Memo
To: Stacy Grau, CEO of Curiosity Communications
From: Courtney Cheevers
Date: 4/15/18
Re: Ballet Frontier Strategic Marketing
My first recommendation to increase ticket sales for Ballet Frontier is to utilize their already existing partnership with the Ballet Center. Most ballets are multiple acts and contain at least one intermission. I suggest that during that intermission Ballet Frontier invites a small class of ballet students to perform a number. If every night there was a different group of students, this would encourage many families of the students to buy tickets to the Frontier show and hopefully some extended family members to increase reach in the community. As this would be a remarkable experience for a child, and parents love to talk about the achievements of their children, I believe this would generate an increase in word of mouth and social media buzz. This implements scarcity and exclusivity because only students of the Ballet Center have the opportunity and inner remarkability because their children are performing in an impressive setting. Both these factors provide social currency to be used by the students and families.
My second recommendation is to increase donations for the Ballet Frontier. While ballet is an art, it is not a philanthropy. It doesn’t entice people to donate the way that starving children and abused dogs do. Instead to increase donations, I am proposing that the world renowned artistic team, the dancers, and the teachers work harder in outreach. The Will Rogers Auditorium already holds a nutcracker show for schools in underserved areas. However, this is something a lot of theaters do and is impersonal and not that remarkable to donors. Rather, the staff should look into going to local school’s gym classes and teaching some basics of ballet. This is face to face and memorable for children. This also provides a new trigger, donors are not only helping the arts; they are helping children. And as always pictures and videos of these classes can be taken and shared with potential donors. Once the season comes to a close, the top donors will be invited for an exclusive showing of whichever show has just finished. This final show also provides social currency as it make s people feel like insiders.
Courtney Cheevers 