Marketing & Audience Development

Shane D. Hudson

What is Marketing?

“The activity, set of instructions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”

Selling stuff

Marketing is about actively building good, defined, relationships with your

audience.

Art vs. Cash

What Business Are We In?

Marketing vs. Communications vs. Audience Development

• Marketing = Sales (Using Communications, Engagement and Sales Tools)

• Communications = Communicating with Current Audiences, Potential Audiences, Press, and (I would argue) Internal Staff and Artists

• Audience Development = More About Connections and Community and Less Specifically About Sales.

What Does Audience Development, Communications, and/or Marketing Entail?

• Branding - Tone, Institutional Voice

• Advertising - Print, Electronic, Outdoor

• Promotions – Sponsorships, Events, Partnerships

• Communications – Press, Web, Brochure, Emails

• Social Media – Not just marketing

• Box Office – Group Sales, Subscriptions, Single Tickets

• House Staff - Customer Service, Experience

Beware of Silos

Product Must Meet “Inclined Participants”

“Great marketing cannot make a bad script good or a weak performance strong”

However…

• Patrons are more likely to see anything you produce if you…– Build trust– Create connections– Treat your patrons well

The 4 P’s

The Marketing Mix

The 4 E’s

• Experience (Product)• Everyplace (Place)• Exchange (Price)• Evangelism (Promotion)

Broaden – Deepen - Diversify

• Broaden: attracting more of the same types of the persons already participating

• Deepen: increasing the of involvement of participants

• Diversify: attracting new types of participants

Target Marketing

Branding

Positioning Statement

Sales Force

• How are you selling your product?– Online

– Phone

– Box Office

– Volunteers

– Phone Centers

– Outside Services (E-Tix, TicketMaster…)

Service• When does the experience being

– Once the show starts?

– Once you take your seats?

– When you enter the lobby?

– When you park?

– When you order your ticket?

– When you see an advertisement?

A Note on Subscribers

Dynamic Pricing

Marketing Plan

MAKE A PLAN

– Know what your goals are

– Know how you plan to achieve them

– Know your challenges

– Know your achievements (ROI)

Organizational Profile and Audit

• Name, Location, History, etc.

• Current Programs and Projects

• Missions and Goals

• Review of Current Marketing Practices

• Financial Health

Environment Analysis• Demographic

– Local/Regional Developments– Actions

• Economic– Trends– Changes in income– Actions

• Political– Legislation– Agencies– Actions

• Cultural– Lifestyle, values– Actions

Challenges and Opportunities

Challenges– Declining Subscription Base– Competition– Lack of Marketing Technology– Few Single-Ticket Buyers– Lack of Diversity– Marketing Not Targeted– Lack of Customer Focus

Challenges and Opportunities

Opportunities– State any Opportunities that might help meet

challenges– State Opportunities as facts

• Potential to increase subscriber base• Potential to expand technology• Potential to increase sales

Objectives• Base Objectives on Opportunities

– Increase Subscriber Base by net 5%– Increase Individual Ticket Sales by 7%– Invest in Marketing Technologies

Marketing Strategy• Game Plan

– Target Marketing: Who is being targeted?

– Positioning: What is your positioning in the market?

– Product: What do you sell?

– Price: How do you set pricing?

– Distribution: How do you sell?

– Sales Force: Staffing?

– Service: Are you thinking in terms of your customer?

– Promotion: Ads, Communication, Direct Mail (This is the actual media plan)

Marketing ProcessThis is the blueprint, timeline, and roadmap!

• Detailed Action Plan– Who, What, When

• Timeline– Details, Details, Details

• Budget– How much, where?

Controls and Evaluation

• How will you meet your goals?

• How will you manage your progress?

• Can you measure ROI?

• What is success?

Don’t Forget The Audience

• Think in terms of audience• Remember how many distractions there are?• Think like an onion – You need many layers of

communication• Marketing is about experience

Don’t Forget!

Key Messages

&

Big Ideas

Shane D. Hudson– @shanedhudson (Twitter)– shane@shanedhudson.com– facebook.com/sdhudson