Public Relations for the Arts: What are the benefits?

Essay from the year 2006 in the subject Communications - Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, grade: 1, University of Auckland (School of Comunication Studies), course: Media Communications Research Methods, language: English, abstract: Long before the arts and public relations were literally formulated, they were already linked together. With the beginning of civilisation, visual arts were used to influence the public opinion. In ancient Egypt, impressive architecture such as statues and temples were built to represent the greatness of the ruling priests and nobles (Bates, 2002). Art was an essential element of the propaganda machines during World War II. Especially Hitler misused art to propagate his politic opinion amongst the public. Today, a vast range of companies use art in order to receive (hopefully) positive media coverage, e.g. Telecom New Zealand is sponsor of the New Zealand International Arts Festival, the City Gallery in Wellington and the Auckland Philharmonia, and initiator of the Telecom New Zealand International Film Festivals, the White Pages Arts Award and the IHC Telecom Art Award. However, the connection between public relations and the arts must also be seen from another point of view. In terms of arts marketing, the arts can benefit from public relations. What are the benefits for artists and arts organisations, and how can they use public relations in order to promote their products?