“What is the return on investment for this project?” This is the question that marketing departments always ask before approving a budget for an artistic collaboration, and it’s often the question that project teams are least prepared to answer.
The reason is simple: an artistic collaboration does not produce just one type of value. It generates both measurable benefits in euros (press coverage, traffic, sales) and more intangible but equally real effects (brand image, team pride, cultural credibility) that do not naturally fit into a standard Excel spreadsheet.
The most common mistake is to confuse the lack of a single metric with the inability to measure results. The ROI of an artistic collaboration is built over time; it cannot be determined after the fact. This guide explains how to define it before the project launches and then how to track it in practice.
ROI is never measured in absolute terms; it is measured relative to a goal set in advance. Even before choosing an artist, the question to answer is: What are we trying to achieve with this project?
The most common goals we see among our clients—which result in very different performance metrics—are:
A single project may aim to achieve several of these objectives, but they must be prioritized. It is this hierarchy that determines which indicators to monitor first and, above all, which indicators should not be confused with a secondary objective.
The most widely accepted method for quantifying press coverage is to calculate its value in terms of advertising space (often referred to as “earned media value”): one estimates what it would have cost to purchase the same amount of advertising space in the media outlets that covered the project, and then applies a credibility coefficient (an editorial mention is generally worth several times the value of an equivalent advertisement, as it is perceived as more reliable by the reader).
In practical terms, this involves tracking the following for each media mention: the media outlet, its audience or reach, the amount of coverage given to the topic (dedicated article, mention, brief), and the tone (neutral, positive, very positive). A simple press tracking spreadsheet, updated in real time, allows this data to be consolidated at the end of the project.
For projects aimed at increasing digital visibility, the metrics to track are standard but must be compared to a baseline: impressions and reach, engagement rate (not just the number of likes), the number of shares and organic mentions, and traffic generated to the website from project-related posts.
Key consideration: Content that generates a lot of impressions but little meaningful engagement does not have the same value as content that is viewed less frequently but widely shared by a relevant audience. Volume alone says nothing about the quality of the response.
This is the metric most sought after by sales departments, and the hardest to isolate accurately. To measure it accurately, here are a few practical strategies: create a promotional code or a landing page dedicated to the project; compare sales during the collaboration period to a comparable reference period (same season, previous year); and track in-store traffic if the campaign is a physical installation (counters, point-of-sale data for the period).
These methods never provide a perfect attribution—an artistic collaboration rarely stands alone in the purchasing process—but they do allow us to objectively identify a trend rather than relying solely on a hunch.
The most rigorous method involves conducting a perception survey before and after the project, using a comparable sample, by asking respondents about their spontaneous associations of the brand with specific attributes (creativity, modernity, cultural engagement, quality). The difference between the two measurements is the true indicator of brand lift.
When a formal survey is not budgeted for, a less extensive form of monitoring is still possible: qualitative analysis of comments on project-related posts, unsolicited feedback collected from clients or partners, and a qualitative press review focusing on the tone of published articles.
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A well-executed artistic collaboration often generates an internal effect that is underestimated: pride in belonging, a sense of being part of a company that invests in culture, and a concrete selling point during job interviews. These effects can be tracked using simple metrics: employee participation rates in project-related events, spontaneous mentions of the project in internal satisfaction surveys, and HR teams’ reports of the project being cited as a selling point in job interviews.
An effect that is less often measured but is real over the long term: each collaboration builds a reputation among artists, agencies, and cultural institutions. A brand known for respecting artists, giving them genuine creative freedom, and honoring its contractual commitments finds it easier, project after project, to secure the most sought-after artists. This relational capital isn’t reflected in a quarterly report, but it directly influences the quality of future collaborations and, ultimately, the cost of securing them.
The most effective method we recommend to our clients consists of four steps:
1. Set 2 to 3 priority goals before launch—not ten. A goal that’s too broad leads to monitoring that’s too broad.
2. Select one key indicator per objective—quantitative whenever possible—with a data collection method defined in the brief (what is tracked, using which tool, and how often).
3. Establish a baseline before the project begins (traffic, perception, sales from the corresponding period in the previous year) so that you can measure an actual difference, not just a perception.
4. Consolidate the results into a single document, including figures where possible and providing precise descriptions when they cannot be measured in euros, rather than leaving the results scattered across multiple teams (communications, marketing, HR, sales management).
Some figures circulate freely within the organization but, on their own, say nothing about a project's true value:
At Studio Artera, defining key performance indicators is part of the brief from the project’s design phase onward, not just at the evaluation stage. We help our clients define two to three realistic priority objectives, implement the appropriate monitoring tools (press reviews, social media monitoring, structuring of sales data), and compile a clear report at the end of the project that can be presented to both the finance department and the executive committee.
A well-planned project is also one that is easier to repeat the following year, with a more thoroughly justified budget.
ROI is measured by combining quantitative metrics (media coverage valued in terms of equivalent ad space, traffic, social media engagement, and sales) and qualitative metrics (brand perception, internal engagement, and relational capital within the art world). It is essential to set objectives and monitoring metrics before the project launches, not after.
Valuation in terms of advertising space equivalent (earned media value) remains the most widely accepted method: it estimates the cost that would have been incurred to purchase the same advertising space, weighted by the greater credibility of an editorial mention compared to a traditional advertisement.
Yes, using simple attribution tools: a dedicated promo code, a specific landing page, and a comparison of sales over a corresponding period in the past. Attribution is rarely perfect, but these methods help provide an objective view of a trend.
No. Tangible benefits such as brand perception, employee engagement, and the relational capital built with artists and the art world do not translate directly into euros, but they have a lasting impact on brand value and the quality of future collaborations.
Studio Artera defines the objectives and monitoring metrics from the initial brief onward, implements data collection tools tailored to each project (press reviews, social media monitoring, sales data organization), and compiles a clear performance report that can be presented internally to the finance department or the executive committee.
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