The Proposal

So, after almost 6 months with the Lauderdale House, it's time for the proposal for the big final project. With some guidance from my supervisor and through observations of the House, the final paper will be based on evaluating Lauderdale House using the framework provided by Reid, Luxton & Mavondo (2005) as well as making recommendations supported by the Arts Marketing Association. Without boring you with the details of the methodology (which will be qualitative by the way) I will be examining the following:

According to Kerrigan, O'Reilly, and Vom Lehn (2009) “In many countries, cultural policy has moved from viewing the arts in terms of the funding and administration of certain kinds of artistic and heritage culture to viewing them as a tool for social inclusion, community development and urban regeneration”. The arts are becoming integrated and a significant part within societies and communities, therefore making it necessary to consider the social aspect of the sector. This is applicable in the case of Lauderdale House and their role as a charity, community center, and being actively involved in the arts sector.

The Arts and Cultural Sector
Butler (2000) suggests that the traditional concepts of marketing do not consider the “distinct characteristics” of the arts and therefore need to be context based strategies rather than general theories. While marketing is considered the most appropriate activity for the complex nature of the arts sector by the Arts Marketing Association (2010), marketing activities need to consider and be tailored to the unique aspects of the cultural organizations. Considering these factors, the marketing strategies developed for the Lauderdale House will need to take in to account the organization’s nature, activities, and values and use those aspects to approach is solely as part of the arts and culture sector rather than a general organization.

Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy, Brand Orientation, and Market Orientation
An integrated marketing strategy has been redefined as "an on-going, interactive, cross-functional process of brand communication planning, execution, and evaluation that integrates all parties in the exchange process in order to maximize mutual satisfaction of each other's wants and needs" (Duncan and Mulhern, 2004, p.9 as cited in Reid, Luxton & Mavondo, 2005). This definition encompasses more of a integrated role of individuals and resources of the company, focusing on strategy and results (Cornelissen, 2001 as cited in Reid, Luxton & Mavondo, 2005). When considering strategies appropriate for Lauderdale House, the following aspects will be examined: brand orientation, market orientation, an integrated marketing strategy, and their relationship to ensure effectiveness of the organization. The concept of branding, for example, holds a great importance since an organization needs to consider what exactly it is that they want to portray and what it will mean to the consumer or audience rather than just to the company (Schultz, 2009).

Through examining the concepts proposed, recommendations will be made accordingly. While I may not know the ins and outs of the organization, based on observations and interviews, strategies for the House will be developed and hopefully utilized by the general manager. Now it's just a matter of putting the theories on paper, and who doesn't like a nice, lengthy proposal?

Arts Marketing Association. 2010. History and Achievements. [Online].
Available at: http://www.a-m-a.org.uk/history.asp. [Accessed 12 March 2010].

Butler P. (2000). By Popular Demand: Marketing the Arts. Journal of Marketing Management. 16(4):343-364.

Kerrigan F, O'Reilly D, Vom Lehn D. (2009). Producing and consuming arts: A marketing perspective. Consumption, Markets & Culture . 12(3):203-207.

Reid M, Luxton S, Mavondo F. (2005). The Relationship Between Integrated Marketing Communication, Market Orientation, And Brand Orientation. Journal of Advertising. 34(4):11-23.

Schultz D.(2010). Transformational Branding. Marketing Management. 18(5):6-7.