The Value Proposition Playbook
If they don’t care, they won’t come.
RADICAL GROWTH STARTS HERE
The old growth playbook is broken.
Arts organizations today are fighting harder and harder to attract a shrinking, oversaturated pool of traditional patrons.
But arts organizations aren’t failing. Their outdated business models are.
With a customer-first model built on powerful innovation frameworks, unlock relevance, revenue, and sustainability.
-
![]()
“Audience Alchemy completely changed the way we talked about our concert series. By implementing the customer-first model, we MORE THAN DOUBLED ATTENDANCE at a recent concert compared to our past season’s average.”
– George Fergus, Director of Music, Christ Church Episcopal, Savannah
-
![]()
“What I have learned from you has been SO VALUABLE. Nearly 1,100 people took part in our inaugural weekend! The turnout exceeded all expectations and I am so grateful for your approachable, actionable teachings.”
—Tekla Cunningham, Founder, Seattle Bach Festival
-
![]()
"Ruth ignited our marketing, development, programming and venue hire teams with excellent, tangible recommendations that will now play a critical role in Melbourne Recital Centre’s next chapter."
—Latoyah Forsyth, Head of Marketing and Visitor Experience, Melbourne Recital Centre
-
![]()
"Ruth has an extraordinary vision for arts marketing, and the arts sector needs it now."
—Mark Schaefer, Author of Marketing Rebellion and Belonging to the Brand
-
![]()
"This may well be the salvation that audience-hungry arts marketers are searching for."
—Trevor O’Donnell, Author of Marketing the Arts to Death
-
![]()
"For any org wanting to center their customer and community, Ruth's thinking on this topic is hands down the best I've ever seen."
—Aubrey Bergauer, Changing the Narrative
-
![]()
“Ruth is a champion for your patrons. She sets aside all of the expertise and just asks one simple question: What matters to your customers? It's revolutionary.”
—Sean Kelly, Founder, Vatic
-
![]()
"...an incredible thought leader. Ruth's insight is what we need to hear as a sector right now. "
—Sarah Weber, Executive Director, Association of California Symphony Orchestras
-
![]()
"So grateful that Ruth is not only putting the Jobs to Be Done framework out there, but also providing illustrations on how to enact it."
—Timothy Myers, Music Director, Austin Opera and Music Director, Spoleto Festival USA
-
![]()
“The room was vibrating during Ruth’s Chorus America plenary...lightbulbs were going off, pens were furiously writing.”
—Alex Gartner, Artistic & Executive Director, Pensacola Children’s Chorus
-
![]()
“Thank you for delivering two remarkable presentations. Your work is transformative!”
—Kevin Eberle-Noel, Executive Director, Redlands Symphony
-
![]()
"You were spectacular and opened up a host of necessary questions with which we need to grapple. It was a terrific session."
—Nick Adams, Executive Director, Cantata Singers
-
![]()
“This is one of the most, if not the most, important presentations in my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
—Thomas Cooke, President, Voce
ABOUT RUTH
A New Way Forward
I’m a former opera singer who traded the stage for the world of business innovation. Today, I help cultural organizations ignite transformative growth by championing a radically customer-first model.
Blending deep arts and nonprofit experience with eight years at the Clayton Christensen Institute—a global authority on innovation—I equip arts leaders with strategies to redefine relevance, expand markets, and unlock new demand.
A frequent speaker at industry conferences, I’m on a mission to help arts organizations build new models designed for today’s world—and today’s consumer.
We’ve all heard that stat: “90% of first-time orchestra attendees don’t return the next season.” But there’s something buried in that study that most people missed.