Advertising is dead, long live CSR.

What I learnt from the Arts & Business Funding Masterclass:


The world of Arts funding and corporate sponsorship is currently experiencing a shift away from the traditional 'money for rights to publicise' format so comfortably established in the pre recession era. Now, for a company who's product or service needs to have at least one of its feet visibly in the 'we care about people' camp, the influx of branding since Hitachi first sponsored the football shirt in 1978 is now seen as being too fiscally irresponsible as well as unaffordable. As a response to this, a gap has now opened in the floundering PR and Advertising budgets for Arts organisations to offer community spirited associations as an alternative form of sponsorship. One that still keeps up the public awareness and the Brand Value but also puts the message across that they care.

Arts and Business collaborations are nothing new, the more ethically responsible companies have been associating their brands with community projects for years. The challenges now facing both the corporate establishments and smaller regional Arts organisations in dealing with a frantically changing funding market is bringing to light a new and altogether novel approach to both sides getting what they need from an association.

Arts organisations are increasingly offering the same links for sponsorship as creative agencies, and often at a far more reasonable cost. With the contraction of Government subsidy, the more savvy Arts orgs are recognising the need for departments within themselves solely dedicated to making and re-enforcing the vital links with business. These changing funding roles are now stressing the importance of providing a desirable service to business and a life-line to themselves. They are also proving that the project funding itself can sometimes be entirely justified through the legal obligation of the Corporate Social Responsibility and the good PR is merely a fortuitous by-product.

The common clash is that Companies want to skill share & Charities want money. The successful Arts organisation will have an advantage in already operating with a creative approach, it shouldn't be too difficult to use this to their advantage by finding the ingenious solution to fill the void.

The key selling point an Arts org will have is it's flexibility in offering a bespoke arrangement to suit the business need. From the traditional company logo on literature & signage to community involvement for employees, skill swaps, events and corporate offerings sweeten deals and benefit not only the parties involved, but also foster links between individuals and community projects and highlight issues needed within areas, which is something both the local business can support along side the Arts.

A DCMS publication in September 2010 mentioned that:

“50% of business investment in England goes to the regions outside of London and this £77 million of business investment received in the regions accounts for 38% of their overall private income”

Further to this, a recently published Arts & Business table for 09/10 Cultural Investment stated that Trust and Foundations support is an average of 38% of the total amount received by the regional sector vs 17% of London. The capital achieved 16% of its investment from Business, a number that rivals 36% everywhere else [although this number fluctuates considerably more than the former comparison]. Statistics that clearly hint at a trend, although it is important to factor in the disproportionate saturation of population, business Head Quarters and Arts organisations in London compared to the rest of the country. Philanthropists and global visitors will naturally be drawn to the capital to see their investment reach larger audiences.

London Culture is supported, on the majority, by individual giving. Regions do not have the coverage or size to volume ratio to rival that. Instead, they can use the lesser levels of competition within their boundaries to prove themselves as a closer link to a breadth of a community.

Businesses serve communities, Arts organisations serve communities, both have skills & access to knowledge the other would benefit from. It is up to the Arts organisations to impress the community affairs department by offering a pitch which is relevant to the companies values. When this pitch also contains an awareness of marketing potential and proposes to project the brand in alternative way than traditional advertising channels, funders are more than likely to sit up and listen.


Links:

www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmcumeds/464/464we06.htm

www.artsandbusiness.org.uk/case-studies.aspx

www.business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/management/article5309192.ece

www.artsandbusiness.org.uk/flash/picsmap/index.html