The art of relationships: from communities to collections

Since the rise of digital marketing and in particular since the explosion of Web 2.0, “community building” has been one of the buzzwords in every possible business debate. The social change in behavior resulting from co-creative participation of people in communication channels resulted in a parallel ambition to commercially exploit these new cultural trends. Unfortunately for most marketers, a community is not just a list of email addresses: it takes much more to build true human interaction, emotional bonding, and value over time. The connecting thread that runs through this chapter is “How can we perform successful commerce by nurturing genuine communities and respecting their integrity?” To answer this challenging question, we look at the uniquely intense passion of collectors, also known as “possibly the most eager and committed customers on the planet.” We then move to looking at corporations in their own “art customer capability,” in order to gain an understanding and insight into how collections might work for the best benefit of brands. Our last “finding” introduces us to museums (the topic of Chapter 6) from the viewpoint of their connections to collectors who have become generous art patrons. Together, art communities and art collectors offer us insights into how to build a bond with customers by genuinely being part of their social circles.