Connecting the Arts and Business

The Arts are supported by the wealthy, many of the top business people in any society

Today Arts activities and events are valuable networking opportunities for doing Business

The UK has set up a whole organization called Arts and Business (see link) just to get more happening, for example: to create partnerships so that business is supporting the arts and gets something directly out of that support, e.g. publicity, goodwill, community building, employees volunteering and feeling good about it

What other Arts Business win/win connections might there be?

On the site, I found this article:
http://www.aandb.org.uk/render.aspx?siteID=1&navIDs=1,5,448,470

CREATIVITY CRISIS LEAVES UK BUSINESS AT A DISADVANTAGE

Some extracts -

* UK businesses are facing aa shortage of creativity skills at senior levels

* 60% of FTSE 500 companies now require their CEOs to have creative skills

* 48% require creative skills of their Sales Directors

* Businesses in the FTSE 500 see creativity skills as one of the main engines to business success, and seek creative people to join their Boards of Directors

* Reasons for 86% of board candidates failing to meet this criteria are

· A lack of creative mentors and suitable training (36%)

· A dull and unexciting physical work environment (27%)

· Work ethos, where the atmosphere and working practices are not conducive to the development of creativity skills (23%)

· Lack of training in general education (14%)

According to Arts & Business CEO Colin Tweedy:

"The arts are a good place to start and have a unique ability to inspire individuals to think and act differently and to increase levels of creativity and innovation. It can start by inviting a poet to speak about creative writing to developing a more complex arts access and development programme.....If businesses are to overcome the creativity skills deficit, then all that is required now is actual engagement with a primary source of creativity - the arts."


And how does this Connect to Customers?

Creating Customer Experience requires much more than mundane transaction completion - the aesthetics taught by being involved with ART, provide valuable insight into what it takes to develop with Customers authentic emotional impact and emotional connection - some call it Brand Loyalty - so that Customers feel good about doing Business with your company.

Just look at the success of the Apple iPOD and the new Nano - aesthetic creativity inside!

We have moved well beyond supplying the basics, customers want more and will pay for more:

style! design! coolness!