Bums In Seats: How to Make the Most of a Limited Advertising Budget
May 7 to May 9, 2010
Orillia

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Bums In Seats: How to Make the Most of a Limited Advertising Budget. Times, they are a changing and how do we survive as resources–both human and financial–shrink? Our instructor will guide you through a review of what you are currently doing and help you adapt it to the new reality–a world where we are increasingly crunched for time, bombarded with messages and feeling isolated. Taking a look at recent advances in values-based marketing and relationship building, we will consider how we can encourage people to invest in their mental health and attend your theatre.

Over the course of the session you will gain an understanding of values-driven marketing, understand what branding means to your theatre and learn how to increase your resources, while you retain and grow your audience and do so with a limited budget. Participants will be asked to bring samples of what their theatre is currently using for marketing as well as stories of both their successes (and ideas that didn’t work so well) to share. Working together participants can expect to take home a fresh eye for marketing supported by new and practical ideas and tools.

At this residential programme, participants will also:

  • relax in a comfortable rural setting, free from distractions and focus on the content
  • enjoy good quality accommodation and 3 meals a day plus snacks and refreshments
  • be centrally located for ease of transportation/access
  • share with like-minded people their needs and challenges, as well as their solutions
  • have appropriate space for large and small group interaction
  • have some “down time” as well, to appreciate their relaxed surroundings

This course is being run simultaneously with Leader Of The Pack: Stage Management For Community Theatres

Course Instructor

Cheryl Ewing Cheryl Ewing has over twenty years experience in senior management in the arts. Having worked in the municipal, educational, for-profit and not-for-profit sectors Ms. Ewing brings a broad perspective to the work of artists and their impact on the community. She designed the innovative young audience programmes – eyeGO to the Arts and River Run Centre’s Linamar for the Performing Arts. She is the General Manager of ACE (Association of Cultural Executives), administers Open Ears Festival and a performing arts conference – Ontario Contact. Ms. Ewing is very proud to be the author of Raising the Curtain, a manual for young audience presenters based on her own experiences. She is an active volunteer within Waterloo Region serving on the boards of Dancetheatre David Earle and JM Drama/Registry Theatre as well as the Waterloo Region Prosperity Council Creative Forum Steering Committee. As the Project Manager for a province-wide marketing research project, the Values & Benefits Study, Ms. Ewing is excited about the changes in marketing in today’s world.

Course Schedule

Friday, May 7

  • 5:00pm to 7:30pm: Arrival, Check-in and Dinner
  • 7:30pm to 9:30pm: First session – setting foundation for weekend. CCI Value & Benefit Study and how that can be applied to your theatre. An overview of a ground breaking research study undertaken in Ontario over the past three-years. This presentation will include a reveal of some of the findings and how to use this approach in your marketing.
  • 9:30pm on: Social time

Saturday, May 8

  • 8:00am to 9:00am: Breakfast
  • 9:00am to 11:00am: Second session (roundtables with participants sharing their ideas). Retaining Your Audience: It is easier to keep your existing audience than to find a new audience. What do people expect from their night at the theatre and how can you help them to meet their expectations. How can this knowledge be used to Grow Your Audience?
  • 11:00am to 1:00pm: Free time (including lunch)
  • 1:00pm to 3:00pm: Third Session Ticket Pricing: Are your ticket prices realistic? When was the last time you really looked at what you are charging? How to make your ticket prices work for you. Also touch on Increasing Your Resources – identifying potential partners in co-operative marketing and the role of the complementary ticket and discounts in growing your audience.
  • 3:00pm to 5:00pm: Group assignments
  • 5:00pm to 7:00pm: Dinner
  • 7:00pm to 9:00pm: Group assignments continue
  • 9:00pm: Social Time

Sunday, May 9

  • 8:00am to 9:00am: Breakfast
  • 9:00am to 11:00am: Fifth Session – Gathering Stories How to gather stories and what to do with them once you have them.
  • 11:00am to 1:00pm: Free time, check out and Lunch
  • 1:00pm to 3:00pm: Sixth and final Session – Sharing of assignments

(Note: Schedule is subject to change.)

Course Location

Geneva Park, Orillia

Course Suitability

Suitable for intermediate and advanced levels.

To Apply

Download and submit a registration form
Registration deadline is April 9, 2010.

Course Fee

$525, which includes all instructor fees, course materials, accommodations and meals for the full weekend, and taxes.

Participants must also be an individual member of Theatre Ontario. Current members must be paid-up through June 1, 2010. Membership payment can accompany your course application/registration. If you wish to access other membership benefits immediately, you must send a separate membership payment. (Read more about membership)

We accept payment by VISA, MasterCard, American Express, debit, cash or cheque.  Course payment must accompany the application and will be processed when the course reaches minimum class size.

For More Information

For more information, please contact Cornelia Persich, Education Coordinator, at cornelia@theatreontario.org or 416.408.4556 x.10

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We will also be offering this course in Fall / Winter 2010 in Toronto. To receive notification of future workshop dates, sign up for our enewsletter Theatre Ontario Presents...