Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts
About
Since 1996, Interact’s mission is to create art that challenges artists and audiences to explore the full spectrum of human potential. Interact’s vision of radical inclusion brings the transformational power of the arts to an entire community of disabled artists and their audiences who experience arts’ capacity to engage, change lives, and shift cultural
paradigms. With over 125 artists working in theater and/or studio arts, Interact is multicultural, intergenerational, and embraces the entire spectrum of disability labels.
Marketing Initiative
Interact is working to deepen existing relationships with an audience closely connected with the organization, such as families of disabled actors, and to broaden its audiences to new market segments. It also seeks to raise awareness of the organization’s work both locally and nationally. To accomplish these aims, the organization’s website offers improved accessibility, functionality and opportunity to engage donors. Interact is also learning additional strategies to effectively use data and technology to achieve its aims.
Highlights, 2010-11
Interact identified three new market segments, calling them “extended family” – people interested and involved in the disability community; “cultural creatives” – moderate arts users who attend niche programming that addresses social justice and other issues; and “the new granolas” – adults who live healthy lives, support environmental causes, and believe in the power of the arts. A new Interact website and improved Facebook presence were designed to appeal to current and new market segments. To instill brand awareness among the general public, institutional messaging occurred through mainstream articles and reviews and social media. Interact increased the size of its theater audience by 18%.
Marketing Activities, Year Two
- Continue implementation of effective e-messaging and social media communications, such as e-alerts.
- Reevaluate efforts to develop more attendees at art gallery events and try new approaches, such as hosting patron events during the run of a show.
- Complete a database redesign project in FileMaker that will allow Interact to retain and use more sophisticated information about its various stakeholders.
- Work with The Lab Theater on ticket sales tracking for improved data collection methods during upcoming productions.
- Collect and analyze participant engagement data on a regular basis, including from surveys, personal interviews, ticket sales, and click-throughs on the new website.
