The Symphony, Online Don Hoag - Sudhir Gopal - Andrew Jones - Eungsang Kim - Yi-fan (Eddie) Fang

Major Online Symphony Players New York Philharmonic Boston Symphony Orchestra Cleveland Orchestra Sydney Symphony Orchestra Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Notable Media Quotes "Making music is one of our basic needs. It is as necessary as food or drink or breath. Making music passionate is what matters to me most. And with this orchestra the possibilities are limitless. The San Francisco Symphony and I hope you'll be with us as we embrace the ultimate musical challenge on our journey to the year 2000." - Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony "Today marks a milestone for a new millennium of symphonic music and audiences worldwide. DallasSymphony.com will feature the highest level of interactivity and a wide range of symphonic content." "This project establishes the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as a leader in using the excitement and immediacy of the Internet to reach new audiences and expand our education activities." - Eugene Bonelli, Dallas Symphony Association

Who are the customers? Individuals interested in classical, “cultural” music White-collar men and women –Typical profiles are professionals who are web literate Students –College and High School students that frequently surf the web Senior citizens Schools as a group, or any type of group organization Current and prospective donors

Value Added Services (Basic) General info –Schedule, seating charts, ticketing/price info, news (example slides follows) –Conductor and musician biographies, symphony history Online ticket purchasing and donation applications –Links to Ticketmaster online –Proprietary software to order tickets or donate online , newsletter clubs –Symphonies send and newsletters to their members to keep them updated of schedules and new information Volunteer groups –News about current activities or signups for new members –Creating virtual communities with the volunteers Links to other cultural info

Ticket Ordering, NY Orchestra Order form for online ticket purchases –Most require you to select a concert from a calendar of events –NY’s is one of the more robust versions

Sample Online Seating Diagrams

Value Added Services (Advanced) Child education programs (example slide follows) –Programs that involve children in the symphony by providing specialized games and web sites –Working with educators by providing information tools and assistance in music education Merchandise/Souvenir online stores Virtual tours of Symphony Halls –Uses multimedia to convey greater detail of the halls –Perpetuate online booking (ex. Baltimore, Czech, Boston)

Sample Children’s Section, Chicago Interactive sites help expand a child’s experience and understanding of the symphony environment

Value Added Services (Advanced, cont.) Online information for types of orchestral competitions (Dallas) Online games, trivia Online audio interviews with concert master (Australia, San Francisco) Application forms for auditions (Boston, Oregon) Screenshots of stage views from possible seating locations (Dallas) Live and recorded Webcast streaming audio and video (Dallas)

Attracting Customers Swapping links with related ‘cultural’ sites and other symphonies Corporate sponsors –Links on corporate donor web sites lead customers to non-profit organizations Home city link sites – – Visible links on other commercial and noncommercial sites Brand Name of renowned symphonies –Recognized symphonies use their name to attract customer traffic (Boston Pops) –Well-known conductors and artists

Attracting Customers (cont.) Links from Foundations –Popular support foundations that donate funds link to the web site (Heinz Foundation) Current member lists –Members can their friends the web page of their favorite symphony –Members can also sign up their friends for newsletters Online live performances Public service announcements on radio, TV, newspapers Word-of-mouth

Getting Repeat Customers Established methods seem underutilized –Web site used as more of a marketing, informational tool than a revenue generator Common practices include: –Bulletin board (Baltimore) Creating a sense of community among participants – s Notification of relevant information –Varying online programs, information over time Constantly updating web page information –Student representatives Students act as symphony ambassadors to the campus community

Pittsburgh as an Example Source: USAData.com Symphonies have 10% of the market share in a predominantly “blue-collar” community

Recommendations Partnering with “High-Tech” firms –These firms provide e-commerce strategy, expertise, and project management Creating “Cutting-Edge” applications –Webcasting, video-streaming Utilizing database of registration information to personalize marketing –Versioning web pages based on membership levels, demographics and interests Using the Internet to “reach, build, and educate future audiences for symphonic music.” –Linda Hart, Chairman, Dallas Symphony Association