Iterative Optimization: Small Changes, Big Results
Yosaif Cohain, Senior Director of Analytics at Capacity Interactive
Arts organizations spend lots of money and effort to get users to their website. Often this includes A/B testing of email copy, display, and search ads. But few dedicate any effort to testing their website or making significant changes to it beyond the periodic full site redesign. Small changes, in fact, can dramatically increase conversions, and can be conducted at a pace that won’t cripple an arts organization. Testing enables you to experiment, learn, and create optimized digital experiences with minimal technical resources so that your site is evolving over time to maintain and improve its performance. In this session, Capacity Interactive’s Senior Director of Analytics will present how an alternate approach to infrequent radical changes – frequent small changes – can optimize your website’s conversion rate and yield dramatic results to the performance of your digital marketing initiatives.
Panel: Video Killed the Radio Star
Christopher Williams, Vice President at Capacity Interactive
Joel Moreman, Digital Content Producer at Steppenwolf Theatre
Morgan Boecher, Director of Marketing & Communications at Caramoor
Mark Ciglar, Founder of Cinevative
Online video is very influential in impacting someone’s likelihood to go to a cultural performance or event. This session will begin by screening a reel of successful arts marketing videos. Then, Christopher Williams, Capacity Interactive’s VP, will lead a panel featuring three video practitioners who come to video production from very different perspectives: Joel Moreman is the in-house Digital Content Producer from Steppenwolf Theatre, Morgan Boecher from Caramoor took classes to teach himself how to create video for his organization, and Mark Ciglar is the founder of Cinevative, a firm that creates professional video for arts organizations. The session will cover many elements of video production and strategy including: budgeting, staffing, timelines, and what these practitioners have seen work and not work for their organizations and clients.
Becoming Your #1 Media Outlet
Gregory Hughes, Social Media Manager for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The media landscape is ever-evolving, but organizations are equipped now more than ever to become their most important media outlet. In this session, Gregory Hughes of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, demonstrates how the Center has used this philosophy to expand the scope of its events—including Kendrick Lamar: NSO Pops, the Mark Twain Prize, and Kennedy Center Honors. By enabling its own staff, any arts organization can create a media channel that competes with the most sought-after coverage, creating an attentive and engaged digital community.
It's an Art: How Digital Marketing Increased Sales by 7%
Erica Fortwengler, Communications Director for The Art League
Making the switch to digital can be challenging, especially for smaller organizations that have relied on traditional channels for years. Erica Fortwengler, of Washington DC’s Art League, presented a case study on how her organization increased their sales 7% year over year by switching the majority of their budgets to digital. The Art League now consistently sees returns of over 1000% on their campaigns. This impressive growth was achieved through a commitment to creating compelling content, permission-based lead collection, and smart digital targeting.
What the Arts Can Learn from the New York Times Innovation Report
Erik Gensler, Capacity Interactive President
The leaked New York Times innovation report has been called: “one of the key documents of this media age” (NiemanLab) and by key staffers inside the Times as “transformative” and “incredibly important.” The report outlines the staggering cultural and strategic shifts required to become a digital organization. With Boot Camp moving to the Times Center this year, and arts organizations going through similar strategic and cultural challenges, we thought it was appropriate to examine the lessons learned by the Times and explore what the arts can learn from this pivotal document.
