Elite doesn't have to mean elitist.

‘Best of the best’ brands are in a perilous position. Society is weighing up the people, groups and brands that enjoy an elevated position and questioning whether they still deserve to be on top. The scrutiny is especially intense for elite cultural organisations - public and private funders don’t want to be seen supporting organisations perceived as ‘elitist’. 

So what does all that mean for cultural organisations? It means ‘art for arts sake’ is no longer an acceptable motivation. Cultural brands must reconcile their commitment to excellence with the push for social responsibility. Many are rethinking their approach to art and how they present themselves.

Here are a few of the principles NB has used to help cultural organisations adapt and thrive in challenging times:

Proactively shift perceptions

Classical music is intimidating. Most people will happily go see a film or a gig, but they won’t touch Beethoven with a bargepole. And that’s exactly what was happening to the Philharmonie Luxembourg; young people thought of it as somewhere that just wasn’t for them. 

NB’s rebrand set about actively debunking those barriers to entry, helping the brand to shed the inaccessible trappings of a classical concert hall. The new identity amplifies the experience and excitement of live performance.

The impact has been immediate – for the first time the Philharmonie is seeing engagement with younger audiences.

Think beyond your loyalists

Birmingham Royal Ballet started on the back of trucks, taking ballet into underprivileged communities after the war. But in 2020, it wasn’t reaching outside its small group of loyalists, despite Birmingham being Britain’s youngest, most multicultural city. 

Together with the new artistic director Carlos Acosta, NB brought BRB back to its adventurous roots with a new brand idea: ‘taking ballet places it’s never been before’. 

The identity pushes audience expectations of ballet to its limits: creatively, emotionally, physically and digitally. Since then, the brand has been engaging audiences you’d never before have associated with ballet.

Make your audience creative collaborators

Vineyard Theatre is a well known off-Broadway theatre, constantly collaborating with artists, playwrights and makers to create boundary pushing work. To secure its future, Vineyard knew it needed to forge a stronger connection with the community, so NB made its brand as collaborative as its theatre. 

The new identity positions audiences, sponsors and the local community as active participants in every show. This ethos influenced the design of the ever-changing wordmark - for each new production the ‘Theatre’ in ‘Vineyard Theatre’ is completely redesigned by a New Yorker. 

Since the rebrand, Vineyard has developed and proudly showcased its crucial position within its community. Recently, the theatre has won a $4.5 Million grant by The New York State Council for the Arts to give more New Yorkers access to the arts. We can’t wait to see what they do with it…

Democratise excellence

In the past few months, NB has been working closely with one of the world’s leading ballet and opera companies. Together, we’ve been discussing how to reconcile a pursuit of excellence with inclusivity and accessibility, exploring how the brand can open up to the modern world in new and exciting ways.

Watch this stage. 

If you’d like your organisation to become more open and inclusive, get in touch with Kate Illingworth at kate@nbstudio.co.uk