CATA 171
Intro to Theatre and Cinema
Chapter 11
Finding Theater and Getting Tickets
A. Background
1. Theatre is
a. Small business
b. Small budgets
2. Advertising must be very strategic
3. Relies heavily on free public announcements
1. Direct Mail
a. Most efficient and cost-effective way of advertising
b. Theatres develop lists of people who may be interested
I. Uses names and addresses of people who have bought tickets in past
Il Buys or borrows lists from other arts organizations
c. Mail attractive brochures with return mail order forms
I. Relatively low cost procedure
II. Main marketing strategy
2. Print Ads and Announcements
a. Relatively inexpensive
b. Marquees most obvious
c. Newspapers carry display ads for season tickets just after Labor Day
d. Newspaper ads for single productions at any time of year
I. Usually near ads for other art events such as movies or music
e. Ads in glossy magazines appealing to upper-middle income families
f. Sometimes place ads in programs from ballet or opera
g. Billboards and signs on public transportation
h. Posters and window boards
i. Table tents in restaurants
j. Handbills on street
k. Public service calendars in newspapers
3. Radio and TV Ads and Announcements
a. Radio stations sell ads by time
I. Duration and time of day affect cost
II. Costs more than print advertising
III. Small theatres avoid it
IV. Large venues rely on it
V. Rarely on stations with rock, rap, country or New Age music
b. TV advertising even more selective
I. Almost always used only for Broadway type productions
II. First done with Pippin in 1972
A. Would have been a flop
B. People walking out at intermission
C. Eliminated intermission
D. Launched major TV campaign showing Ben Vereen and energetic musical numbers
E. Became a big hit
III. Now common in NY where musicals hope to sell $800,000 of tickets per week
4. Telemarketing
a. Not-for-profit organizations are exempt from new telephone marketing regulations
b. Much like small colleges, theatres build list of prospects and engages group of telephoners to make appealing sales pitch.
PBS has done this for years
5. Internet
a. Everything about a production or theatre can now be found online
b. Can buy tickets directly from web site and see map of seats
c. Usually contain synopsis, names of actors, photos of production, etc.
d. Large cities like NY or London have specialized sites for their theatre
I. Theatre Direct International (londontheatredirect.com; http://www.broadway.com)
A. Playbills
B. Openings and Schedules
C. Cast Lists
D. Ticket availability
E. Theatre gossip
A. Regional, state and local productions
III. Playbill.com
A. The hub of theatre on the internet
IV. Theatremania.com