CI to Eye Podcast

Audience behavior has changed significantly over the past few years, and pre-pandemic benchmarks are all but obsolete. If we want to adjust to the demands of today’s market, we need updated markers for success.

Enter: CI’s brand-new Cultural Compass study. We pulled from our own bank of campaign data that spans  over 150 client organizations to uncover the latest digital marketing benchmarks and emerging trends for our industry. In this episode, lead researcher and Senior Consultant Ali Blount discusses the biggest surprises in her analysis of more than 7,000 digital campaigns, and previews key findings to inform your FY25 media planning.

Audience engagement is critical for attracting and retaining new attendees. But what exactly does it look like in practice?

For Holly Mulcahy, “audience engagement” isn’t just a marketing platitude—it’s a promise. In this episode, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster and Partner for Audience Engagement shares what wine-tasting and birdwatching have to do with orchestral music, and why deepening audience relationships now will pay dividends for our organizations in the long run.

Across a variety of artistic genres, we see persistent gender imbalances among the creatives and leaders who make the art possible. That’s especially true for dance, where women continue to hold fewer artistic director positions and receive fewer choreographic opportunities than men despite making up a significant majority of the dance workforce overall.

As full-blown data nerds here at CI, we believe you can’t change what you don’t measure. So we sat down with the team at Dance Data Project® to discuss the latest industry stats and consider how to carve a path forward for gender equity in dance.

What do we do when “the classics”—those canonical treasures that embody the rich traditions of our genres—start to feel outdated for today’s audiences, or even at odds with our missions?

In today’s episode, we take a close look at celebrated works from the classical Western canon that include harmful portrayals of non-Western cultures, and hear how one artist is taking action to prune and preserve the art he loves.

Holding the artistic reins of an organization is no easy feat—especially when that organization has been around for generations and has a deep-rooted legacy. As a leader, how do you honor the rich history of your institution while effectively steering it into the future?

As New York City Ballet celebrates its 75th anniversary season, Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford reflects on the Company’s continued evolution, how they’ve adapted to this new digital era, and the unique challenges of leading such a storied cultural entity.

The changing digital landscape might present challenges, but it also presents a great opportunity to reassess and refocus as we head into a new era of digital marketing.

At CI, we pinpointed five key areas that will set arts and cultural institutions up for success in 2024. Catch up on the first two priorities in Part One, then delve into the final three priorities in today’s episode. You’ll get insights and tips from CI consultants so you can confidently navigate the changing digital landscape, drive results for your organization, and refocus as we head into a new era of digital marketing.

From the rise of AI-driven advertising to the imminent third-party cookie crunch—which developments deserve your valuable time and attention in 2024?

Crank the volume on Part One of the five key areas we’ve pinpointed that will set arts and cultural institutions up for success in 2024. Be on the lookout for Part Two in the coming weeks. We’ll round out the list of priorities and offer even more tips and insights from CI consultants.

Join us as we journey deep into the world of classical music—how we define it, how we enjoy it, and how we ensure everyone feels welcome and represented in our concert halls. This conversation is just the start of breaking down barriers to attendance and ensuring classical arts organizations connect with audiences for generations to come.

In 2023, we spoke with remarkable thought leaders both within and beyond the realm of the arts. They all answered the same question: “If you could broadcast one message to executive directors, leadership teams, staff, and boards of thousands of arts organizations, what would it be?”

We call this their “CI to Eye moment,” and in this special episode, Dan revisits these key insights to offer encouragement and perspective for the year ahead.