Abstract
The paper examines whether the marketing techniques used in the profit for sector can be applied to the non‑profit sector in general and arts marketing in particular. This paper presents the concepts and explores techniques used in marketing all forms of performing arts, and intended to educate and inform the marketing manager of the organizations engaged in marketing, drama, theatre, concerts, dance and music etc. about the value of utilizing marketing and promotional techniques to ensure a more viable and successful arts marketing organization.
Introduction
Traditional marketing concepts heavily rely on the ideas of designing products and services to cater the needs of the consumers rather than on the marketer’s desire and tastes. This is in conflict with the concept of Arts‑marketing in general and with the true aesthetic values of art and creativity in particular thus posing a special challenge to the arts marketing organization.
However, marketing activities have become essential for organizations engaged in marketing artistic performance if they are to succeed in today’s competitive arts market. Many music groups like Eagles, Bee Gees, Abba and dance troups like Soviet Ballet have long-standing reputations for quality productions. The consumers feel confident when the’, buy a ticket for one of these events that they will experience a quality production and get the money’s worth. But it is interesting to note that man,. of these performing groups have been offering their performances without a thorough understanding of modem marketing knowledge and skills.
Key Concepts in the Marketing of Performing Arts
Concept of marketing performing arts is relatively), a new issue for marketing organizations engaged in drama, theatre, concerts, dance, music and other forms of entertainment businesses. Owing to its newness, arts marketing may defy a universal definition. However, in order to facilitate a systematic analysis of marketing creative arts we would like to define the concept in the following manner. According to Keth Diggle, “The primary aim of Arts Marketing is to bring an appropriate number of people into an appropriate form of contact with the artists and in so doing to arrive at the best financial outcome that is compatible with achievement of that aim”2 . This definition is a shift from traditional one in the sense that here emphasis has been put not on the tastes and preference of the consumers alone but unlike in the traditional sense, here the marketer has to be innovative in applying tectiniques to create demand suiting the creative offerings of the performers.
The critical question in arts marketing therefore is, what is to be marketed? The art in the broad sense is a service with a unique characteristic. It is not the ‘art form “itself that is to be marketed, but the experience associated with an artistic performance. For example, the consumer does not consume or possess the concert rather he/she experiences the music and the performance of the art.
Since the artistic performance can be experienced by many persons at one time, it has the quality of being marketable. The product “Art” is capable of providing an experience to a large number of people. But in reality the marketplace for cultural art is limited, highly segmented and quite selective. It is the job of the arts marketer to understand the marketplace so as to reach and cultivate a larger cultural audience. This will not only help cultural enrichment but also provide a positive environment for the artist who can continue to create art for the art’s sake.
Arts marketing as a form of Service Marketing
Arts marketing can be further classified as a segment of services marketing. A good is defined as an object, device, or thing, whereas a service is a relationship, an act, or a performance. Purchase of good leaves the consumer with something tangible. But when one purchases a service there is generally nothing tangible. Indeed, a service is consumed but not possessed. Unlike goods, which are produced then sold, services are produced and consumed simultaneously. The service provider often presents himself at the time of consumption. For example, the dancer must be present for the stage performance, which is viewed, and experienced by the audience.
In arts marketing, the relationship between the provider and the consumer is of utmost importance. If a consumer feels that he is treated poorly he may look for a new service provider. Consequently, if someone attends a dance performance or a theatre or concert and is not satisfied about the quality, of the artists the performance itself, the comfort of the auditorium and the overall environment, he might seek another form of cultural entertainment the next time. When one purchases a ticket for a theatre or a drama show, one is purchasing a perceived “experience”. If expectations are not fulfilled and satisfaction not ensured, the art consumer or audience may not give a return visit.
Therefore, it is important to remember that the quality of the service is inseparable from the quality of the service provider. Many theatres and dance companies have longstanding reputations for quality productions. The consumer feels confident to buy a ticket even at a high price of such reputed companies because he she is sure to experience a quality performance and get his/ her money’s worth.
According to Philip Kotler, “Marketing strategy is designed to provide two specific benefits to its users‑’. First is improved satisfaction to target markets. Because marketing places a great emphasis on understanding the needs of the market being served, a poor understanding will result in consumer’s needs and desire not being adequately served. For example, a theatre group producing plays that do not attract the audiences risks losing them. Second benefit is that of improved efficiency in marketing activities. Making decisions and plans with insufficient knowledge can result in costly mistakes both financially and loss of consumers’ confidence.
Marketing Mix for Arts Marketing
Fundamental to any discussion of marketing is an explanation of the elements of Marketing Mix such as, Product, Price, Place Promotion and Public Relation. Clearly, the problems of product~ price, promotion and place are different with marketing tangible goods compared to marketing of services or any sort of performing arts.
Creative Product Strategy for Performing Arts
The traditional marketers begin by identifying their target market’s desires and then make a product or services that will satisfy the consumer’s real or imagined needs. However, when marketing performing arts such as drama, theatre, dance, music, concerts etc. it is important to remember that “artists strive to ‘lead’ the society to examine ‘new’ as well as classical dimensions”.4 Traditional product development decisions are usually based on the assumptions that the product in question will satisfy a segment of the market at a profit. But this may not hold valid in the case of artistic good. Because, often artistic presentations do not initially please the arts consumers. That is why, most of the art films and abstract arts can’t attract a good number of audiences in order to remain viable. Tastes and knowledge of new art forms have to be cultivated. It is often argued that artists should be truly responsive to the needs of their audiences. This argument may have pragmatic appeal in a business sense but this view, is in direct conflict view that allows the artists complete freedom and creativity. Performs who act according to the dictation of the market or consumers would have to compromise with his creative genius, which will enable him to keep everlasting impression in the field of art and culture.
The strategic implication is that the artist or the performer presents his or her product in the best way possible and attempt to identify, reach, and cultivate the arts market. That is why Sam Guckenheimer rightly said, ‘We were going to do a certain kind of theatre no matter what people wanted. Our task was to find the people who wanted our kind of theatre.”5
4.2 Pricing Strategy for Performing Arts
The second element of the marketing mix, pricing, is one of the more challenging aspects of arts marketing and also a difficult aspect to realize. Non‑profit does not mean losing money or not to make money. Both for profit and non‑profit organizations use pricing techniques to obtain a surplus. The difference is a semantic one and in most cases it matters how organizations define the word profit. The profit for organization sees profit in terms of cash inflow whereas the non-profit views its profit as the maximum use of and quality of its product or service.6 But in reality costs have to be covered and income needs to be generated to sustain and stimulate new creative productions or artistic offerings. In the case of arts marketing, pricing refers to income generated from sale proceeds of tickets, etc.
In today’s competitive cultural arts market, the consumer is offered a wide array of cultural experiences and stimuli. The arts marketer has to ask himself what prices will the consumer pay for the satisfaction of an arts experience? According to Guckenheimer, ‘prices should be high enough so that anyone who can and will pay a lot to attend will do so. At the same time, anyone who really wants to come should be able to’7.
The purpose of pricing would then be to maximize income at the same time stimulate sales of tickets and cultivate new markets for artistic offerings. The artistic offerings especially, performing arts are traditionally priced below cost in order to attract audience from different spectra of the society’8. If pricing is based on actual costs of production, it would be beyond the reach of dw majority members of the society. While huge amount of money is to be spent for creative performance, they should not be priced so high as to detract the consumers from this high quality performance.
The arts product is to satisfy inner feelings and aesthetic needs of the people of any civic society, which can enrich and enlighten the members towards a more refined society. Therefore, artistic endeavours should not be for the rich alone. Hence, business, government, and private donations should fill the gap between revenue earned from the sale of tickets and actual cam incurred.
4.3 Promotional Strategy for Performing Arts
The third element in the marketing mix is promotion. This includes advertising, publicity, public relations, and other related promotional activities such as fund‑raising and audience development. Traditionally the arts marketers had little or no promotional concept and budget. In case of shortage of fund it is unfortunate that their promotional budgets are cut first.
However, some artists today feel that any form of promotion or advertising activity) degrades their artistic appeal. They feet that the creative performance itself posses inherent attraction to draw attention of the cultured section of society. Non‑profit organizations are unrealistic to assume that their services are so worthwhile and beneficial to the society that the public will voluntarily patronize and support them. But due to the competitive nature of the arts market today, the public needs to be aware about available productions, exhibitions and offerings of art products. Promotion solves this problem b,, making the audience aware of the product. That is why Bernard Lefort of the Paris Opera Balley rightly staled. “You can’t wait for the public to come to you; you have to go to them”‘.
Advertising is the most common form of promotion. It covers a wide variety of activities utilizing both print and broadcast media, including brochures, banners, posters, newsletters, billboards, and even such promotional novelties as T-shirt, Mugs, pens. Pins etc. When developing an advertising campaign, it is important to realize the inherent strength, weakness and limitations of each of the major media available. For instance, newspaper advertisement is obviously less costly than a four-color magazine advertisement, yet it is often less visually attractive and effective in reaching a target audience.
Publicity is news about an organization that is placed in the media by someone not affiliated with the organization. For example, a local newspaper may publish a feature story on a dancer of a renowned dance company performing in the town. Publicity is the key to effective promotional coverage when working with a small budget. The organization receives exposure without having to pay for it. The organization can stage free concerts or band show in the community and invite the local press, television and radio to cover the event. It becomes a community affair and interesting stor~ that provides free publicity of the arts organization. Other media may also be approached for interviews of key members of the art marketing organizations.
Publicity can also take advantage of business tie-ins. Each time any corporation is approached for its support by an arts organization, the corporation in turn receives the media coverage as well. The press conference is another free toot of publicity that can work to the advantage of the arts organization. However, before the news media will be interested in attending a press conference, they need ~to feel confident that it is worthwhile and newsworthy.
4.4 Public Relations Strategy for Performing Arts
PR encourages people to adopt a favorable attitude towards an organization. Its objectives are more long-term in the sense that it aims to earn public acceptance and support for an organization’s goals, its services or products.‑ Public relations utilize a variety of means to build goodwill and support of the general public. Developing singular contacts with key media personnel and establishing courteous relationships with the media personnel increases the chance of successful and appropriate media coverage for performing art organizations.
4.5 Place Strategy for Performing Arts
The final element of the marketing mix is place, the ‘where and how’ the purchase will be made, and whom it will be consumed. The profit sector describes place as distribution, which is physically routing the product out into the marketplace. In general, the marketer strives to place his product in the most convenient location as for as possible. However, performing arts organizations cannot always be located in most scattered areas. For obvious reasons they must establish facilities in areas that can serve the greatest potential audience, usually on major urban areas such as capitals, metropolis or cities having significant and sizeable art clientele.
Many of the performing arts companies today are operating at either government or privately funded centres located in selected metropolitan areas. Another area of concern to the arts marketer is how and where the tickets will be sold. The ticket office is not always easily accessible to the public, either for its location or limited hours of operation. Therefore, many arts organizations may utilize outside ticket sales offices b,, arrangement with other organizations like banks, bookstores, selected retail shops department stores etc.
The arts marketer does not have the flexibility to experiment with place or distribution strategies available to the profit minded sector. Instead, he is restricted by fixed locations and limited time slots for performance schedules.
Conclusion
Marketing of performing arts should be seen as more than just pushing tickets. The individual performing arts organizations can no longer sit back and wait for the audience to attend these performances. What the customer expects is called the primary service package, and to this what the marketing organization can add are the secondary Service features 10. In the case of marketing performing arts, one should realize that the artistic offering is the core product. But it is the responsibility of the arts marketer to augment the core product and present it to the arts lover or audience. The symphonies of Mozart and Beethoven presented b,, different orchestras have a sizeable market. Shakespeare theatre, Haymarket theatres of UK and Globe theatre of US are successfully marketing play-acting and other forms of creative performance. Dhaka theatre and Peoples theatre of Calcutta are examples of organizations presenting performing arts. It is crucial to not only make the marketplace aware about the organization and its art, but also to cultivate the new and potential audience. The artistic performance should be available to a wider segment of the people and through the marketing techniques presented the arts marketer can make this possible by bringing his product to the broader public. Proven marketing techniques allow the arts marketer to be responsive to the needs of the audience as well as culti‑vate a new market in order to be viable in the long run.
The benefits of practicing marketing activities in the sale of creative art products rests on goal‑oriented promotional plan that can provide more than a potential increase in public awareness about the organization and its offerings. Proper market planning can go a long way in fulfilling the objectives of the art organizations by letting people aware about their products in a more informed way.
References
- Philip Kotler and Sidney J. Levy. “Broadening the concept of marketing” in Journal of marketing, Vol. 33, 1969, pp. 10‑15.s
- Keith Diggle, Marketing tsshe Arts, (London: London University Centre for the Arts, 1976), p. 21.
3, Philip Kotler, Marketing for non‑profit organization, (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice ‑Hall Inc., 1975,p.278.
- Gene R. Laczniak and Patric E. Murphy, “Marketing the Performing Arts” in Atlanta Economic Review, Vol. 27, 1977, pp. 4‑9.
- Christopher H. Lovelock, Services Marketing. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice ‑Hall inc., 1984, p. 221.
- Joseph Mellilo, (ed.), Market the Arts. Washington, D.C: FEDAPT, 1986, pp. 65‑75.
- Christopher H. Lovelock, Services Marketing. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice ‑Hall Inc., 1984, p. 225.
- Gene R. Laczniak and Patric E. Murph, “Marketing the Performing Arts” in Atlanta Economic Review, Vol. 27, 1977, pp.4‑9.
- Sidney, J. Levy and John A. Czepied Marketing and aesthetics. Chicago: AMA. 1974, p. 390.
- Philip Kotler, Marketing Management New Jersey Prentice‑ Hall Inc 1997. p.475.