About Freddi Wald

Frederica Wald, known by many as Freddi Wald, is a marketing and advancement leader in the arts and culture sector. Freddi Wald has immense experience in building revenue, fundraising, strategic marketing, communications, arts administration and advocacy, and partnership building and is noted as a leader with a penchant for executing large scoped, high impact initiatives.

 Freddi is currently the Deputy Chief Development Officer for Patrons and previously the Head of Membership at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, overseeing that MET’s expansive membership program that includes a base of over 130,0000 members and patrons. Through her experience in the arts, Freddi Wald has shown an immense passion for history and cultural centers, maintaining that increasing accessibility thru philanthropy and new revenue sources is a necessity as institutions work to optimize membership and donor experiences and grow their audiences.

Those who have worked with Freddi Wald maintain that she is a passionate advocate of the arts and cultural institutions and performing and educational arts centers. They note that her passion for the arts is a fundamental reason why she is able to develop and maintain initiatives that connect to potential Patrons and high-level Members and Donors and show them the value that the space and collection bring to our world. Colleagues also note her keen attention to detail in marketing and ability to streamline processes, improve best practices, and support teams as they work towards building fruitful careers within the industry. This attention to detail is crucial for Freddi Wald’s ability to prioritize the evolving needs of attendees to ensure that they get the most out of the experiences and educational resources provided by cultural centers.

Freddi Wald Skills and Areas of Expertise

Over the course of Freddi Wald’s career in marketing and beyond, she has accumulated a vast array of skills that enable her to produce high-quality results for the organizations she serves. Below are a few of Frederica Wald’s skills and areas of expertise.

• Multi-Channel Marketing
• Branding
• Content Management
• Management
• Arts Administration
• Arts Advocacy and Education

• Email Marketing
• Revenue Building

• Digital Strategy
• Digital Media
• Digital Marketing
• Customer Acquisition and Retention
• Advertising

• Sponsorship
• Strategic Goal Setting
• Public Relations
• Lead Generation

• Market Research
• Analysis
• Business Development
• Partnership
• Business Communications

Frederica Wald on How Cultural Centers Can Improve Patron relationships and Engagement

As a professional in the arts who specializes in Patron Development and Engagement, Frederica “Freddi” Wald consistently addresses strategies that cultural centers can utilize to improve best practices. She recognizes that, in order for institutions to successfully increase their numbers and maximize the scope of membership opportunities, they need to invest in the experience and determine how they bring value to targeted audiences and access for all. Here, Freddi Wald explores a few methods that cultural centers can use to effectively improve their Patron memberships.

Consider Your Team

Institutions need strong sales and marketing teams who recognize the importance of connecting with their audience to show them the value proposition, meaningful relationships, and acknowledgments can bring to their lives. For this reason, Freddi Wald encourages institutions to evaluate their teams and ensure that they are filled with passionate professionals who are experienced in drawing people into the artistic community through membership opportunities. When evaluating teams, it is always important to consider whether they have the tools in place to successfully work towards improving membership numbers as well as develop their acumen along the way. Investing and mentoring your teams empowers individuals to properly convey the value of membership to potential prospects through multi-channel marketing, 1-1 contact with your customers, streamlined methods, and a firm understanding of the space. Test, learn, and evolve new ways to be relevant and reach desired audiences

Utilize Social Media

While older methods of marketing may still be effective ways to conduct outreach to connect with potential members, many uphold that cultural institutions must adapt with the times and embrace the digital age through investing in social media platforms. Social media can be an excellent way for museums to figure out their target demographics and double down on inviting them into the membership fold. This is because social media is a powerful tool for analyzing data and helping institutions identify and work towards their strong suits. Social media is also a great resource for showing potential members the happenings at the institution, postings for events, and recent developments that empower them to feel connected to the arts community. Finding your voice through utilizing social media platforms ultimately can help show individuals the value of membership and can expand the scope of marketing severalfold to connect with much more potential members than less streamlined marketing methods.

Embrace Feedback from Patrons and Members

When you are looking to double down on successful strategies for attracting new members, feedback from existing members can be a good resource for fine-tuning your methods. Existing members can share valuable insights on what attracted them to the institution and why they continue to support it. One of the most efficient ways to obtain feedback is to conduct polls and surveys in which existing members can share their favorite and least favorite aspects of their experiences. From there, Freddi Wald notes that teams can develop a more holistic idea of what their audiences want and what facets of offerings they need to invest into both retaining and attracting new members. Surveys, exit interviews, and focus groups are a few tried and true ways to learn more about your customers

Develop a Plan and Monitor Results

With proper research and analysis in place, institutions can take steps toward developing a strong strategic initiative that will enable them to expand and increase their membership numbers. Typically, plans are most effective when they cover multiple platforms and methods, and the research conducted by teams will likely reveal which will be most effective and play to their noted strengths. Frederica Wald maintains that no plan can be properly evaluated without dutiful monitoring of results. One of the most valuable aspects of results monitoring is that it can reveal comprehensive insights into how certain strategies have been received by existing and potential members. Teams can track the start dates of initiatives and implemented processes to gain valuable information on several points of initiatives’ history.

Looking for More Information from Freddi Wald?

Frederica Wald recognizes that many individuals are interested in learning more about administration, the arts, and the role that cultural centers play in our communities, especially during this pivotal time when art plays such a powerful aesthetic, social and historical role.  With this in mind, Freddi Wald aims to provide access to high-level resources that demystify the field and allow others to further develop their acumen. Freddi speaks to how individuals in positions of power have the responsibility to contribute to key conversations driving innovation within their fields, improving accessibility of important information to make more diverse, inclusive, and equitable spaces. Expect future posts provided by Frederica Wald to include recent developments within the arts sector, vital marketing insights for working professionals, and detailed looks into how cultural centers are working to improve membership and visitation experiences.