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Thu, January 22, 2009
I don’t know about you – but I’m excited for 2009. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been speaking with the best and brightest marketers in the industry (see below) and I have the feeling that most folks are actually more optimistic that one would think for 2009.
Sure, the economy sucks – so what? There is nothing you or I can do to change that and if we spend time trying to deny it, fix it or toss and turn in our sleep about it (ok, a few times), then next year is going to suck too.
There is a one major reason I see to be optimistic for what 2009 will bring – that is, there is a new sense of urgency that will bring action to key issues in our industry.
You know that big elephant in the room (we all have one) – that big marketing issue that you’ve been meaning to address. Whether it’s concern over broker commissions, issues with retaining your subscribers, frustration packaging shows with add-ons, this is the year you can address and overcome major issues you’ve had in the past. This isn’t meant to be an emotional pep-talk – without question, the market conditions over the next year will create a new tone from many players in the live event industry – more flexible vendors, better media rates, more collaboration between companies.
This is the year that removes excuses, delays and reasons to put off big problems for later – with hardship comes a new found focus, a “sense of urgency” for positive change.
We are only three weeks into the New Year and we can already see exciting changes! To start, both Telecharge and Ticketmaster are making exciting new enhancements to their website that will make our customers have a better buying experience. We have already met with new media partners this year who miraculously are saying “yes!” to things they once said “no way!” too. And, oh yeah, we have a new President.
There is no room for naysayers – optimism will be the critical ingredient to innovation in ’09. Don’t just take my word for it – I asked a sampling of super-smart marketing folks in New York and Las Vegas on their reasons to be optimistic in 2009.
Here’s what they told me in no particular order:
“First, with a new president, even one facing ENORMOUS challenges, comes a great sense of hope and optimism. His youth alone will feel like a breath of fresh air, and he is steeped in current social and cultural trends, such as making the country more green and more e-friendly, which will quicken our embrace of modernity. We will also see what is now an inevitable trend towards more online activity, which I feel is good for the arts and theatre, particular the live arts. We already gather communities of people every night who have at least one thing in common--they all want to see that show on that night, so we just need to continue to find ways to keep them captivated. We are gathering them in a live, not virtual setting, but the virtual world can support this, and I feel with change in the air we will continue down the path of connectivity. All of that being said, however, the horizon for now does not look encouraging, but at least we are on the cusp of welcoming new, energized leadership while the rest of us feel drained.”
- Harold Wolpert, Managing Director, Roundabout Theatre Company
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“The reasons to be optimistic are fundamentally because we have no choice - any other way of thinking is only self defeating, un-motivating, and depressing. We honestly don't know what's going to happen, so we need to do our best and beat the shit out of our competition.:)”
- Carol Chiavetta, Vice-President of Marketing and Press, Blue Man Group Productions
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“Some good news? Gloom and doom stories seem to be the only thing interesting the press right now. But the fact remains: we are going to see a Broadway season unlike any other in recent years. Major stars doing plays in limited engagements. Yes, the economy may be in trouble and no one knows just how all of this will play out. But for now, let's focus on what is good: Major names coming to Broadway to star in smart, sophisticated, tough, timely, interesting, though-provoking PLAYS. That gives me hope.”
- Chris Boneau, Partner, Boneau Bryan-Brown
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“With the on-going negative chatter about our economic climate and the live entertainment marketplace I have every reason to be optimistic in 2009 as our team will tackle the challenges head-on and utilize new technology from social media, mobile marketing and web opportunities to conquer new frontiers to increase visibility and enhance value.”
- Jordan Fiksenbaum, Vice-President of Marketing and Public Relations, Cirque du Soleil, RSD
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"My thoughts -
• Labor gains for all - we have smarter deals with the unions that benefit all, and will really help the web and broadcast, hopefully keeping every show running longer.
• Competitive pricing of vendors - some partners are getting the message that prices must re-adjust - seeing some flexibility in print as well as outdoor buys. Radio also showing a willingness to get in the boat with us and help row.
• Quality sells - a quality show is still a quality show. This fall, in the midst of the supposed economic Armageddon, we saw Boeing-Boeing, The Seagull and In The Heights pay back, and Billy and Shrek launch to strong advances(really strong actually) and sell large quantities of tickets.
• Variable pricing - direct mail is working again. I know there are some in the industry who struggle with discounting. But what has happened over the last 5 years is variable ticket pricing, and a market correction of sorts. Any show now has a $25 student ticket, a $40 TKTS ticket for rear mezzanine, a $59/$65 ticket for previews on direct mail, an $80 full price balcony seat, a $110 to $125 orchestra prime seat, and a $250 premium seat. And we need consumers to know that there is a price for them, as well as reward (no need for waiting in line, preplanning) that matches that price. Sometimes I think our toughest problem currently is we are delivering almost the same value at $75 as we do at $125. Madison Square Garden does not have this problem. But it's an asset for consumers.
which leads me to...
“Broadway is a value - we cannot continue to set ourself up as a luxury good. Consumers are willing to spend dollars on experiences that they consider part of a life well lived, even if that price is substantial. Think skiing, or wine, even fine kitchen and entertainment systems and how the perception of those products has changed to the average household over the last 20 years. Conversely, if you think of what we do as an elite splurge, we are in danger of being seen as an "irresponsible purchase" as one client put it, particularly in tough times like these. We must remind people that we are a unifying experience, arts are good for education, and are enriching for all. Theater is a habit that holds generations together, not to mention killer first dates and grand anniversaries.”
- Drew Hodges, President, SpotCo
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“2009 is going to be a fantastic year on Broadway for the theatre consumer, or I should say, the theatre lover. Now that the theater industry is no longer in denial about the global economic recession, we can deal openly with the fact that there are alot of affordable tickets in the market place, and there will be availability at previously sold-out shows.
Looking ahead there are more than twenty new productions scheduled to open from now until the beginning of May on Broadway.
With the diversity of productions, combined with a remarkable number of Hollywood stars on stage this Spring, I believe that we should be able to revive a theatre-going habit among former avids who may have given up on Broadway, and bring in audiences that rarely go, if ever, to see a show.
It’s a great time for the industry to jointly promote. The editorial story of dozens of big stars coming to the stage will reach media that wouldn’t usually consider covering Broadway.
Affordable tickets may encourage people to see more than one show. The explosion of mechanisms to reach audiences online and by texting means that we can more effectively target offers and promotions. With so much production activity, we will learn even more this year about how we can become even more efficient in communicating directly with potential audiences.
The volume of production will also help the ailing old media by providing a steady stream of news which will justify their fight for editorial space. It is also a great time for publicists to engage traditional press who have stopped covering Broadway and new media who don’t usually cover theatre -- we should be able to make Broadway national news again this Spring.
The fact that all the Broadway houses will be occupied or accounted for over the next few months is a great sign. I think the economy will ultimately cause the creation of stronger shows which will eventually bring in larger audiences."
- Adrian Bryan-Brown, Partner, Boneau Bryan-Brown
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"I'm actually as optimistic as I've ever been about the prospects for the future, albeit after a period of real challenge. Here's why:
1. Start with the plays and musicals coming in this spring... Beckett, Ionesco, Noel Coward, Yasmin Reza, West Side Story, Guys and Dolls; look at the actors -- Geoffrey Rush, Jeremy Irons, Susan Sarandon, Jane Fonda, James Gandolfini (just some of the "names" among a pantheon of really great talents... to me this is the most telling indicator of the astonishing vibrance and resilience of our business, and of the Producers tenacity, respect for the art form, and respect for the brains and taste of the American theatre-goer. I'm in awe of and in gratitude to who bring these gifts to the public. And that makes me optimistic.
2. I think we're on the cusp of developing a true distribution mechanism for theatre via an extensive partner network of loyalty programs that crave what we have to offer.
3. Other entertainment is struggling, as we are, to evolve their economic model when content is so widely disseminated and hard to monetize. Music? The News (yes... News is entertainment)? Movies? Live theatre, however, is hand-crafted, uniquely made each performance and therefore we can't get digitized, atomized, and reconstituted-- you actually have to BE THERE (in caps) in order to get it, and we're just starting to understand how to commercialize that wonderful fact.
4. We're learning how to communicate with our customers to tie in their preferences and likes and dislikes with what we offer them in our marketing. How powerful will that be, and it’s not far off.”
- Charles Flateman, VP of Marketing, The Shubert Organization
Fri, February 02, 2007
If you are doing (or plan on doing) and work in the booming Las Vegas market, here are some tidbits of information you may find helpful. Did you know 20% of people that visit Las Vegas are first-time visitors? Or, that the average party of travelers is 2.5 people? Well, we pulled some statistics that we found interesting from the 2005 LVCVA report that we thought you may all find interesting.
Las Vegas Statistics
- Average age of a visitor: 47
- Male to Female ratio: 1:1
- Average stay (nights): 3.5
- Average stay (days): 4.5
- Approximately 20% are first time visitors
- For non-first-timers, they return 1.7 years
- 55% travel to Vegas by land (car, RV, bus, etc)
- 45% travel to Vegas by plane
- 1/3 of visitors are from Southern CA
- 50% of visitors are from the West coast
- Average party is 2.5 persons
Las Vegas Visitor Trends
- More people are booking online
- More people are planning their trip online
- People are researching information for their travel plans on travel engine sites like Expedia
- People are primarily booking flights and hotels directly from the official site (versus purchasing from a travel engine like Expedia)
- Age demographic is decreasing each year
- People choosing to see a production show is decreasing
- Number of people who go to see new events is increasing
- Number of people visiting nightclubs is increasing
- The window of time between booking a trip and the actual vacation is decreasing
Download the report from the LVCVA website.
Fri, July 28, 2006
More than 9 million Internet users in the United States downloaded podcasts to computers and mobile devices last month according to a new report released by Nielsen Analytics. In a study with 1,700 respondents, ten percent said they download eight or more podcasts a week. And of the podcast users, 38 percent said they listen to the radio less because they're listening to podcasts.
The other key statistic you should keep in mind is that more than 75% of all podcast users are male.
Click here to read more
Wed, July 26, 2006
Every research report I've seen clearly states that an overwhelming % of people use the Internet first to research a product or service. Theater is no different. So, while online ticketing is certainly on the rise, don't discount the fact that your group sales, box office and phone orders are heavily influenced on consumers researching your show online before making the purchase.
In yet another study analyzing online research with offline purchasing for consumer products, over 87% of respondents answered "occasionally to regularly" when asked how often they research products online before buying them in person or in a store.
Click here to read more.
Fri, July 21, 2006
Google! That's right, according to a new study that interviewed 1,200 females 16-25 years old, Google was chosen as their favorite site. Coming in at #2 on the list was Facebook.com. Check out the complete list below. No big surprises.
More stats are available here.
Tue, July 11, 2006
A new study was released that attempts to calculate the rate at which the number of people who read news stories on the web decays with time, and have found that most news becomes dated and unread after approximately a day and a half. The study shows that the structure of a typical news site is similar to that of a biological cell, with a "skeleton" that stays stable while temporary "nodes" (stories) come and go.
Click here to read more.
Mon, July 03, 2006
Would you be interested in putting advertising for your show in the background of a popular video game? Consider some of these statistics issued in a recent study relating to 'casual gamers':
- The survey challenged the notion that most casual gamers are homemakers or office workers. It found 73 percent of players play at night, and 58 percent have no children living at home. Mr. Torrubia said only 17 percent of those polled reported being full-time homemakers.
- Casual gamers are playing often, and for long sessions. According to the survey, 37 percent play nine or more game sessions each week. Sixty-six percent say each session lasts for at least one hour, while 31 percent play for more than two hours at a time.
- Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed were aged 35 to 49, while 28 percent were aged 50 to 60. The majority of players—71 percent—were female. Top interests include pets, travel, arts and crafts, shopping, and gardening.
- According to Yankee Group, in 2005 advertisers spent $56 million putting ads in video games. That number is expected to swell to $732 million by 2010.
On a very tight media budget, it would be hard to expect a typical Broadway show to spend ad dollars on in-game advertising at this point in time. But, for some shows, the time may come sooner than you think.
Click here to read more.
Thu, June 29, 2006
Score one for web advertising! Here is an excerpt from a recent Media Post story:
"Robert Coen, senior vice president and director of forecasting for Universal McCann, now predicts that Internet spending, excluding search, will surge to $9.705 billion this year, marking a 25 percent increase from 2005. In the first quarter alone, online ad spending grew more than 19 percent from last year, according to Coen. Last December, he projected that online ad spending for the year would total $8.669 billion, representing a growth rate of just 10 percent.
Coen routinely excludes search from his calculations of online ad dollars; the Interactive Advertising Bureau pegs search as representing about 41 percent of online ad revenues.
Some other forecasters have predicted that online ad spending, including search, will total around $20 billion this year. PQ Media Tuesday pegged this year's total online ad spend at $19.96 billion--a 26 percent surge from 2005; TNS Media Intelligence president-CEO Steven Fredericks also recently estimated that overall Web ad spending will amount to around $20 billion. eMarketer forecasts a slightly more conservative $16.7 billion online ad spend for this year."
Click here to read more
Thu, June 22, 2006
Here are some interesting tidbits from an article we came across covering trends in Internet usage. The proportion of adults who are now online at home has risen to 70 percent, up from 66 percent in 2005 and 55 percent in the spring of 2002. The percentage of those online at work has not really changed (35% now, 36% in 2005) yet is still up from 30 percent in the spring of 2002. Adults who are online at a location other than their home or work also remains steady at 22 percent (21% in 2005, 19% in the spring of 2002). The story also touches on trends in age, ethnicity, sex and education.
Click here to read more.
Wed, June 21, 2006
So, are there any opportunities to be had from the Father's Day holiday period for Broadway marketers? For your initiatives next year, consider these statistics.
Click here to read more.
Sun, June 18, 2006
According to a new report from the Newspaper Association of America, advertising expenditures for newspaper web sites increased by 34.9 percent to $613 million in the first quarter versus the same period a year ago. Print advertising is not seeing the saming growth. According to the report, spending for print ads in newspapers totaled $10.5 billion, up 0.3 percent versus the same period a year earlier.
Click here to read more.
Wed, June 07, 2006
Ok, so we are taking this story in it's entirety from an email we received. There was no link to it... but it's an interesting read. Thanks Media Post.
Spending on online leisure travel will climb to $77.7 billion this year, marking a 20 percent increase from 2005, according to new estimates by eMarketer.
This estimated double-digit gain, though impressive, marks a moderation of growth from the last two years. In 2004, online travel spending surged 28 percent, while last year, the increase came to 24 percent, according to eMarketer.
EMarketer also forecasts that online travel will continue to grow, reaching $122.4 billion in 2009.
But, while consumers increasingly turn to the Web to book flights and rooms, many won't do so from online travel agencies like Orbitz and Expedia, according to eMarketer. "The majority of online travel sales will take place on supplier Web sites at the expense of online travel agencies. Going forward, this gap will only widen," states the report.
Given the fact that growth will moderate, online travel distributors might need to experiment with new programs to remain competitive.
One possibility, says eMarketer, is that online travel agencies can offer visitors deals on other non-travel products. Citing data from comScore, eMarketer reported that consumers who buy travel online are more likely than other Web users to purchase event tickets and cards, greetings or gifts. "An online travel distributor might use these findings to attract advertisers or to form partnerships with e-tailers," suggests eMarketer.
Fri, June 02, 2006
If you do business in Las Vegas, wouldn't you love to know the answer to these questions?
- How many visitors come to Las Vegas?
- How many conventions are held per year?
- Conventions' non-gaming economic impact?
- What is the average gambling budget per trip?
- How many hotel/motel rooms are in Las Vegas?
- How long is the avg. visitor's trip (in nights)?
- What is the average age of a visitor?
- What % are first time visitors?
- What % of visitors are from So. California?
- What % of visitors are International?
Well, again, thank the tourism board.
Click here to download this (.pdf).
Fri, June 02, 2006
What a market, huh? There is so much business to be had in the Las Vegas market for theatrical productions. At the same time, there is so much competition.
From what we've seen, the key resource to consider for a Las Vegas traveler is time. Consider the average stay is only 3.5 nights, as a marketer you must look for ways to get your production on the top of the list of 'things to do' in a very busy market place.
Is it price? Is it access? Or is it just you either have 'heat' or you don't?
From an Internet marketing standpoint, we have been putting our focus on trying to find ways to convert a prospect into a buyer before they arrive in LV. It's a difficult task but we have seen numerous campaigns that have been able to do it quite successfully (i.e., search marketing, behavioral targeting, etc.).
With all of that being said, we came across the Las Vegas tourism board website which was recently revamped (I think). There is some great research that we would strongly recommend you take a look at.
Click here to read more.
Fri, May 26, 2006
OK - so this is probably a stretch to suggest that the touring markets should aggressively jump into the mobile marketing space. That's not what I'm advocating here.
But, we did come across an interesting article that stresses the importance and direction of where marketing at the local level is probably heading. And, for touring markets that rely very heavily on recruiting local audiences, this is something you should be aware of.
The article below from Clickz simply talks about the emergence of advertising platforms for mobile phones.
Fact is, Google and many of the other plays are aggressively looking to get into the mobile phone space. According to the WSJ, twice as many cell phones are in use than PCs worldwide. So, it's not a stretch to believe that mobile marketing is the future. The question really remains - when will it really be here.
All theater marketers should give a quick read through this article.
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