Empty seats before a performance at C.Y. Stephens Auditorium, Ames, IA, 2022. Larger image. Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University
AMES, IA – While arts and cultural organizations across the United States have increasingly prioritized diversifying their client base, many struggle to know if their efforts are moving the needle.
Findings from a new study, published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, may help. The researchers tracked changes in the racial makeup and income levels of clients at two dozen performing arts nonprofits over seven years. They then examined how marketing and other factors, such as location and funding sources, affected what they define as customer diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
