Chris Denton reflects on the career that has taken him all around the world, and finally back to London’s South Bank.
Civil Servant to salesman (1989 – 1992)
Awash with optimism, a newly earned music degree and a desire to make my mark on the world, I launched myself on the job market. My bubble burst when, a month later, and with the prospect of having no money to pay the rent, I was signing the official secrets act at the Department of the Environment (DoE). The ‘Great Pork Pie Scandal’ was as thrilling as it got (don’t ask – official secret!).
A job in advertising sales, based in the swanky new Docklands, seemed glamorous and a million miles from the DoE. Training in the art of selling has been some of the most useful and transferable I have ever had. Knowing how to listen and read ‘buying signals’, how to negotiate, when to ‘put up’, and most importantly when to ‘shut up’ and hold your nerve to clinch a deal, are skills that have been invaluable in many a meeting since.
Philharmonia Orchestra (1992 – 1996)
I am a great believer in fate. So when a chance flick through a discarded copy of The Guardian presented an ad from the Philharmonia Orchestra looking for a Group Sales Executive, I applied that day. The phone call offering me the job began with, “well, there’s some good news and some bad news”. Yes, I’d got the job, but they had heard that morning that Lord Hoffmann had been appointed to undertake a review into orchestral provision and the future of the orchestra was in the balance. A year later, during which time London orchestras were pitched against each other in some hideous musical beauty parade, everyone emerged safe and my job survived.
Moving up to lead the sales and marketing team, I got stuck in with ticketing, basic segmentation, early website development and the principles of what would later be termed CRM. I learned not to assume that new audiences see things as challenging or difficult and that audience development is as much about selling the social experience, the shared participation or the collective tension of a live performance, as it is about worrying what repertoire is on offer.
Southbank Centre – round one (1996 – 2001)
First off, I was responsible for classical music marketing, followed by a broader role called Head of Marketing Development, which saw me develop entrepreneurial skills mixed with core marketing. I oversaw the development of a new magazine, the Royal Festival Hall’s 50th campaign, nurtured relationships with resident orchestras and oversaw early digital developments. A change in CEO was an early illustration to me of the seismic shift that can accompany change at the top of an organisation and how much a leader can affect the fundamental ecology of a place.
Barbican (2001 – 2009)
My interview for Head of Brand and Audience Development at the Barbican was on 11th September 2001. It was a bitter-sweet career moment when, later that night, watching the horror of the World Trade Center attack unfold on TV, I had a call from Graham Sheffield offering me the job. It all seemed so insignificant in relation to the bigger picture.
My years at the Barbican were challenging in terms of the scale of what I needed to achieve: re-uniting what had become a fragmented marketing function then under multiple control, defining what our brand should be and re-branding with a focus on organisation rather than art form, developing a new website, and putting audiences at the heart of our strategy. Much to do, but under the inspiring leadership of first John Tusa and then Nick Kenyon, and with the support of my immediate boss Graham Sheffield and some wonderful colleagues, I enjoyed the challenges of each stage.
I left as Director of Marketing, Development and New Media and with a sense of real pride in what my colleagues and I had achieved together. Programmers and marketers working hand in hand to define, shape and deliver a collective vision.
Freelance consulting (2009 – 2014)
I initially left the Barbican on an extended sabbatical in order to advise a Spanish organisation looking to develop 14 new venues. I still have guilt about not returning at the end of the sabbatical (sorry Nick!), but by then I was involved in a fast growing array of interesting projects around the world. Graham Sheffield invited me to help him in Hong Kong on the West Kowloon project, which I did for two years. I juggled two-week stints in Hong Kong with projects with clients such as Opera North, English National Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, National Gallery, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, British Council and many more.
I frequently advised in the development of business plans, led re-branding projects, reviewed performance, developed digital or commercial strategies and helped drive organisational change. The chance to work with so many leading arts organisations and to see the variety of management responses to so many common challenges was insightful.
At first, I relished the challenge of being self-employed and rarely questioned the wisdom of my decision to do this. However, after four frenetic years I reached a tipping point: I was in danger of burning out, trying to juggle so many varied projects, yet I was not keen to take on the burden of employing staff. More importantly, I was becoming more and more frustrated by the transitory nature of freelancing, where having to walk away after significant professional and personal investment in leading or facilitating change was becoming more and more unsatisfying.
Southbank Centre – round two (2014 – present)
So – back at Southbank Centre. My desk is in an office building which was nothing more than a sketch on an architect’s drawing when I was last here and I am struck by what a vastly different organisation it is now. The scale is immense and the impact huge. Jude Kelly’s amazing crusade to ensure Southbank Centre is open and available to everyone guarantees there’s not going to be a dull moment with the annual programme of over 5,000 ticketed events across the 21 acre site and many powerful stories to tell. There is undoubtedly much to do here and there is much expectation too. It’s still early days, however I have a clear sense of what I want (and need) to achieve.
From here, who knows? Five years ago I would never have thought that I would be consulting around the world, working with as many leading arts organisations as I have, and then returning to the Southbank Centre. Fate! Ultimately I want to put the lessons I have learned about organisational change and effective management and leadership to good use. I’m not afraid of a challenge and I’m excited by the need to think differently. I suspect the arts will satisfy these desires for some time yet!
Chris Denton is Director of Marketing and Communications at Southbank Centre.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk
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