Employment ads say a lot about an arts organization.

Following my last post, I was delighted to read this gem of an ad for a Director of Marketing and Communications at Dallas Theatre Center.

The great stuff starts in the first paragraph:

“The Director of Marketing and Communications is a senior staff leadership position responsible for conceiving and implementing all strategic plans related to growing and sustaining audiences for the theater, and manages the “ad agency” needs for other DTC departments including Development, Education and Public Works “

It is crystal clear that this job is not just about growing and sustaining audiences, but knowing in advance how you’re going to accomplish this with strategic planning. And the “ad agency” bit is priceless as it places ancillary services where they belong. I’ve worked with plenty of arts organizations that don’t use strategic planning in their communications departments, and that wouldn’t know how to distinguish between growing/sustaining audiences and the ad agency services that are there to support the process.

The best part, though, comes in the first bullet point under Essential Duties:

• “Develop and implement an integrated and comprehensive sales program designed to achieve Dallas Theater Center’s financial and ticket sales goals” [emphasis mine]

Notice this doesn’t say “integrated and comprehensive ‘marketing’ program.” It says ‘sales‘ because somebody in a leadership position at DTC knows that the bottom line is all about selling tickets. The next two bullet points are about strategy, and the two following that are about numbers. Sales, strategy, numbers. Amazing.

Further down under Experience Requirements the second bullet points says:

• “Extensive knowledge of sales techniques, print processes, promotional campaigns, and advertising methods” [emphasis mine]

There it is again. Right up front: Sales techniques. Not marketing techniques, sales techniques. This organization knows where printing brochures, launching promotions and placing ads fit in the grand scheme of things: they all support sales.

And nowhere, thank god, does it say the candidate must be passionate about theatre.

I love this job ad. Makes me want to start over. If you’re a qualified marketer who wants to hone useful career skills in an industry that desperately needs to sell more tickets, this looks like it could an excellent opportunity.

The advertising guru David Ogilvy said, “If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.” I think whoever structured this marketing position understands what Ogilvy meant.