About Elliott
I run Agentry, an arts marketing micro-consultancy working nationally and based in Meanjin/Brisbane on Turrbal and Jagera Country. Agentry supports artists, arts organisations and groups to introduce marketing strategyThe unique ways a company or brand communicates marketing messages to potential customers. Learn more → and optimise their marketing communications efforts – whether IRLNetspeak for In real life. Learn more →, URLA unique identifier such as an IP address or web address that can be used by a user to retrieve the intended resource. Learn more → or hybrid (in-person, online or both). Increased marketing competency, confidence and curiosity in the arts helps more Australians become aware of and access, enjoy and participate in diverse arts experiences.
My work focuses on the 7 PsThe unique combination of marketing elements – Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical Evidence – a company or brand uses to support their marketing efforts. Learn more → of marketing as a framework for building strong and resilient arts brands. This is complimented with tools to understand arts customers and audiences through customer segmentation and to position arts brands in response to the competitive environment they find themselves in. Through collaboration and co-design I help arts clients to build an informed strategic layer to their marketing activities, which supports marketing planning, brand identity management, storytelling through content and continuous improvement through measurement, analysis and evaluation.
Since starting Agentry in 2017 I have worked with:
- ArtsHub
- the Australia Council for the Arts (now Creative Australia)
- the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT)
- BlakDance
- Brisbane Chamber Choir
- CircuitWest
- the Institute of Modern Art (IMA)
- the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA)
- PAC Australia
- Playlab
- and many others.
I am a Certified Practising Marketer, accredited by the Australian Marketing Institute.
Postnominals
I have a few postnominals:
Elliott Bledsoe MMktg (RMIT) PAMI CPM MICDA
That means:
- MMktg means I have a Master of Marketing awarded by RMIT University
- PAMI CPM means I am a Certified Practising Marketer and a member of the Australian Institute of Marketing, and
- MICDA means I am a member of the Institute of Community Directors Australia.
I have over 10 years experience in arts marketing. In 2020 I graduated from RMIT University with a Master of Marketing and is recognised as a Certified Practising Marketer, accredited by the Australian Marketing Institute since 2024. In 2021 and 2022 I was the Arts Marketing and Digital Competency mentor in the Regional Arts Services Network (RASN) Creative Business Champions (CBC) program. Through the program I supported over 100 independent artists and arts professionals to learn marketing strategyThe unique ways a company or brand communicates marketing messages to potential customers. Learn more → and explore a range of marketing tactics.
Before starting Agentry I held marketing and content positions with the Queensland Writers Centre, ABC Radio National at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Australia Council for the Arts, Regional Arts Australia, Regional Arts Victoria and others. I am a member of the Advisory Boards of Lemonade: Letters to Art and the Electronic Music Conference.
I have a wide knowledge of marketing tools and digital technologies, including content management systems (CMSWas this free resource helpful? If so, I encourage you to please show your support through a small contribution – it all helps me keep… Learn more →), social media management, analytics and data, search engine optimisation (SEO), online and social media advertising, crowdfunding, Creative Commons, marketing automation, artificial intelligenceAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → (AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more →), blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and more.
Relatedly, I also have extensive experience in copyright, with a focus on the interplay between rights and creative practice. I work regularly with the Australian Digital Alliance (ADA) – Australia’s peak body representing copyright users and innovators in a digital world – and the Australian Libraries and Archives Copyright Coalition (ALACC) – the primary policy body for copyright issues affecting the library, archive and information sectors in Australia. I am also the Co-lead of Creative Commons Australia, the local Chapter of the CC Global Network which promotes and encourages the use of CC licences in Australia. And I am an ordinary member of the Board of Wikimedia Australia, the Australian chapter of the international Wikimedia Foundation.
I am also the Treasurer of the St Lucia Community Garden. When I have some free time I runs Forgotten Type, a participatory history project that uses historical text and signage remnants such as ‘ghost signs’ to inspire and engage a community of ‘casual historians’ to uncover stories about their city or town.