift away from demographic targeting and start targeting real-life needs

  • → Discover a marketing framework that acknowledges the customer journey

    → Examine the perils of treating all customers equally

    → Explore strategies for effectively targeting and nurturing audiences at every stage of the funnel

  • → Examine the Forces of Progress and why they matter for arts organizations

    → Discover how to allay threshold fear for Outsiders

    → Explore how to create belonging and psychological safety for those who traditionally have not felt welcome in your world

  • → Explore the perils of a product-centric mission

    → Discover how a new framing for relevance clarifies purpose

    → Learn how aligning your mission with the needs of your target audiences opens new pathways to growth and innovation

  • → Develop a plan to implement your learnings

    → Identify key goals, objectives, and actionable steps to drive meaningful change and innovation

    → Build accountability by sharing your plan with your fellow participants

“Excellent ideas, presentation, and small group discussions with heads of other arts organizations. Provided me with critical ideas for my group, which we will immediately discuss for implementation.”

—Course participant, January 2024

Hi, I’m Ruth Hartt.

I spent nearly two decades in the arts sector as an opera singer and music educator.

In 2017, I made a major pivot, leaving the arts to find a career with more job security.

By sheer luck, I landed in the world of Harvard Business School, and met world-renowned business thinker Clayton Christensen.

Clay’s innovation frameworks totally transformed the way I thought about audience development, and gave me new hope for the future of the arts sector.

Now I’m on a mission to bridge the worlds of business innovation and the arts.

Drawing on 23 years’ experience in the nonprofit and cultural sectors, I help arts leaders rethink the status quo to unlock growth.

You may have heard me at:

You’ve got questions.

  • The course will be presented live online via Zoom. Replays and additional curse materials will be hosted on the Circle platform.

  • The summer 2024 cohort will run every Tuesday from July 9 to August 13, from 12pm-2pm EST.

  • All sessions will be recorded for those who are unable to join us live

  • Each of the six modules will be a two-hour session. Each session will take place on Tuesday afternoons from 12pm-2pm EST.

    In addition to our live sessions, you will have light homework to help you integrate key takeaways

  • Every member of your team will have access to the course materials and community forum for one full year.

  • In Circe, our course platform, we will use a community forum to interact with each other.

  • This course is a combination of presentation, group discussion, small group breakouts, virtual polls, videos, and downloadable resources.

  • You and your team will have unlimited access to course materials for one year.

Audience Alchemy might not be a good fit if…

❌ You’re already an expert in customer-centric marketing

❌ You’re already working with a marketing consultant or consulting firm

❌ You prefer one-on-one support

❌ You want to discuss non-marketing questions

Audience Alchemy is probably a great fit if…

✅ You need fresh ideas that cost nothing to implement

✅ You don’t have the time or the financial resources in your marketing budget to commit to a consulting project

✅ You’re passionate about driving meaningful change in your cultural organization

✅ You want to get your team thinking about strategy from a fresh perspective

Here’s what’s waiting for you inside Audience Alchemy:

Six modules packed with perspective shifting frameworks

Group discussions + breakouts with colleagues across disciplines and budget sizes

Downloadable checklists + worksheets to help integrate key takeaways

Access to all course content + our community forum for a full year—for your entire team

Transformative insight doesn’t need to break the bank

Audience Alchemy pricing is structured in budget-friendly tiers and ranges from $564 to $1999

  • Individuals → $564

    Budgets < $100K → $564

    Budgets < $200K → $847

    Budgets < $300K → $1131

  • Budgets < $400K → $1216

    Budgets < $500K → $1273

    Budgets < $600K → $1414

  • Budgets <$700K → $1499

    Budgets <$800K → $1556

    Budgets < $900K → $1698

  • Budgets $900-$999K → $1767

    Budgets $1M-$9M → $1784

    Budgets $10M+ → $1999

But wait—check out the bonuses that are included:

A live or video audit of your website homepage
[a $250 value]

A downloadable overview of the customer journey, the marketing funnel + touchpoint examples for each phase [a $199 value]

My 40-page slide deck distilling data from 40 years of the NEA’s Survey of Public Participation in the Arts
[a $29 value]

A full year subscription to the Arts Marketing Hall of Fame for daily marketing inspo [a $99 value]

Save your spot for the July 2024 cohort

Audience Alchemy: The Whole Package

✔️Six LIVE sessions packed with perspective shifting frameworks & actionable strategies (Tuesdays, July 9-August 13)

✔️Group discussions and small-group breakouts with colleagues across disciplines and budget sizes

✔️Downloadable checklists + worksheets to help integrate key takeaways

✔️ Video replay of each session in case you can’t attend live

✔️A dedicated learning platform and community forum to grow your network and continue the conversation between sessions

✔️Access to course content AND community forum for one year

Plus four huge bonuses:

✔️A live or video audit of your website homepage [a $250 value]

✔️A downloadable overview of the customer journey, the marketing funnel, and touchpoint examples for each phase [a $199 value]

✔️My 40-page slide deck distilling 40 years of arts attendance data from the NEA [a $29 value]

✔️A full year subscription to the Arts Marketing Hall of Fame for daily marketing inspo [a $99 value]

Ready to secure your spot?

“Every arts organization needs to be asking the questions Ruth raises in these workshops.”

—Course participant, January 2024

“It’s not about us anymore. It’s about them. Thank you, Ruth.”

—Course participant, January 2024

P.S. Your target audience is not what you think

If you’ve been targeting audiences by age, ethnicity, income, gender—or even past purchase history—and haven’t been seeing results, it’s time for a game-changing shift in strategy.

As the great business thinker Clayton Christensen would say, “you’ve got the category wrong.”

Companies in other sectors have found incredible success attracting and retaining customers by targeting not their demographic characteristics, but their “jobs to be done”— motivations that go deeper than the product itself.

The beauty of this approach? It transcends traditional market categories, making your offerings more compelling to a much broader audience.

When you pivot from the tired, ineffective product-centric approach, you stop alienating potential patrons with egocentric marketing.

You stop spending time and resources on marketing that falls flat.

And you learn to focus on the strategies that drive higher customer satisfaction, reduce churn, and boost your brand's reputation.

Ready to make this shift?

Start creating marketing that actually speaks to a broader audience—instead of just to Insiders—

and start driving audience growth.

“I have spent the past 35 years helping PhD students prepare effective presentations. I want to congratulate you on doing such a great job in all respects— the ideas, examples, visuals, interaction with the participants, pacing, etc.”

—Course participant, January 2024

“I left the workshop with specific plans for building better communications with existing and potential audience members.”

—Course participant, January 2024

“That example video ad you made blew my MIND. I needed to SEE that in order to understand how to customer-centrize my own projects and for my clients.”

—Course participant, January 2024