Marketing Culture and the Arts

By Francois Colbert, Jacques Nantel, Suzanne Bilodeau
HEC Montreal, 2001, 2nd Edition, ISBN 2-9803081-8-8 £18.50 [£23.00 inc p&p]

Managers and students engaged in all aspects of arts and cultural enterprise will enjoy using and benefit from this clear and thorough text.  Examples from several countries, illustrate the reach of the arts and cultural sector, and will inform an international readership.  The firm foundation of the first chapter examines the arts sector, the broader media and cultural industries, and within these the role of the artist, then considers the evolution of traditional and arts marketing.  From this follow chapters that will support readers in their understanding and analysis of Product, '. . . cultural enterprises are high-risk ventures that have no equivalent in other sectors of the economy' p.45, Market, Consumer Behaviours, Segmentation and Positioning and the variables of Price, Place and Promotion.  The final chapters offer knowledge of the application of Marketing Information Systems and Planning and Controlling the Marketing Process, recognising '. . . the contribution of marketing to the overall mission of the company' p222.  Each chapter opens with clear objectives and ends with a summary and questions for consideration.  Helpful figures and tables illustrate the text.  The bibliography includes books, articles, monographs, studies and surveys from several countries.  The structure of the text supports initial reading and repeated reference use.

Review by Elizabeth Owen, Senior Lecturer Arts and Events Management, Sheffield Hallam University

SAM's Books compiles the Bookshop section of Arts Professional magazine, and used to compile Bookshop in its predecessor, Arts Business.

This review has appeared in Arts Professional or Arts Business. It gives a longer and more personal description of the book than appears in the booklists.