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Wed, January 21, 2009
Over the past quarter, we ran a survey online that aimed to dive deeper into theatergoers’ behavior and preferences online. While there is a lot of information we took from the research, I pulled out two specific focuses of the research that I think many of you would find interesting. The first bit of information surrounds social networking and usage by website and age group. In short, is it just younger audiences connecting through social networks and which social network do they actually prefer – MySpace or Facebook? The second bit of information is on text messaging usage by age group. The real issue we were trying to understand here was do older audiences feel comfortable text messaging.
Before I share the data, here are a few important points about the survey. We had a little over 1,250 surveys completed in full. We offered no incentive for those to complete it and it ran across a variety of Broadway show websites along with email lists to past ticket buyers. The surveys were completed in October through December of 2008.
Onward with the information…
Social Networking Usage of Theatergoers
The first bit of research I wanted to share was some information we learned on the social networking front. Social networking, particularly Facebook, is a very hot topic right now and will continue to be over the next year. So, we wanted to dive in and see what actual ticket buyers are doing in the social networking space.
When we asked the 1,250 folks, “Are you part of a social networking website such as MySpace or Facebook?”, 45.3% answered “Yes” while 54.7% said “No.” Interesting, huh? Well, let’s make it a lot more interesting by looking at the age breakdown by usage.
Social Networking Usage by Age
18-24 years old (95.3%)
25-34 years old (71.1%)
35-44 years old (48%)
45-54 years old (30.5%)
55-64 years old (21%)
So, before I continue, let’s keep in mind that these percentages are most likely higher than the ‘average person’ because these people are completing the survey online (meaning they are more online savvy to begin with). With that being said, these numbers pretty much paint a direct correlation by age and usage of social networks. No major surprise to me here – but, the big question you must ask yourself is if the usage percents are high enough to justify you using investing in participating in the social nets in a way that justifies the expense. When I say expense, I mean the time, commitment and actual costs that are required to have a meaningful presence.
Finally, one more bit of research that I think you’ll find interesting on this topic. When asked which social network that they used, a whopping 83.4% said Facebook with MySpace coming in a far second at 37.6%. There was nothing even close after that and we listed at least another ten so-called popular social networking platforms.
Beware of the hype surrounding social networking – it’s the Wild West right now as there are a lot of false promises and, quite frankly, ‘scare tactics’ that your brand needs to be on Facebook. The reality is, your marketing plan and goals will determine that – not hype. Know “the what” you are getting into first and fully understand “the why” before jumping in – I’ve seen it backfire in a bad way if you don’t.
Text Messaging Usage of Theatergoers
You know my stance on mobile marketing, so I couldn’t possibly offer up some research that didn’t include data on mobile marketing. When asked, “Other than making phone calls, which of the following do you use your cell phone for?” take a look at the % of respondents by age that say they use their phone for text messaging.
Text Messaging Usage By Age
18-24 years old (92.3%)
25-34 years old (84.9%)
35-44 years old (81.3%)
45-54 years old (69.5%)
55-64 years old (52.4%)
So, it’s not just kids text messaging. The bigger question here is which mobile marketing concept/application makes the most sense for which age group. I have my hunches here based on campaign performance we’ve been seeing as of late, but want to do more research to try and support those hunches.
I hope you found this helpful. There was a lot of other interesting information we have from the survey which we will be talking about in client meetings over the coming weeks. We will have (what I think will be) even more interesting data to share next quarter as we expand our research efforts. If there are specific issues or research you would like to see from us, please don’t hesitate to send me a note. Your feedback is helpful.
Thu, August 03, 2006
Here is some very interesting information we came across that looks closer at the demographics of the typical mass transit user. This isn't focused specifically on New York City transit but it points out how the typical mass transit user is a prime propsect for marketers. First, they are highly 'connected' via a mobile device and second they are 'out and about' where they can visit a point-of-purchase.
Consider these statistics:
- Subway riders are 93 percent more likely than the average consumer in subway cities to plan to purchase an MP3 player
- Subway riders are 48 percent more likely than the average consumer in cities with subway systems to own a PDA.
- Subway riders are 27 percent more likely than other consumers in subway markets to have spent $2,500 or more on Internet purchases during the past year.
In addition, subway riders are:
- 39 percent more likely than all consumers in subway markets to be ages 18-34
- 15 percent more likely to have an annual household income of $150k or more
- 75 percent more likely to be African-American
- 58 percent more likely to be Hispanic
- 45 percent more likely than other consumers in subway markets to have taken three or more domestic air trips during the past year
- 32 percent more likely to have eaten in a fast food restaurant six or more times during the past month
Read more here.
Wed, July 12, 2006
Over the past year, we've presented the case of "why" and "how" to use MySpace.com as part of your overall marketing plan. Well, we now have some news that you should be clearly aware of before creating a MySpace for your next show. At any point in time, MySpace can delete your account without warning. We've had this happen twice over the past two months to two different accounts. One account was named after one of the characters of the show while the other was set-up to represent an entire production.
We spoke to our advertising contact at MySpace.com and he could do nothing to fix the situation. In short, if we had paid for an ad campaign on MySpace for the accounts that had been deleted, this wouldn't have been an issue. Just an FYI, campaigns don't come cheap on MySpace and aren't exactly a fit for the typical theatregoer.
The days of using MySpace as a commercial vehicle at no cost may rapidly be coming to an end.
If you have a MySpace now that you set-up for no cost, please beware that you could wake-up one morning and see it gone with the following email in your inbox from MySpace. It's important to stress that if they want to remove your MySpace account, you receive no warning - simply an email saying it's been deleted and that it can't be reinstated.
Hello,
MySpace has deleted your profile because we received a credible complaint of your violation of the MySpace Terms of Services.
Prohibited activity includes, but is not limited to:
-Any automated use of the system, such as using scripts and/or bots to add friends, send messages, etc.
-For band and filmmaker profiles, MySpace prohibits sexually suggestive imagery or any other unfair, misleading or deceptive content intended to draw traffic to the profile.
-MySpace also investigates credible complaints of copyright/trademark infringement and will delete any materials that infringe upon the intellectual property rights of third parties.
For a more thorough list of prohibited content/activity, please refer to the MySpace Terms of Service located at the bottom of MySpace.com.
If we delete your account, it cannot be reinstated.
Thank you,
MySpace.com
Wed, July 05, 2006
I think it's fair to say that we have all come across online advertising that is just completely annoying. Whether it's the pop-up ad that freezes your computer or the loud audio banner that starts playing when you least expect it. A majority of the major publishers now have stricter ad formats that cut back a little on the annoying elements in ad units but it's clear that not all have gone far enough.
Here are a few of the key points the author highlighted when creating online ad units:
- Do not allow ads to interrupt important user tasks such as using navigation or reading content-- under any circumstances
- Avoid too-good-to-be-true offers
- Control the rate of animation
Be sure to read the complete article which offers another seven points that you should certainly consider when creating you next set of ad units.
Click here to read more.
Mon, June 12, 2006
As stated on numerous occasions, we are not crazy about the 'movie' and 'theater' industry analogies. When you really think about it, it's comparing apples to oranges.
With that said, they do spend boat loads of money and are always trying new things on the web. We found this article that talks about some recent campaigns and what they feel is working and what is not.
Click here to read more.
Mon, June 05, 2006
How will Broadway expand it's wings into the highly lucrative 25-35 year market of young urban professionals? The answer is proving to be not that simple.
Advertising to this market on a typical Broadway budget is not a feasible option to expect a real impact on sales. I would assume securing feature placements in the press in a non 'this-is-a-theater-piece-change-the-page' way is a difficult task. And, promotions, while they can build awareness... really aren't there to drive sales.
At the end of the day, I think it's fair to say that "theater" as a form of entertainment really isn't on the radar of the 25-35 year old market.
As many of you know, we have been reaching out to this market through our 'Situation List'. It's simply a list of influential NY based bloggers which we invite in to see shows with the hopes that they write about them.
Well, we offer FREE tickets for the BEST seats in the house for a range of performances to these writers and sometimes only get 20% of them taking us up on the offer.
If you can't give away house seats for a performance that they can select... you know there is a serious disconnect.
We came across this article of how Dodge took to the web to try and reach this demographic. Two things to notice:
1) They created a product that specifically addresses the need of the 25-35 year old market.
2) They didn't just use advertising - they used branded content as a driving force in their campaign.
Click here to read the case study.
Tue, February 14, 2006
Picture this scenario.
The Johnson's are from out-of-town and visiting New York City. They are walking past your theatre and see a large plasma screen in the front of the theatre. The screen displays an invitation to be ‘remote controlled' from a cell phone to learn more about your show.
The Johnson's dial the number on the screen. They hear a voice prompt on their cell phone say “Press the key on your phone that corresponds with an item of interest on the screen”. Simultaneously, the screen displays animated instructions showing how to browse the content. For example, they can press 1 on their cell phone keypad to see a video about the show, or press 2 to see what the critics have said about the show. They can also press the # key at any time to be connected with Telecharge with additional questions they may have.
It's already being done in other industries. Could theatre be next?
Click here to read the story.
Tue, January 17, 2006
What is the discount price that tips prospects into paying customers? There is no blanket answer to this question but there are trends we see in response rates that we believe can help us maximize our marketing efforts. Months back, we tested a campaign for a Broadway musical and wanted to share some of our findings that could help shed some light when formulating your next discount ticket offer.
Click here to read more.
Thu, December 15, 2005
In a very interesting move that has the search marketing industry buzzing, Bill Gates has announced the idea of paying users who search the web using a Microsoft search engine. This isn't a new concept (i.e., iWon.com) but could help Microsoft take a piece of Google's dominance.
While we currently spend ad dollars with MSN, if this picks up any serious steam we will consider shifting even more of the budget towards their direction. We will keep you posted.
Click here to read more.
Tue, December 06, 2005
What if there was an application on your computer (AOL IM-like) that alerted you of Broadway ticket news? This could be on-sale announcements, discount tickets, etc.
It potentially is more effective than email because only Broadway messages are filtered through this application.
Well, the travel industry is doing it and says it's working well for them. We are looking into this now to see what's possible on the Broadway front.
Here is the article:
"A NEW STUDY BY COMPETE, Inc. concludes that desktop marketing applications can drive travel sales.
The study, expected to be released today, examined Southwest Airlines' desktop tool Ding!, launched in February and downloaded almost 1 million times as of October.
Southwest Airlines is not a Compete client and didn't sponsor the study, said Compete Senior Associate Gregory Saks--although, he added, the Compete sales team likely has had discussions with Southwest (and other travel suppliers) about becoming a client in the future. Southwest sends promotions straight to the desktops of consumers with Ding! The study found that Ding! users are 45 percent more likely to book through Southwest than non-users.
Compete's analysis of some of the leading loyalty programs in the lodging sector found that the travel shopping behaviors of hotel rewards program users are nearly identical to non-users. Rewards program members evaluate 5.9 supplier or agency sites, just slightly less than the 6.3 sites considered for a non-member. What's more, some programs were found to have no effect at all.
Compete attributes the rise to the ease of comparing prices and amenities online. "Travel suppliers have traditionally turned to rewards programs to create and maintain loyalty," Gregory Saks, senior associate at Compete, said in the report. "Yet today, with nearly every brand offering its own program, and consumers seeing less differentiation, it is clear that marketers need to look beyond just rewards to maintain strong customer relationships."
Fri, December 02, 2005
From what I've read about this new New York Times campaign, as a Broadway marketer, I would like to extend a warm thank you to the folks at the Times for running this campaign.
I think this is a great grassroots way to put Broadway as a whole in front of everyday New Yorkers. It goes to the point of making Broadway more accessible - which in the end I think we all wish would happen.
There isn't a link to more info about this story so I'm copying and pasting what the article said. (Thank you Media Post)
"The Times is launching a month-long "Get Closer to Broadway Every Day with The New York Times" promotion tomorrow. Events will include live performances by Broadway singers in the Times Square and Grand Central subway stations; a branded (S) train featuring a trompe l'oeil interior painted to resemble a Broadway theater complete with chandelier; advertising on the Shubert Alley billboard as well as on Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road commuter trains; and a game card promotion offering chances to win Broadway tickets and gift certificates to area stores.
A baby grand piano will be brought into the subway (this, I'll have to see) to accompany the singers as they entertain commuters with transit-themed Broadway show tunes such as "42nd Street," "The Trolley Song," "Chattanooga Choo Choo," and "Take the A Train." To support the campaign, the Times will run print house ads and radio spots on WQXR, WCBS, WPLJ, WRKS, WKTU, Clear Channel and Metro Traffic radio. Anomaly created the campaign promoting the Times ' theater coverage. The ads promoting the Broadway Gift Card instant-win and the wrapped shuttle train were created by The New York Times Marketing Services Group."
Thu, November 17, 2005
Well, since it's launch of a paid subscription service, NYTimes.com has signed on 135,000 new paid subscribers for their TimesSelect program. This is a strong sign towards a successful path for The New York Times Online and may set the way for many others to jump to a paid model.
While this doesn't directly affect the arts and entertainment sections online today, their paid model is something we should all keep an eye on.
Click here to read more.
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