United we stand

I know ‘brand’ can sometimes be a dirty word in our sector. One of those things those marketing people do – not for the likes of me. Wrong. Whether you like it or not, you and your organisation are a living brand walking around right now, telling the world an awful lot.
Your brand is the thing that sets you apart from others like you. It embodies what you look like, the way you interact with the world and the reasons you do the things you do. It is inextricably linked to the purpose of your organisation. Think of the recent trend for TV channels with names like Dave and Diva TV. The content defines the brand and that in turn defines the audience. If your organisation was an actual person, how would you describe them? What sort of people would want to be their friend? Essentially, all brands seek to get people that they’d like to spend time with to want to spend time with them. Whether the end result is buying a car, booking an airline ticket or enjoying great art, the experience and perception of the brand leading up to that point is mission critical.
 

So brands are a powerful force and one that we neglect at our peril. But given that in many cases we’re fighting for similar audiences and ever decreasing slices of the funding pie, how can we use our individual brands to make a real difference? What can individual arts brands do when their local area, city or region needs to raise profile or change the status quo?

TALES OF THE CITY
There are some powerful branding stories that spring to mind when thinking about how culture has been integral to how a place has changed its persona and relationship with the external world. Prior to hosting the 1990 City of Culture, Glasgow was considered, “a dirty, dangerous place synonymous with razor gangs and football violence”1. On a wider scale we have witnessed the importance of culture in branding places such as the United Arab Emirates in cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi. These cities have invested mind-boggling amounts of money in securing powerhouse cultural brands to reposition them on a world stage with culture at the core.
But not all of us can enjoy the luxury of a City of Culture designation or the Guggenheim effect of a major cultural destination brand on our doorstep. Up and down the country arts organisations of all shapes and sizes are discovering the power of partnership in branding culture together.

BRANDING BUDDIES
National Indicator 11 (NI11) – Engagement in the Arts, is one of 198 from a wider National Indicator Set provided by government. National Indicators are essentially performance targets for local authorities to work towards in their local area agreements. Essex County Council adopted NI11 and set a target to increase participation in the arts across the region by 3% by November 2010. Crucial to success was raising both the profile of and understanding of culture across Essex with a call to action that resonated with multiple target audiences. Working with Sumo Design, the Council and arts organisations across Essex galvanised themselves to populate the new Explore Culture website2. This integrated county-wide campaign demonstrates the exciting possibilities that arise when we work together for a bigger cultural picture.
York Museums Trust, Pilot Theatre, York Library and Archives, and York Theatre Royal came together in 2009 under the cultural brand of Four York. Their challenge was to raise the cultural ambition of audiences and practitioners in York. An 18-month Cultural Leadership Programme has enabled these four organisations to network and learn from each other, share and set best practice and develop cultural leadership skills for the future. Partnership underpins the Four York brand and the insight gained from working with different brands under the same cultural banner has been integral to the process.

JUNCTION OF OPPORTUNITY
Cultural branding works across many spheres, from countries to cities to streets. Tired of their area being remembered for the murder of Andrew Pratt in 2008, local artists and residents from the London area of Loughborough Junction came together to reposition their home brand through art. They designed a new map putting Loughborough Junction at “the centre of our London”, and local photographer Conor Masterson spent hours photographing local people, resulting in a street exhibition. Their efforts were filmed and broadcast by the BBC. In working together they’ve made real inroads to repositioning their brand.
How vibrant is the overarching cultural brand where you work and live? I sign off with a challenge. Think about a problem your area, city or region faces. Form a network by contacting as many arts organisations and individuals as possible. Get together, get to know each other and share the problem. Commit to working together to address the issue. Set goals. Think about other partners that could help. Keep meeting. You’ll be amazed at what will happen from bringing individual cultural brands together as one. And don’t forget to share the results with the rest of us!