Regional Theatre Marketing Plan

The Players Theatre

Controls

This plan will go into action by June 1999. We want to see our growth progressing by comparing our month-end ticket sales with May. We want to connect with area and other county school districts, laying the groundwork for a Fall season of touring. We will discuss and monitor this growth with quarterly reviews of progress through year one.

Implementation

The following table maps out our milestones for the programs we want to start implementing in June. The costs of the monthly mailings and opening night party are likely to change once they are implemented and we are able to effectively determine our costs. The programs that end in September may end earlier if they are successful in promoting our company and we have no need to continue them. Most likely we will continue with the Opening Night party to stay in touch with the desires and needs of our audience. All of our program managers are aware of the following milestones and are already working on implementation. We are determined to get all programs running by the first of June.

Marketing Organization

Our marketing organization consists of our board members: Ceri Gipson, Kate Lord, Mark Zolun, Kenne Sage, and Camas Davis. We have divided responsibilities based on skill. We have weekly meetings to discuss our progress and our budget. All issues are agreed upon fully before implementation.

Contingency Planning

The worst-case scenario that we have to be prepared for is losing enough of our sales and funding that we have no marketing budget. In order to assure that we continue our marketing programs, we must establish relationships with local businesses (like City Copy, newspapers, Boyett catering) who in exchange for advertising in our programs and our referrals, we receive reduced rates or even free services from. This is possible because we are aware that other theatre companies have established the same relationships, and we have already established such a relationship with a local printing company. This "plan B" will at least allow us to keep up the minimum without much cost.