Breakthrough Marketing:
Connecting Audiences and Art
Yukon Arts Presenters Summit
Inga Petri
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What is marketing?
• Methods and processes used to connect potential markets
with products and services
• Marketing articulates the value of products or services to
audience/target market
• Marketing is the voice of the customer inside an
organization
• Brand management, advertising, communications,
promotion, sales, web marketing, social media, media &
public relations, customer relationship management,
marketing research, insights into consumer behaviour and so
on are functions of marketing
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What successful marketing looks like
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What makes a great marketer?
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Creative
Analytical
Fearless
Focussed
Experiment-happy
Information-hungry
Narrative-oriented
Energy-filled
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Marketers in arts need to hone two mindsets
Marketing
Sales
• Value
• Optimize
revenue &
attendance
• Brand
• Relationship
• Long-term
• Discounts
• Volume (“bums
in seats”)
• A show / season
• Transaction
• Short-term
Avoid the pitfalls
of short-term
sales thinking
Avoid the pitfalls
of never asking
for the sale
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Agenda
1. What is marketing?
Done!
2. Crux of effective communications
3. Motivators and barriers to attendance
4. Purchase decision cycle
– How to lead audiences to new experiences
5. Are audiences local, territorial, outside
– Matching tactics to the right task
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My work in arts and culture
Research
Connecting
Audiences
and Brands
Marketing
Strategy
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Brookside Music
Alianait Arts Festival
National Arts Centre
Magnetic North Theatre Festival
Sistema Canada
Culture Days Ontario
CAPACOA /presenting networks
Storytellers of Canada
Ottawa Storytellers
Canadian Geographic
Canadian War Museum
Canada Dance Festival
MASC: Connecting Artists &Learning
THE CRUX OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATIONS
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What do you see?
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What creates a communication?
Message
Source
Visual
Medium
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What gets in the way of communication?
Hard-wired
brain
Gatekeepers
Selective
perception
Path of least
resistance
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Can you read this?
Aoccdrnig to a rseerach sduty at Cmabirgde
Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttear in waht oredr the
ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tinhg
is taht the frsit and lsat lrttees be in the rhgit
pcale. The rset can be a ttaol mses and you slitl
can raed it wtuhiot pbeorlm. Tihs is bcusaee
the haumn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by
istlef, but the wrod as a wolhe.
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What is a successful communication?
Precisely
delivered
Intended
message
Precisely
received
Take-away: Hallmarks of effective communications
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MOTIVATORS AND BARRIERS TO
ATTENDANCE
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Stronger
Factors of arts attendance:
The more they attend, the more they will attend
Cross-cultural
attendance
Other
performances
Visit museums,
galleries, heritage
Income
Education
Age
Weaker
Source: Factors in Canadians’ Arts Attendance in 2010 (Published Sept 2012),
Hill Strategies, based on Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey
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Our job: Hook into motivators, overcome barriers
Motivators
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Entertainment/enjoyment
Specific program/artist
Quality of production
Stimulation (emotional,
intellectual, spiritual levels)
Experience something new
Exposure to different cultures
Social opportunity
Especially if subscription:
Variety of programming
Barriers
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No time
No interest
Too expensive
Few performances/
facilities
• Hard to get to venues
Various sources including Value of Presenting - Survey of the General Public, 2012 (EKOS/CAPACOA)
www.valueofpresenting.ca
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Strategic
imperative:
Must get into
consideration set
Overcome barriers
Connect to
audience
motivations
Renewal (Repeat)
Acquisition (First timer)
Motivators and barriers play out differently
Strategic
imperative:
Reduce churn
Positive, engaged
patron evaluation
of last festival,
show
Bring inside brand
experience
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• Result (2010-11)
– Highest number of new
accounts in over 15 years
– 25.5% higher than previous
season
– Large effect for years
• 2nd year – 17% higher
• 3rd year – 16% higher
• Casual Fridays (2013-14)
– Food, wine, friends, music
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Some interesting questions
• What problem is this performance solving for the audience?
– What need is attending this season fulfilling?
– What pain is attending this festival relieving?
• What are the benefits of this particular artistic experience?
– More than the features of a performance (genre, title,
choreographer, soloists, date, time, cost)
– What will audience members get out of attending a show?
• What are your intentions in programming/curating this artistic
experience, e.g. festival or season programming – and how do
they matter to a paying audience?
• Why should audience trust that they will have a worthwhile
experience (worth their time and money)?
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PURCHASE DECISION-MAKING
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Purchase cycle
Awareness
Interest
Knowledge
Evaluate
Intent
Purchase
(Referral
/ repeat)
Most marketing focuses on awareness or closing the sale.
Still not enough attention on interim steps or influencing
post-show evaluation.
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Purchase cycle
• Raising awareness is fundamentally different from patrons
doing their research and seeking information.
– Awareness  Lead generation  Lead qualification
(Contesting; engaging without ask for purchase)
– Googling “What’s on in Whitehorse” is seeking information –
do you show up?
• Rare that it works to open and close the sale in one step
– Multiple touch points needed to prepare asking for the sale
• After-purchase/After-show care
– Continue the marketing process (relationship building) to
shape the patron’s own post-show evaluation as it is key to
future purchases.
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Consider messaging focus
• What makes a performance memorable is not necessarily
why people buy it in the first place
– Enough Familiarity needed to make buying decision
– Some Discovery and Surprise needed to make it
memorable, ie build brand/repeat purchase
• The more “experimental”, “different” or “unfamiliar”, the
more the audience wants to be assured about quality and
worthiness of experience.
• On the surface, audience is largely driven by
“entertainment”, “enjoyment”, “relaxation”
• “Artistic risk” is subjective and not that helpful in marketing
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Which cover was more effective in attracting an
audience? How?
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Lead audiences to new experiences:
Create familiarity
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Foreshadowing – even before you booked the act
Tell and build the story – early and often
Credible recommendation
Multiple exposures – longer lead times (much more online)
Create a street presence (e.g. media stunts)
Connect audience with artist
Appeal and quality of performance
Easy to attend; affordable
Sampling (“show me”)
Awareness
Interest
Knowledge
Evaluate
Intent
Purchase
(Referral
/ repeat)25
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WHERE YOUR AUDIENCES ARE
MATTERS IN TERMS OF TACTICS
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Where does your primary, secondary
audience come from?
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Local community
Territory
Outside (Canada/USA)
Overseas
Consider what you stand for and how you are communicating
that to your market and in the wider community.
Manage your brand!
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Mapping tactics to tasks
Advertising =
Awareness
Online
Marketing =
Research and
Engagement
Public and
Media
Relations =
Credible
Calendar of events
listings (free)
Website (integrated)
Community
partnerships
Street-level
(posters, street art)
Broadcast (Radio contesting;
interviews)
Printed material
(rack cards,
brochure)
Social network
marketing
Search Engine
Optimization
Search Engine
Marketing (PPC)
Cross-promotion by
venue partners
List-based
Marketing =
Relevance
Sales Process =
Purchase
Mailings
Website to ticket
buying interface
(Direct mail:
brochures, letters
or e-DMs – ask for
sale)
Venue box office briefing
staff/volunteers
Media coverage
Events
- Backstage
- Social events
Online media/blogs
- Fundraising
Grassroots
marketing at local
community events
E-newsletters incl
partners'
Word of mouth/
social media /
blogger outreach
- Opening night
Targetted
incentives, bonus
offers/ savings (e.g.
early bird festival
passes)
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Mapping tactics to tasks - Local audience / Outside
Advertising =
Awareness
Online
Marketing =
Research and
Engagement
Public and
Media
Relations =
Credible
Calendar of events
listings (free)
Website (integrated)
Community
partnerships
Street-level
(posters, street art)
Broadcast (Radio contesting;
interviews)
Printed material
(rack cards,
brochure)
Grassroots
marketing at local
community events
Social network
marketing
Search Engine
Optimization
Search Engine
Marketing (PPC)
Cross-promotion by
venue partners
Media coverage
List-based
Marketing =
Relevance
Sales Process =
Purchase
Mailings
Website to ticket
buying interface
(Direct mail:
brochures, letters
or e-DMs– ask for
sale)
Venue box office /
store locations brief staff/
volunteers
Events
- Backstage
Online media/blogs
E-newsletters incl
partners'
- Social events
Word of mouth/
social media /
blogger outreach
- Fundraising
- Opening night
Targetted
incentives, bonus
offers/ savings (e.g.
early bird festival
passes)
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Your roadmap: strategy, tactics and rationale
Paying Audience
Community
Outreach
Who (in detail)
What on offer (program,
price, packaging, venue)
Why (rationale – for program,
for target audience)
When
(schedule)
How (marketing strategy,
tactics, message)
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Get in touch
INGA PETRI
IPETRI@STRATEGICMOVES.CA
613-558-8433
WWW.STRATEGICMOVES.CA
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Conversation pieces
INTEGRATED MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
CASE STUDIES
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Links
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CAPACOA
– http://www.capacoa.ca/en/services/valueofpresenting/final-report
Canadian Geographic’s Canadian Atlas Online
– http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=performingarts&lang=En
Arts Boston Audience Initiative
– http://www.artsboston.org/page/audienceinitiative
Calgary’s crowd funding platform for arts and culture
– http://www.investyyc.com/
Concert Milk
• http://youtu.be/oM9ZRLXZBR8
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100 musicians, 50 locations, 1 concert
• http://youtu.be/0KGG8Hd0xoY
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NAC English Theatre: Metamorphoses
• http://youtu.be/NbOr15QsOUE
• http://nac-cna.ca/en/stories/series/creating-metamorphoses
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NAC English Theatre: Kim’s Convenience
– http://youtu.be/awc4sRdBgto
WolfBrown: Major University Presenters Study
– http://wolfbrown.com/insights/mup-value-a-impact-study
Hill Strategies
– http://www.hillstrategies.com/content/factors-canadians%E2%80%99-artsattendance-2010
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What is an integrated marketing/comm campaign?
• Co-ordinated use of different promotional tactics that
reinforce each other
• Marketing leverages the strength of the particular channel
• Messaging is consistent and unified across all channels
• WOW factor & emotional connection
• Results in increased impact
How do you find an audience for a 2,000-year-old,
very long poem?
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
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How do you find an audience for a Korean
immigrant story featuring generational conflict and
a corner store - that is also a comedy?
Kim’s Convenience by Ins Choi
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Sound of Music
SOM breaks NAC attendance record!
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3 extensions
34 performances
Sold out performances
$1.1 million
24,000 tickets
Revenue +89% and
Tickets +60% vs. goal
Key elements of a place brand
• Presence
– What is its status, what is it famous
for in region, nation, world
• Place
– Perception of the physical aspects
of the city.
• Potential
– Economic and educational
opportunities. Is this a good place
to find a job, grow a business, get
an education.
• Pulse
– How exciting is the place.
• People
– People make the place– how easy
is it to fit into a community, share
language and culture, feel safe.
• Prerequisites
• Residents are key to delivering on
brand promise!
• Reputation of places evolves very
slowly
– Outdated perceptions mean audience
has heard or seen nothing new
 effective communications
– A deserved poor reputation
 new policies and behaviours
• Change in brand perception mostly
due to ‘real change’ that is taking
place in the conditions, people,
opportunities in the city and to
helping key stakeholders realize and
understand such changes have taken
place
– Lifestyle qualities of the place.
Simon Anholt; Competitive Identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions. 2007
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Get in touch
INGA PETRI
IPETRI@STRATEGICMOVES.CA
613-558-8433
WWW.STRATEGICMOVES.CA
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