It seems like I talk a lot about marketing to Generation Y. If fact, I have used the term so many times in this blog alone that I am beginning to question whether or not I will ever get through to anyone. Maybe I am a lone soldier fighting this uphill battle.
Nevertheless, I will carry on.
Did you know that Generation Y makes up 21% of the American population? Did you also know that 4.8 billion pieces of direct mail were sent by financial services companies in the first quarter of 2007? The good news is that number fell to a meager 4.2 billion in the first quarter of 2008. UGH...it's no wonder that the anticipated response of a direct mail campaign has fallen below 1%.
A recent report from Mintel Comperemedia states that 69% of Generation Y (the kiddos between 14 and 31 today that make up 21% of our population) workers who can participate in a tax-deferred 401k retirement savings plan are not doing so.
Why? Are they not receiving those 4.3 billion pieces of direct mail? Mintel also reports that "In 2007, adults aged 30 and under received only 2% of investment direct mail offers tracked by Mintel Comperemedia. In contrast, adults over age 60 got 41%."
Right. While we talk about brokerages and insurance companies having all the sales skills, they are also clearly missing the boat on the greatest opportunity that will propel them into the future.
So what does this mean to you? It means that you need to identify those Gen Y customers and potential customers in your marketplace and help them understand not only WHY they should start saving now, but HOW to start saving now. In theory, it should not be that hard. A little creativity, ingenuity and segmentation and you should be good to go.
So go get 'em already!!
Make it an extraordinary day :)
Jenna
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
For those who have been predicting it...
it seems like the time has come: Facebook Blows Past MySpace in Global Visitors in May.
Although I don't think that MySpace is disappearing anytime soon, I would continue to encourage organizations to find creative ways to capture contact information from their MySpace friends (think product giveaways and contesting).
Although I don't think that MySpace is disappearing anytime soon, I would continue to encourage organizations to find creative ways to capture contact information from their MySpace friends (think product giveaways and contesting).
Thursday, June 19, 2008
National Performing Arts Convention: The Value of a Seat
Notes from the session "The Value of a Seat"
Moderators: Charles Isherwood, theatre critic, The New York Times; Joanne Steller, vice president, strategic communications, Target Resource Group Speakers: Jon Limbacher, vice president and chief operating officer, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Phillip Matthews, director of communications, Theatre Communications Group and manager, Free Night of Theater; Ellen Walker, director of marketing and communications, Pacific Northwest Ballet
Phillip Matthews (Free Night of Theater – TCG)
-started out as a pilot program in 2005
-now in over 100 cities and expect to offer more than 500,000 free tickets this year
-1/3 of audiences made under $50k, and were non-white
-suggestion: when theaters offer complimentary tickets, they should collect the contact information for each attendee so that they can follow up with them and invite them back (as a paid attendee).
Jon Limbacher (St. Paul Chamber Orchestra)
-he felt that if an organization doesn’t have a significant, growing, sustainable audience, it should make you question your purpose
-viewed price as a really important factor in the relationship that an organization has with its patrons. They designed their pricing (most by drastically lowering their prices) to create a “philanthropic” relationship with their patrons rather than a “consumer” relationship with them.
-In their community concert series, their original prices were between $11 and $47. They lowered the prices so that 60% of all tickets are $10 and 40% are $25. They went from have houses at 60% capacity to 90% capacity.
Ellen Walker (Pacific Northwest Ballet)
-their goal is to maximize price for each seat sold
-when a performance is sold to 80% capacity, they raise all tickets by $5. Once the performance is sold at 90% capacity, they raise all tickets by $10.
-they continue to have access programs for patrons that cannot afford full price tickets.
-on average, this dynamic pricing structure brings in $200,000 more in earned revenue per year than the previous model
-the company has several hundred thousand attendees each year, and in the five years that they have had dynamic pricing, they have fielded one complaint from a patron
-there was much more internal debate over dynamic pricing then there was customer dissent
Moderators: Charles Isherwood, theatre critic, The New York Times; Joanne Steller, vice president, strategic communications, Target Resource Group Speakers: Jon Limbacher, vice president and chief operating officer, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Phillip Matthews, director of communications, Theatre Communications Group and manager, Free Night of Theater; Ellen Walker, director of marketing and communications, Pacific Northwest Ballet
Phillip Matthews (Free Night of Theater – TCG)
-started out as a pilot program in 2005
-now in over 100 cities and expect to offer more than 500,000 free tickets this year
-1/3 of audiences made under $50k, and were non-white
-suggestion: when theaters offer complimentary tickets, they should collect the contact information for each attendee so that they can follow up with them and invite them back (as a paid attendee).
Jon Limbacher (St. Paul Chamber Orchestra)
-he felt that if an organization doesn’t have a significant, growing, sustainable audience, it should make you question your purpose
-viewed price as a really important factor in the relationship that an organization has with its patrons. They designed their pricing (most by drastically lowering their prices) to create a “philanthropic” relationship with their patrons rather than a “consumer” relationship with them.
-In their community concert series, their original prices were between $11 and $47. They lowered the prices so that 60% of all tickets are $10 and 40% are $25. They went from have houses at 60% capacity to 90% capacity.
Ellen Walker (Pacific Northwest Ballet)
-their goal is to maximize price for each seat sold
-when a performance is sold to 80% capacity, they raise all tickets by $5. Once the performance is sold at 90% capacity, they raise all tickets by $10.
-they continue to have access programs for patrons that cannot afford full price tickets.
-on average, this dynamic pricing structure brings in $200,000 more in earned revenue per year than the previous model
-the company has several hundred thousand attendees each year, and in the five years that they have had dynamic pricing, they have fielded one complaint from a patron
-there was much more internal debate over dynamic pricing then there was customer dissent
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Soap is smarter than the bank?
If you don't use iGoggle, you should. I see my email, the weather, my countdown to vacation and all of my RSS feeds on one simple (and colorful!) homepage.
My Google Reader (those RSS feeds I subscribe to) showed this headline: "Banks: Less Differentiated Than a Bar of Soap." Seriously? I read the article and think that the author and I share a similar vision of bank branding. Take a read for yourself! Click here
I would love to hear your thoughts!
Make it an extraordinary day :)
Jenna
My Google Reader (those RSS feeds I subscribe to) showed this headline: "Banks: Less Differentiated Than a Bar of Soap." Seriously? I read the article and think that the author and I share a similar vision of bank branding. Take a read for yourself! Click here
I would love to hear your thoughts!
Make it an extraordinary day :)
Jenna
Monday, June 16, 2008
I won't tell that you swore!
Thanks for the lead-in, Bruce! And thank you, Robert for the excellent question and completely point!
In banking, there are more swear words than you will find in the Handbook for Drunken Frat Boys (I am making that up, and mean no offense to anyone!). And I am not talking about the typical four letter words. Our version of swearing include words such as SALES, PROFIT and COMMISSION. I am not afraid of those words and am doing my best, one client at a time, to change the way our industry thinks!
For eons, insurance agents and investment brokers have been associated with sales. Their compensation was primarily based on the number of clients and the types of products they sold in a given time period. As these business units started dabbling in banking, they found tremendous success in leveraging their current client relationships AND SELLING THEM BANKING PRODUCTS. I know this drives you nuts. It drives me nuts too...but for VERY different reasons!
Go back to the above paragraph and re-read the sentence that is italicized. Do you get it? That's where the lack of sales culture comes into play in the banking industry. Leveraging existing clients and maximizing the relationship. Some may call that sales, others will avoid the "s" word and call it customer service. I call it smart.
As bankers, we need to get better at that. Call it what you want, but in an environment of shrinking marketing budgets we are being asked to do more with less. This is a training function that will cost you very little but can increase profits tremendously! Your greatest investment should be in the way your highest performers are compensated. Salaries are overrated and generally overpaid. To compensate with no regard for goals, exceeded expectations or increased portfolios makes about as much sense as paying a teenager to sleep in. It's what they are expected to do and shouldn't be rewarded until they do something remarkable (like get out of bed before there are four digits on the clock!)
Robert, I could ramble all day about this topic...and I have some very strong opinions on this subject matter. But getting right down to your question, "what stands in the way?" The answer is simple: The Banker Mentality.
It is tragic that the industry I am most passionate about is also the slowest to change. You can ask a majority of the CEOs out there why they do the things they do and the answer will unfortunately be, "because we've always done it that way." The "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" frame of mind seems to hold much of the industry hostage. Banks will not experience unparalleled success until we, as an industry, break away from that thought pattern.
On the plus side, there are banks and credit unions that do very well. They embrace change, compensate based on goals vs. expectations, and spend the necessary time to TRAIN their employees that there is a difference between the plaid trouser used car salesperson and helping customers meet their financial goals.
Keep the ideas rolling :) We love to feed you the knowledge you are hungry for!
Make it an extraordinary day!
Jenna
In banking, there are more swear words than you will find in the Handbook for Drunken Frat Boys (I am making that up, and mean no offense to anyone!). And I am not talking about the typical four letter words. Our version of swearing include words such as SALES, PROFIT and COMMISSION. I am not afraid of those words and am doing my best, one client at a time, to change the way our industry thinks!
For eons, insurance agents and investment brokers have been associated with sales. Their compensation was primarily based on the number of clients and the types of products they sold in a given time period. As these business units started dabbling in banking, they found tremendous success in leveraging their current client relationships AND SELLING THEM BANKING PRODUCTS. I know this drives you nuts. It drives me nuts too...but for VERY different reasons!
Go back to the above paragraph and re-read the sentence that is italicized. Do you get it? That's where the lack of sales culture comes into play in the banking industry. Leveraging existing clients and maximizing the relationship. Some may call that sales, others will avoid the "s" word and call it customer service. I call it smart.
As bankers, we need to get better at that. Call it what you want, but in an environment of shrinking marketing budgets we are being asked to do more with less. This is a training function that will cost you very little but can increase profits tremendously! Your greatest investment should be in the way your highest performers are compensated. Salaries are overrated and generally overpaid. To compensate with no regard for goals, exceeded expectations or increased portfolios makes about as much sense as paying a teenager to sleep in. It's what they are expected to do and shouldn't be rewarded until they do something remarkable (like get out of bed before there are four digits on the clock!)
Robert, I could ramble all day about this topic...and I have some very strong opinions on this subject matter. But getting right down to your question, "what stands in the way?" The answer is simple: The Banker Mentality.
It is tragic that the industry I am most passionate about is also the slowest to change. You can ask a majority of the CEOs out there why they do the things they do and the answer will unfortunately be, "because we've always done it that way." The "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" frame of mind seems to hold much of the industry hostage. Banks will not experience unparalleled success until we, as an industry, break away from that thought pattern.
On the plus side, there are banks and credit unions that do very well. They embrace change, compensate based on goals vs. expectations, and spend the necessary time to TRAIN their employees that there is a difference between the plaid trouser used car salesperson and helping customers meet their financial goals.
Keep the ideas rolling :) We love to feed you the knowledge you are hungry for!
Make it an extraordinary day!
Jenna
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Baseball and Bank Marketing....
Greetings...
Today, I went to a minor league baseball game. It was a great game and I was able to spend time with my brother and his family. The unfortunate piece was that I am in Philly travelling and I am not with my family...its Father's Day and I miss the crew!
So...back to my point. Minor league baseball. Some "no names" playing a game, you may think. Actually, it is a brand of entertainment that is amazing and provides a platform for my blog entry. I will make a two-for-one hit today...addressing Robert's question to Jenna and adding a twist!
First, Robert had a great question that I will jump in and add my two cents. He wanted to know why in most "true" sales organizations, a top salesperson can and routinely does, earn more than the CEO. Why is that not the case in banking? Think about your bank...does your BEST salesperson earn more than the CEO? Is there an endless ceiling to the compensation plan? If you said "YES" then your bank is in rarefied air...elite among the banking industry.
This is my connection to baseball...minor league players abound. The best of the best, no matter from what school, geography or background, can make it to the big leagues and earn an amazingly contract an salary. So same should be true in our banks. The goal is profitable growth for the bank...getting hits, right? The more hits we get the better our average and the better the average the more attention (pay) we should receive. When the ocean rises so does the ship! The ocean is EVERYONE participating on the sales and service process and the Ship is the Board and CEO. If we can take this approach then everyone wins...
Your job as a marketer...be the agent of change and focus your efforts on making the ocean rise!
Jenna...the rest of the answer to Robert is for you!!
Thanks for the great question Robert!
Cheers!
Bruce
Today, I went to a minor league baseball game. It was a great game and I was able to spend time with my brother and his family. The unfortunate piece was that I am in Philly travelling and I am not with my family...its Father's Day and I miss the crew!
So...back to my point. Minor league baseball. Some "no names" playing a game, you may think. Actually, it is a brand of entertainment that is amazing and provides a platform for my blog entry. I will make a two-for-one hit today...addressing Robert's question to Jenna and adding a twist!
First, Robert had a great question that I will jump in and add my two cents. He wanted to know why in most "true" sales organizations, a top salesperson can and routinely does, earn more than the CEO. Why is that not the case in banking? Think about your bank...does your BEST salesperson earn more than the CEO? Is there an endless ceiling to the compensation plan? If you said "YES" then your bank is in rarefied air...elite among the banking industry.
This is my connection to baseball...minor league players abound. The best of the best, no matter from what school, geography or background, can make it to the big leagues and earn an amazingly contract an salary. So same should be true in our banks. The goal is profitable growth for the bank...getting hits, right? The more hits we get the better our average and the better the average the more attention (pay) we should receive. When the ocean rises so does the ship! The ocean is EVERYONE participating on the sales and service process and the Ship is the Board and CEO. If we can take this approach then everyone wins...
Your job as a marketer...be the agent of change and focus your efforts on making the ocean rise!
Jenna...the rest of the answer to Robert is for you!!
Thanks for the great question Robert!
Cheers!
Bruce
National Performing Arts Convention: Jim Collins (Going from Good to Great)
Notes from Jim Collins' session "From Good to Great and the Social Sector." Best-selling author Jim Collins discusses his groundbreaking theory on what makes the difference between a "good" organization and a "great" one, and how to achieve superior performance in the social sector.
- We are not imprisoned by our circumstances, but we are freed by choice and our decisions.
- The best performing stock in the history of traded stocks is Southwest Airlines, and there isn’t an industry tougher than the airline industry. Talk about a tough circumstance, and they seemed to outperform everyone.
- It is the wrong ideas to say that the primary path of success for arts organizations is to become more like businesses. Most businesses are average, so why would you want to strive to be average? The critical questions should be what causes an organization or a business to go from good to great, instead of modeling your organization’s behaviors after a for-profit business.
- Greatness is a cumulative process—most major successes are built over substantial periods of time. In their studies, most major successes were twenty years in the making and on average, it took seven years of great work before a company experienced a “breakthrough.” Consider that for thirteen years Starbucks had five stores, now it seems like they are opening five stores everyday.
- The most common cause of substantial decline was found in organizations which made large, undisciplined growth changes. They tried to do too much, too quick and were not prepared.
- Great companies in turbulent times don’t believe that most of their successes or failures lie beyond their control. They believe that their destiny is in their control, and will not settle for excuses.
- Who comes before what. In order to change an average performing organization, you don’t necessarily need an inspirational or motivating leader, the organization needs a leader that seeks to get the right people on the bus, and in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, After that is accomplished, then they settle on a collective visions. The ultimate hedge against an uncertain world is who you have with you. Invest in people first, before you invest in a plan.
- #1 Responsibility of a Leader: Make sure that key leadership roles are filled by the best people who are committed and capable of success.
- Great leaders must understand that sometimes the work is too important and critical to be nice. If you know that someone or something isn’t working, make an adjustment as soon as possible.
- In their research, they found that the one key difference between good leaders and great leaders was humility.
- Many people in an organization don’t have enough power to push through a good idea on their own, but there are numerous people in an organization that have enough power to stall or stop a good idea. Great leaders do not seek consensus decisions, but the right decisions. Leaders need to architect an environment to get enough people behind a good idea to send it forward. (He noted that great decisions usually were never made by consensus).
- Non-profit organizations needs to put metrics in place to measure success. In the for-profit world, this isn’t an issue because success is measured on return on invested capital. However, non-profits aren’t measured in the same way. You should know how to tell if your organization is doing well or not. The organization needs to show enough results so it is apparent that the organization is successful, because people (primarily donors) want to support winners.
- Every great organization is clear on who they are and what they do. They also know when they should say no to something that is beyond their scope no matter how “tempting” the proposition is.
- Great companies manage themselves in good times like they were currently in turbulent times. You need to be disciplined enough to build reserves during prosperous times.
- An organization could approach a significant change by using all of its gun powder to launch a large canon ball at its target. This usually results in finding that you aim is 30 degrees off, you haven’t hit your target and have no more gunpowder to fire another canon ball. What you should do is use a small amount of gunpowder to fire a small bullet at your target. When you see that you are 30 degrees off, make the adjustment and you will have enough gunpowder to fire another shot. Hopefully you will find that your aim is off by a smaller degree, maybe 15 degrees. Make an adjustment, reload, aim again, and repeat until you hit the target. Once you hit the target, then get out the big canon ball. You should advance strategically so that you never miss big.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
TCG Conference: Kinney Zalesne (microtrends)
Notes from the TCG Opening Plenary Session: Kinney Zalesne, co-author, microtrends: the small forces behind tomorrow's big changes: hear about some of the emerging communities whose tastes and lifestyles are shaping our future.
Microtrends are the small forces behind tomorrow's big changes. 25 years ago, the market depended on megatrends for change. Megatrends were universal forces that swept through and affected everyone (such as changes in technology). Today there is such an exploration of choice that microtrends (small forces--maybe less than 1% of the total population) can cause major trends in the marketplace.
Old Economy -- "The Ford Economy": one size fits all. The Ford Company were the masters at inventing and designing one black car that could be manufactured 1 million times and could serve the needs of a large number of people and this satisfied the consumer demand.
New Economy -- "The Starbucks Economy": highly tailored to your personal desires; one can get almost anything they want, the way they want it; think about all the different combinations of coffee drinks that you can order at Starbucks.
People are changing things in their lives that only a couple of decades ago was thought to be unchangeable:
1. Cosmetic surgery is now a $12 billion industry in the U.S. because we now have a large number of choices we can make in regards to how we look. Some of the largest growing segments for cosmetic surgery is teenagers and men.
2. We can now pick our gender. Beyond sex reassignment surgery, a growing number of people find the traditional categories of male and female too constraining (they call themselves unisexuals). 100 corporations and 75 universities have banned discrimination on gender identity, and unisex bathrooms are popping up all over the place.
In all areas of our lives, there is an increasing amount of choice. We can no longer wait for megatrends, we must now focus on microtrends.
Microtrends Contradict:
- We have more affluent couples now than ever, but they were staying in the workforce longer
- We have more scientific knowledge than ever before, but there are 2 to 3 religions created in the world each day.
Microtrend Mindset:
- We must be comfortable holding inconsistent ideas in our heads at the same time (trends are going in every direction at a fast pace)
- We must respect the true breadth and complexity of human beings.
Microtrend Examples:
1. Long Attention Spanners
-growing group of people who want more information not less
-will listen as long as you engage them
-1/2 million Americans run marathons (they want to complete a long journey)
-Foreign Affairs Magazine has increased its subscribers by 13%
-Best-selling novels are on average 100 pages longer than they were 10 years ago
2. Young Knitters
-Teens and 20 something knitters grew from 3 million to over 6 million between 2002 and 2004
-They want old fashioned entertainment in a high technology world
3. Non-profiteers
-non-profit sector is growing far faster than the for profit or public sectors
-more than 12 million people make their living in the non-profit sector
-these folks are social entrepreneurs and people on a mission
-for profits are looking at the non-profit sector for how to attract employees
4. Southpaws Unbound
-1 in 6 people are left-handed
-more businesses are making products for left-handed people
-parents used to worry about their left-handed children and they wanted their kids to conform to society so they could fit in (and thereby taught them to use their right hands). Now parents celebrate their children's individuality.
The microtrend world is fragmenting more around issues, which is putting more pressure to find the values that bring us together--what makes us human? The arts explore these issues.
Microtrends are the small forces behind tomorrow's big changes. 25 years ago, the market depended on megatrends for change. Megatrends were universal forces that swept through and affected everyone (such as changes in technology). Today there is such an exploration of choice that microtrends (small forces--maybe less than 1% of the total population) can cause major trends in the marketplace.
Old Economy -- "The Ford Economy": one size fits all. The Ford Company were the masters at inventing and designing one black car that could be manufactured 1 million times and could serve the needs of a large number of people and this satisfied the consumer demand.
New Economy -- "The Starbucks Economy": highly tailored to your personal desires; one can get almost anything they want, the way they want it; think about all the different combinations of coffee drinks that you can order at Starbucks.
People are changing things in their lives that only a couple of decades ago was thought to be unchangeable:
1. Cosmetic surgery is now a $12 billion industry in the U.S. because we now have a large number of choices we can make in regards to how we look. Some of the largest growing segments for cosmetic surgery is teenagers and men.
2. We can now pick our gender. Beyond sex reassignment surgery, a growing number of people find the traditional categories of male and female too constraining (they call themselves unisexuals). 100 corporations and 75 universities have banned discrimination on gender identity, and unisex bathrooms are popping up all over the place.
In all areas of our lives, there is an increasing amount of choice. We can no longer wait for megatrends, we must now focus on microtrends.
Microtrends Contradict:
- We have more affluent couples now than ever, but they were staying in the workforce longer
- We have more scientific knowledge than ever before, but there are 2 to 3 religions created in the world each day.
Microtrend Mindset:
- We must be comfortable holding inconsistent ideas in our heads at the same time (trends are going in every direction at a fast pace)
- We must respect the true breadth and complexity of human beings.
Microtrend Examples:
1. Long Attention Spanners
-growing group of people who want more information not less
-will listen as long as you engage them
-1/2 million Americans run marathons (they want to complete a long journey)
-Foreign Affairs Magazine has increased its subscribers by 13%
-Best-selling novels are on average 100 pages longer than they were 10 years ago
2. Young Knitters
-Teens and 20 something knitters grew from 3 million to over 6 million between 2002 and 2004
-They want old fashioned entertainment in a high technology world
3. Non-profiteers
-non-profit sector is growing far faster than the for profit or public sectors
-more than 12 million people make their living in the non-profit sector
-these folks are social entrepreneurs and people on a mission
-for profits are looking at the non-profit sector for how to attract employees
4. Southpaws Unbound
-1 in 6 people are left-handed
-more businesses are making products for left-handed people
-parents used to worry about their left-handed children and they wanted their kids to conform to society so they could fit in (and thereby taught them to use their right hands). Now parents celebrate their children's individuality.
The microtrend world is fragmenting more around issues, which is putting more pressure to find the values that bring us together--what makes us human? The arts explore these issues.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Web Channel Marketing and Advertising Survey
I have just arrived in Denver for the National Performing Arts Convention and the TCG Conference. I will be blogging from both conventions, and I can't wait for the official kick off later today.
On my way from DC to Denver, I reread the results from a survey that Arena Stage participated in a couple of months ago, and found a couple of surprising things that I figured I would share with you.
Bil Schroeder, Director of Marketing & Communications, at South Coast Repertory commissioned Klear Sky to study marketing and advertising practices at some of the larger regional theaters in the nation. Participating organizations included South Coast Rep, Center Theatre Group, Huntington Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage, Steppenwolf Theatre, Seattle Rep, Goodman Theatre, Actors Theater of Louisville, Yale Rep, and several others.
Below are some results that I found to be interesting:
1. The average numbers of e-mail sent per month by survey participants was 6.3, but on the high end, one organization on average sends 13 emails per month. We can only assume with so many e-mail campaigns sent per month that this organization uses highly segmented and targeted campaigns.
2. There was one question on the survey that was misinterpreted by most of the respondents. The question was: "What is the average number of online impressions you have per month." I answered for Arena Stage, and I went back into our online impression reports from the past three months from every place online that we advertise. On average, we had 3,145,182 online impressions every month. Arena Stage had by far the most, with the average being 1.6 million of impressions. However, one organization reported only having 13,000 online impressions. Online advertising is relatively new, and this misinterpretation shows me that we aren't all on the same page on how to measure the impact of online advertising.
3. "Single ticket direct mail advertising has stayed the same or increase for 80% of the respondents. This remains a strong channel for advertising even with the rise of online and email advertising." I found this surprising because our direct mail campaigns at Arena Stage have decreased mostly because we are finding much higher ROIs on other types of campaigns, especially with the cost of the stamp constantly going higher and printing/delivery costs skyrocketing because of the fuel crisis.
4. Only 40% of respondents reported spending less on newspaper advertising over the past three years, which I found shocking. The state of the newspaper nationally is abysmal. Most newspapers are bleeding subscribers, and raising rates on advertising, so in essence we are paying more for less. However, it seems that less than half of the companies have reduced their expenditures which suggests that some folks like to stick with the tried-and-true techniques even as they become less and less effective.
5. Out of all the respondents, the organization that had the oldest website had their last redesign in February 2003. Most of the organizations have had a major redesign since December 2006. A note from Klear Sky says "websites that are older than three years run the risk of feeling dated and old." I always thought that the life span of a website was around four years, but now it looks like it is three years or less.
6. In 2004, I started speaking at conferences about using social networking platforms to promote arts organizations. At that time, most people didn't know what MySpace was. In this survey, 87% of the respondents reported to using MySpace and Facebook to promote their organizations.
Thank you to Klear Sky and South Coast Rep for publishing the information from this incredibly helpful survey.
On my way from DC to Denver, I reread the results from a survey that Arena Stage participated in a couple of months ago, and found a couple of surprising things that I figured I would share with you.
Bil Schroeder, Director of Marketing & Communications, at South Coast Repertory commissioned Klear Sky to study marketing and advertising practices at some of the larger regional theaters in the nation. Participating organizations included South Coast Rep, Center Theatre Group, Huntington Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage, Steppenwolf Theatre, Seattle Rep, Goodman Theatre, Actors Theater of Louisville, Yale Rep, and several others.
Below are some results that I found to be interesting:
1. The average numbers of e-mail sent per month by survey participants was 6.3, but on the high end, one organization on average sends 13 emails per month. We can only assume with so many e-mail campaigns sent per month that this organization uses highly segmented and targeted campaigns.
2. There was one question on the survey that was misinterpreted by most of the respondents. The question was: "What is the average number of online impressions you have per month." I answered for Arena Stage, and I went back into our online impression reports from the past three months from every place online that we advertise. On average, we had 3,145,182 online impressions every month. Arena Stage had by far the most, with the average being 1.6 million of impressions. However, one organization reported only having 13,000 online impressions. Online advertising is relatively new, and this misinterpretation shows me that we aren't all on the same page on how to measure the impact of online advertising.
3. "Single ticket direct mail advertising has stayed the same or increase for 80% of the respondents. This remains a strong channel for advertising even with the rise of online and email advertising." I found this surprising because our direct mail campaigns at Arena Stage have decreased mostly because we are finding much higher ROIs on other types of campaigns, especially with the cost of the stamp constantly going higher and printing/delivery costs skyrocketing because of the fuel crisis.
4. Only 40% of respondents reported spending less on newspaper advertising over the past three years, which I found shocking. The state of the newspaper nationally is abysmal. Most newspapers are bleeding subscribers, and raising rates on advertising, so in essence we are paying more for less. However, it seems that less than half of the companies have reduced their expenditures which suggests that some folks like to stick with the tried-and-true techniques even as they become less and less effective.
5. Out of all the respondents, the organization that had the oldest website had their last redesign in February 2003. Most of the organizations have had a major redesign since December 2006. A note from Klear Sky says "websites that are older than three years run the risk of feeling dated and old." I always thought that the life span of a website was around four years, but now it looks like it is three years or less.
6. In 2004, I started speaking at conferences about using social networking platforms to promote arts organizations. At that time, most people didn't know what MySpace was. In this survey, 87% of the respondents reported to using MySpace and Facebook to promote their organizations.
Thank you to Klear Sky and South Coast Rep for publishing the information from this incredibly helpful survey.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Time Flies!
So, it's Tuesday already. I am officially a day behind in blogging, but you already knew that. I have been racking my brain to come up with another clever blog idea. A nugget of wisdom hidden in some random, run of the mill day. But it's been quiet here. I need to enlist your help.
We have been racking our brains to come up with a way to make our corner of the blogosphere a little more interactive, more engaging and more exciting. Yup, I just admitted that I think I am boring you.
So, here's what I want to know...WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW! I can give you stories of real-life experiences that apply to us as marketing executives and help you understand why it's important. However, if it isn't relevant to you, why bother?
I am asking you for your ideas. Hot topics you would like some perspective on. Insight on a challenge you are facing. Or maybe you do want to hear me/us ramble about a relevant experience we've had. Regardless, we want to hear from you. Submit a comment to this posting with your ideas and we will help you out.
Make it a great week!
Jenna
We have been racking our brains to come up with a way to make our corner of the blogosphere a little more interactive, more engaging and more exciting. Yup, I just admitted that I think I am boring you.
So, here's what I want to know...WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW! I can give you stories of real-life experiences that apply to us as marketing executives and help you understand why it's important. However, if it isn't relevant to you, why bother?
I am asking you for your ideas. Hot topics you would like some perspective on. Insight on a challenge you are facing. Or maybe you do want to hear me/us ramble about a relevant experience we've had. Regardless, we want to hear from you. Submit a comment to this posting with your ideas and we will help you out.
Make it a great week!
Jenna
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