R EP ORT ANDMA RKE T ING P LAN

[Type the document subtitle]

D O W N S TA G E F R O M O L D ‘ N ’ G R E Y TO
YOUNG AND SPUNKY
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Executive S u. m m a r y

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Table of Contents ..
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1. Executive summary

2. Table of contents

3. Introduction

4. Prioritised key recommendations

5. Findings and discussion (the target market)

6. Target market continued

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7. The product & place

8. Product & place continued

9. The pricing

10. The promotion

11. Promotion continued

12. Conclusion

13. References

14. Appendices A
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Introduction ..
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Marketing the arts is about brand, it is about making people know and understand that you are
worth going to see, not just for educational value but for emotional and social entertainment needs.
The performing art is about passion; downstages marketing campaign needs to reflect youth,
professionalism and sociality. The advantage to theatre is that the people doing it are up close and
personal, it’s not something you can download. This assignment looks at the Young Pleasure Seekers
as a segment and provides findings and discussion with recommendations. It contains a timeline and
budget for promotions.

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Prioritised Key..Recommendations
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A pricing structure developed to hold YPS closer.

programming at the Downstage Theatre needs to be of high quality, edgy, and

contemporary

Downstage should use a two phase promotion focused to combat or enforce perceptions.

Using technology such as mobile marketing and “Twitter”.

Well briefed staff by management.

Refurbish the building appearance.

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Having the doors open to make it more inviting.

State where it would be appropriate for customers to park.

Downstage should consider offering a courtesy coach.

Downstage should use customer referrals and “night out” packages.

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Findings & Discussion
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The target market:.
Young pleasure seekers (YPS) defined as: “sporadic” audience, (13.5% of wellington) they are young
and primarily living for today, with little opinion on social and political issues, and an emphasis on
hedonic consumption. Evenings out are an important part of their lifestyle. With members of the
group ranging from young teenagers up to the mid-40s, this includes a lot of students. Pleasure
Seekers like advertising; as a result they are open to many mediums of marketing. Prices are not of
particular importance and neither is service or the selection of the store. [ CITATION Law06 \l 5129 ]
This is explained in deeper further detail in APPENDIX A.

YPS reflect many of the characteristics of the much talked about generation X. They are young
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and primarily living for today with few opinions on social and political issues and an emphasis on
hedonic consumption. The YPS...is New Zealand’s version of generation X; express few opinions
regarding social issues and exhibit high levels of materialism and consumption. They indicate ... that
money can buy happiness. Financially; this group ... don’t mind using credit cards and being in debt.
The print media consumed varied. They watch TV frequently, radio and music consumption is high
mostly in the pop/rock genre. They are technology savvy and use internet for purchases. They avoid
public transport, would rather walk, and usually live in close proximity. They are either single or
living with a partner, often in apartments with some three other income earners, they work full time
in clerical or skilled positions or study. They often attend movies, theatre, and ballet. They like
brands and personal attention in shops and try to be innovative when introducing new brands and
products to their friends. Distinctly more than average they like to share information about products
with friends. [ CITATION Kla04 \l 5129 ]

These characteristic validate this segment. However perceptual barriers hinder participation. This
leads us to ask why YPS is not present at Downstage. Hence the relationship to audience strategy is
fashioned into diversification under the RAND model as discussed in the group component of this
report.
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Table 1: Rand Model.. (Lecture Content, 2010)
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Table 1 highlights important elements of the RAND model. It tells us that this segments barrier to
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attending and participating in the arts are fundamental perceptual issues. This is reflected in the
survey done in class as some words used to describe Downstage are: accessible, weird, different, lost,
mid-range (average), personal, older target market, small, and has an unappealing outside.
Downstage should use promotional material to combat or enforce these perceptions.
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The Product & ..Place:
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Downstage provides a core product of entertainment through the actual product of Theatre.
Young pleasure seekers are open to Art; thus Theatre will appeal to them. For the purpose of this
report the actual product will be the show Wannabe at the Downstage theatre.

Refurbishing the building appearance will modernise the building countering the old-fashion
perception thus increasing product conspicuousness.

The programming at the Downstage Theatre needs to be of high quality, edgy, and contemporary in
order to appeal to the YPS

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Needs Identification Scale

social needs

In reference to the image above: YPS often use art as a social needs satisfier. They are not totally
concerned with product quality, as stated in Appendix A, and however, for this report I will assume
this trait will be altered. For an individual to enjoy theatre it needs to be professionally executed. The
product needs to be high in surface value. YPS don’t embrace political and social issues so the
product cannot assume knowledge in that field.

Evenings out are an important part of their lifestyle so the product must reflect this in its
timeliness.

The place that the product is offered and displayed needs to be considered in the augmented
product. In reference to the flowchart (in Appendix B) the entire experience from information-search
to leaving needs to have a synergetic effect towards satisfying that desired state deficit; which is the
difference between actual-state and desired-state.

When an YPS purchases a beverage from the bar the staff must add positively to the product;
through attitude and possible small talk encouraged about the show by management. Staff should
have a good idea about the shows and be ready to answer question concerning it.

YPS often walk so close proximity of the place is paramount. However as discovered in the class
survey, there are perceptions of the old building that hinder curiosity. Having the doors open will
make it more inviting to walkers.
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.. on the corner of Courtney Place and Kent Terrace, close to the wide range
Downstage is located
.. on Courtney place and Cuba Street. Five of these restaurants offer discounts
of restaurants and bars
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and special offers for customers who have Downstage tickets. This provides the opportunity of
customer referrals, or “night out” tickets.

Downstage doesn’t currently have a car park, nor do they recommend a parking. Thus a simple
recommendation would be: state where it would be appropriate for customers to park on all
information displays.

YPS are technology savvy. Downstage could take advantage of this using technology such as
mobile marketing and “Twitter”. It’s a cheap, effective, and instantaneous enough to take bookings
through.

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YouTube is a fantastic opportunity for YPS to trial the product that Downstage offers.

Within this augmented product; the Downstage is considered to be small, advertisement of its
size and inclusive bar will prevent this perception.

Downstage should consider if it’s financially viable to offer a courtesy coach; as sober YPS may
not mind walking, once intoxicated they may not wish to walk home and this can be a barrier to
attendance.
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The Pricing: ..
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In Appendix C .the perception of Downstage’s augmented product is reflected in price, customers
expect to pay $20. The perceived the quality is slightly higher than average of 3/5.

Downstage needs to lift people’s perceptions and expectations of price, so that they would be
more willing to pay the average price of $37.00.

Circa is perceived to be of the same quality, but with slightly more mainstream programming
(4/5 compared to 3/5). Its average price is lower at $31.00. This causes a deficit in perceived value
gained between Circa and Downstage; resulting in circa doing downstages job better than them.

Eventually this leads customers to consider switching. This dimension of price elasticity depends
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on the level of product variation, cost of switching, and customer loyalty [ CITATION Bes09 \l 5129 ] .
With this in mind Downstage needs to set price in order at least get the switching cost to be positive,
at present, the switching cost for a average ticket is -$6. Downstage should at least match Circa, or
create a pricing structure developed to hold YPS closer as not all YPS are students.

Downstage must be competitive; it needs to set its price according to its perceived value.
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The Promotions: ..
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 Phase I (50% of budget)
 Objective I (a): Create awareness among
85% of target audience
The first stage of the promotion plan is to build
awareness among 85% of the target audience.
This could be achieved by selecting high reach media which the target market would be exposed to.
As stated in the market segment; YPS are high consumers of radio, television, internet, and
magazines. For this phase, Radio, TV (too expensive), and internet will be most effective. Media
release strategy = pulse
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 Objective I (b): Create knowledge of the show among 75% of target audience
Promotions should now begin to focus on providing information to the target audience. Information
rich advertisement should display the desired message of a quirky new solo show for young at heart
audiences; this is where the internet and magazines may play a major roll. The target audience would
begin to develop knowledge and expectations that they will later evaluate the augmented product
upon. This is where the perception and positioning of the product is formed in the consumers mind as
attitudes are a learned predisposition with behaviour formed towards the product by all direct
experience, word-of-mouth, and mass-media. Its critical to remember attitudes are not synonymous
with behaviour. [ CITATION Sch08 \l 5129 ]Downstage must aim to be perceived as high quality,
professional, social, and place of self-indulgence.
 Phase II (remainder of budget)
 Objective II (a): Create positive feelings about the show among 60% of target audience
To create favourable attitudes and arouse interests, the promotion activities should appeal to the
target market, based on their psychological characteristics and entertainment needs. By doing so, the
audience would begin to promote the show into their evoked set once the perceptual barriers are
combated through appropriate messages. This may be in phase II, but it will be executed and affected
throughout the entire marketing campaign. It would be ideal for the campaign to go viral here as
information is readily available, false perceptions unlikely, and opinion leaders are beginning to
activate.
 Objective II (b): Create preference of the show among 45% of target audience
At this stage, emphasis should be placed on specific attributes of the production, which will
differentiate it from the competitors within entertainment. This maybe a chance to develop demand
pull for primary theatre entertainment. Since the production (Wannabe) is targeting YPS, the
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information conveyed .. must be sound, convincing, and casual in order to affect attitudes and
.. is ideal to include an iconic reference, for example Paul Henry’s opinion on
preferences. This point
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the Good Morning show. The key sponsor of Dominion Post is activated here to mass advertise the
theme, prices, times, and location.
 Objective II (c): Obtain trial among 25% of target audience
Finally, the concluding goal of this promotion plan is to capture 25% of the audience to buy the show
tickets. However, due to the recent financial crisis, it is likely that some people would reduce
spending on entertainment. Therefore, sale promotions and a more interactive approach should be
adopted to provide increased incentives to purchase.

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Conclusion ..
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Ultimately Downstage needs to develop a strong trusted brand in the YPS audience. Through
precise promotion and synergetic efforts Downstage should be able to claim market share. The
perception of the product, place, price, and promotion is the largest barrier for YPS. All marketing
efforts should be focused toward this area if more YPS are desired. They can tap into technology to
aid them in this process. Sponsorship was not addressed in report, but it would be vital to look into.

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.. REFERENCES
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Best, R. J. (2009). Market-Based Management. In Strategies for Growinh Customer Value and Profitability
(p. 267). London: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Evans, L. T. (2006, 01 01). A Consumer Lifestyles Study. Retrieved 04 28, 2010, from New Zealand in the
21st Centuary: http://eprints.otago.ac.nz/351/1/Consumer_lifestyles_study.pdf
Klaus Weermair, C. M. (2004). The tourism and leisure industry. In C. M. Klaus Weermair, shaping the
future (pp. 50-67). New York: The Haworth Hospitality Press.
Schiffman, L., Bednall, D., O'Cass, A., Paladino, A., Ward, S., & Kanuk, L. (2008). Consumer Behaviour 4th
edition. In Consumer Behaviour 4th edition. China: Pearson Prentice Hall.

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APPENDIX A ..
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Pleasure Seekers are a materialistic group who live for the moment. They like life in a big city
and they embrace change. They are not concerned about most political or social issues but, consistent
with their contemporary outlook, they are the one segment that says that New Zealand should
definitely not stop research into genetic modification. Pleasure Seekers would also like to see a
change in the flag but generally their value systems do not appear to be well developed and they are
especially unconcerned with ideas like spirituality, politeness, tradition, social justice, the
environment, obedience and helpfulness. This group are confident about work and describe
themselves as definitely not homebodies.
Evenings out are an important part of their lifestyle.
With regard to the market place, again they appear unconcerned. Prices are not of particular
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importance and neither is service or the selection of the store. Also, they do not emphasise quality in
their purchasing but they do express the opinion that New Zealand products are not high quality.
Pleasure Seekers like advertising and do not agree that it should be restricted to children or that there
is too much sex used in advertising to sell products. Overall, they describe themselves as being
incautious shoppers who like to try new products. They are not careful with money and they appear
to be unwilling to save. Not surprisingly, frugality is not a characteristic of this segment, members of
which expresses a strong liking for credit cards and is also likely to have a range of loans.
Despite their free attitudes towards purchasing and their interest in new products, the Pleasure
Seekers do not seem to own an extensive array of products. MP3 players are one exception where
ownership is high and consistent with the profile described above. Food habits are dominated by
convenience and rather less by health or nutrition.
They do not plan meals and often eat out or consume fast food. They are unconcerned about
issues such as avoiding high cholesterol foods or the prospect of genetically modified foods. Choc-
bars, fizzy drinks and BBQs are a regular part of their diets.
Apart from dining out, this group attend arts events and the theatre and play some sports like
squash and tennis. Media habits are very close to the average in all respects, including TV watching
and radio consumption. Among magazines, only Cosmopolitan shows above average readership.
The age characteristics of this group appear somewhat wider than in 2000, with members of the
group ranging up to the mid-40s. They also report higher incomes than in the previous study but,
consistent with last time, the segment does include a significant proportion of students and high
numbers of people using rental accommodation. Additionally the Pleasure Seekers indicate the
shortest period living in their current town. They appear to be the most mobile segment, with less
community attachment than any other group. [ CITATION Law06 \l 5129 ]
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The tourism and.. leisure industry: shaping the future: By Klaus Weiermair, Christine Mathies
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[ CITATION Kla04 \l 5129 ]

YPS reflect many of the characteristics of the much talked about generation X. the active "family
values" people have not emerged as a separate group this time, but some of their identifying
characteristics are evident. They are young and primarily living for today with few opinions on social
and political issues and an emphasis on hedonic consumption. The YPS...is New Zealand’s version
of generation x; express few opinions regarding social issues and exhibit high levels of materialism
and consumption. They indicate that they would be happier if they could afford more expressing
relative agreement that money can buy happiness. Members of this group are more likely to have
purchased something to make them feel better... financially; this group is more likely to have rent-to-
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own purchases, don’t mind using credit cards. The print media consumed varied. They watch TV
frequently, radio and music consumption is high. They are technology savvy and use internet for
purchases. They avoid public transport as it waists time, and would rather walk as it saves time and
because they usually live close. They are either single or living with a partner, often in apartments
with some three other income earners, they work full time in clerical or skilled positions or study.
They are likely to have listened to pop/rock music than other genres. They often attend movies,
theatre, and ballet. They like brands and personal attention in shops and try to be innovative when
introducing new brands and products to their friends. Distinctly more than average they like to share
information about products with friends.

Chart1. Levels of a product

The CORE product is NOT the tangible, physical product. You can't touch it. That's because the
core product is the BENEFIT of the product that makes it valuable to you
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.. is the tangible, physical product. You can get some use out of it.
The ACTUAL product
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The AUGMENTED product is the non-physical part of the product. It usually consists of added
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value, for which you may or may not pay a premium.

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APPENDIX B ..
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Table1. Arts entertainment form recognition

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At each of these stages the consumer considers questions and alternatives; the biggest challenge
in theatre in general is to be present within the evoked set. Marketers needs to create a “push and
pull demand” for theatre.

Once the consumer chooses Downstage as the supplier, they enter into the following service flow
chart:
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Table.. 2
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find out whats on

enter venue and find seat and

purchase a ticket travel to venue arrive at venue watch show socialise afterward
find out socialize beverage/food
information on
shoes and decide
on show

is there transport
once arrived is there is there staff to is the show of is there space to do
provided, is it easy
is the ticketing place to park etc help in this process expected quality so, as well as a bar
to locate is there area to
system asteticly
hang coats,
pleasing is it online greating and
obvious
is the information information areas
applicable to the
audience member are the actors
is this information someone to take are the staff friendly is there enteraction
proffesional and
avaliable ticket and jacket and effective with the peformers
prepared

database system

promotions
preperation and database system
staff is friendly and
respectable
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acceptable and
execution appropriate
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APPENDIX C ..
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Circa prices:
 Adults$38
 Students, senior citizens and beneficiaries$30
 Friends of Circa (for first two weeks of production only) $28
 Under 25s$20
 Student/Equity stand-by (one hour before the show) $18
 Groups: 6+$32Groups 100+$29
 YHA and BBH card holders (Sunday to Thursday) $20
 Average $31
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Downstage prices:

 Full A Reserve: $45
 Full B Reserve: $40
 Concession: $38
 Members: $37
 Students: $25
 Family: $120 (2 Adults, 2 Children)
 Soundstage – all tickets $35
 Average $37

Bats prices:

 $15 to $20 for waged persons

 $12 to $15 for unwaged persons
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.. are some commonalities:
With our survey these
.. St. James
 
Most commonly
. Classy
Circa
Established
Downstage
Contemporary
BATS
Alternative
used words to High quality Mainstream Weird Cheap
describe theatre Historical High quality Small Students
Most common 5 3 3 2
rating of
perceived quality
(1=Low, 5=High)
Most common 5 4 3 1
rating of
programming
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, 5= Mainstream)
Most common $60 $50 $20 $15
estimation of
student ticket
price
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.. timeline and Budget
Appendix D: Promotion
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