CRM in the art world of Oz

Australia’s Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts is getting an upgrade. Organizers of the showcase of music, dance, performing arts, and visual arts – really, any medium you can think of – begun Down Under in 1960 has decided to make the plunge from multiple databases to incorporation under a single CRM system.

In the 2006 version of the seventeen-day festival, Adelaide drew 10,000 visitors who pumped some $15 million-plus into the local economy. Such numbers offer firm evidence that the time to impart a CRM system is long overdue. The Sage CRM system, together with the Sage ERP account management system, will streamline the art show’s pre-production activities.

With 20,000 sponsors, 130 performances and 1000 “Friends of the Festival,” the Sage system cannot be imparted too soon. Up next for Adelaide’s arts program is a web interface which will allow all participating parties access to update their own contact and other information.