Marketing and PR communications in the context of promoting theatre institution

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Kremenchuk Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi national university

Marketing and PR communications in the context of promoting theatre institution

Vasylenko Daria,

senior lecturer, department of humanities, culture and arts

Skryl' Polina,

undergraduate student

Titova Valeria,

undergraduate student

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to create a marketing and PR development strategy for the Coryphaei Theatre. Research methodology. To solve the research task, general scientific methods have been used: analysis, generalisation, description, and comparative-comparative (study of the theoretical foundations of the research). Besides, the authors have applied specifically scientific methods: structural, systemic, method of included observation, survey (questionnaire), and situational analysis (writing the practical part of the study). The scientific novelty consists in the presentation of practical recommendations for the construction and implementation of a marketing and PR communications strategy for the «Coryphaei Theatre» to attract new viewers and popularise the theatre's activities in society. Cultural and leisure activities are perceived as the process of creating conditions for the individual's motivational choice of subject activity, which is determined by his / her needs and interests. With the development of market relations, cultural and leisure activities closely approached marketing technologies, which are based on the problem of finding and meeting the needs of individual citizens or public groups. The issue of improving the system of promoting theatrical services in the form of marketing and PR communications, which allows focusing the available limited resources of organisations on the main strategic directions of conquering target market segments under conditions of increased competition, is gaining special relevance. At the same time, the task of promoting a theatrical product comes to the fore, which is currently one of the most promising types of business activity for theatre institutions that want to stay on the socio-cultural market. Conclusions. We have analysed the market of theatrical services provided by the «Coryphaei Theatre» and the conditions of the competitive environment in the Kropyvnytskyi city, considered pricing in the theatre sector, developed a system for implementing marketing and PR in the work of the theatre, and developed recommendations for the theatre's advertising and PR policy.

Keywords:theatre, marketing, communication, PR, socio-cultural sphere, leisure, performances.

Анотація

Василенко Дар'я Павлівна, старша викладачка кафедри гуманітарних наук, культури і мистецтва Кременчуцького національного університету імені Михайла Остроградського; Скриль Поліна Валеріївна, студентка Кременчуцького національного університету імені Михайла Остроградського; Тітова Валерія Данилівна, студентка Кременчуцького національного університету імені Михайла Остроградського

Маркетингові і PR-комунікації в контексті просування театральної установи

Мета роботи - сформувати стратегію маркетингового і PR-розвитку «Театру Корифеїв» у місті Кропивницький. Методологія. Щоб вирішити завдання дослідження, було використано загальнонаукові методи: аналіз, узагальнення, опис, порівняльно-порівняльний (вивчення теоретичних засад дослідження); конкретнонаукові: структурний, системний, метод включеного спостереження, опитування (анкетування), ситуаційного аналізу (написання практичної частини дослідження). Наукова новизна полягає в представленні практичних рекомендацій щодо конструювання і реалізації стратегії маркетингових і PR-комунікацій для «Театру Корифеїв» для залучення нових глядачів і популяризації діяльності театру в суспільстві. Культурно-дозвіллєва діяльність сприймається як процес створення умов мотиваційного вибору особистістю предметної діяльності, що визначається її потребами та інтересами. З розвитком ринкових відносин культурно-дозвіллєва діяльність впритул наблизилася до маркетингових технологій, основу яких становить проблема пошуку та задоволення потреб окремих громадян чи громадських груп. Особливої актуальності набувають питання вдосконалення системи просування театральних послуг у вигляді маркетингових і PR-комунікацш, що дає змогу зосередити наявні обмежені ресурси організацій на основних стратегічних напрямах завоювання цільових сегментів ринку за умов посилення конкуренції. При цьому на перший план виходить завдання просування театрального продукту, що на сьогодні є одним з найбільш перспективних видів ділової активності для закладів театральної сфери, які прагнуть залишитися на соціокультурному ринку. Висновки. Проаналізовано ринок театральних послуг, які надає «Театр Корифеїв» та умови конкурентного середовища, досліджено ціноутворення в театральній сфері, розроблено систему впровадження маркетингу і PR в роботу театру та надано рекомендації щодо рекламної і PR-політики театру.

Ключові слова: театр, маркетинг, комунікація, PR, соціокультурна сфера, дозвілля, вистави.

Main part

Relevance of the research topic. Cultural and leisure activities are perceived as the process of creating conditions for the individual's motivational choice of subject activity, which is determined by his / her needs and interests. With the development of market relations, cultural and leisure activities closely approached marketing technologies, which are based on the problem of finding and meeting the needs of individual citizens or public groups. At the current stage of development of the socio-cultural field, cultural institutions in general, and theatres in particular, found themselves in fundamentally new conditions. The decrease in the level of state funding, the instability of sponsorship, the unpredictability of audience behaviour, in particular due to the development of the commercial leisure sector, caused a whole set of problems. However, it is precisely the challenge of this new reality, which is reshaping the relationship between art and the public, that has given marketing and PR in the field of culture such an important meaning. There was a need for a conscious application of a marketing approach for the promotion of institutions of the socio-cultural sphere, in particular theatres. The change in the socio-cultural needs of visitors, the mismatch of demand and supply in the market of socio-cultural services determine the need to introduce marketing and PR tools into the process of managing cultural institutions to ensure the quality formation, development and satisfaction of the socio-cultural needs of people and society, which ultimately contributes to the improvement of the quality of life of users.

Analysis of research and publications. Scientific research in the context of marketing strategies was carried out by both Ukrainian and foreign scientists, including A.R. Andreasen [1], V. Zotov [3], K. Sriramesh [10; 11], L. Keller [5], P. Kotler, G. Armstrong [8], B. McCarthy [9]. Scientific substantiation of the problem of management of institutions from socio-cultural sector, and the construction of their marketing strategies are devoted to scientific works: T. Borysova [2], L. Edwards [4], J.D. Colombo [7], C. Webster [14], A. Wales [12], Ch. Watkins [13].

Figure 1. Results of the survey on topic «How often do you visit the theatre?»

During the research, a number of unsolved questions regarding the use of marketing and PR technologies in the socio-cultural sphere and in particular the theatre industry were outlined. Questions that require a definition of the concept of marketing communication implementation in the activity of modern Ukrainian theatre remain discursive.

The purpose of the research is to form a marketing and PR development strategy for the «Coryphaei Theatre».Presenting of the basic material. The basis of any commercial activity is attracting customers, establishing long-term relations between them and the theatre. Each theatre operates in a competitive environment. The interests of various groups (departments) within the organisation were taken into account during the development of recommendations regarding the marketing activities of the «Coryphaei Theatre». For the concept of development of marketing and PR communications in the theatre, the concept of 7P was taken as a basis, we will consider its components in more detail [6].

1. Product. The product is the repertoire of the theatre. Performances performed on the stage of the «Coryphaei Theatre» have various genres: comedy, musical comedy, musical, documentary performance, romantic ballad, musical drama, rock opera, apocrypha, etc. Currently, the theatre's repertoire includes 25 performances, among them: «I'm Going for You», «Eternal Law of the Motherhood», «Natalka Poltavka», «On the Field of Blood», «Napoleon and the Corsican», «We are the people of Kropyvnytskyi», «Naimichka», «Sorochyn Fair» and others.

Within this criterion, a sociological survey was conducted to assess the demand for the theatrical product. A total of 77 respondents were interviewed, who were asked one question: how often do they visit the theatre. The survey was conducted in the Kropyvnytskyi city in November-December 2021. According to the results of the research, 52% of respondents do not visit the theatre at all, 30% - once every six months, 9% - once a quarter, 9% - once a month. Among those who visit the theatre more than once every six months, the number of women exceeds the number of men three times (Figure 1).

People aged from 20 to 30 and from 40 to 65 years old usually visit the theatre more often. In general, theatre has a positive colour in the imagination of people, they associate it with actors, performances, stage, art and leisure time.

2. Place or channel of distribution. The distribution channels of performances are such values as the popularity of actors engaged in performances; the professionalism of the director - producer; location of the theatre. According to this criterion, the «Coryphaei Theatre» has a good historical heritage and a favorable location in a historical building, where the first professional theatre was organised on October 27, 1882 under the leadership of M. Kropyvnytskyi. The actors of the theatre are mainly known only to the audience of the theatre, although there are 5 honored artists of Ukraine among them.

3. Price. Currently, in the field of theatrical art, the supply exceeds the demand, the audience's interest in the theatre as a form of leisure is decreasing. One of the main problems in pricing in the field of art is determining the market value of the product, i.e. the very idea. The market deals with scenic works, whose artistic value and commercial value cannot be directly correlated [6, 57]. Accordingly, the price policy in the theatre and entertainment market is based mainly on its regulatory mechanisms of art, than on the needs and tastes of the consumer. Therefore, the theatre management should develop a pricing strategy based on the costs, demand and pricing policies of competitors. The price for the type of services of the «Coryphaei Theatre» is the average in Ukraine for regional academic theatres is UAH 100-300.

4. Promotion. Today, the theatre has several channels of information dissemination. The first one is the regular viewers, who spread information about the theatre themselves and through their acquaintances. The second one is the Facebook social networks, the number of followers is 108. Most likely these are real supporters of the theatre plus its employees. The Instagram has only 1 subscriber, which is why it cannot be considered a resource that can really help in promoting the theatre's activities. The website is https://teatr - koryfeiv.com.ua/, we consider it the most consumer-oriented, as it contains the most information about the theatre's activities and has real information about the theatre (since September 2022, the site has been inactive). Another source of information about the theatre is posters on free sites on the Internet, such as «Kontrmarka».

5. People. There are 57 actors in the main troupe of the «Coryphaei Theatre». Each theatre actor undergoes continuous training in the following areas: acting skills and stage language, musical art. In addition, one of the creators of the play is certainly a playwright. «Coryphaei

6.

Theatre» works mainly with academic drama. In addition, in the theatre field, every spectator, who comes to a theatre performance, is an intermediary in shaping the perception of theatre services among their acquaintances and strangers, leaving publicly available feedback both in personal conversations and on websites and social networks.

7. Process. This criterion includes the process of buying tickets for the performance of the «Coryphaei Theatre», we note that it is quite simple. Tickets can be purchased at the theatre's box office, through the theatre's website, or other online platforms, that offer tickets for performances of the «Coryphaei Theatre» (karabas.com, bilet.com.ua, kr.kontramarka.ua, etc.). Almost complete achievement of the desired potential audience can be attributed to the marketing victories of the «Corypheiv Theatre». A theatregoer is a person between the ages of 28 and 65, with average and above-average incomes and a higher education. It is obvious, that the shortcomings of the results of the current marketing system can be called:

a) «Coryphaei Theatre» website is not working;

b) lack of a mobile application for booking tickets to the «Coryphaei Theatre»;

c) poorly developed social networks of the theatre, which have a small number of subscribers, which makes it impossible to promote the theatre's activities through social networks at the current stage;

d) lack of constant sponsors;

e) lack of outdoor advertising, implementation of advertising strategy only with the help of the site and local media (which is ineffective, as they have low viewing ratings).

The correction of precisely these disadvantages formed the basis of the development of recommendations for improving the marketing and PR activities of the «Coryphaei Theatre».

The effectiveness of marketing management means such an organisation of the information collection system, conducting market research, organisation of advertising sales operations and service, which would ensure the maximum results (profit, sales volume, market share, etc.) at minimum costs [5]. Marketing structures can be considered flexible only if they are able to change their organisational forms when the strategy of the «Coryphaei Theatre» changes. In Table 1, the goal of the marketing service is formulated depending on the problem that has arisen (table).

The goals of the marketing service of the «Coryphaei Theatre»