arts & business council

MetLife Foundation National Arts Forums Series

Houston Arts Alliance
Houston, Texas

Leadership: New Frameworks for the Changing Face of America
05/21/2008

Presentation by Patricia Martin author of RenGen: Renaissance Generation: The Rise of the Cultural Consumer and What it Means for your Business

Panelists:

• Claudia Solis, Promotions Manager, Museum of Fine Arts Houston
• Hamilton Masters, Manager, Internet Marketing & eCommerce, Gallery Furniture
• Edward Schipul, Chief Executive Officer, Schipul – The Web Marketing Company; Board of Director, American Advertising Federation Houston Chapter
• Heather Pray, Co-Founder, Houston Young People for the Arts; Communications Director, Houston Downtown Alliance

Patricia Martin presented her theory on the RenGen to a large, diverse group of metro-Houston’s for-profit and nonprofit leaders. Following the presentation, panelists discussed the current cultural happenings in Houston, which included many collaborative efforts by business and arts organizations.

Panelist Claudia Solis of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston discussed an interesting partnership between the museum and Starbucks. Claudia entered this partnership with the intentions of drawing a young RenGen audience. The event that was created was called a “hip-hop mash-up.” In a collaborative effort, Starbucks and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum hosted a series of late night hip-hop concerts at the museum. The success of the event was beyond what was expected. The audience grew from a few hundred to 7,200 attendees by the end of the series. In addition to the impressive success of this event, the museum converted 1,000 audience members into museum members.

Heather Pray of Houston Downtown Alliance spoke of the creation of Houston Young People for the Arts (HYPA). She took a step in creating a social networking circle that included young local arts fans. She is co-founder of HYPA, a quickly growing social group in Houston. The group communicates online, which has also been a great way for the group to expand, and frequently meets at gallery openings and art spaces. This is a great example of Patricia Martin’s theory on the RenGen communicating differently and the need for organizations to be online.

Hamilton Masters suggested that the audience listen to their consumers. He said that if your organization or company is reviewed on websites such as Facebook or Yelp you should take advantage of the feedback that is presented. If there are negative responses to your services, take those complaints and fix them. Panelist Ed Schipul echoed Hamilton’s emphasis on the web.

Participants in the Houston forum plan on continuing their conversations on the RenGen, creative partnerships, and innovative marketing in the future. A steering committee is being assembled to organize discussion groups and future events.