Marketing Plan 2016-2017 Season Subscription Campaign

Marketing Plan 2016-2017 Season Subscription Campaign

for the Portland Playhouse

CharissaHurtAAD610

Wednesday,March16,2016

Introduction

PortlandPlayhousewasfoundedin2008andoccupiesthebuildingofanoldChurch.

Mission:PortlandPlayhouseisdedicatedtoproducingquality,intimate,performancesinwhich

theinteractionbetweenartistsandaudienceisparamount.Weholdtheatretobeaspacein

whichpeopleofallsocial,economic,racial,sexualandpoliticalbackgroundscancometogether

tocelebratethecomplexityofoursharedhumanexperience.

Throughtheirshort,yetwelllived,historythePortlandPlayhousehasmanagedtomakea

strongimpactintheircommunity,andasaresulthasseentheircommunityrallyaroundthem

intheirtimesofneed.AccordingtothePortlandPlayhouse,“wecontinuetoseeknewwaysto

engagewithourneighbors,andtodeepentherelationshipbetweenwhatwedoonstageand

what’shappeninginthelivesofouraudiences”(PortlandPlayhouse,“missionandhistory,”

2014).Therefore,itisevidentthatthePortlandPlayhousehasastronglevelofsupportwithin

theircommunity.

EconomicScan

Whateconomicfactorsareinfluencingtheorganization?Trends,ChangesandConcerns:

AccordingtotheTheatreFactspublication,fortheatrecompanieswhosebudgetsare

below$1million,they“areinclinedtobemuchmorereliantoncontributedincome,

particularlyfoundation,federalandlocalgovernmentsupport”(TheatreFacts,2014,p.5)and

theyexperience“farlowersubscriptionandsingleticketincomerelativetoexpensesthanthe

industryaverage”(TheatreFacts,2014,p.5).Thesecompaniesputmoreoftheirresourcesinto

artisticpayrollandoverheardcosts(TheatreFacts,2014,p.5).However,unlikemostsmall

theatrecompanies,Corribtheatre,however,doesnot“offercomparativelyfewproductions

annuallyandoperatewithpositiveworkingcapital,”butinstead,offersfewproductionsand

operateswithanegativeworkingcapital(TheatreFacts,2014,p.5).

Inexaminingtheir990’sforthepastthreeyears,thePortlandPlayhouseisfinancially

stableandisseeingeconomicgrowthbothintheirrevenue,andintheirexpenses.Theirmost

recent990,from2014,reportsatotalincomeof$807,624,whichisanincreasefrom2013

wheretheyhad$678,085inrevenue,and2012,wheretheyhad$471,282inrevenue.Their

revenueissplitfairlyeveningbetweendonationsandgrants,andprogramservicerevenue.The

programservicerevenueincludestheirticketsales,whichfor2014weretotaledat$309,035.

Thisshowsthattheyareabletoselltheirshowsfairlywellandhaveastrongrevenuebasefrom

ticketsales.This,therefore,showsthattheyhaveastrongaudiencethatislikelytorespond

welltoaseasonsubscriptioncampaign.

DemographicScan

AccordingtotheUnitedStatesCensusdata,thePopulationofPortlandasofApril1,

2010was583,789.Theestimateforthe2014populationwas619,360.Ofthepopulationof

Portland,76.1%areCaucasian,andthesecondhighestreportedethnicityisHispanicorLatino

at9.4%.Portlandhasahighrateofimmigrantscomparedwiththerestofthestate(13.8%vs

9.8%)andasaresult,theyhaveahigherpercentageofthepopulationthatspeaksalanguage

otherthanEnglishathome.Interestingly,too,theyalsohaveahighlyeducatedpopulation

(43.8%ofthepopulationhasabachelor’sdegreeorhighercomparedtotherateof29.7%at

thestatelevel.Portlandhasahomeownershipratethatislowerthanthestatelevel,whichis

indicativeofatransienttypeofcommunityandacommunityinwhichrentalratesarehigh

(UnitedStatesCensus,“QuickFacts,”2010).

Accordingtothe2012SurveyofPublicParticipationintheArts,non-musicalplayshave

thelowestpercentageofparticipants.Thesurveyindicatesthatsince2008,thepercentageof

participantshavenotonlydecreasedinnon-musicalplays,butalsoinmusicalplays.15.2%of

adultsattendedatleastonemusicalplayin2012,whileonly8.3%ofadultsattendedatleast

onenonmusicalplayin2012(SurveyofPublicParticipationintheArts,2012,p.16).Thisisa

significantdecreasefornonmusicalplaysfrom12.3%participationin2002to8.3%

participationin2012(p.16).Furthermore,thesurveyindicatesthatofthosewhoattendnon-

musicalplays,themajorityareCaucasian(10.1%),andover55(SPPA,2012,p.17).Inaddition,

themajorityofthosewhoattendnon-musicalplay(20%),hadattainedagraduateleveldegree

(SPPA,2012,p.17).ThisisaninterestingcorrelationwiththeCensusdataforthePortlandarea

thatidentifiesahighproportionofPortlandresidentsashavingobtainedagraduatelevel

degree.

PortlandPlayhouseseekstotargetadiverseaudience.TheUSCensusdatashowsthat

thecityofPortlandhasthehighestrateofimmigrantscomparedtotherestofthestate.Asa

resultofthisdata,itisevidentthattherearediverseaudienceswaitingtobecultivatedin

Portland.However,themajorityofpatronsattendinganon-musicalplayareCaucasian,and

this,therefore,presentsachallengeforthePortlandPlayhousetoengagewithotheraudiences

andtobreakthestereotype.

CulturalScan

Furthermore,Portlandisacitythatisfilledwithartsrelatedactivities.Forthem,not

havingabuildinghasn’tbeentoomuchofaproblemsincetheyhavebeenabletoproducetheir

showsatlocaltheatresaroundtownsuchastheCohoorthePortlandActorsConservatory

Theatre.However,thismeansthatthereisalotofcompetitionforthemtoconsiderwhen

creatingamarketingplanandstrategy.

SWOCAnalysis

ProductStrengths

• Theyprovideauniqueandpersonableproduct

• Seektopresentaculturallydiverseproduct

• Intimateperformancespacethatengagestheaudienceandconnectsthemwiththe

performers

Weaknesses

• Lackofbrandingwithproduct

• Lackofunificationwithshowsthatareproducedinaseason

• Convolutedseasonticketpackagethatisdifficulttofind

Opportunities

• Unifyshowsthroughseasonannouncements

• Reallyrevitalizeseasonticketingtogeneratemoreawareness

Challenges

• Alotoftheirplaysarenewer,therefore,gettingtheattentionandsupportofan

audiencecanbedifficult.

Price

Strengths

• ComparedtoothertheatrecompaniesintheareaPortlandPlayhouse’spricesareon

par

• Seasonticketholdersreceivea30%discountoffoftickets

• Easyaccesstoticketpurchasingonwebsite

Weaknesses

• Seasonticketpurchasingisn’twelladvertised

• Theyhavedifferentseatingsections,butticketpricesdon’tvaryfortheseatingsections

• Nostudentorseniorticketpricing

Opportunities

• Diversifyticketpricingbasedonseatingareas

• Addinseniorandstudentticketpricestoattractotheraudiences

Challenges

• Ticketpricesarealreadysodiverse(weekdays,weekend,opening,preview,etc.)

PlaceStrengths

• UniquevenuelocatedinaChurch

• Small,intimatespacepromotesengagingtheatreperformances

Weaknesses

• Drivingpast,youmightnotknowit’satheatre

• Locatedinaresidentialareawhereparkingislimitedtostreetparking

Opportunities

• Increaseoutdoorsignagetopromotevisibility

• Sinceitisaresidentialarea,thereistheopportunitytoengagethecommunityinthe

workthatthetheatreisdoingandtocometothecommunityforimmediatesupport

Challenges

• Parkinginaresidentialareawherethereisalreadylimitedstreetparkingprovesa

challengeforpatrons

• Isolatedfromthedowntownarea,soitcouldbedifficulttopartnerwithotherarts

organizations

Promotion

Strengths

• StrongpresenceonFacebookandsocialmedia

• Goodfollowingonsocialmediawithvariouslevelsofinteraction

• Differentsocialmediachannelsthatarebeingkeptuptodate

Weaknesses

• Websitecouldusesomecleaningupsoitiseasiertofollowandfindinformation

• Blogtabisn’taccessibleorkeptuptodate

• Seasonsubscriptionsarepromotedwellonsocialmediaortheirwebsite

Opportunities

• Makewebsitemoreaccessible

• Integratetheblogportionofthewebsiteintosocialmediaandotheraspectsof

marketing

• Highlightseasonsubscriptions

Challenges

• Limitedstaffing,therecurrentlyisn’tastaffpersondedicatedtomarketing

• Updatingablogregularlyisalotofwork,andwithlimitedstaffingitposesasignificant

challenge

CurrentMessaging

Sinceitsfoundingin2008,PortlandPlayhousehasbuiltastrongbrandforitselfon

socialmediasitessuchasFacebook,andInstagram.TheirFacebookhastransformedfrom

somethingthatlacksprofessionalismandconsistency,toaFacebookpagewithconsistentposts

andthatcreatescontent.However,thereisstillroomtocreatecontentandcuratecontentthat

drawstheonlookerbackintothemissionoftheorganization.PortlandPlayhousedoesagreat

joboftellinguswhattheyaredoing,buttheycandomoretobrandtheirworkandmarketitto

theirvariousaudiences.

Currently,theydohaveaseasonsubscriptionoption,however,itisnotwelladvertised

andthatisoneareainwhichtheycouldstrengthentheirmarketingandunitetheshowsin

theirseasoninordertogivetheirpatronsastrongsenseofwhatisbeingprovidedandwhat

optionsareoutthere.

MarketingPlanAsaresultofthisneed,IproposeaseasonsubscriptionmarketingplanforPortlandPlayhouse.

Thismarketingplanisbasedonanexperientialmarketingstrategythatwillbrandtheseason

withacommonthemeandidentitytodrawuponformarketingpurposes.Thehopeisthatby

marketingastrongandunifiedseasonandputtinganidentifiableseasonsubscriptionpackage

outthere,thatwillnotonlyallowthestaffofPortlandPlayhousetoanticipatehowmany

patronsarecomingtotheirshows,andplantheindividualmarketingeffortsforeachshow

accordingly,butalsoexpandtheiraudiencebeyondtheareaofNorthEastPortland,byatfirst

attractingtheirregularpatrons,thenfocusingtheirmarketingeffortsonotherareasof

Portland.Thebenefitofaseasonsubscriptionisthatitprovidesaudienceswhowouldn’t

normallyparticipateinaparticulareventwithanincentivetodoso,becausetheyreceive

discountedticketsforanentireseasonandhavethoseticketspurchasedaheadoftime,

accordingtoyourschedule,andthereforehavehadfirstpickatseatsbeforesalesgopublic.

Strategies

Asmentioned,theseasonsubscriptionmarketingplanisframedaroundanexperiential

marketingstrategywiththeideaofpullingcommonthemesfromeachoftheplays.Asaresult,

varioustaglinesthatattractspecificaudiencesandcausethemtoidentifywiththeseasonand

thepieces.

Experientialmarketing,bydefinition,isausefulstrategytogenerateinterestinabrand

orproduct.Whencreatinganexperientialmarketingstrategy,itisimportantforthe

organizationtokeepinmindnotonlythetypeofexperiencethattheproducthastooffer,but

alsowhytheaudiencemightbeinterestedinthatexperienceandproduct.This“requiresthat

theorganizationsystematicallystudycustomers’needsanddesires,perceptionsandattitudes,

preferencesandconcerns”(Bernstein,2014,p.50).Furthermore,theexperientialaspectsofa

product“meettheconsumer’sneedtoconstructanidentity”(Turi&Brunet,2009,p.75).

Theseneedscanbethebenefitsthatacustomerseeksfromattendingandevent(Bernstein,

2014,p.61).Or,theycanbethesocialfactorsthatacustomerseeksfromanevent(Bernstein,

2014,p.62).Byinvestigatingtheseneedsandincludingtheminamarketingplan,the

organizationcanutilizetheexperientialaspectofaproducttoaugmentwhatitisofferingtoa

customer(ROMp.75).Asaresultofthis,“Itisimportantforartsmanagerstoalwayskeepin

mindthattheorganization’ssuccessisafunctionofthethoughtsandemotionsthetarget

patronsattachtotheorganizationanditsofferings”(Bernstein,2014p.50)

Experientialmarketingisasignificantfactorinartsbasedmarketing.Withthis

marketingtechnique,marketersfocusonmarketingtheexperiencethatthepotentialpatron

willbeapartofandhowthatwillaffectthem.Experientialmarketingisoftenusedtoattract

audiencesandpatrons.Furthermore,withtheadventofnewtechnologiesthewaythatwe

experiencemarketinghasshifted.Weexperienceasenseofbeing“constantlyconnected”

(Nanseletal,2009,p.187)

Therefore,itisthehopethatbyframingtheseasontroughanexperientialmarketing

strategy,thePortlandPlayhouse’saudienceswillfeelconnectedtotheseasonanddrivento

becomeaseasonsubscriber.

Proposed2016-2017Season

Belowisaproposedsetofplaysforthe2016-2017seasonforPortlandPlayhousefor

thepurposesofthismarketingplan.

PlaylandbyAtholFugard

100SaintsYouShouldKnowbyKateFodor

MarionBridgebyDanielMacIvor

Lettice&LovagebyPeterShaffer

Eachoftheseplaysdealswithsomesortofpersonalgrowthandpersonalrelationship.They

coverfamilyproblems,friendissues,andracialtensions.Therefore,potentialtaglinesforthe

seasonmightinclude:

“Loss&Belonging”

“Recovery&Healing”

“Friendship&Tragedy”

MarketingMethods

Theproposedmethodsforthe2016-2017seasonsubscriptionmarketingplaninclude:

• Facebook

• DirectMail

• Email

Eachofthesestrategiesislinkedbytheexperientialmarketingstrategy,andwiththesame

launchdate(whentheseasonisannounced)inordertogeneratethehighestlevelsofattention

andexcitementpossible.

Facebook

TheFacebookstrategyismeanttobeintegratedintocurrentFacebookmarketing

strategies.Theideaistoreachouttothecurrentaudienceandtoharnessenthusiasmoverthe

comingseasonandtocreateunitywithintheseason.

DirectMail

ThismethodisthemethodthatwillrequirethemosttimeandeffortforPortland

Playhouse.However,itcouldachievethehighestreturnoninvestmentsincepeoplearestill

likelytorespondtosomethingthatisphysicallytangible(Worth,2016,p.150).

Email

LikewiththeFacebookstrategy,theideaisthatmarketingforthe2016-2017season

canbeseamlesslyincludedintomonthlyemailupdates.Phrasesmightinclude“don’tforget

aboutourfabulous2016-2017season!”“Hereare10reasonswhyYOUshouldbeasubscriber,”

“HaveYOUpurchasedyourseasonticketsyet?”“Purchaseyourseasonticketsnowandreceive

anextra15%discount!”(Referencetoearlybirdsubscriberproposition.Detailsbelow).

AddedIncentivestoMotivatePatronstoSubscribe

Furthermore,inordertoprovideanincentiveforpatronstopurchaseseasontickets,

thePortlandPlayhousecanofferanearlybirdsubscriptiondeadlinewhereifpatronspurchase

theirseasonticketsbyacertaindate,theycanreceiveanadditional15%offoftheirtickets.

Tohelptobuildandexpandtheiraudience,thePortlandPlayhousecanoffertheoption

forseasonticketholderstobringafriendtoashow(afriendwhohasneverbeentotheir

theatre)asanaddedoptiontotheirseasonsubscriptionpackage.

Moreover,forthosewhosefirsttimeitiscomingtothePortlandPlayhouse,theycan

opttoentertowintwoticketstothenextproduction,asawayofpromotingtheircontinued

patronage.Aswell,totrackhowmanyfollowersandpatronsareclickingonthelinktothe

seasonsubscriptionpage,thestaffatPortlandPlayhousecanusebit.lytonotonlyshortenthe

url,buttogainanunderstandingofwhattheresponseistothenewmarketingstrategy.

SampleTimelineforthePromotionofthe2016-2017SeasonandSeasonSubscriptionOptions.

April30,2016

Announcenewseason!

• PostSeasonplays,dates,andposterdesignsonFacebook

o Highlightseasonsubscriptionopportunitiesandprovidealinktothewebsite

o MakeitclearthatthedeadlineforearlyseasonticketpurchasingisAugust15.

• Sendoutemailtoallmembers,previouspatrons,volunteers,etc.

o Announcenewseasonintheemail

o Highlightseasonsubscriptionopportunitiesandprovideinformationonhowto

purchaseseasonticketsaswellasalinktowheretopurchasethem.

• SendDirectMailwithseasonsubscriptionpackage

o Includeaseasonbrochurewithinformationoneachshow,includingdates

o Includeinformationonhowtopurchaseseasontickets,includinganaddressed

envelopeinwhichaudiencescanmailacheque.

May15,2016

• PostonFacebookaboutPlaylandbyAtholFugard

o Postanimageoftheposterfortheshow

o Addashortteaserdescriptionfortheshow

o Providealinktopurchaseseasontickets

May31,2016

• Sendoutamonthlyemailupdate,incorporateintotheupdateashortpieceabout

Playland,byAtholFugardandinformationonhowtopurchaseseasontickets

June15,2016

• PostonFacebookabout100SaintsYouShouldKnowbyKateFodor


o Addashortteaserdescriptionfortheshow,excitesocialmediaaudiencesabout

theshowbyprovidingearlydetailsaboutwhowillbeinvolved


June30,2016

• Sendoutamonthlyemailupdate,incorporateintotheupdateashortpieceabout100

SaintsYouShouldKnowbyKateFodorandinformationonhowtopurchaseseason

tickets

July15,2016

• PostonFacebookaboutMarionBridgebyDanielMacIvor


o Addashortteaserdescriptionfortheshow,includeinformationaboutthe

playwright


o ***Remindaudiencesthattheyhaveamonthbeforetheearlybirdsubscription

deadlinecloses.Highlighttheperksthatcomewithearlybirdticketpurchasing.

July31,2016


MarionBridgebyDanielMacIvorandinformationonhowtopurchaseseasontickets

• Includereminderaboutearlybirddeadlineforseasonsubscriptionpackages

August15,2016

• PostonFacebookaboutLetticeandLovagebyPeterShaffer


o Addashortteaserdescriptionfortheshow


o Includereminderthatitisthelastdayforearlybirdseasonticketpackages

August31,2016


LetticeandLovagebyPeterShafferandinformationonhowtopurchaseseasontickets

• Mentionthateventhoughtheearlybirddeadlinehaspassed,thereisstilltimeto

purchaseseasontickets(untilSeptember31!)

September15,2016

• FacebookandEmail

o PostonFacebookandsendoutanemailstatinghowexcitedeveryoneisforthe

startofthe2016-2017season,andthataudienceshaveuntiltheendofthe

monthtopurchaseseasonticketsandbeapartoftheexperience

Implementation

PortlandPlayhousecurrentlydoesn’thaveaspecificstaffmemberinchargeof

marketing,however,theyaredoingagreatjobofupdatingtheirsocialmediaplatformsand

engagingtheiraudiences.Theideabehindthismarketingstrategyisthatthemajorityofthe

languageandphrasingcanbecuratedduringtheseasonplanningprocess.Furthermore,the

socialmediaposts,andemailingcaneasilybeintegratedintothecurrentsocialmediaposts.

Therefore,themainideabehindthismarketingstrategyisthatitcanbeseamlesslyintegrated

intocurrentmarketingmethods.Thebulkoftheeffort,therefore,wouldbeplaceduponthe

audienceservicesmanagerinkeepingtrackofsalesandhowtheaudiencesarerespondingto

thenewmarketingefforts.Torepresenttheprocess,aninfographichasbeenputtogetherand

canbefoundonthenextpage.

InfographicforSeasonSubscriptionProcess

DesiredOutcome

ThegoalbehindthemarketingstrategyisforthePortlandPlayhousetoultimately

createmoreawarenesssurroundingtheirseasonandtheshowsthatareapartofit.Aspartof

the2016-2017seasonmarketingplan,itisthehopethattherewillbemoreunitytotheseason

andthatthePortlandPlayhousecancreateaplatformwherepatronscanlookforwardto

shows,andlookbackonwhichshowswereperformedintheseason.Furthermore,thegoalis

thatthePortlandPlayhousewillhaveabetterestimateofhowmanyticketsaresellingforeach

showgoingintotheseasonandwillbeabletoconcentratetheirmarketingeffortsforthe

showsaccordingly.Lastly,thegoalisthatthe2016-2017seasonsubscriptioncampaignwill

allowthePortlandPlayhousetoexpandtheiraudiencesbeyondtheNortheastareaofPortland

sinceseasonticketsoftenprovideanincentiveforpatronstogoseeshowsthattheynormally

wouldn’t.

Evaluation

Theseasonsubscriptionmarketingstrategywillbeevaluatedusingthefollowing

methods:

60%responserate(audiencesengagingwiththecontentandclickingonthelinks)

50%ofseasonticketsalescomefromearlybirdsales

20%ofseasonticketholdersarebringingnewfriends

15%ofnewaudiencemembersarecontinuingtocomeseeshows

Itisthehopethatthroughcontinuedefforts,thesenumberscanincreaseandthenew

audienceswillbecomeregularaudiences.Asaresult,PortlandPlayhousewillbeabletoexpand

itsaudiencesandreach.

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