Route To Market strategies

What I've considered when looking at RTM options:

• I am selling to consumers
• I want to actively persuade them to pay for my service
• The consumers may need to be able to inspect the service (e.g. have songs to listen to, plot line for the musicals)
• This is likely a mid-range purchase
• My business will hopefully be both national and international as I will have both live performances and recorded performances to share online

Selling online is likely the best strategy for me because I'm not selling a physical product, but rather tickets to my theatre performances (live and possibly digital). It also makes my business easy to access because the internet is available to nearly everyone, everywhere. This means there shouldn't be many location barriers because those who aren't willing to travel will be able to access the productions online.

These days, most theatre tickets are sold through another website, instead of from the company/production's own website. For example, on 'todaytix' you can buy tickets for practically all of the shows in London and across America, not just musicals. This website also often has special offers on tickets for certain shows, which would entice a larger audience who can't quite afford the typically expensive tickets. Information about the shows is also provided such as a synopsis, show dates, warnings (e.g. strobe lighting), age suitability, the venue and what genre the show is. This allows potential consumers to know exactly what they're buying, which increases their trust in the website. Using these well known ticket websites would promote my productions to a larger audience who are already interested in theatre without having to do much promotion myself. 

There's also news websites that focus primarily on theatre, such as 'The Stage, a British newspaper and website that covers the entertainment industry with theatre as a specific focus. It's highly well known, so a website like this producing an article about my company would be a great way to reach a wide, theatre-loving audience. There's even a page where theatre tickets can be purchased, so people could easily get them straight after reading about a particular show. However, The Stage is UK based, which would make it more difficult to access more international consumers. They also produce reviews, which can be risky when a negative review could be written and promoted to everybody, which would discourage a large amount of people from engaging with my company and its productions. 

Social media is also a particularly effective way of promoting anything to a large audience because so many people use it every single day. However, not everybody uses every social media platform, so I would need to make sure I make profiles on the socials my target demographic would mainly use. I believe Instagram and TikTok would likely be the best platforms to use because my main customers are creative people and are younger adults. These are also all very visual platforms so I'd be able to share eye-catching and promotional images and videos. However, on Instagram, you have to pay to promote your posts. You determine the cost depending on how long you want the promotion to last and how many profiles you want to reach. It is possible to promote without spending money (e.g. sharing posts on your story, using hashtags, tagging people, linking people to your profile), but this method takes a lot longer. There are sponsored ads on TikTok, but it's much easier to gain recognition on it over Instagram. Anything that catches people's attention can quickly become popular as people like and share and comment, which then catches the eye of more people and it quickly grows. Using popular audio, hashtags and doing popular trends (but in a unique way) is the best way to gain popularity on the platform.

Competition research

Team StarKid

Team StarKid is an American theatre company who produce primarily comedy and musical theatre productions. They started by making parody musicals of well-known media franchises/products such as Harry Potter, Batman, Star Wars and Disney's Aladdin. However, they have also created original productions, focusing specifically on this within the last few years. A lot of their customers engage with their work online as they upload all of their shows to YouTube. This means people have access to these from all over the world, giving them a global audience.

StarKid also has a website, which they keep very up to date by always advertising their most recent productions on their home page. Their other website pages include:

• About
• Info about all the shows/series they've done
• Music (purchase albums/songs)
• Connect (contact info, social media links)
• Tickets
• Shop (merch, licensing, music, DVDs)

In terms of ticket prices, general tickets are around £25 ($35) and VIP tickets are around £45 ($60). They then also will sell digital tickets for livestreamed shows, which are around £11 ($15), with the option to pay more to help them and support their work.

Social media they use:

• YouTube <= Will likely use
• Instagram <= Will likely use
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Tumblr

On their YouTube channel they:

• Upload trailers/sneak peeks for shows
• Upload full productions (posted sometime after the last live production)
• Upload digital series
• Do livestreams
• Update their banner and logo to match their most recent production

On their Instagram they:

• Post content relating to their most recent show
• Post behind the scenes images/videos
• Post trailers
• Upload cast photos
• Do Instagram Lives
• Upload highlights for shows and projects

StarKid is similar to my company in that create original musicals, and they've been focusing heavily on diversity and inclusivity in their more recent productions. They also post their musicals online to watch for free, making them accessible to people from all over. This is something I'd like to do with my productions if possible. However, their works always focus more on comedy with some occasional dark themes involved. I will try to create a range of musicals that cover different genres to appeal to a wider demographic, especially those with different musical tastes.

Little but Fierce

Little but Fierce is a London-based theatre group that stages feminist theatre works that are written and directed by women with majorly female casts. They produce both new writing and feminist takes on classics, and try to focus on working with and telling the stories of marginalised groups (e.g. women of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, the disabled). 

They were motivated to create this group due to the lack of range in female roles and lack of roles for those in marginalised groups. 

On their website, their webpages consist of:

• Home
• About us
• Productions
• Podcast
• 37:5 Shakespeare Project (a new upcoming project)
• Mental health initiative 

They also have links to their social media profiles on Twitter and Facebook.

On their Twitter they:

• Share events they're going to be involved in
• Post personal updates 
• Share others' works who have the same ideologies

They haven't posted on their Facebook in a few years, but they primarily shared pictures from their productions and links to websites selling tickets to them, which typically cost around £15.

Little but Fierce is similar to my company in that they focus on diversity and equality in their productions, but whilst they have a specific focus on women and feminism, I won't be focusing on one specific group of people. They also stage primarily plays whilst my theatre company exclusively does musical theatre.

Graeae 

Graeae is a theatre company based in London that always place Deaf and disabled artists at the centre of their works. They perform both new and existing plays, making them inclusive for all by integrating audio description and sign language throughout their artistic process and productions. They also explore a variety of theatrical genres from contemporary pieces to musicals, incorporating a variety of different mediums, such as puppetry. 

On their website there are the following pages:

• What's On
• Our Work
• About
• News & Opinion
• Digital Library
• Your Support

In terms of pricing, their tickets usually cost between £10 - £25, depending on the kind of performance it is and where it's being performed.

At the bottom of their website they have important contact information such as their address, phone number and email, as well as links to their social media profiles on:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Instagram

They primarily post about their newest productions on their social media, providing links with information about them. They post basically the same things across all of their social media platforms and include many images on all of them to showcase productions and cast members. On their YouTube specifically though, they upload primarily trailers and interviews with the cast and creatives involved. 

Graeae is similar to my business in that it is a theatre company and they occasionally stage musical productions. They also focus heavily on making theatre diverse and accessible, which is a key aspect of my company also. I am also interested in their incorporation of different mediums, like puppetry, which could be something that I experiment with within my business.

Customer profiles and commonalities

Customer type 1

Name: Jess (she/her)

Age: Late teens

Where they live: Typical British town

Occupation: College student (studying Fine art, English and Performing arts)

Income: None 

Hobbies/interests: Making art, writing stories, watching/listening to musicals, reading

Media they engage with: Books, musicals (live and online), Netflix (teen shows e.g. Glee)

Where they shop: Etsy

Distinctive qualities: Musical theatre enthusiast

Why they're interested in my product: Loves musical theatre, keeps up to date with new upcoming shows, likely in the local area

Customer type 2

Name: Barnabus (he/him)

Age: Early 70's

Where they live: Cottage in rural England

Occupation: Retired (was an architect)

Income: None

Hobbies/interests: Playing piano, ballroom dancing lessons with his wife, going out for tea

Media they engage with: Nature documentaries, doesn't really use technology often

Where they shop: Book shops, marketplace

Distinctive qualities: Interested in traditional musical theatre, very old fashioned

Why they're interested in my product: Learn about how theatre has changed, he'll be exposed to more diverse theatre to change his old-fashioned views, not a fan of new musicals that are remakes of popular films

Customer type 3

Name: Jeanette (she/her)

Age: Mid 30's

Where they live: Small apartment in London

Occupation: Fiction writer

Income: Around £15,000 a year

Hobbies/interests: Attending protests/marches, supporting charity

Media they engage with: Poetry, amateur theatre productions, BBC dramas, Pinterest

Where they shop: Charity shops, smaller businesses

Distinctive qualities: Very supportive of and involved in community projects 

Why they're interested in my product: Interested in new theatre pieces and is an advocate for diversity

Customer type 4

Name: Leighton (he/they)

Age: Teenager

Where they live: Rather rundown apartment block in an urban area of England

Occupation: High school student with a part time café job

Income: Minimum wage 

Hobbies/interests: Performing, singing, dancing, fashion designing 

Media they engage with: Musical theatre (newer, modern musicals), fashion magazines, RuPaul's Drag Race, social media (especially Instagram)

Where they shop: H&M, SHEIN

Distinctive qualities: Interested mainly in modern musical theatre

Why they're interested in my product: Loves new musical theatre and highly creative

Customer type 5

Name: Ricardo (they/them)

Age: Early 20's

Where they live: Very small apartment in London

Occupation: Actor 

Income: Around £20,000 a year

Hobbies/interests: Going to the theatre, listening to music, photography, going to rock concerts

Media they engage with: Musical theatre (mainly rock musicals), rock music (through Spotify or records), old music videos

Where they shop: Vintage shops, record shops

Distinctive qualities: Is pursuing an acting career

Why they're interested in my product: In the musical theatre profession, aims to create more diversity in the industry

Customer type 6

Name: Delia (she/her)

Age: Mid 40's

Where they live: 'Fancier' regions of England 

Occupation: Violinist in an orchestra

Income: Around £55,000 a year

Hobbies/interests: Writes her own compositions, gardening, going to the opera

Media they engage with: true crime documentaries and crime TV shows, not really present on social media

Where they shop: Waitrose, Selfridges, M&S

Distinctive qualities: Typically interested in classical music and performance, but is open to seeing new productions

Why they're interested in my product: Interested in the arts and is open to seeing new productions if the premise interests her

Customer type 7

Name: Katy (she/her)

Age: 19/20

Where they live: In London 

Occupation: Dance student with a part time job at a florists

Income: Minimum wage

Hobbies/interests: Dance (ballet and tap especially), stretching and exercise, flower arranging, makeup and self care

Media they engage with: Nearly all social media platforms

Where they shop: Asos, boohoo

Distinctive qualities: Is highly creative and specialises in mainly dance, but also interested in makeup

Why they're interested in my product: Is indirectly interested in theatre through dance, has an appreciation for aesthetics which I also do

Customer type 8

Name: Jonathan (he/him)

Age: Early 30's

Where they live: Crowded, rather grungy apartment

Occupation: Aspiring musical theatre writer and composer, with a part time job at a diner

Income: Minimum wage

Hobbies/interests: Scriptwriting, composing, songwriting, swimming

Media they engage with: Old music on records, books, not interested in modern media

Where they shop: Vintage shops, small businesses

Distinctive qualities: Has very similar aspirations to mine

Why they're interested in my product: Also creating his own musical theatre shows, interested in new theatre

Link to Pinterest boards: https://pin.it/AbHvYkC

Commonalities

Age range: 17 - 35

Geographical location: UK

Occupation: Creative careers or studying creative subjects (especially in theatre)

Income brackets:  Minimum wage -  £30,000

Common leisure interests: Creative hobbies (e.g. reading, writing, performing, art)

Media channels: Theatre, books, Netflix shows, Instagram and Pinterest

Shops: Vintage shops, charity shops, businesses with handmade products (smaller businesses)

Attitudes: Support amateur theatre and the theatre industry, advocates for diversity and accessibility

Common themes: All like musical theatre in some way

Common reasons for wanting my product: Agree with my mission statement (interested in new theatre productions and want to see more diversity in theatre)

Personal skills development

Skills I'd like to improve:

• Writing 
• Song writing 
• Singing

Plan: Write my musical (as much as possible)

• Pinterest board (aesthetics, designs, prompts)
• Character profiles 
• Basic structure/timeline (key plot points, where songs go)
• Write script
• Write songs

Final logo and asset pack

Final logo

Logo banner

Circle logo

Additional research

Arts Council England

Website: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/

Arts Council England is a development agency for creativity and culture, investing public money from Government and The National Lottery into creative projects. They support thousands of individual artists, community and cultural organisations who apply for their funding. The application can be for either £30,000 and under, or £30,000 and over depending on how much is needed for the project. In the application guide, they highlight how important they think accessibility and diversity is, with questions such as 'Tell us how your project addresses the Creative Case for Diversity'.

I believe the Arts Councils' project grants would be highly beneficial for my theatre company because of my primary focus on making theatre more diverse and accessible both on and off stage. This increases the likelihood of the Arts Council funding my projects.

Get Into Theatre

Website: https://getintotheatre.org/

Get Into Theatre is an independent charity that provides information, advice and opportunities regarding careers in theatre and sources of training (e.g. university courses), work experience (e.g. workshops) and funding (e.g. scholarships, bursaries and funds). They specifically aim to help young people who don't know much about the job options within the theatre and the different ways to make a start in the industry. They believe everybody should be able to pursue a career in theatre regardless of background, ethnicity, disabilities, sexuality, religion, or gender. 

I believe this website is beneficial to me personally as well as for my business as I am a young person wanting to pursue a career in theatre. Having one website that provides information about a variety of opportunities is incredibly useful and I can find ways to better myself as a performer. By gaining more experience I will be able to improve the chances of my company being successful, because I will have a greater knowledge of theatre as a whole. Their focus on diversity and inclusion will also help me find more methods of improving this within my own company.

Skillsbuilder

Website: https://www.skillsbuilder.org/ 

Skillsbuilder provides a universal framework that helps with building useful life skills: listening, speaking, problem solving, creativity, staying positive, aiming high, leadership and teamwork. There are various steps and levels within each skill that allows to improve all of them. The steps offer questions for the reader to ask themselves and reasons for why the skill is so important.

Though this isn't directly relevant to my business, it will be very useful if I am able to improve upon all these skills. It will allow me to be a better business owner, working effectively with other people and making my company seem more appealing. For example, building on my listening and speaking skills will better my ability to collaborate and get feedback from others, which will make the company easier to work with.

Society of London Theatre

Website: https://solt.co.uk/

The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) primarily promotes theatres and productions in London, supports major theatre events (e.g. Olivier Awards) and aim to make theatre more accessible. It's a major part of their mission. They have their own charity 'Theatre Development Trust' that offers grants, with a focus on audience development (encouraging young theatre goers, increasing diversity and access for new theatre goers), workforce training and career development (addressing skills shortages, entry routes, in career training and inclusivity) and access requirements. 

I could potentially be eligible for a grant from SOLT as I aim to encourage a large variety of people to find enjoyment in musical theatre, provide career opportunities to those who may struggle to find a job in the theatre industry, and make productions that are accessible as possible so more people have the chance to experience them. However, as evident in their name, SOLT is based in London. Though I would expand my theatre company if given the chance, I currently have to stick with keeping it local. Still, their website offers industry resources and guidance, as well as info on how to make theatre more accessible, so I can use these to improve my company as it is at the moment.

UK Theatre

Website: https://uktheatre.org/

UK Theatre is a theatre and performing arts membership organisation that supports organisations and people in the industry through training, networking events, industry updates, etc. By becoming a member, you receive numerous benefits such as discounts on training courses, access to mentoring programmes, access to contact details in their directory, updates about relevant matters in the industry, Legal & Employment Relations support and a listing in UK Theatre's Directory.

This kind of support would be beneficial to my company because it could increase my connections with people in the theatre industry, which would increase the likelihood of my work getting noticed. It would also just be great for support as I try to establish my company pretty much independently. However, there is an annual fee for the membership, so applying for it would entirely depend on how much my business may make. 

Values and evidence modelling