| As arts organizations face the challenge of attracting emerging audiences in a competitive market, they are tasked with setting themselves apart with strategic marketing techniques that will sustain their organization. One technique is place marketing, which incorporates an organization's location into the marketing storytelling to draw audiences to the organization as well as the destination. This study examines three Philadelphia arts organizations that currently use the city to tell their marketing stories to local audiences: Opera Philadelphia, Theatre Exile and the Barnes Foundation. Opera Philadelphia is a 43-year-old performing arts company that incorporated place marketing less than a decade ago. Theatre Exile is a 20-year-old theater company that weaves Philadelphia's story into each artistic and marketing choice. The Barnes Foundation is a 95-year-old regional landmark established in Merion, Pennsylvania and moved to Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 2012. It is only within recent years that the Barnes embraced the city through marketing new audiences. The review of these cases intends to support that the use of place marketing to attract local, emerging audiences, specifically among Philadelphia arts organizations, will enhance a connection to the community and an organization's own relevance to ultimately influence a city's position in the arts sector. The paper concludes with recommendations for arts organizations to employ place marketing to their own local communities to elevate their city to a premier arts destination. |
