As an arm of HTMI, CMI was founded on the marketing principles that have proven successful in all commercial high traffic environments. CMI is committed to the sharing and furthering of these principles with the global cultural industry. CMI is an organization whose purpose is to make affordable high traffic marketing expertise available to members of the visual and performing arts (museums, galleries, theatres, performing groups).

Why is CMI needed?

Richard Mathieu founded CMI as a professional extension of his personal commitment to the arts. In an aging and overtaxed world that is facing incomparable fiscal issues and government cutbacks, he believes that the arts must adopt a more business-like and aggressive marketing posture if they are to prosper. In 30 years of experience he has worked with hundreds of high traffic commercial clients: shopping centres, entertainment facilities, tourist destinations, museums, theatres, sports enterprises, festivals, etc. He believes the principles learned here can be directly applied to the visual and performing arts communities.

CMI believes visual and performing arts enterprises are businesses within the cultural industry. Not for profit possibly, but nevertheless they are businesses with all of the attendant “business” responsibilities and requisites.

Management guru Peter Drucker said: 
“ Business has only two basic functions: marketing and innovation.”

CMI believes the cultural communities’ historical hesitancy to embrace the "Drucker” philosophy can be overcome through their better understanding of the role of marketing as it applies to their specific circumstance. CMI's purpose is to further that understanding providing marketing education, research and consulting services to the cultural community.

Beyond the everyday marketing concepts of SWOT analysis, market segmentation, positioning, and the four Ps of marketing, CMI’s cultural marketing focus embraces the concepts of “new product development”, “strategic alliances”, “taking art to the people”, “working partnerships’, “out-reach programming”, “new media “ and “relationship marketing”.

CMI’s organization is staffed with partners, associates, and contractors with the skill sets and demonstrated experience to address these critical marketing issues within the cultural industry including.

Why I Started CMI

The Cultural Marketing Institute (CMI) believes in the societal importance of a vital cultural community. Furthermore, CMI believes cultural institutions should be managed as “not for profit businesses” and that "innovation and marketing" are the future cornerstones of their “business” success. Supporting this belief is a philosophical statement by the icon Peter Drucker:

“Business has only two basic functions: marketing and innovation.”

CMI believes the cultural communities hesitancy to embrace the "Drucker” philosophy can be overcome through their better understanding of the role of marketing as it applies to its specific circumstance.

Organization

As a subsidiary of the High Traffic Marketing Institute (HTMI), CMI will be staffed by partners, associates, and contractors to HTMI. CMI staff will provide a full range of marketing services to CMI clients at a discounted fee of 50% of their normal charge rate. CMI services include marketing: research, planning, communications, social marketing, website development, and tailored, client specific seminar and course development.