marketing:arts, an audience development agency based in Coventry has ceased trading. The decision to close was taken by the Board and staff of the company in December and current projects will be finalised and all accounts settled within the next three weeks.
The agency has devoted most of its efforts over recent years to developing data analysis techniques, principally the Data:Crunch system, which was created following a successful Lottery bid to acquire the Mosaic geodemographic profiling system for the West Midlands region. Richard Hadley, Director of marketing:arts, cited difficulties in balancing the organisation’s commercial and audience development activities as ultimately having led to the decision to close the company. Arts Council West Midlands last year invited tenders for an agency to undertake a region-wide role in audience development work, and the successful agency is likely to take on many of the audience development clients previously served by marketing:arts. Although the results of the tendering process won’t be announced until March, Birmingham Arts Marketing is widely tipped to take on the role. The rights to the Data:Crunch system have been assigned to a new company, Datacube Ltd, which has been established by former marketing:arts analysis staff, Jo Hayward and Graham Muggleton.
Published: 23-02-2004