A Marketing Plan for the State Theatre of Ithacas Season Susan Monagan June 29, 2011 Harlem Gospel Choir, December 2011

The State Theatre of Ithaca, Inc.s mission is to present top-quality entertainment in a variety of formats to enhance the lives of the residents of the Ithaca community and the surrounding Finger Lakes region. Scope of work: create a marketing plan for the nine State-presented shows Given circumstances: Series (family, classic and comedy) Artists Performance dates Ticket prices Ticket sales targets Location of performances Most corporate sponsors Galumpha, February 2012

Goal: To develop the relationships that will sustain and grow the programs at the State Theatre and raise the public profile of the organization. The objectives of the plan are to: 1.Meet the ticket sales targets for the nine State- presented shows of the season. 2.Expand and improve the sponsorship program of the State by October 2011 so that each show is identified with a corporate, media, and community sponsor 3.By July 1,2011 implement the use of internal project management tools that will provide an infrastructure for the States marketing activities 4.By August 1, 2011 present a budget of time and money that will guide the States marketing activities for the season Imago, October 2011

The 4 Ps…sort of… Colbert, F. (2007). Marketing culture and the arts, 3 rd ed. Montreal: HEC (p. 14).

Objective #1: Meet the ticket sales targets of the nine State-presented shows of the season. Strategies: Research each show Identify markets Analyze each market Develop messages about show for each market ID third-party influentials for each market ID media each market uses Get messages to market in a timely way using appropriate media Evaluation: Use ticketing system to determine sales for each show. Reduced Shakespeare Company, March 2012

Innovators 2.5%. Early Adopters 13.5% Early Majority 34% Late Majority 34% Laggards 13.5% Non-adopters 2.5% Lesson: Research the habits of Innovators and Early Adopters (Third Party Influentials) and enter into relationships with as many of them as possible Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Theory Product Lifestyle Adoption Process describes the consumers tolerance for risk.

Colberts application of Elaboration Likelihood Model to Arts Marketing Context Colbert, F. (2007). Marketing culture and the arts, 3 rd ed. Montreal: HEC (p. 236).

High interaction, opportunity for high elaboration

Objective #2: Expand the sponsorship program of the State by October 2011 so that each show is identified with a corporate, media, and community sponsor Stategies: Develop relationships with 12 new corporations in or around Ithaca before the end of the season. Systematize the States sponsorship program including establishing sponsorship levels and contracts Evaluation: Conduct a post-mortem interview with each sponsor after show to review relationship String Fever, February 2012

Strategies: Set up and populate a project management site that is shared by key members of the staff (volunteer and paid) Set up document and calendar sharing tools with all deadlines for marketing activities Evaluation: Meet with staff at the end of the season to evaluate the use of tools and discuss how they can be changed to better serve internal communication needs Objective #3: By July 1, 2011 implement the use of internal project management tools that will provide a communications infrastructure for the States marketing activities Second City, October 2011

Objective #4: By August 1, 2011 present a budget of time and money that will guide the States marketing activities for the season Gaelic Storm, March 2012

Sources: Colbert, F. (2007). Marketing culture and the arts, 3 rd ed. Montreal: HEC. Handel, M. (Ed.) (2003). The sociology of organizations: Classical, contemporary, and critical readings. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Kolb, B. (2005). Marketing for cultural organisations, 2 nd Ed. London: Thomson Learning. Rogers, E. (1962). Diffusion of Innovations. New York: Free Press of Glencoe.