Marketing the Arts in the 21 st Century November 18, 2010
Sep 14, 2014
Marketing the Arts in the 21st Century
November 18, 2010
SSF ‐ Leading Classical Theatre
“This is world‐class theatre and we should be thrilled to have it at our doorstep.”
Toronto Star, August, 2010
SSF ‐ Founding
• Founded in 1952 by Tom Patterson
• Performed in a tent from 1953 to 1956
• Mounted two productions in our first season and welcomed 60,000 visitors
SSF Today• 645 performances of 12 to 14 new productions in
repertory each year on four stages• Draw 500,000 visitors from around the globe• Full slate of enrichment activities offered alongside
the productions• Training for actors and directors• Largest Archives dedicated to an individual company• New Play Development• Outreach to students and teachers• Films and tours
SSF ‐ Economic Engine• Generates economic activity of $135 million each year and tax revenue of $70 million
• Employs 1,000 people directly and generates another 3,000 jobs
• Significant annual investment in marketing to existing and new markets
• 76% of visitors originate from more than 80 km with 25% coming from the US
• 89% of visitors are drawn primarily by the work of the Festival
• 20% of the audience is under the age of 18
Stratford ‐ Cultural Hub
• Magnet for authors, musicians, visual artists, chefs, academics
• Complementary endeavours – Stratford Chef School, Stratford Summer Music, Stratford Symphony Orchestra, Factory 163 and now the University of Waterloo & the Stratford Institute
• Long‐time Festival visitors choose to retire to Stratford
SSF – Sources of Revenue
• Operating budget of $57 million
– Earned revenue 66%– Fundraising 24%– Government 10%
SSF – Marketing Strategy
• Build relationship with existing audiences
• Cultivate new audiences• Connect a community of theatre lovers• Reinforce brand as a leading classical theatre destination
All while using our limited resources as effectively as possible.
How do we use technology?
We use technology to . . .‐ Know our patrons‐ Enhance the theatre going experience‐ Connect those with an interest in theatre
‐ Heighten awareness of the Festival‐ Provide a flavour of an onsite visit
Tactics – Driven by Technology
• Market research• Data collection & database segmentation
• Direct Marketing• Website development• Social marketing • Mobile
Market Research
• Annual research studies covering topics such as . . .– Economic impact– Purchase intention– Audience composition – diversity, general demographics, accessibility
– Testing new marketing programs ie Play On, Family Experience, website development
Database Collection & Segmentation• Patron Relationship Management System –Tessitura
• Tessitura is used across the organization – call centre, box office, marketing, fundraising, administration
• Data collected– Basic contact information– Ticket purchase and donation history– Contact history– Attributes
Database SegmentationValue
Behaviour
DM SegmentSeat Score
Attributes
Database Segmentation
• How to use it?– Trend analysis– Planning– Marketing tactics
Direct Marketing
Campaigns shaped around . . .• Retention• Growth – sales, donations• Reactivate• Convert to purchaser
Direct Marketing – Case Study
• Spring DM, 2009– Prospects: 40,000– Total Revenue: $1 million– Incremental Revenue: $334,000– Variable offers: 15% off your order + gas card; 3‐show flex pass; dine and play (2 for 1 tickets and dining)
Direct Marketing – Case Study
• Last Minute Club E‐mails– Individuals can opt‐in to the last minute club
– Currently at 46,000 participants– Sold 5,984 tickets in 2010 with revenue of $251,786
Online Presence
• Website• Advertising• Social media
Website Development
Website: Sounds & Images
Website: Sounds & Images
Website: Sounds & Images
Online Advertising
• Online display ads & promotions• Google adwords• Print ads drive patrons to our online presence – introduce QR codes
Social Media: Goals & Objectives Capitalize on the capacity of social media as well as the emerging capabilities of user customization• build relationships with both new and existing Stratford attenders
• connect individuals with a common interest around Stratford and our offerings
• engage in active conversation with our fans• serves as additional channel for customer service
Capitalize on revenue generating opportunities by encouraging:• ticket sales• fundraising
Social Media: Sample Patron Feedback You guys at Stratford are doing a very good job and
I'm actually bringing this page to the attention of the rest of my executive board as an example of a perfect use of a Facebook page. You're one of the models for the usage we hope to build to in the next season.
This is just my opinion, but as an art lover, and an artistic director, as well as someone who has built up a solid social media presence, I revel in seeing larger organizations such as yourselves take this leap!
Stratford Festival is hitting Social Media out of the park! Follow them @stratfest
Social Media: Key Initiatives
Hired a Social Media Coordinator Developed a plan for Social Media as part of our marketing initiatives The plan focuses on . . .
– Facebook– Twitter– YouTube– Blogs
Facebook/Twitter PerspectiveFacebook Twitter
Coca Cola 9,578,390 72,601 Ashton Kutcher 4,769,807 5,386,001Metropolitan Opera 59,369 10,037 Stratford Festival 17,195 1,522 Oregon Festival 15,360 1,468 Shaw 5,164 642 Chicago Shakes 3,659 241 Mirvish 2,498 1,681 Soulpepper 1,952 1,220 Stratford Tourism Alliance 1,791 3,360 CanStage 597 1,264 Dancap 395 591
as of 08/05 @ 4:30pm
Facebook Activities Provide new content daily and monitor fanpage comments
• Asking questions “Why do you love Shakespeare & his plays?”• Ask Bruce Dow day• Discussion with the Technical Director for Peter Pan• What show are you most looking forward to & why?
Encouraging fan referrals – increasing the number of fans by offering a deal once we hit target number of fans
Easter Egg hunt onsite for tickets
T‐shirt design contest
Encourage users to change their profile picture to our “Shakespeare face” logo for World Theatre Day and on Shakespeare’s Birthday
Welcome all schools attending performances daily
Launched “Fan of the Week” – weekly winners and grand prize winner given tickets to opening night
Respond to fan comments and questions
Twitter Activities Regular Tweets by Lisa Middleton (Director of Marketing and
Audience Development) and Aaron Kropf Re‐Tweet any comments made about the Festival Create hashtags for all shows i.e. #ssfgrapes, #ssfcamelot,
#ssftwelfth etc so that Tweets on this topic can be easily found Introduced Tweet Deals – use to move soft selling shows Introduced Tweet Tips – info on making trip more
enjoyable/easier i.e. parking, spots to eat, other activities Introduced weekly Tweet Quiz ‐ asking speaker & play of
Shakespeare quotes Engaging conversation – asking and responding to questions Linking to interesting articles to engage in discussion
Stratford’s YouTube Stats
• 40,969 Channel Views• 225,917 Upload Views• 472 Channel Subscribers• Male 49% Female 51%• Canada 49%• US 33.7%• International 17.3%
YouTube Activities
Posting videos of:• behind the scenes webisodes• Production clips• actor/director interviews• TV commercials and trailers• As You Like It BravoFact• PlayOn stop motion video• Company‐generated videos
YouTube Activities
BlogsActivities Regular blogs by Aaron Kropf (social media) and Ben
Thomas (education) Use internal blogs as a starting point for discussions
on Facebook and Twitter Reaching out to theatre bloggers and treating them
like media representatives Monitoring most non–Stratford blogs that talk about
the Festival, commenting where appropriate
Measurement Parameters Currently researching some measurement software and the
parameters will include– Awareness
• Reach & frequency. How many followers? How often do we put a message in front of our followers?
– Familiarity• Do people recognize our brand? How many opportunities to see? How
many saw? Did they remember?– Attitude
• What do they think about us? Would they recommend us?– Influence
• Determine who our influencers are, treat them well. • Measure the impact we’ve had on influencing public opinion.
– Competition• Who’s talking about us and our competition?
– Outcomes• Likes/followers/retweets/blog posts/comments/book
marks/sharing/digg it• Did they visit/buy/donate/register for enewsletter/take survey/request
brochure etc.
Mobile Application
Mobile Application
Projects: Mobile Application
The Future
• Mobile phone and tablet applications• Digitize archival collection• Create an on‐line exhibit of archival materials• Pay‐per view for some of our full‐length broadcast quality videos
• More production clips• Build in online components of educational outreach
• Accessibility – personal closed captioning
Discussion