metlife foundation national arts forum series

Past Forums

ProArts (now Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Creators at Carnegie: How to Develop and Sustain Complex Collaborations
09/23/2004

Moderator: Louis Haber, Director of Issues Advocacy, The McGraw-Hill Companies

Panelists:

• Byrne Armiento, First Vice President, Advertising, Smith Barney
• Peter Clancy, Vice President, Marketing, Nonesuch Records
• Jay Golan, Senior Director, Carnegie Hall
• John Harvey, Marketing Director, Time, Inc.
• Benjamin Roe, Director of Music, National Public Radio

Program Summary
This MetLife Foundation Forum reflected the Arts & Business Council’s continuing effort to explore the important issue of collaboration between arts organizations and businesses. "Creators at Carnegie," a multi-entity partnership, involved five major organizations, nonprofit and commercial, working together to achieve the separate objectives of each of the collaborators. Carnegie Hall’s newest space, Zankel Hall, needed to establish its own identity that would assist it in reaching out to new and adventurous younger audiences. By programming a series of 13 concerts, beginning in January 2004, featuring cutting-edge artists from Nonesuch Records, the series also provided Nonesuch, one of the most innovative of record companies, with an opportunity to promote its artists, at the same time expand its audience for exciting music. For the corporate sponsor, Smith Barney, in addition to receiving credit on all marketing materials promoting the series (print advertisements, playbills, three-sheets, snakes, press releases, ticket stubs, etc.), it also secured client entertaining opportunities including complimentary tickets, as well as rent-free access to dining facilities, event planning assistance, and private tours of Carnegie Hall.

By broadcasting the two-hour concerts throughout the country over National Public Radio on the first Friday of each month from January 2004 to January 2005, Nonesuch and its participating artists reached an audience far greater than those attending the performances in the 600-seat Zankel Hall. The national feed of the programs was made available to 680 NPR stations, with the series promoted on other NPR programs such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered. (Coverage of the series on the websites of Time, Inc., Smith Barney, Nonesuch, Carnegie Hall, and NPR also served to broaden the reach of the series.) The corporate sponsor of the series, Smith Barney, received significant on-air credit for its support, and the fifth partner in the collaboration, Time, Inc., promoted the "Creators at Carnegie" series—and such gifted and diverse Nonesuch artists as John Adams, Brazilian artist Caetano Veloso, the Kronos Quartet, k. d. lang, Audra McDonald, and Emmylou Harris—by including Smith Barney advertisements of the series in such major Time, Inc. national publications as Time, Fortune, Money, and Business2.0.

All of the panelists noted that key to the success of this collaboration was a common interest in reaching the same constituency—described as literate, upscale, educated, in other words people who attend might concerts at Carnegie Hall, listen to National Public Radio and be responsive to the content of its programs, are interested in the artists recorded by Nonesuch, read Time Magazine and Fortune, and could avail themselves of the financial services provided by Smith Barney. All of the partners spoke of the importance of "branding," of ensuring that the value of their "products," be they a new recital hall such as Zankel eagerly seeking to establish its niche in the music business, the Nonesuch recording artists, or the skilled financial consultants employed by Smith Barney, are communicated to the public they are seeking to reach.

Although there was agreement that the content of the main product of the collaboration—the concert series—had to be (and was) of the highest quality, much attention was paid to the marketing needs of the partners. Make sure, they agreed, that you know exactly who you are trying to reach and that all participants in the collaboration are striving to attract that same public. Carnegie’s Jay Golan stressed the importance of knowing where you want to go before engaging in such partnerships. Nonesuch’s Peter Clancy noted that it is also necessary to find partners who communicate in a common style and tone in their efforts to reach their audiences. Time’s John Harvey pointed out that attracting a potential sponsor like Smith Barney was enhanced by the uniqueness of the series. For example:

1. It was the first and only opportunity to sponsor the premiere season at Zankel Hall
2. It was the first record label-based programming affiliation with Carnegie Hall
3. It was the first performances of music specially commissioned to debut at Zankel Hall
4. It was first NPR program created around a single performance series.

NPR’s Anya Grundman noted the "firewall" that existed at the network insulating her from any potential corporate influence on NPR’s programming. She also pointed out that the process of establishing this partnership, particularly the adding web-based content to the audio element, had a positive impact on some internal NPR procedures. Finally, she was pleased by the amount of print coverage given to NPR through Smith Barney’s ads in various Time Inc. publications. Radio normally does not receive such attention in the print media, she added.

The panel discussed the issue of evaluating the project. Several "metrics" were noted—renewal of subscriptions at Zankel Hall, responses of NPR’s affiliates (and their listening audiences) to the programs, and the impact on the careers of the artists.

John Harvey addressed the matter of small and midsized arts groups seeking to partner with larger entities. He advised such groups to band together—effect, partner with your "competition"—so that you can approach potential collaborators and sponsors as a more formidable ally. Several dance companies, for example, of similar size, all seeking to reach the same audience, would make a more attractive partner than a single company.

Several speakers noted that negotiating all of the details of such multi-entity collaborations can be a time-consuming process, for which considerable patience is required. It took several years before "Creators at Carnegie" could be formally launched. In addition, this particular collaboration was helped by the sensitivity of the people involved to the needs and goals of their partners.