On our fabulous vacation in Maine recently we
stayed at a couple lovely
B and B’s as well as inns and hotels. Since I unconsciously relate everything to
the theatre experience, I couldn’t help but notice some advertising do’s and
don’ts that many theatres fall into as well.
1. Don’t tell us how great you are
without relating it to how it helps us
as the traveler… or theatre-goer/donor.
A good salesperson knows that it’s
not about the salesperson and their product, it’s about the customer. What can you do for us?
If a hotel just lists their services without sounding like it can personally take care of me, I may not bite.
If a theatre just lists
their shows and how great they are without actually relating it to how that
helps us, it slips right past
us. And just saying what the arts
provide for a community is not good enough either. What they want to know is “In
my busy life, right now, what can you do for me me me?”
Especially when we approach potential donors
(corporations and banks etc) if we just
say “art is necessary for a community because… blah blah blah.” without
actually detailing what we can do for that specific
corporation I think we have missed the boat. Ie “I
know you are trying to get great PR for your corporation and look good in terms
of helping other non profits in the community.
We do more than just stick an add in a program book. We do live
commercials for you on stage. Or we do charity events with our stars in your
name because you are our biggest sponsor.
Or whatever means something important to that businessperson.
That will take a bit of research and relationship
building as well as customizing it for each business. Yes, it takes longer, but
your percentage of successfully connecting goes way up. And it is exciting when
you let your creativity go wild and come up with something totally new just for
them.
2. Do make us think you are the “one
stop shopping” experience we need because we are too busy to do all the
detailing of the trip ourselves.
If a hotel positions themselves as the
“connection” to some fun events and dining experiences it cuts down on the work
I have to do to plan our trip. “Package” deals are great and save me time and
money.
For example: “If you chose the
‘Whales and Sales” trip you get 1. Two night stay 2. 20% off dinner at the
Seaside Restaurant 3. A site
seeing trip on The Schooner boat 4. Whale
watching trip for two. All for $ X
amount. You have now solved my problem of what to do and
where to eat all just by staying in your hotel and I feel like I have gotten a “deal”.
Now apply that to theatre. I know some theatres offer a deal with other
restaurants in the area (Show your ticket and get 10% off your meal) That is
good. Now what if we combined with other ARTS groups like Museums, or Art
galleries, or Dance troups? If you live
in an area that has some spectacular attraction, don’t look at that as
competition, look at it as a package deal waiting to happen!
What about a “King and I” package that gets them
in to see your show, the local Asian Art exhibit, and a dinner at the local
Taiwanese restaurant down the street. A
whole “experience” as opposed to just coming to see your show. Kinda immerses
them in the Asian experience so they can enjoy each segment of that even
better. Maybe have a “talk back” with not only the stars of your show, but also
an expert of that time period from the local college to give historically
interesting facts. That would be a
package worth buying I think. And it
might be good in terms of getting educational grants. And finally, what
corporations wouldn’t want to be a part of having their name attached to that
experience? Shun the non believers and just put that out there to the ones that
see the marketing potential.
There is some paradigm shifting that needs to
happen and thinking about building relationships a new way, offering
out-of-the-box ideas to potential donors based on what they need and not the money we
need, is a good step in making it happen.
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