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REPERTORY THEATRE MARKETING: WHAT WORKED YESTERDAY MAY NOT WORK TOMORROW
Abstract
Marketing is not just about selling and advertising; marketing is the sum of activities involved in directing the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers. Even when we speak of the theatre, we must consider such aspects as market research, better show design, effective distribution, and sustained communication with consumers. Theatres market not only productions or events (event marketing) as such but meanings and along with them actors, directors, artists as personalities (celebrity marketing), ideas (social marketing), style, brand, and aesthetical modus operandi in general (public relations). This means that theatres as performing arts organisations have to define their goals and improve their practices and impact while ensuring that they remain true to their cultural, artistic and public missions. Top theatre managers and marketers need to promote organisation-wide marketing mind-set. Such activities as market research, assessment of target groups, smart response to external (social, economic, demographic climate, etc.) and internal changes, thorough fund-raising etc. have to be at least appreciated by the artistic part of the theatre. Segmentation-targeting-positioning chain remains the key strategic approach in modern marketing, even in the time of digital communications. Through segmentation, a theatre can find new customers, such as Generation Y people who often do not look for a performance but look forward to going out and having a ‘fantastic night’. Lifestyle, values, age, behaviour, wealth, – everything matters, and what we aim at is changing behaviour so that those who were ‘neutral’ could become passionate. Targeting wise, boundaries are so floaty and productions are so diverse, that marketers have to mentally run between the directors and potential theatre goers preparing creative messages and conveying them via appropriate media. What motivates a person to purchase a ticket? To become a frequent visitor looking for new productions? To attend once and never return? What factors create satisfaction, delight, and stimulate loyalty? Positioning is the act of designing and refining the theatre’s image and offering it so that it occupies an important place in target customers’ minds. Older theatres with strong traditions have to balance between keeping the recognisable image which used to be successful, is still successful and creating new attractive features. Add that all this is moving if not has moved to the digital world, to social media, with their own journalists, critics, language, behaviour patterns, loves, hates, even deceases, etc. and you will get a picture of modern repertory theatre marketing environment. No surprise that nearly nothing that worked yesterday works today (not speaking of tomorrow).
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