Ideas

Capacity Interactive (CI) created and published a list of Anti-Racism Commitments in June 2020. This public statement outlined our action plan for becoming an anti-racist organization and served as an accountability mechanism. As a part of this statement, we committed to reporting on our progress.

In 2021, Apple and its CEO Tim Cook have spent a lot of time and energy espousing their dedication to protecting their users’ privacy and giving people more control over the data tracked about them by third parties. Other companies (*ahem* Facebook) attempted to make Apple’s push seem more about hurting other tech companies rather than about protecting users’ privacy. I think both are right.

The Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy is “the longest-running, most comprehensive report on philanthropy in the United States.” The report on the unprecedented year that was 2020 dropped this past June, marking the halfway point of a year that many hoped would represent a full recovery. The report illustrates how the stunning events of last year impacted overall giving, and most pertinent to us, the pandemic’s influence on giving to the arts & culture sector.

A critical aspect of our work and lives that we’ve desperately missed since March 2020 is the ability to gather, physically together, around our art. As we reimagine what it means to gather following this period of isolation, we have the important opportunity to be more intentional and deliberate than we were before. What wasn’t working in the “before times” in our gatherings that we can now change? How can we be intentional about the meaning behind our gatherings and the space we want to create?

As a performing arts organization, you are constantly looking for ways to wow audiences, challenge norms, and be the best version of yourself. For every performance and event, you are looking to offer audiences a memorable experience that makes them want to return again and again.

While you want a website that connects with your audience from a storytelling perspective, you also want to offer them an experience driven by a series of design and development choices that meet your standards. You want to offer them an ethically driven experience.

If you use Google Ads for search engine marketing (SEM), you’re probably already aware that Google made a significant shift a few months ago, changing the default ad type from expanded text ad (ETA) to responsive search ad (RSA) going forward. This week, Google also announced that they will officially be sunsetting ETA ads after June 2022.

Capacity Interactive (CI) created and published a list of Anti-Racism Commitments in June 2020. This public statement outlined our action plan for becoming an anti-racist organization and served as an accountability mechanism. As a part of this statement, we committed to reporting on our progress (you can see our update from Q1 2021 here!)

Designing for email is both a skill and a mindset. In the past few years at CI, we have gone on a journey with our email templates—officially redesigning twice with iterative optimizations. 

Email marketing and search engine marketing (SEM). As marketers, you know them both as vital digital marketing channels, and at first glance, one could argue that they don’t have a lot in common. But as you dig deeper, you’ll find these two channels have a lot more in common than you’d think.

In 2009, I launched Capacity Interactive (CI) to help the arts industry market in an ever-evolving new digital age. Over the past 12.5 years, we've grown from just me at my kitchen table to an incredible team of people who help arts organizations market smarter.

Throughout this time, I’ve become a big believer in embracing change. And in that spirit, I believe that leaders cannot and should not lead organizations forever.