Sophisticated Saturdays at
Hudbeni Divadlo Karlin: Communication Plan
Sinclaire Fonville, Lissette Hall, Megan Korn, Emily Machura, and Maryelizabeth Tamer June 2 015
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Table of Contents OBJECTIVE:*
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MISSION:* SW OT ANALYSIS – H UDEBNI D IVADLO K ARLIN :*
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AUDIENCE*INSIGHTS:*
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CURRENT USER:* NEW USERS/TARGET MARKET* DEMOGRAPHICS:! PSYCHOGRAPHICS:! PROFILE OF A YOUNG CZECH:!
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RESEARCH*INSIGHTS:*
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P RICE I NSIGHTS :* S HARE OF P OCKET :* S OCIAL M EDIA U SAGE I NSIGHTS :*
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CREATIVE*STRATEGY:*
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BIG IDEA:* EVENT DETAILS AND INCENTIVES STRUCTURE* LOBBY LAYOUT:* SW OT OF S OPHISTICATED S ATURDAYS :* Q&A!
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MEDIA*PLAN:*
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1. S OCIAL M EDIA E NGAGEMENT AND BUILDING A NEW BRAND :* 2. D IRECT M ARKETING :* 3. T RADITIONAL M EDIA :*
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IMAGERY:*
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BUDGET*BREAKDOWN:*
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C OST OF E VENTS :* S OCIAL M EDIA :* T RADITIONAL M EDIA :* O THER :*
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RETURN*ON*INVESTMENT:*
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MEASURING*SUCCESS:*
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ABOUT*US:*
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OBJECTIVE: • • •
Position Hudebni Divadlo Karlin in the minds of Czechs and Praguers aged 25-35 as a top of mind option for a night out on the town. To brand Hudebni Divadlo Karlin as a sophisticated and sexy culture destination. Drive engagement and ticket sales amongst a trendy, culture-seeking 25-35 year old target audience without losing the respect and interest of current heavy-users.
MISSION: “Hudebni Divadlo Karlin offers top quality live musical performances for a sophisticated, culture-seeking Czech audience.”
SWOT ANALYSIS – Hudebni Divadlo Karlin: !
STRENGTHS · Rich history · Live orchestra · Large theatre · Funded by government · Attached to their work - doing it for the craft, not just for money · Large-scale productions with talented employees
WEAKNESSES · Lack of publicity surrounding hisotry · Not promoting live orchestra · Do not recognize competition · Forced to do productions of operettas · Funded by gov't - doesn’t motivate profit growth · Lengthy process of everything · Fear of change
OPPORTUNITIES · Host events besides productions · Promote live orchestra · Loyalty program · Market the theatre as a whole (as opposed to individual shows)
THREATS · Do not recognize competition · Lack of engagement with younger audiences · Competition has larger social media imprint · Not reaching 90% capacity
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AUDIENCE INSIGHTS: CURRENT USER: Who are HDK’s alleged heavy users?
Attendees aged 4550
What is the capacity of the theater?
921 seats available
How many performances are there per year?
142
On average, how many tickets are sold per year?
127,000
How often does the current heavy user attend HDK?
3 times per year
How many seats must be filled per show to meet the theater’s quota?
90% of seats = approx. 830
How much money do Czech citizens spend on culture and recreation?
10% of income
NEW USERS/TARGET MARKET Demographics: Age: 25-35 Gender: Male and female Citizenship: Primarily Czech, or foreign nationals living in Prague. Location: Prague and surrounding areas (~100km radius) Education: Completed post-secondary, university. Income: Average Czech monthly income - 19,500 CKZ/month
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Psychographics: ! This person lives in Prague or the surrounding area, they rent an apartment and either share it with their partner, or with a roommate or two. They work hard and play hard. They enjoy spending their time with their friends, going on dates and attending exciting events. They have trouble finding a balance between cultural events and simply enjoying an evening out at the pub with their friends. They enjoy getting dressed up and flaunting their finest. This person has a large group of friends, and a few very good friends. If they are not in a relationship, they are seeking one. They might be married, but they have not yet started a family. They are early in their careers and have started to find their groove, both financially and in confidence. They value sophistication, fun and culture.
Profile of a young Czech: ! Meet Petr. Petr is 30 years old. Petr works in sales for a popular brewery. He graduated university with a degree in business when he was 23, after having taken a gap year immediately following secondary school. Petr lives in a flat in Prague that he shares with one other man. He also has a best friend, Irena, who he’s known since university. Irena is 28 and works in advertising after completing a degree in Communications. She lives just outside of Prague’s city centre in a room share with 2 other young women. Petr has a girlfriend, and Irena is single. However, the two of them spend a lot of time together. They like to do things with a their close knit group of about 10 friends – a mix of singles and couples. Together, they enjoy going to concerts, and visiting art galleries. A typical weekend is full of relaxation and fun with their friends. Petr and Irena are active on Facebook and use it to share life events and keep in touch with friends from all over the world. Petr is an early adopter of Instagram, and uses it casually to share photos of fun events and silly selfies, while Irena was an early adopter to Twitter, and has gained quite a few followers from all over the country since the platform has started to take off. Petr relies on www.seznam.cz and recommendations from friends when deciding what to do with his time. Irena finds out about cultural events over social media and from coverage by news outlets.
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RESEARCH INSIGHTS: Price Insights:
! Cost of a night out: ! Dinner in a midrange restaurant – 600 CZK Lunch or starters in a pub – 150 CZK Local beer (0,5litre draught) – 30 to 80 CZK Taxi within city centre – 180 to 250 CZK Based on the prices listed above, we can conclude that if a young Czech citizen was to go out for an evening in Prague - with snacks, drinks and the cost of transportation – the cost would be approximately 450 CZK if they had snacks and 3 beers and took a taxi A full night out, with dinner and several hours of drinks would cost approximately 850 CZK, give or take. Research conducted in August 2014 by Research IBRS on the “Attitudes and habits of musical viewers” shows that, for both heavy users and nonusers/attendees of musicals, price and incentives are a significant driving factor in the decision making process. • Price is an important factor when deciding about a visit of a musical, especially sales • Cost-sensitive viewers are most likely to visit the musical when discounted (e.g. 2 for 1 • Some viewers wait and only purchase tickets when they are offered at a discounted rate
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! Share of Pocket: Hudebni Divadlo Karlin is one of four large-scale professional musical theatres. HDK is currently among the least searched theatres on google.cz.
Furthermore, when searching for “muzikal” on search engines in the Czech Republic, HDK is not among the top hits. On seznam.cz, HDK appears as the last result on the first page. When searched on google.cz, in order to find HDK, one must go to the fifth page of search results before coming across any reference for HDK. There is opportunity for growth and enhancement in terms of Search Engine Optimization – a tool that not only increases popularity, but also top-of-mind awareness. HDK is not only competing with other theatres to gain the attention and share of pocket of the target audience, they are competing with all leisure activities – including cinemas, bars, and concerts. These are activities that cost a similar amount to a night at Hudebni Divadlo Karlin. The challenge is to convince even moderately interested parties to view HDK as a stakeholder in their leisure and culture budgets.
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Social Media Usage Insights:
! Activity on various social media platforms by musical theatres in Prague:
The Current State of Social Media among theatres in Prague.- The target 2535 demographic uses social media related to theatre in Prague. Based on a survey of online activity, the target enjoys Youtube videos with backstage footage and video of behind the scenes. Hudebni Divadlo Karlin has 244 subscribers on Youtube which is more than the other competitive theatre. Hybernia and Broadway do not have Youtube pages but have videos posted about the theatre with numbers like 59K views on a video about Antoinette posted by a user and Broadway has about 8K views on their highest viewed video related to the theatre. Naradni Divadlo has only 62 subscribers. Karlin’s top watched video is about the Addams family and has more than 13,000 views. Divadlo Kalich, however, does have 29K views on a Mowgli/The Jungle Book video although they have 0 subscribers. Theatre users also enjoy taking pictures of themselves, their recent ticket purchases, and images of the theatre with hashtags for the theatre they are attending that have Instagram and Twitter accounts. Despite having yet to engage on instagram, HDK does have a #hudebnidivadlokarlin that has been tagged 93 times in the past 2 years and has increased in frequency of tagging. Divadlo Kalich is a good example of how followers on Instagram increases the frequency of tagging. With 242 followers, Kalich’s #divadlokalich has 175 tags in the past 2 years and 3 months. Narodni
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! Divadlo only has 45 followers on Instagram but they have been hasthtagged more than 2.5 K times with #narodnidivadlo. Hudebni Divadlo Karlin currently does not have a Twitter nor an Instagram page. However, the theatre does maintain a user-generated presence on both platforms. Their number of tags for #Hudbenidivadlokarlin and it’s geotag on Instagram is comparable to Divadlo Kalich, a company that does have an Instagram page. Social media engagement is critical to reaching a 25-35 year old audience. While the Czech Republic is behind the United States by a few years in terms of social media prevalence, there is plenty of opportunity for HDK to take strides towards increasing their social media presence. Facebook is the social media outlet that Hudebni Divadlo Karlin makes the most use of of. They have over 11,600 followers on their Facebook page. Our target demographic enjoys sharing reviews of their theatre experiences on Facebook. Hudebni Divadlo Karlin averages 4.6 of 5 stars and has about 1,400 reviews submitted, which include 1000- 5 star reviews, 192- 4 star reviews, 80- 3 star reviews, 23- 2 star reviews and 43- 1 star reviews. Interestingly, the few reviews with lower stars focused on complaints about the instruments being too loud over the vocals, which depends on where you sit in the theatre. The second complaint was that audience members did not like seeing other theatre-goers dressed down or wearing jeans to attend the theatre.
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CREATIVE STRATEGY: BIG IDEA: Host Kabaret Nights one Saturday a month in the Hudebni Divaldo Karlin lobby space. When the HDK theatre was first opened, it served as space where people were invited to come for a few hours, mingle, eat and drink. We are proposing that HDK bring this atmosphere and feeling back one night a month for a cabaret night hosted in the large lobby of the HDK theatre. With these cabaret nights we are aiming to attract a successful and sexy crowd – young couples and groups of friends who want to kick off their Saturday night with something fun, and unlike everything else they’ve ever seen. It’s sure to be a night of pure talent, sophistication and fun. They are designed to entice the younger audience into the space and to make them crave more of the HDK experience, in the form of a full-length performance. We will provide incentives and the ability for attendees of the cabaret nights to purchase tickets to HDK shows at a discounted rate while at the show. Each event will feature a theme based on a musical in HDK’s repertoire, or a theme that highlights theatre and hisotry. Specialty cocktails and a passed canapé menu designed by the Art Deco Imperial Hotel Prague’s executive chef, Zdenek Pohlreich would also be served at the event. HDK already has a pre-existing relationship with the Imperial Hotel, and Chef Pohlreich is a celebrity chef in the Czech Republic. We believe that the use of his name and food would also be appealing to some people in the target audience who might not otherwise attend the event. With the Kabaret nights we would also like to bring in a photo booth, the Innovative Foto “Blababooth” that would become a permanent fixture in the space. This photo booth would allow attendees to take commemorative photos of themselves at the event, having a good time with their friends. The Blababooth prints out 3 strips of photos and features custom borders as well as the ability to post online immediately after the photos have been taken. The photos themselves would be free of cost and would feature the #HDK logo in the corner. The photos would also be posted and tagged both on the theatre’s Facebook page, but also on a bulletin board that would remain a constant feature in the theatre, for all patrons of the theatre to view and contribute to beyond just the kabaret nights.
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EVENT DETAILS AND INCENTIVES STRUCTURE
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LOBBY LAYOUT:
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SWOT of Sophisticated Saturdays: ! Strengths •
Perfect space for hosting such events
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Already have relevant partnerships
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Location is near other venues/restaurants that cater to desired target
Opportunities •
Revamp what was done in the past
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Leverage partnerships for resources and collaborations
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Increase engagement and social media imprint
Weaknesses •
Social media presence in minimal
Threats •
Competition for target will include any other event taking place at the same time on Saturdays
Q&A ! Why host parties in addition to regularly scheduled programming and premieres? In doing this, we are attracting the attention of the 25-35 yearold demographic that the theatre is currently struggling to grab. But, they’re still not coming to the shows…. The Cabaret nights act as a way to give the skeptics just a small taste of what HDK has to offer. It also serves to get them through the doors and into the space, even if their butts aren’t in seats right off the bat. HDK will still make money from the events How do we convince them to come to the shows? These cabarets serve as social events for the young crowd, who are looking for a pre-cursor to a night on the town. They are short and sweet examples of what the theatre is all about. They are also designed to entice and invite people to buy tickets to a show while they are attending the event – the incentives are too great to pass up.
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MEDIA PLAN: 1. Social Media Engagement and building a new brand:
-Promote “#HDK” across all platforms When using the acronym ‘HDK’ instead of the full name when referencing the theatre on social media, we are appealing to a younger demographic who has gotten used to abbreviating words that they use both on social media and in everyday life. The succinct nature of three simple letters makes the hash-tag recognizable, appealing and approachable. -Feature Facebook ads/suggested events for members of the demographic – both for regularly scheduled shows and for the Sophisticated Saturdays Kabaret night. -Create Twitter Account - Twitter is a growing social media platform in Czech Republic, with more and more users each day. Twitter makes use of updates in 140 characters or less and grabs the attention of a target within seconds. This makes it an ideal platform to appeal to the 25-35 year old target market, a generation with a notoriously short attention span. -Create Instagram Account – While Instagram is still only used by early adopters in CZ, there is still a contingent of users within the demographic who have already given HDK life on the platform. Users are already using the hashtag and location tag for Hudebni Divadlo Karlin. -Continue use of Facebook, Youtube, and Google+ platforms - These media are already in use by the theater and do an adequate job of promoting the goings-on of the theatre, but there is room for optimization and improvement
2. Direct Marketing:
- SMS – send a thank-you SMS the following day to attendees of the Kabaret night to keep HDK at the top-of-mind for consumers and attendees. Most members of the target demographic are using Smartphones. This tactic reaches them immediately where they are, and is both personalized and brief. -Mailout personalized postcards following the event that include a discount code and reminders about the upcoming month’s event. This drives home the theatre’s brand and image of being an enjoyable, comfortable place to spend time. It also serves as a reminder of existing discounts that the user has yet to redeem. -Email newsletters - HDK currently sends out a quarterly newsletter informing subscribers of the goings-on in the theatre and of performances. There is opportunity to make use of the pre-existing database and send out more frequent emails (once a month) to keep HDK at the top-of-mind,
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3. Traditional Media: ! - Shortening the colloquial name from “Hudebni Divadlo Karlin” to “HDK” in all advertisements and signage. - Incorporating sophisticated atmosphere and space into the messaging of the theater: harp on the fact that our target will want to attend with a group of friends (a gathering), with fun and sophistication -Posters and advertisements near bars, parks and shopping malls – these are places where the target audience is – we want to make them aware of the events being hosted and to want to catch them in a space where they are comfortable and happy so that they form positive associations with even just the idea of the event and of HDK as a whole. -PR and Advertisement space in local tabloids and on local radio stations. HDK has a positive relationship with journalists. Kabaret nights offer extra subject matter for journalists and radio hosts, while simultaneously reaching the target audience.
4. Loyalty Program -Attendees of the events are automatically enrolled in the loyalty program currently being developed by HDK - a loyalty program will serve as incentive to return to the theatre.
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Imagery:
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BUDGET BREAKDOWN: (For three months/events)
Cost of Events:
Food: Passed canapĂŠs for 200 people over 2 hours = 25,000 CZK x 3 events = 75,000 CZK Alcohol: Cocktails, wine & beer for 200 people over 2 hours = 17,000 CZK x 3 events = 51,000 CZK Staff: 60 CZK/Hour for 4 hours x 10 employees = 2400 CZK/event x 3 events = 7200 CZK
Total: 133,200 CZK for 3 events (44,400 per event) Social Media:
Purchased/promoted ad space on Facebook: 250 CZK/day for 1 week prior to events = 1750 CZK x 3 events = 5250 CZK Staff member to manage Social Media presence: Part-time position, at minimum wage, 4500CZK/month x 3 months = 12,000 CZK
Total: 17,250 CZK Direct Marketing:
SMS: 2 CZK per SMS x 200 SMS = 400 CZK/event x 3 events = 1200
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Mail-outs: 15 CZK per piece x 200 pieces/event = 3000 CZK x 3 events = 9000 CZK
Total: 10,200 CZK Traditional Media: Included in HDK’s current allocated marketing budget
Other:
Photobooth: (to own) 150,000.00 CZK
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RETURN ON INVESTMENT:
! (Cost of base ticket x number of tickets sold) – Event cost + liquor sales + tickets sold (726 x 150 tickets) - 44,400 (cost per event) 108,900 - 44,400 = 65,000 CZK base profit for each event 195000 CZK for 3 events While the cost of the photo booth is high, the profit margin for the events, even without extra ticket packages, the photo booth could be paid off in full with 45,000 CZK of pure profit in the 3 events
MEASURING SUCCESS: ! More than 60% redemptions on distributed promotional materials - this is easy to track with redemptions only possible in the Theatre’s physical and online spaces. ‘#HDK’ trending in Prague across all social media platforms for a 36-hour period surrounding Kabaret events Minimum 150 attendees at Kabaret events Include an age button on the surveys at theater exits Track ages of online ticket purchasers by including an "age group" required field Reach 90% capacity mark for all performances
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ABOUT US: Sinclaire Fonville is a senior, majoring in marketing communications with a minor in fashion business at Columbia College-Chicago. Sinclaire is President of the Columbia College Fashion Association. She interned with Burrell Communications (Chicago, IL) as a research intern and also participated as a social media intern for new start up, Mentor Mob, with responsibilities for creating content strategies and executing inbound/outbound marketing tactics. On weekends, she is the front-end manager and model for Haute & Co. Bridal Boutique, an upscale retailer of specialty wedding attire in Chicago, IL. A graduate of The Second City Training Center Music Improv Conservatory and Columbia College Class of 2015, Lissette Hall is an Honors alumna who majored in Comedy Writing & Performance with an Arts in Healthcare minor. A member of Americans for the Arts and a facilitator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Lissette served as the Wellness Programs Assistant for the Training Center for the past year. Lissette is most passionate about the performing arts, especially improv, as tools for whole body health and wellness. During her tenure with Second City's Wellness Program, she produced Wellness Week, hosting nearly 200 students and community members for free workshops & events at the Training Center with a well attended finale Showcase & reception in UP Comedy Club that featured member's of the SC Wellness Community.
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Megan Korn is an Audio Arts, and Acoustics major with concentrations in Audio Design and Production; Live and Installed Sound as well as a Marketing minor . A future graduate of Columbia College Chicago's Class of 2016, Megan served as a Production Assistant for Superfine Picture Company with responsibilities that included on site mixing for the film A Dream of Flying along with helping the sound engineer with everyday duties throughout the project. Pursuing her passion of high quality sound production, Megan's career goal is to become a professional sound mixer for the Tony and Grammy Awards. Emily Machura is studying Marketing at Columbia College Chicago, graduating in December 2015. Although she has background in theatre and acting, she always harbored an interest in the business side of life, working as an HR manager and barista for an Edmonton, AB based coffee house and roaster while attending the University of Alberta. Emily hopes to apply what she’s learned across these diverse disciplines to a career as a lawyer; she is planning to attend law school in September 2016. Maryelizabeth Tamer, born and raised in Chicago, is a senior at Columbia College Chicago, studying Marketing and Fashion Business. She currently works in Men’s Personal Shopping at Neiman Marcus on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. Maryelizabeth is a huge fan of the Walt Disney Company, and spent a year working for the company in Florida as a Merchandising Cast Member in 2012. After she graduates in May 2016, Maryelizabeth would like to travel and continue to work in the fashion and marketing worlds.
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