Many nonprofit arts teams spend a lot of time explaining why their organizations don’t grow the way corporate businesses do. Not because they lack strategy, but because the ecosystem works differently. Revenue comes from multiple streams moving at different speeds. Audiences behave more like communities than customers. And growth often happens in waves, not neat quarterly lines. When we understand that, the conversation about marketing—and success—starts to change.

In the nonprofit arts world, we love to believe we’re above the fray. We tell ourselves we’re “neutral,” “inclusive,” “about the work.” But in the era of cancel culture, conscientious consumerism, and identity politics, well everything becomes political. Every logo, every color palette, every casting decision, every donor thank-you note says something. Are you saying what you mean to say? Or are you speaking so broadly that you’ve ended up saying nothing at all?

This week’s Marketing Moment comes from our friends in the for-profit world via Chief Marketer, and while the piece was written with retailers in mind, the takeaways are very relevant for those of us in nonprofit marketing—especially arts orgs working with small teams and tighter budgets.

If your arts organization refuses to consider discounting packages, pay-what-you-will nights, or affinity group ticketing strategies, let me say the quiet part out loud: you are upholding exclusionary systems rooted in white supremacist culture. Full stop.

🚨 WARNING: Nostalgia marketing is a delicate art. One wrong move and you end up with a cringe-worthy campaign (looking at you, Burger King’s weird “hot pink 80s” rebrand). If you don’t want your audience hitting you with a hard side-eye like Whitley Gilbert in an argument, avoid these mistakes at all costs.

Knowing your audience helps you decide not only what to say but also how to say it.

Now that you’ve crafted a tight, actionable mission statement and know who your organization serves, it’s time to take the next step: