Franzetti m u16 final

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Michelle  Franzetti    Unit  14:  Final  Project    April  27,  2014  AAD630-­‐201    

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS    

• Situational  Analysis  (page  2)  • S.W.O.T.  Analysis  (page  4)  • Market  Analysis  (page  5)  • Conclusions  (page  7)  

 Balagula  Theater  produces  works  in  a  downtown  bistro,  which  exposes  

community  members  to  the  arts  that  may  not  have  been  exposed  otherwise.    This  small  non-­‐profit,  run  by  12  staff  and  12  board  members,  has  been  in  operation  since  2007.    

A  unique  aspect  of  this  organization  is  that  is  does  not  perform  in  a  traditional  theatre  venue.  All  Balagula  Theatre  shows  are  performed  in  a  downtown  restaurant  called  Natasha’s  Bistro.    Tickets  are  sold  at  a  variety  of  local  business  in  the  area  and  the  restaurant  works  in  tandem  to  provide  space  but  also  serve  food  during  performances  creating  a  very  distinctive  environment  and  experience.      The  following  is  the  mission  and  vision  for  Balagula  Theatre:    The  Balagula  Theatre  Company  is  an  award  winning  Lexington  drama  theatre  that  showcases  leading  theatre  artists  in  professional  quality  productions.  “The  Balagula  Theatre  tackles  a  remarkable  variety  of  themes  and  is  best  known  for  its  artistic  risk-­‐taking  and  intellectually  heavy-­‐hitting  fare  "  (Lexington  Herald  Leader).  We  aspire  to  contribute  to  the  advancement  and  preservation  of  theatre  as  an  art  form  while  delivering  intelligent,  innovative  and  inspiring  theatre  to  audiences  in  Kentucky  and  beyond  through:  distinctive  and  ambitious  artistic  programming;  commitment  to  artists;  intellectual  and  social  relevance;  continuous  education;  and  our  capacity  to  engage  audiences.  The  Balagula  Theatre  mounts  productions  of  modern  classics  and  new  plays  that  challenge  both  participating  artists  and  audiences  by  enticing  their  imagination  and  skill,  forms  of  expression  and  limits  of  perceptions.  We  distinguish  between  tradition  and  convention;  and  aim  to  develop  a  unique  point  of  view  worthy  of  artists’  engagement,  audiences’  attention  and  community’s  resources.  We  strive  for  artistic  excellence  by  upholding  professional  standards  in  every  aspect  of  our  productions.  Our  commitment  to  artists  is  expressed  through  stimulating  and  nurturing  creative  excitement  and  mutual  enrichment;  and  through  rewarding  artists  financially.  We  explore  every  play  within  a  broad  social  context  and  consider  its  relevance  to  contemporary  audiences.  We  chose  material  of  high  literary  quality  and  rich  emotional,  intellectual  and  cultural  content.  The  Balagula  Theatre’s  capacity  to  deliver  meaning,  entertainment  and  a  shared  experience  makes  each  production  both  a  community  event  and  a  way  to  build  communities.    

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     The  information  below  has  been  gathered  from  the  IRS  Form  9901  filed  by  Balagula  Theatre:  

        Fiscal  Yea  

2009  Fiscal  

Year  2010  Fiscal  Year  2011  

Fiscal  Year  2012  

Percent  Change  

Total  Contributions,  Gifts,  Grants  

$77,214   $27,990   $51,327   $64,394   -­‐16.6%  

Program  Service  Revenue       $18,312   $27,419   $38,500   110.2%  Total  Revenue   $91,344   $46,579   $78,866   $102,954   12.7%  Total  Expenses   $43,217   $63,114   $87,753   $117,573   172.1%  

Net  Assets  or  Fund  Balances  

$58,663   $42,128   $33,241   $18,622   -­‐68.3%  

Program  Services  Expenses   $36,342   $58,184   $68,039   $46,604   28.2%  Total  Cash   $49,713   $32,498   $24,777   $10,507   -­‐78.9%  

Total  Liabilities   $0   $0   $1,244   $1,593      Total  Assets   $58,663   $42,128   $34,485   $20,215   -­‐65.5%  

Audience  Attendance       1,880     1,841     2,278     21.2%  #  of  Full  Scale  Productions   4     4     4     6     50.0%  

Bottom  Line   $48,127   -­‐$16,535   -­‐$8,887   -­‐$14,619   -­‐130%  

   Below  is  a  line  graph  representation  of  the  number  reported  in  the  chart  above:    

  This  organization,  while  experiencing  substantial  growth  in  program  service  revenue  (likely  to  be  almost  exclusively  from  ticket  sales)  and  an  increase  in  total  revenue,  is  ending  most  fiscal  years  in  a  deficit  and  has  allowed  expenses  to  increase  at  a  rate  that  can  not  be  matched  by  the  growth  rate  in  revenue.  These  factors,  in  

$0  

$20,000  

$40,000  

$60,000  

$80,000  

$100,000  

$120,000  

$140,000  

1   2   3   4  

Total  Contributions,  Gifts,  Grants  

Program  Service  Revenue  

Total  Revenue  

Total  Expenses  

Total  Cash  

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combination  with  a  slow  increase  in  total  contributions  and  grants,  have  left  the  organization  with  a  steadily  declining  amount  of  Total  Cash  available.  This  type  of  situation  may  make  it  difficult  to  take  on  larger  scale  marketing  tactics.    However,  efficient  marketing  may  be  the  only  way  to  ensure  the  long-­‐term  future  of  this  organization  due  to  the  need  for  increased  program  service  revenue.         Natasha’s  Bistro  is  located  in  downtown  Lexington  and  benefits  from  a  high  level  of  walkability.  Below  are  numbers  collected  from  City  Data2  to  illustrate  the  surrounding  population.    

For population 25 years and over in 40507:

• High school or higher: 88.8% • Bachelor's degree or higher: 40.8% • Graduate or professional degree: 22.8% • Unemployed: 8.1%

Estimated median household income in 2011:

• This zip code: $23,655 • Kentucky: $41,141

        The  performance  venue’s  surrounding  location  benefits  from  a  relatively  high  education  rate,  but  a  low  annual  income  coupled  with  a  high  unemployment  rate.  These  numbers  (especially  unemployment)  could  be  slightly  misleading  due  to  the  fact  that  many  college  students  potentially  live  in  the  area  and  are  currently  full-­‐time  students  who  are  unemployed  or  work  part-­‐time.    This  demographic  set-­‐up  could  lead  to  a  lack  of  discretionary  funds  for  most  and  would  pose  a  potential  issue  when  trying  to  market  to  them  for  ticket  sales.  This  does  leave  an  obvious  window  for  the  potential  success  of  a  student-­‐ticket  promotion  going  very  well.        

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         Primary  Target  Audience    

• Demographic  o Male  or  Female  o Mid-­‐adulthood  (25-­‐35  years  

old)    o Middle  to  upper-­‐middle  class  

income    o Located  in  or  near  Lexington  o Does  not  have  young  children  

• Psychographic    o Culture  patrons-­‐  likely  to  have  

attended  another  art  event  within  the  past  12  months    

o Hold’s  a  Bachelor’s  degree  or  above    

o Read  current-­‐event  publications;  likely  to  read  the  local  newspaper  

o Support  local  businesses  and  the  local  economy    o Liberal    o White-­‐collar  occupation    o Health  conscious;  allocates  a  generous  amount  to  nutritious  eating    o Wine  Enthusiasts  o Relies  heavily  on  professional  reviews  o Involved  in  volunteer  organizations  or  service  club  

 Secondary  Target  Audience    

• Demographic  o Male  or  Female  o Young  adulthood  (24  years  old  

or  younger)  o Lower-­‐middle  class  based  on  

income  o Still  receiving  formal  education  o Located  in  the  city  of  Lexington  o Does  not  have  young  children    

• Psychographic    

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o Likely  to  frequent  local  social  hangouts  such  as  coffee  shops  o Likely  to  be  very  active  such  as  running,  cycling,  or  hiking  o Very  connected  to  social  media  o Relies  heavily  on  word-­‐of-­‐mouth  o Little  disposable  income  o Little  disposable  time    o Very  social  and  likely  to  give  or  attend  parties  often  o Listens  to  NPR  o Very  Liberal  and  accepting  of  all  lifestyles    o Consistently  seeking  new  experiences    

 Target  Markets  for  Potential  Growth  

• Primary  Target  Audience  o Patrons  of  other  arts  organizations    

§ Developing  partnerships  with  surrounding  arts  organizations  to  offer  mutual  advertising  and  perhaps  offer  joint  subscription  opportunities    

o Ensure  ample  local  news  coverage    § Continue  to  develop  relationships  with  local  news  offerings  to  

ensure  this  target  audience  is  exposed  to  advertising  and  professional  reviews  of  Balagula  Theater    

o Continue  to  join  with  local  businesses  § By  advertising  selling,  and  potentially  partnering  for  supplies  

with  local  businesses,  this  demographic  will  have  an  increased  chance  to  be  exposed  to  advertisement  while  also  deepening  initial  interest  in  Balagula  based  on  the  association  with  supporting  the  local  communities  economy  

o Extremely  well-­‐planned  scheduling    § Avoid  conflict  with  surrounding  art  entities  to  avoid  dividing  

the  art-­‐going  community    • Secondary  Target  Audience    

o Choose  new  or  rarely  performed  works  § In  order  to  attract  those  consistently  seeking  new  experiences,  

performing  new  works  could  be  extremely  useful  while  continuing  to  adhere  to  the  organization’s  overall  mission.    

o Support  NPR  § In  order  to  have  airtime  for  advertisement  purposes,  you  must  

be  a  supporter  of  NPR.  Surrounding  organizations  have  taken  advantage  of  this  and  it  is  an  option  that  would  penetrate  both  your  primary  and  secondary  target  audience.    

o Student  Discounts  § Offering  student  discounts  will  help  penetrate  this  market  due  

to  little  disposable  income  and  the  high  likelihood  of  that  this  audience  is  still  in  formal  education.    

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                  Balagula  Theatre,  although  growing,  is  not  exhausting  many  potentially  rewarding  marketing  options.  Two  people,  who  are  also  the  founders,  run  the  organization.  While  their  goal  is  not  to  become  a  large  theatre,  they  have  no  choice  but  to  increase  revenue  if  they  plan  to  keep  the  doors  open.      Marketing  Opportunities:  Positive  media  coverage  would  go  a  long  way  in  this  organization  hitting  its  primary  target  audience.    Balagula  has  many  things  going  for  it  when  going  after  its  target  audience  such  as  events  being  conveniently  paired  with  fine  wine  and  food,  the  ongoing  partnerships  with  local  entities  and  businesses,  and  the  mature  content  offering  stimulation  for  the  more  educated  mind.  However,  it  is  likely  that  many  still  do  not  know  about  this  local  opportunity.  While  advertising  in  local  businesses  could  be  useful,  positive  media  coverage  would  be  something  very  likely  to  get  the  attention  of  the  primary  target  audience.  To  achieve  this,  the  organization  needs  to  develop  relationships  with  local  media  and  pursue  ventures  that  will  get  them  noticed.      Secondary  Audience  Opportunity:  A  large  opportunity  is  being  missed  to  target  the  secondary  audience  by  failing  to  develop  partnerships  with  the  local  universities  such  as  Transylvania  University,  the  University  of  Kentucky,  Bluegrass  Community  Technical  Collage,  and  possibly  even  others  slightly  further  away  such  as  Eastern  Kentucky  University  (a  45  minute  drive).    Tapping  into  partnerships  with  these  universities  would  not  only  get  more  talent  on  the  stage,  but  create  a  much  larger  potential  audience  and  room  for  word-­‐of-­‐mouth  advertising  on  campus,  which  money  can’t  buy!  This  particular  audience  would  also  be  enticed  by  a  student  membership.  The  theatre  currently  offers  tickets  around  the  same  price  of  other  theatres  in  the  local  area.  In  order  to  become  more  competitive,  the  organization  should  consider  lowering  their  prices  (if  even  just  temporarily)  to  entice  patrons  to  come  to  Balagula  Theatre  over  competition  that  have  been  in  the  area  longer  and  have  the  more  sound  reputation  with  theatregoers.      Collaboration  Opportunity:  One  of  the  founders  from  this  organization  has  roots  in  a  nearby  community;  Winchester.  This  town  also  has  an  active  theatre  with  a  large  theatre  space.  Winchester  does  not  have  many  live  entertainment  options  and  could  be  a  potential  untapped  market  for  Balagula  Theatre.  It  may  be  a  lucrative  possibility  to  partner  with  this  community  and  its  local  theatre  in  order  to  form  a  relationship  and  raise  awareness.      Web  Presence:  For  an  organization  as  small  as  this,  perhaps  the  greatest  marketing  tragedy  is  the  current  web  presence.  Balagula  Theatre  does  have  a  website  and  a  

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Facebook  page,  but  both  are  not  utilized  to  their  fullest  potential.  The  Facebook  page  has  only  1,000  followers  and  is  extremely  repetitive  in  postings.  They  do  not  offer  incentives  such  as  free  tickets  or  meeting  the  performers  as  “give  away  prizes”  to  help  entice  people  to  follow.  Overall,  the  Facebook  page  exists  but  the  users  are  not  interactive  with  it.    The  website  is  more  disappointing.  It  is  dark  and  unprofessional  looking  upon  first  impression.  There  is  absolutely  no  information  about  contacting  the  organization,  a  “donate”  button  is  located  at  the  side  of  the  screen  with  no  additional  information  to  accompany  it,  the  mission/vision  statement  are  far  from  concise,  and  the  news  related  press  is  extremely  outdated  (the  newest  addition  is  from  2011).  In  addition  to  making  this  website  more  enticing  to  viewers,  asking  patrons  to  post  reviews  on  popular  websites  or  apps  such  as  FourSquare  could  be  an  additional  ways  to  increase  a  positive  web  presence.      Ticketing:  While  this  organization  does  use  a  ticketing  service  (Tiny  Ticketing),    there  is  often  no  way  to  see  the  prices  for  upcoming  shows  before  they  go  on  sale  or  any  information  at  all  on  their  subscriber  package  called  “Golden  Ticket  Holders.”  This  organization  would  greatly  benefit  form  being  able  to  offer  a  flex  package,  student  discount,  and  perhaps  a  frequent  ticket  buyer  program      Logo  &  Branding:  For  now,  the  branding  does  not  seem  to  have  taken  true  shape  for  Balagula  Theatre.    The  organization  has  not  positioned  itself  in  such  a  way  as  to  stress  the  benefits  of  choosing  it  over  any  other  competitor.  The  logo  may  have  an  interesting  story  and  would  be  easy  to  reproduce  across  a  variety  of  media,  but  it  is  not  something  that  describes  what  the  organization  is  or  who  they  are.  Overall,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  a  feel  for  the  character  of  this  organization  from  their  collective  web  presence.  It  is  unlikely  that  research  was  performed  in  order  to  make  this  opportunity  for  a  visual  impact  successful.  The  following  image  is  the  current  logo  for  Balagula  Theatre  (although  there  are  many  variations)5:    

               Conclusions:  Overall,  Balagula  Theatre  may  be  putting  on  good  performances,  but  the  newness  and  public  curiosity  has  worn  off  and  the  revenue  is  expressing  this.  For  this  organization  to  survive  long-­‐term,  a  marketing  plan  needs  to  be  established.  Tapping  into  the  local  arts  administration  program  at  the  nearby  University  of  Kentucky  could  provide  the  resource  of  an  intern  in  order  to  develop  a  strategic  marketing  plan,  define  clearer  mission  goals  and  branding,  and  develop  more  widespread  connections  within  in  the  community.            

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 1)  GuideStar.  “http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/74-­‐3208253/balagula-­‐                                theatre-­‐company.aspx.”  Balagula  Theatre  Company.  Accessed  February  24,                                2014.    2)  CityData.  “http://www.city-­‐data.com/zips/40507.html.”  40507  Zip  Code  Detailed       Profile.  Accessed  April  27,  2014    3)  Walk  Score.  “http://www.walkscore.com/score/108-­‐esplanade-­‐alley-­‐lexington-­‐     ky-­‐40507.”  108  Esplanade  Alley.  Accessed  April  27,  2014    4)  MyBestSegments.       “http://www.claritas.com/MyBestSegments/Default.jsp?ID=20&pageName=     ZIP%2BCode%2BLookup.”    Zip  Code  Lookup.  Accessed  April  27,  2014.          5)  Balagula  Theatre.”https://tinyticketing.com/balagula/balagulatickets.aspx.”       Ticketing.  Accessed  April  27,  2014.