Marketing Strategy

Case: De Appel

Contemporary Art Centre

Seminar: Marketing and Management of Arts

and Culture

Tutor: Prof. Anna Elffers

Brotto Fabio - i6077006

December 2013

Index:

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………2

1. Strategy………………………………………………………………………………………...…3

2. Strategic planning ………………………………………………………………………….…….4

2.1. Contemporary aperitif ...…………………………………………………………..…..42.2. Benchmark and opportunities ………………………………………………….……..8

3. Evaluation....…………………………………………………………………………………..….9

4. Afterwards…………………………………………………………………………...………….10

Bibliography ...…………………………………………………………………………………......12

1

INTRODUCTION

“The objective of De Appel is to make contemporary art transparent and accessible for a

large audience. Further, the centre wants to provide a platform for meetings and

exchanges about

the question: what is good contemporary art?”(Brotto et al. , 2013)

Throughout the years De Appel art centre had to change location

several times before settling in the present building since 2012.

As a consequence of the moving frequently, the institution has

lost a great amount of visitors. The following marketing strategy

aims to increase the participation of the target group

individuated in the marketing analysis as: ‘people with knowledge

but not professionals’, in this paper it will be named ‘young art

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lovers’. Characteristics of this target group will be explained in

the following lines.

Target Group:

The target group is composed of people not working in the art

field with a knowledge and an interest in the arts. This target

group consists of young, avant-garde people, students and people

who consider themselves as ‘art lovers’. The audience’s age range

considered for the following strategy is between 18 and 30 years

old.

Objectives:

The objective of this marketing strategy is to approach the target

group in a more effective way creating a relationship between art

lovers and De Appel, in order to stimulate an increase in visitor

numbers. At the same time this will allow the art centre to

achieve financial objectives (increasing visitor numbers and paid

visits) and to reach social objectives (deepening target group

relationship), increasing participation in the organization. The

proposed activities will be in accordance with the values of De

Appel art centre.

In regard to the marketing tools, the marketing mix will be

used in order to achieve a ‘relationship marketing’. As a result

of this the strategy will work on customer retention and

satisfaction in the long term. The strategy aims at creating a

series of events to approach the target group best and to provide

them with an engaging and complete experience of contemporary art.

The second section will look into the details of the strategy

defining tactics and focusing on the four “Ps” of the marketing

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mix: Product, Price, Place and Promotion (communication). This

paper will also show how to assess the outcome of the

implementation of the marketing strategy. In the appendix, the

connection between theory and practice in the De Appel case will

be explained.

1. STRATEGY

The strategy concerns the organization of periodical ticketed

events called “Contemporary Aperitifs”, the purpose of which is to

attract young people interested in art from Amsterdam and abroad.

The ticket for the events includes one drink and a visit to the

current exhibition. Furthermore, in the room where the

“Contemporary Aperitif” will take place an accompanying exhibition

will be mounted; the artworks exhibited in this room will be the

result of a student competition organized in collaboration with

the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. As Kotler states “young

adults [seek] places to meet other young adults, and museums and

cultural organizations have become chic and safe venues to meet

high-status individuals. Sociability, dating, and networking are

large parts of their visits (Kotler et al, 2008, p.172). These

events aim at meeting the audience demand of a more holistic

experience, rather than with a single product (contemporary art).

To make sure that art lovers will experience a new kind of event,

the “Contemporary Aperitif” will be accompanied by experimental

music being played inside the building and a banquet will be

offered. The idea is to investigate new developments in

contemporary art and to stimulate the different senses by a mix of

media such as food, music and visual art. Moreover, Aperol (brand

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owned by Campari group, global branded beverage industry) will be

involved as a private partner to make the event economically

sustainable. Aperol has a young brand image and above all Campari

group has a strong connection with the art word and creativity

(starting from the relationship with the futurist movement used in

their advertisements to the ongoing ‘Campari art label project’

that involves different artists every year). This will allow the

organizations to create a strong link with mutual benefits. It is

important to note that the Academy has a conceptual and

experimental approach and aims to explore new areas and push

boundaries in the innovation of art and design, just like the

Appel does. The fact that the two institutions are keen on

promoting young talents and have common goals perfectly matches

their partnership and will facilitate creating mutual advantages.

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING

In the following lines the strategy plan of the “Contemporary

Aperitifs” will be discussed since these events will serve as the

first promotional effort for the ‘young artist’ exhibition and

will require a careful organization. “Contemporary aperitifs” and

‘the young talent project’ represent two levels of the same

strategy that work together with the purpose of achieving an

increase in visitor numbers. The strategy will not focus on

organizing the accompanying exhibition as De Appel centre already

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possess the necessary knowledge for mounting exhibitions.

Therefore, the focus will be addressed on planning “Contemporary

Aperitifs”.

2.1. Contemporary Aperitifs

Aperitif is a French word derived from the Latin verb “aperire”

(to open); the event aims to open De Appel’s spaces for a new

experience in enjoying contemporary art. The “Contemporary

Aperitif” is an high potential event, it provides the target group

an occasion of meeting people, networking, discussing the contents

of the exhibition or simply enjoy it in an informal surrounding.

Last in sequence but not least in importance, it will provide

exposure for the academy’s students in a renowned centre for

contemporary art.

Product:

The product is the result of the core product (contemporary art

exhibition) an accompanying show (young talent project) and

additional services such as: music, drinks and food. Altogether

they contribute to defining the offer as an experience, rather

than a simple product. These events will take place the first two

days of every new exhibition, between 19.00 and 21.00 in the

weekend. This timetable will allow not to disturb the

neighbourhood and will coincide with the end of the workday. While

“Contemporary aperitifs” will last two days (serving as an

opening), the accompanying exhibition will remain on display for a

month serving as an attraction to the target groups mentioned

above.

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The young talent project

The accompanying exhibition, named ‘young talent project’, is part

of the service offered and represents one of the most important

and delicate parts of the ‘product’ to organize, in order to plan

a successful event and accomplish the objectives of this strategy.

The accompanying exhibition’s purpose is to investigate issues of

the current theme proposed by De Appel show from the academy

students’ point of view. Selected artworks will be exhibited in

the room where the “Contemporary Aperitif” will take place, with

corresponding titles and artist names. During the first of the two

events, winning artists will be presented by one of the members of

De Appel centre and awarded with a symbolic trophy. For selected

artists this award is an occasion to join De Appel’s network, have

an exposure and to be in contact with potential collectors.

Artists and designers works will be chosen by a five-people

jury composed of: the current director of De Appel, current head

of the De Appel’s gallerist program, two professors of art/design

history from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and an art critic/writer

from Amsterdam. This committee will be in charge of choosing six

artists/designers, who will exhibit two artworks (or design

projects) each and will be selected through their digital

portfolio. The digital portfolio must be sent to a specific email

address three months before the next show. The winners will be

announced two months before the exhibition opening and the

selected artists will be able to start creating artworks for the

exhibition. Every art medium is allowed, although size limits will

be established.

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Food and drinks

Since the event image is the one of an aperitif, one

‘Spritz’(cocktail name) will be included in the price of the

ticket and it will be the only cocktail offered at the event.

Considering that the cocktail is a light alcoholic drink (average

alcohol content of 11,3 %) it is perfectly suitable for the

situation. Drinks will be provided thanks to the partnership with

Aperol, which will serve Spritz through a mobile bar. Water will

be available for free. The Aperol brand image will be printed on

plastic glasses, on the movable bar and on the shirts of djs and

bartenders. It will not be possible to buy a cheaper ticket

without a drink. Extra cocktails will cost 3 euro each. This

collaboration will both publicize the brand of the Italian company

and finance the initiative of De Appel art centre. As stated

before both parties have similar features and common goals, a

necessary condition for an effective partnership (Colbert, 2001).

As for food, a vegetarian fingerfood banquet will be served.

Music

Background music will be a part of the event and serve to create a

relaxing atmosphere. The volume will be kept low to stimulate and

facilitate the conversation among the guests. It is suggested to

play lounge or chill-out music in order to facilitate this

purpose. Music will be provided by two local DJs, one per day.

Thus two different musicians will have the opportunity to play in

every new exhibition. Each musician will have the unique chance to

perform their music in an innovative and alternative event and

will receive a reimbursement of 50 €. DJs will be chosen via an

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online competition on Facebook; this will involve the musical

taste of participants and enhance the promotional effect, reaching

a larger audience. A photographer will be also present at both

events to capture the highlights of the evening.

Promotion (communication):

The main promotion will be carried out through social media,

especially Facebook. A specific page for the events will be

created. Collaborating with a young demographic such as the

Academy will allow the rapid spread of the event in social

networks. The selected artists will further contribute proactively

to sharing information, as they will directly benefit from the

amount of people attending the event. In addition, the involvement

of DJs, who will be chosen through Facebook, will help sharing the

event to a larger audience. It will be fundamentally important to

keep the Facebook page pro-active with the target group when the

“Contemporary Aperitif” events will be over.

As we want to achieve our goal through relationship marketing, the

amount, the frequency, and the quality of the information

available for the target group are fundamental. For this purpose a

team of volunteers will be established. This team will be in

charge of managing the social network, interacting actively with

the fans e.g. posting a picture from the ‘young talent’ exhibition

and asking questions about it, or asking people about their ideas

about certain artworks. The idea is to make the target group feel

part of De Appel community. Moreover, on the De Appel’s website a

section called "Young Talent Project" will be created, in order to

explain aims of the project and to let people know about the

accompanying exhibition and the “Contemporary Aperitifs”.

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Furthermore, posters promoting every new exhibition will be

printed and attached in the Academy as well as in some hip areas

of Amsterdam. Posters will be characterized by a minimal design

and will contain short and direct information about the upcoming

exhibition, the “Young Talent Project”. A small space will be

reserved for the opening events e.g. “do not miss the Contemporary

Aperitifs!”, suggesting to like and check De Appel’s facebook page

(the major communication efforts in regard to the “Contemporary

Aperitifs” will be carried out through social networks). Posters

will be used to broaden the marketing communication for those who

do not use social networks in order to attract the largest

audience possible. Brand images of the three partners (De Appel,

Aperol, Gerrit Rietveld Academy) will be included in posters. The

volunteer team will also be in charge of attaching posters

throughout the city of Amsterdam. Word of mouth will also play an

important role within the Academy and in promoting the event with

artist’s families and friends, driven by the winning artists of

the contest.

Place:

The event will be held inside the Art Centre and the larger room

will be used for “Contemporary Aperitifs”. As already mentioned,

this room will house the young talent exhibition, the DJ-set and

the buffet, in order to serve as a meeting point and facilitate

networking. The rest of the building will be completely open to

the public; however, participants will be allowed to consume food

and beverages only in the room where the event will take place.

Considering there is a limited amount of space in the Contemporary

10

Aperitif’s room only a fixed number of people will be allowed in

at any time. Figure 1 illustrates a possible layout of how the

room could be organized and the exhibition mounted.

A second team of volunteers will be organized and they will be

in charge of checking that people do not ruin artworks. Contrary

to the bartenders and DJs, they will wear a T-shirt with the logo

of the Apple Art Centre. The team will be composed of 4 young

students and they will serve as gallery assistants in the

accompanying exhibition’s room.

Figure 1: Layout of the Contemporary Aperitif’s room, in this case 12paintings (n. 1-10) and 2 sculptures (n. 3,4) are exhibited

Price:

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Tickets for “Contemporary Aperitifs” will be available online at

the promotional price of 8 euro. The promotion will expire two

weeks before the event. From this time onwards tickets will no

longer be available online, but directly at the contemporary Art

Centre at the price of 10 euro. The price is competitive, because

the offer is extensive and of high quality. A pilot project will

be carried out for the first 2 events with the aforementioned

prices; depending on the results achieved the Centre will decide

if changing the price strategy is necessary. After the opening

weekend (after the “Contemporary Aperitifs”) the price will remain

stable at 7 euro for this target group, because the young talent

exhibition will be incorporated in the general offer of De Appel

for the rest of the month. The intention is to establish a long-

term relationship between audience and institution, as opposed to

getting as much money as possible following a short-term vision.

2.2. Benchmark and opportunities

A similar series of events is organized by the Peggy Guggenheim

Collection in Venice every year, and provides a precious and

useful benchmark. The ‘Happy Spritz’ is a series of events where

people can enjoy an aperitif in the garden of the Venetian museum.

It has been organized since 2009 and it takes place for 4/5 days

per year during the summer. Participants pay the cost of the

ticket (€ 12) and have the right to visit the collection and to

have two aperitifs (Spritz). Additionally, a "fingerfood buffet"

is offered while DJs provide music. Entering the collection with

food and drinks is not allowed. These events are organized with

the collaboration of Aperol. Therefore, Aperol already possess the

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knowledge for carrying out a successful partnership with De Appel

Centre in organizing the “Contemporary Aperitifs”. “Happy Spritz”

at Guggenheim is a successful event that attracts many young

people every year, with more or less 800 participants per day.

Considering the economical sphere, Aperol is exporting the

Italian idea of “aperitivo” and Aperol’s young brand

internationally. This could mean Aperol has a big interest in

joining a partnership with De Appel Art centre. Sales of Aperol

increased to four times in 2012, reaching 11 per cent of Campari’s

total sales of €1.3bn (Aversa, 2013). Successful companies like

Aperol fascinate customers with new ways to enjoy their products,

and “Contemporary Aperitifs” has the perfect ideals for carrying

this out. Moreover, Campari group recently switched distributor in

the Netherlands (Brand New Day). The Dutch distributor website

states : “Aperol is ready to explode across Europe and [in the

Netherlands] we have shown that we have the right plans in place

to exploit this" (A Brand New Day, 2013) . This means that, in

addition to the cultural interest of Campari in the art, there are

also favourable economical conditions for a partnership of this

kind.

3. EVALUATION

In order to determine whether the goals of De Appel Centre have

been achieved, the planned

strategy and its outcome need to be evaluated. The overall

objective of this marketing strategy is to increase the

participation of the young art lovers in the contemporary Art

Centre in order to stimulate an increase of this target group’s

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demand. Therefore, the outcomes of the implementation of this plan

will be assessed through both qualitative and quantitative

methods. Before explaining how to evaluate the results, it is

necessary to make the reader aware that, as a consequence of the

policies proposed in this paper, the visitor target (currently set

at 18.000 for 2016) has been reset to 15.000 for 2014 and to

19.000 for 2016.

The goal of raising visitor numbers in the Centre will be

assessed by counting the effective number of annual visitors.

Therefore, if the number of visitors will reach the threshold of

15.000 in 2014 and 19.000 in 2016, the marketing plan will be

effective. The evaluation will also be carried out with

qualitative methods, in order to know if the increase in visitors

number is a result of the young art lovers’ participation in the

art centre. For this purpose data will be collected online through

the website (the website will be provided by an online payment

platform), before buying tickets visitor will be asked to compile

a brief questionnaire. What follows is a basic example of possible

questions to ask:

Age range [18-30 and 30-onwards options];

Education level [three different options: primary, secondary

and higher education];

Would you be interested in being more involved with the

contemporary art dialogue within De Appel Art Centre

(debates, lectures, special events)? [Yes/No question].

If the visitor is between 18-30 years old, has at least a

secondary education and is interested in participating in De

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Appel’s activities it will be categorized as ‘young art lover’.

The same method can be carried out for tickets sold at the Centre

with the use of an anonymous multi-entry table in order to collect

data. At this step the research assumes that the above questions

will allow to better individuate the target group and assess the

qualitative result of the strategy. On-line and on-site data will

be organized in a digital database and used throughout the years

to better understand the composition and needs of the target

group.

AFTERWARDS:

This chapter aims to connect the practical case study of De Appel

with the theoretical background studied during the marketing

course. The appendix investigates the theoretical reason why the

centre is unable to achieve its goals and the theoretical

background on which the marketing plan is based on.

In a non-profit perspective marketing is “the process of

planning and executing programs designed to influence the

behaviour of target audiences by creating and maintaining

beneficial exchanges for the purposes of satisfying individual and

organizational objectives” (Andreasen and Kotler, 2008, p. 36).

The objective is to create a long-term relationship with the

target group focused on the exchange of values. The cultural

organization creates value in order to meet consumers’ needs, in

exchange they deliver values that allow the organization to

achieve their goals. The aim of marketing is to optimize this

exchange of values (Boorsma, 2006). These notions take us back to

De Appel’s case study; although the Art Centre represents an

excellence in presenting new contemporary art developments and is

15

estimated for the curators training program, it has not

established a deep relationship with its audiences. Part of the

mission statement states the aim is to "[...] provide a platform

for meetings and exchanges about the question: what is good

contemporary art?” (De Appel, 2013), but as explained in the

external analysis, efforts made by the Centre are not enough,

this is also due to the lack of personnel involved in the

marketing team. The number of events organized is not enough, a

full program on a periodic basis is needed to create a long-term

relationship with the target group of art lovers. These events,

along with other services and incentives may be offered in

exchange for joining the membership program. Examples of these

services are provided by the DOX centre in Prague. This art centre

offers a platform for discussion within the art centre, as well as

series of lecture, accompanying exhibitions and discounts at the

centre shop and bar, the possibility of inviting a guest, etc.

Another issue concerns the ‘creation of an experience’, during

the course of marketing it has been seen that the idea of the

product ‘per sè’ is no longer enough in order to meet customers’

needs. Colbert (2007) defines the product as the combination of a

central product, related services and the symbolic values the

experience can offer. For the mentioned reasons, De Appel’s offer

should not focus only on its "core product" (contemporary art),

but enhance it providing specific services to the target group and

through the creation of a experience based on the Art Centre’s

values (showing and investigating visual art). This will allow the

centre to maintain its own identity and to better meet customers’

needs. Boorsma (2006, p. 80) in the context of the hedonistic

needs, divides hedonistic experience in two categories:

16

"stimulating, exiting, surprising, and/or challenging experience"

and "relaxing, entertaining and/or comfortable experience." De

Appel exhibits the latest pieces in contemporary art, thus seems

to belong to the second category due to its nature. Starting from

this assumption visitors are motivated by a quest for novelty,

challenge and stimulation and on this basis de Appel should form a

new offer based on this kind of experience. In order to accomplish

these goals the strategic plan aims to re-establish the

relationship between the target audience (young art lovers) and De

Appel, enhancing the exchange of values. The goal will be achieved

through a strategy that works on two different levels. The first

step is to create a partnership with the Gerrit Rietveld Academy.

The purpose of the initiative is to give students the opportunity

to participate in a contest where the winning artists/designers

will exhibit in an accompanying exhibition at De Appel. The

partnership will facilitate values exchange and create strong ties

between the young art lovers and the contemporary Art Centre. On

the other hand, the second level of the strategy is carried out by

the organization of “Contemporary Aperitifs”, two innovative and

multi-experiential events that will serve as a ‘vernissage’ for

every new exhibition and to present the public with new talents on

display in the accompanying exhibition. As the name suggests, the

event will be organized as an aperitif and will provide art lovers

with the opportunity to join a unique meeting platform. The event

will also provide the opportunity to meet people, have a preview

of new shows, learn more about the winning artists from the

Academy and their artworks, discuss art or just enjoy the evening

accompanied by music and a cosy atmosphere. As reported by Kotler

(2008), young people are looking for art institutions where they

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can get new experiences, meet people with similar interests and

socialize; this is the goal of “Contemporary Aperitifs”.

The last point of this appendix concerns the sponsorship

proposed in the strategic plan, the one with Campari group, owner

of the Aperol brand. By joining a partnership, companies want to

find new ways to convey their marketing message in order to

increase sales or improve their market position (Colbert, 2007).

Yet, in order to create a successful sponsorship it is critical to

find the right partner with similar interests and goals. As seen

previously, Campari Group has had a close relationship with the

art world and creativity since its beginning; that makes the

Italian company the right partner for this project. In addition

the Campari Group have experience resulting from a partnership

with the Guggenheim collection in Venice in co-organizing a

similar event. To conclude, benefits for Campari Group will be the

following: improve corporate image, increase sales (in the optical

expansion in the Netherlands), greater visibility and support for

a cause. On the other hand De Appel will benefit from the

following advantages: increase social role, greater visibility,

broader communication mix, money from the partnership (for

organizing events).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Literature and documents:

Aversa, P. 2013. Case Study: New opportunities in times of crisis.

Campari repositioned its Aperol brand. Financial Times: 14.

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Boorsma M. (2006), A strategic logic for art marketing,

International Journal of Cultural Policy, Volume 12, Number 1,

March , pp. 73-92(20)

Brotto F., Grube M., Enhuber M., Linhartova P. (2013), Case Study:

De Appel Contemporary Arts Centre; External Analysis, Maastricht

University

Colbert, F. (2007), Marketing Culture and the Arts. 3rd Edition,

Paris: HEC

Kotler P., Andreasen A. (2008). Strategic Marketing for Non-profit

Organizations. New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Websites

A brand new day, Index, accessible at:

http://en.abrandnewday.nl/abnd-for-stoli-and-campari/, 05/12/2013

Campari Group, Campari Art Label Project, accessible at:

http://www.campari.com/int/en/campari-world/limited-edition/,

05/12/2013

Gerrit Rietveld Academy, accessible at:

http://www.gerritrietveldacademie.nl/nl/, 05/12/2013

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Guggenheim Venice, Happy Spritz at Guggenheim, accessible at:

http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/inglese/happy_spritz/happy_spritz2

013.html, 05/12/2013

Mercer C., Gruppo Campari follows partners out of International

Marques venture, accessible at:

http://www.just-drinks.com/news/gruppo-campari-follows-partners-

out-of-international-marques-venture_id105785.aspx, 05/12/2013

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