Jacob's Pillow

A_CDuggan004.jpg

The Client

Jacob’s Pillow is a globally recognized and respected brand for dance enthusiasts and practitioners. Located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, Jacob’s Pillow presents an annual Festival with more than 50 dance companies and 500 events, as well as hosting numerous community programs year-round, an extensive archive and one of the most prestigious professional dance training centers in the U.S. In 2022, Jacob’s Pillow celebrates its 90th anniversary.

The Need

In 2020, Jacob’s Pillow presented an all-virtual Festival attracting significant new audiences. The leadership recognized the need to better understand this new audience to help inform future marketing, fundraising and programming strategies. Additionally, our team was charged with advising on the marketing operation that would best support its changing needs.

The Process

The consulting team:

  • Conducted virtual meetings with members of the board, executive, marketing, patron services, development, school, and programming teams

  • Conducted a thorough marketing material review

  • Gathered, consolidated, and analyzed customer data from the previous five years of programming including festival events and out-of-season events as well as donation data and school registrations

The Results

Our team:

  • Identified gaps in the current marketing operation

  • Identified opportunities for the organization’s growth and sustainability as it looks to the future

  • Provided operational and structural recommendations to help Jacob’s Pillow meet these opportunities

  • Partnered with a data analyst to mine customer data and address central audience behavior questions that surfaced during the assessment

One of the key recommendations made as part of our Marketing Assessment was the appointment of a Chief Marketing Officer to lead the marketing team in realizing the opportunities identified in our report. TOCG was engaged to conduct a national search for this leadership role and the successful candidate will be announced shortly.

 

Explore the Tom O’Connor Consulting Group website to learn more about Our Services, Our Team, and Our Clients.

TOCGMarketing & Audience Strategy