||| November 10, 2025 by Chad Peterson

NAMP: Takeaways from a Marketing Director

So, I’m really glad that I agreed to blog about my experiences at this most recent NAMP (National Arts Marketing Project) Conference in Providence, Rhode Island.  Not necessarily because I’m a dedicated blogger, but because knowing that you’re going to have to pass on information has a tendency to focus your energies in a way that merely absorbing a presentation does not.  It activates your listening—at least that’s been my experience, and that was certainly the case at NAMP.

These senses of timing may not fit the institutional calendar

I’d strongly encourage anyone who can to attend in the coming years—if you’re anything like me you’ll get far more out of it than you would just reading the synopsis of some guy who happened to be there…
But, I was there, and here’s some of what I came away with:

The main thing that popped for me, which was reiterated over the course of the conference, was the change in consumer behavior—ranging from how they learn about their options to how they communicate and interact with us to what they expect out of us.  Here’s a quick distillation (taken in large part from the Keynote Address by David Court of McKinsey & Company, and the Plenary lunches over the next few days) but with addendums gleaned over the rest of the weekend as well):

Customers are changing their decision-making process.  As a result, there’s a shift from company-driven marketing to consumer-driven marketing.  Essentially, you have to be ready when they make the decision to come to you. 

These days, we can’t depend on the traditional process of establishing awareness, then building brand familiarity, then customer loyalty.  Now, patrons consider an initial set (and a strong brand will still put you in this initial set), add or subtract options, then actively evaluate each to reach their decision.  

So we, as organizations, have to answer some questions: What happens when a consumer makes the decision to come to us for information or to purchase a ticket or subscription.  How easy is that process for them?  What is our point of sale impression for last-minute ticket buyers, both online and in person?  How can we make sure that we are visible when they make their final decision?  How can we take control of their purchasing experience?

Further, different people make decisions in different ways and must be marketed to in ways that address the differences in their decision making processes, and we need to be aware that their needs and desires will change based on their current level of engagement with the organization.  When crafting our message, we must be aware of the multitude of different decision-making journeys and customize our message to appeal to those different segments.

This leads us to two things—segmentation and customer experience—neither of which is a new concept, but both of which are becoming more and more important as the consumer takes further control of their individual process.  It is imperative that we not only provide top-of-the-line customer service that matches a patrons expectations, both at the point of sale (whether online, on the phone or in person) and at the point of engagement (show attendance, etc.), but also that we put ourselves in a position to be noticed when the patron makes the decision to explore their options.  Further, we must be adept at tailoring our message to appeal to the patron segment that we are reaching with it. We must recognize that our brand and message will interact with everyone slightly differently and adapt to that—put our messages into their words.  In addition, we must fine tune our timing.  Once we are familiar with our patron segments, and how they respond to our message, we must make sure that they get the right message at the right time—what method of communication works best at each point in their journey?

In real terms, for me, this boils down to: THIS is when a long-term subscriber wants to receive a message about how glad we are to have them as a part of the organization and need their renewal commitment for the coming season, but THIS is when a multi-show Single Ticket Buyer wants to hear about the upcoming shows to pick which they want to see and perhaps consider a package should the line-up and benefits prove worthy, and THIS is when a one time buyer wants to hear about the next show and how convenient it is to get here and buy a ticket at the last minute, etc. etc. etc.  These senses of timing may not fit the institutional calendar (“But we need subscription money to start coming in by X date!”), but we have to ask ourselves whether we’re missing out on revenue because our carefully crafted message is reaching someone who isn’t inclined to respond to it in the way we’ve framed it, or is reaching someone who is likely to respond to it, but is reaching them at the wrong time…

Our best weapons in accomplishing all of this are clarity and authenticity.  The best way to be heard above the noise of the marketplace is to be so clear that you rise above the clamor.  We must eliminate confusion and avoid misperceptions, and always strive for that clarity of message.  

A chorus that I heard over and over was the need for personalized messaging (which luckily is becoming easier and cheaper to realize, as printer capabilities grow and there’s more competition in the sphere of variable data printing), and the need to test as much as you can.  How can you know whether your piece is messaged correctly for a targeted patron segment, if you’re not asking them, or observing how they react?  In an industry where the data can be so easily skewed by a breakaway hit show (was it the photo and tagline you used for the show, or was that show just going to explode regardless of what you did?), testing is an imperative.

• Why do our subscribers decide to subscribe?
• Why do they lapse?
• Can (and how can) we get them to come back?
• How can we motivate STBs to engage more?
• What do they want to get out of a deeper engagement?  Or do they want a deeper engagement at all?

Bringing those questions home and asking them again in our Theatre brings us closer to beginning to shape our plans for this and coming seasons.

I hope reading this reawakens these questions for you (even if they’re questions you were already aware of, returning to them from time to time can serve to keep you on task and on target).  And I encourage you to attend the next NAMP Conference.
 

Tags: NAMP