Submitted by on Mon, 15 Aug 2005 10:04
The Auckland Theatre Company was a winner of the The New Zealand 2005 Marketing Magazine Marketing Awards for CHARITY/FUNDRAISING/NOT-PROFIT for its use of new media and SMS to attract younger patrons to its shows.
The project, which was the first of its kind for the New Zealand arts sector, used SMS as the main communication channel with its target audience of 18 to 25 year olds.
TXT2U was implemented by ATC 2econd Unit, part of Auckland Theatre Company. ATC 2econd Unit is dedicated to encouraging theatre attendance and participation by the under 25 market. Through ATC 2econd Unit, Auckland Theatre Company offers last minute standby tickets for under 25's, after show functions giving the audience a chance to interact directly with the actors and back stage crew. In setting up the initiative ATC 2econd Unit created an exclusive 'opt in' database of members who were receptive to receiving up to date information and special offers via SMS.
The database was built up from a direct marketing campaign. Postcards and emails invited young people to sign up to TXT2U online or by postcard. The chance to win a Sony Ericsson T630 phone was used as an incentive. Twenty four thousand postcards were inserted in student publications, around 2000 were placed in clubs, bars and clothing outlets and more than 3500 emails were sent to ATC's database.
Messages were sent out before the opening night and during the season of two plays - in particular promoting the 2econd Unit nights - with special offers of discount tickets and door prizes.
Subscription to the service was primarily via the Auckland Theatre Company website (www.atc.co.nz). The Hyperfactory's HYPER-CRM platform managed the integration of the subscriptions with the database and the subsequent distribution of SMS messages to this database.
TXT2U has been so successful it has been incorporated into ATC's overall marketing programme and will help promote ATC plays, special offers, discount tickets and behind the scenes 'insider' information on a regular basis.
Helen Bartle, Marketing Sponsorship Manager at Auckland Theatre Company says, 'The response has been overwhelming. Over the three month trial period we saw the TXT2U membership grow greatly; we saw an increase of 63% in the sale of standby tickets and 140% increase on the sale of advance student tickets compared to previous years. We're committed to our aim of making theatre more accessible for a younger audience and we've been delighted with the results of the TXT2U initiative. This award is really important to us as it recognises our achievement in marketing arts to the youth market'.
Geoffrey Handley, Director of Sales and Marketing for The Hyperfactory adds, ' It's proof that mobile communication works in any environment; arts, business or consumer. We were able to give Auckland Theatre Company a route directly to their audience and the results show that it has been a great success'.