Smart Arts - Creative New Zealand

It’s important to make sure your primary target is well-informed, given easy access to yourwork (see Place for venue and ticketing) and incentives to book in advance (see Incentives,page 47).Having identified your target market, you need to find out as much as you can about it. It iseasier to sell them your event if you know why they might want to come to it. In marketingterms, this is often described as developing a demographic (i.e. age, sex, location etc) andpsychographic (attitudinal) profile.Ask yourself the following questions about your target markets. If you can’t answer themask industry people for help: e.g. your venue manager, industry organisations such asDance Aotearoa New Zealand (DANZ), Toi Mäori Aotearoa, Artists Alliance or festivalorganisers in your area. If they can’t answer your questions, they’ll be able to point you inthe right direction.Questions to ask about your target markets:• What is their age range and gender?• Where do they work?• Where do they live?• What is it about your work that interests them?• What are their interests?• What do they read, listen to and watch?• What type of images appeal to them?• What language do they speak?• What else have they attended?• Will their contact information be on someone’s database?Also answer these questions if you can:• How much do they earn?• What type of cars do they drive?• How much do they spend on entertainment?• How much are they prepared to spend on your event?• How will they travel to your event?• With whom will they attend: partner, friend, group?1Planning a marketing strategyFUTUREREFERENCEThe answers to these questions will help you reach your target audience without wastingmoney. For instance, when you produce a promotional flyer you’ll know what willattract them to pick it up, what to say in the flyer and where to distribute it (see Tools toget across your message, page 29). The more work you promote to similar targets, themore you get to understand what appeals to them. You can also begin to research andsurvey them to build up information that will help you target your audience moreeffectively. Getting to know your publicis vital. If you’re planning toput on other events, it’s agood idea to gatherinformation for futurereference on who attendsand how they came toattend your event (seeDirect marketing, page 42).PriceSmart arts | Toi huatau11There are a lot of factors to consider when you set a price for an event. These include theincome you need; how much your target market is prepared to pay; the perceptioncreated through ticket pricing; and the environment in which your event is taking place.You need to achieve a box-office income level that meets your budget. If the tickets aretoo cheap you can give the impression that your product lacks quality. But if they costtoo much, your public may stay away.