Are you the Monet of marketing? Join the movement.

Business leaders are faced with many decisions. They are responsible for a staff, various departments, as well as decisions that affect the company and ultimately their own livelihood. Within these decisions lies a leader’s ability to ‘think outside of the box.’ Business leaders around the country are being forced to think differently as a way to cope with the ever-changing economic landscape. While this is not a brand new phenomenon, we are seeing an increase in those business leaders who are looking to the arts to build their competitive advantage.

Don’t believe me? Look right in our backyard for a few examples of businesses that have partnered with arts organizations:  Kaufman Rossin., TD Bank, American Express and Northern Trust Bank. These companies recognize that the arts play a major role in the community and that people in the community see their name, thus creating brand awareness.

But businesses are in it for more than just brand recognition. Companies that place high value on the arts in their company culture tend to have less turnaround and have more productive employees. These are just some of the incentives to working with the arts. The InterContinental Miami is a prime example of a successful business-arts partnership as they recently initiated an arts program right in their hotel lobby. “This past December and January, we proudly launched our inaugural art exhibit, Andy Warhol –“The Model Boy”by David Siqueiros,” says Robert Hill, General Manger of the InterContinental Miami. “This Arts Program is our new initiative to support and create awareness for the burgeoning Visual and Performing Arts Community in Downtown Miami and the Greater Miami area.”

Attendees admiring the works of David Siqueiros at the opening of his show, Andy Warhol – “The Model Boy”

Administrators in the arts community have known about the benefits of these partnerships for years. But how would you translate that information to the companies and corporations that compose the other half of the dynamic? For some reason, the business community just isn’t aware. This triggered Americans for the Arts to launch a nation-wide campaign calling attention to the symbiotic benefits that can arise from a business-arts partnership.

The pARTnership Movement campaign aims to reach businesses and provide solid examples of arts partnerships that have been successfully implemented in local businesses, yielding workforce expansion and competitive advantage. The campaign focuses on releasing solid evidence and support showing the benefits of business-arts partnerships throw a variety of advertisements, a website, a book and e-book complete with case studies, articles, as well as trainings.

“We have dozens of corporations, both large and small, doing innovative partnerships with the arts in Miami,” says Laura Bruney, Executive Director of the Arts & Business Council.  “ABC wants to collect interesting sponsorships and collaborations in Miami and highlight them nationally in tandem with the pARTnership Movement.”

The national movement will provide all of us with the opportunity to showcase the impact arts and business partnerships are having in Miami.