Positioning the GOP Varieté Theater Münster in the Netherlands

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GOP VARIETÉ THEATER MÜNSTER

Positioning the GOP Varieté Theater Münster in the

Netherlands.

Thesis

By Nicole Schachtschneider

10.11.2014

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Thesis–GOP Varieté Theater Münster

Positioning the GOP Varieté Theater Münster in the Netherlands.

Student:

Nicole Schachtschneider

Student Number: 2432250

Module:

Thesis HBS IP

Exam:

IP-TH-Thesis Report C

Exam code:

T.HBS.37179

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Adaption of the Thesis Project

 Spelling mistakes were eliminated

 In chapter “3.4 Sampling Plan” the picture of Raosoft was fitted in the text

 In chapter “3.5 Data Analysis” the two examples of modal and mean value were made smaller  In chapter “4.1 SWOT Analysis” the table, which summarized the analysis was made smaller  In chapter “4.3.1 Current Target Market” the table, which described the current target groups,

was moved to “Appendix VII”

 In chapter “4.4 Wishes of the Dutch Target Market in relation to Offering” the map showing the radius of Münster was made smaller

 Chapter “6. Validity and Reliability” was slightly shortened

 “Appendix VIII – General Analysis of the Dutch Target Market” was added to the list of appendices

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Foreword

Dear Reader,

This thesis report was written within the framework of the study course Tourism Management at Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Deventer. It illustrates the finalization of my study and contributes to the award Bachelor of Business Administration.

The project was developed in cooperation with Mrs. Blasum and the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster. During my management traineeship I worked in the GOP Varieté Theater and was able to gain insight in the cultural tourism industry and the first efforts of the GOP to enter the Dutch market. Luckily I was given the opportunity to get part of this project and thus the positioning of the GOP in the Dutch market became the topic of my thesis.

At this point I would like to thank all staff members of the GOP for not only giving me the opportunity to conduct this thesis project, but also for the wonderful and very instructive time I was able to spend while working there. Especially the marketing department and Mrs. Blasum in particular showed a lot of support and motivation in the course of writing the thesis. I also would like to thank Mrs. Godfried, who, as my first examiner, provided me with great assistance and encouragement from the beginning until the end.

Nicole Schachtschneider Münster, Germany November, 2014

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Executive Summary

The GOP Varieté Theatre in Münster belongs to the most successful theatre chain in Germany with six different locations and is currently starting to target the Dutch market. For this undertaking this research project aims to show up the most effective positioning towards the Netherlands by analyzing the internal and external environment carefully and researching the Dutch’s population preferences and leisure time creation in order to be able to draw up an effectual marketing plan. At the end a renewed marketing mix will advise the GOP how to approach the Dutch target market and answer the central research question:

What is the positioning of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster in relation to the Netherlands?

There are two different core concepts operationalised, the concept of a “Marketing Plan” and “Cultural Tourism”. With the help of both a marketing plan can be drawn up for a cultural tourism business in relation to a descriptive research.

The goal of the field research is to gather information about the Dutch population and as well as about the internal and external factors influencing the GOP. This is done by using the mixed method, or to be more precise the convergent parallel design, which includes both, qualitative and quantitative approaches of the field research, in this case interviews, desk research and a survey.

Two interviews were conducted in order to draw up a SWOT analysis and an analysis of the current target market. In addition there was a survey conducted in the Netherlands gaining information about the leisure behavioral pattern of 271 respondents. Lastly desk research revealed information about the competition of the GOP and the combination of the analysis of the current and prospect target market showed up gaps between the wishes of the Dutch population in relation to the actual offering of the GOP.

The results of the field research consists of a SWOT analysis, a competition analysis, an analysis of the current and prospect target market and a comparison between the wishes of the Dutch target market in relation to the offering of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster.

After conducting the field research three alternative solutions for the advice were introduced and critically evaluated. The outcome showed that it is advisable to introduce an adapted marketing mix to the Dutch population instead of either a new, or the current one. The implementation of the advice introduces adapted changes to the price, product, promotion and place of the GOP, by taking the field research into consideration. This also involves financial implications, in order to draw up a feasible and realizable advice.

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1. Introduction

In the following chapter the background information of the thesis project is presented, including a description of the client and the reason behind the project. Moreover the objective is stated followed by a global work breakdown structure, where the several working steps of the project are shown.

1.1 The Client

The client for whom the thesis is written for is Mrs. Vera Blasum, the Marketing Manager of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster. There are six different GOP Varieté theatres in Germany, located in Münster, Munich, Hannover, Bremen, Essen and Bad Oeynhausen, which makes the GOP the most successful theatre chain in Germany (GOP Varieté Theater, 2014).

The first GOP was opened in November 1992 by the Grote family, who still owns the company. The name “GOP” is a short form for “Georgspalast”, the name of the building in Hannover, where the first GOP Theatre was opened up (GOP Varieté Theatre, 2014). The definition of a Varieté show is described as “a form of television or theatre entertainment consisting of a series of different types of act, such as singing, dancing, and comedy” (Oxforddictionaries).The traditional Varieté can be found in circus and burlesque, like for instance the “Moulin Rouge” in Paris, which lead to a questionable reputation of Varieté in the past at the same time. After the second industrial revolution in France in 1889 leisure activities became an important aspect of the middle class’ life. The “Moulin Rouge”, “le chat noir” and other extravagant cabarets opened up, where workers could enjoy themselves and get distracted from their everyday-life. These establishments were known for their Cancan dancers and their unconventional moral, which lead to the above mentioned questionable reputation (Rohan, 2012). Nowadays the Varieté Theater is a mixture of artistic, comedy and music and is generally accepted by the society. The GOP Varieté Theater in Münster belongs to the sector “cultural tourism” being a theatre, which also means that the guests can be seen as “cultural tourists”.

Mrs. Blasum is responsible for all the marketing activities of the GOP in Münster including the organization of the press premiere of each show, the co-organization of promotion activities and taking care of the presence of the GOP at different events and fairs.

The GOP Varieté Theater in Münster offers a large range of products, starting with the pure ticket for the show and going on with whole menu arrangements, company events and overnight stays at partner hotels, which allows the company to build up a large spectrum of the target group. In “Appendix I” you can find a table with the main products of the GOP, giving an impression of the product line.

1.2 Reason for the Thesis Project

The GOP Varieté Theater is currently starting to target the Dutch market. This thesis project will show up the GOP in Münster how to position the theatre for this undertaking. There are several reasons why the company wants to enter to Dutch market.

Firstly the location of Münster is ideal to attract new customers from the Netherlands, a market which has not been targeted at all yet, full of potential. Looking at the distance it roughly takes an hour by car from Enschede to Münster and 1.12 hours by train (Google Maps). Moreover the GOP cooperates with public transportation in the surrounding of Münster, the so-called “Netz Münsterland”, which

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allows guests to use the public transportation within this area for free during the day of the show. Enschede is also part of this area, which is a perfect precondition to attract guests from this surrounding.

Another reason for the approach of the Dutch market is the low season in summer between April and September, where bookings are decreasing. Building up a larger customer base will help to bridge the season in a more profitable way and will make the GOP Münster more independent from different promotion activities, raffles and partner invitations.

Lastly one can say that the GOP in Münster has reached their target segment in geographical terms already. Due to the fact that there are five other GOP Theaters in Germany, Münster has only a limited geographical area of a target market, and although a lot of customers come regularly to visit new shows, the GOP in Münster has reached the better part of the available market in their surrounding in Germany. However, unlike the other GOP’s in Germany, Münster has the advantage to be located right next to the Dutch boarder, which opens up new opportunities.

At this point the GOP started to already approach the Dutch market in terms of attending several fairs, but due the fact that there is no specific marketing plan yet, the actions taken are limited.

Looking at the explanation above, it gets understandable why Mrs. Blasum wants to approach the Dutch market; the arising question now is how this will proceed. On the other side there is also a probability that the Dutch population is interested in visiting a Varieté Theater in Germany, due to the fact that there is only one Theatre of this kind in Amsterdam, the “Casablanca”. According to reviews and field reports the “Casablanca” also has success with this concept. In many cases the distance to Münster is closer than to Amsterdam and looking at the success of the concept of the GOP in Münster the likelihood of having the same success with the Dutch population is high. However, the GOP does not have any specific knowledge on how the interest from the Dutch side is, it is an opportunity the GOP seeks in order to increase their target market and popularity.

The reason for this thesis project is to show up the most effective positioning towards the Netherlands by analyzing the internal and external environment carefully and researching the Dutch’s population preferences and leisure time creation, in order to be able to draw up an effectual marketing plan. The outcome of the thesis project will show Mrs. Blasum a way to enter the Netherlands and will influence the marketing of the GOP towards the Dutch market crucially.

1.3 Objective of the Project

The management problem of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster is that it is unknown how the Dutch market can be reached in the most effective way, so naturally the solution is to show a way of how the Netherlands can be approached marketing wise. The reason for this measure is the geographical striking position of Münster next to the Netherlands, the low season between April and September, where bookings decrease, the geographical limitation of the GOP in Münster in terms of customers and the overall potential of the Dutch market. Therefore this thesis project will give Mrs. Blasum knowledge about how to position the GOP in the Netherlands, including an extensive analysis of the Dutch target market.

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At the end the recommendation will be a renewed marketing mix, especially created for the Dutch population, showing up how to position the GOP in terms of the products offered, the price asked, the way the products are distributed and the way they are promoted in the Netherlands. The thesis project will show up the gap between what the Dutch populations’ wishes in terms of the design of their recreational activities and what the GOP Varieté Theater actually has to offer. Moreover the renewed marketing mix will be a recommendation of how to overcome these gaps.

1.4 Global Work Breakdown Structure

The global work breakdown structure is a tool, which allows distinguishing sub-projects within the thesis project and shows what steps need to be undertaken in order to have a whole thesis project in the end. The breakdown structure can be found in “Appendix II”.

Firstly the theoretical framework needs to be created, which includes a definition of how literature will be selected, the literature research on the core concepts “marketing plan” and “cultural tourism” itself and a literature review. It is important that the literature selection will be based on AAOCC criteria, which makes the literature valid and reliable. Lastly referencing in the APA Style is also part of the theoretical framework.

The next part of the thesis project is the field research, where the data collection methods, in this case surveys and interviews, will be explained. After conducting the field research the data will be analyzed and a conclusion will be formulated.

The last part of the thesis project is the advisory part, which will answer the sub-questions and the central research question. Having the answers to these questions the objective within the research can be achieved by creating a renewed marketing mix for the GOP in Münster.

1.5 Research Objective

The objective of the field research is to elaborate what kind of leisure behavior pattern the Dutch population has in relation to geographical, demographical, psychographical and behavioral

segmentation variables in order to be able to define a target market and to position the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster in the most effective way. It is also an objective to gain relevant knowledge about the internal and external factors, which influence the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster, in order to create a reliable and valid marketing mix, which takes all factors into consideration.

1.6 Research Questions

In order to achieve the objective a central research question has been formulated:

What is the positioning of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster in relation to the Netherlands?

Due to the fact that there are several steps, which need to be taken first in order to be able to answer the central research question, four sub-questions have been formulated. Having the answers to those sub-questions makes it possible to gain sufficient information in order to be able to answer the central research question.

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1. What does the current SWOT Analysis of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster look like? 2. What does the competition of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster look like?

3. What does the current and prospect target market of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster look like?

4. What are the wishes of the Dutch target market in terms of the design of their recreational activities in relation to the offering of the GOP Varieté Theatre in Münster?

1.7 Reading Guide

The thesis projects starts with the theoretical framework, where the two core concepts “Marketing Plan” and “cultural tourism” will be introduced und put into relation.

After, the methodology of the thesis project will be shown up, which includes the research strategy, the methods of data collection, the operationalization of the two core concepts, a sampling plan and lastly a description of how the data of the field research will be analyzed.

Next the results of the field research will be presented. First the current SWOT analysis of the GOP will be shown, and then the competition in the Dutch market gets elaborated. The next step is to introduce the results of one of the interviews, which describes how the current target market looks like and to record the findings of the survey, where the prospect target market is being described. After that these results will be put into context by looking at the wishes of the Dutch population in relation to the actual offering of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster. Lastly the results will be discussed.

Shortly after the sub questions will be answered by drawing a conclusion.

The next step is to assess the validity and reliability of the research project, by discussing the construct validity, the internal validity, and the external validity and finally the overall reliability of the thesis.

Hereafter the advisory part takes place by first introducing alternative solutions and then evaluating each and every solution, in order to choose the most appropriate one. When this is done, the implementation of the advice is presented by showing up the chosen marketing mix, which consists of place, product, price and promotion. Also financial implication will be discussed in that matter.

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2. Theoretical Framework

The following describes the search methods that were used for the theoretical framework, including search engines used, search terms used and the criteria used to evaluate the results. Furthermore the two core concepts “marketing plan” and “cultural tourism” are introduced and defined.

Due to the fact that the thesis paper can be seen as a marketing plan in terms of procedure and structure, “marketing plan” can be seen as one of the core concepts. However, looking at the field research and the central research question, where solely the positioning is asked for, this research paper does not cover a traditional marketing plan in all conditions. The marketing plan can be seen as an umbrella term, where the positioning is just a smaller part from. Based on the positioning, the advice will be a new marketing mix for the Dutch population, which also belongs to the crucial steps taken in a marketing plan.

The other concept is “cultural tourism”. The GOP Varieté Theater in Münster belongs to the cultural tourism sector, which makes it essential to define what this niche tourism sector actually is and what it contains. After all, the thesis project is a marketing plan for a company which belongs in the cultural tourism sector. Another important factor for introducing “cultural tourism” as one of the main concepts, is the second sub question “What does the competition of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster look like?”. In order to be able to analyse the competitive market it is important to define the sector to which the GOP belongs to. This way all companies which operate in the cultural tourism industry can be count to competition and further distinguished. Furthermore the concept also helps to answer the sub question “What does the current and prospect target market of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster look like?” Part of the field research is a survey, filled out by the Dutch population, which will lead to definitions of the several prospect target groups. In order to create the operationalization of the survey and eventually the questionnaire itself it is necessary to not only take marketing issues, such as segmentation into consideration, but also cultural tourism. Due to the fact that visitors of the theatre can be seen as cultural tourists it is essential to distinguish which target group falls into this sample.

2.1 Search Methods

In order to find appropriate literature, different search methods are used. For the initial literature research books have been used as well as different online databases and search engines, including tertiary data sources such as Google, Google Scholar and the Saxion online Library. This way a large range of different types of literature and documents has been found and evaluated.

For the initial literature research the following terms were used as search terms: marketing plan, marketing plan definition, writing a marketing plan, cultural tourism, cultural tourism theatre, cultural tourism definition, cultural tourism marketing. Different search terms were combined with an “AND” or quoted with “” in order to get more specific results.

Throughout the literature research the AAOCC Criteria were used, which consist of authority, accuracy objectivity, currency and coverage. It was checked if and what the author has published beside the used source and if a bibliography is present in order to support the literature. Next the accuracy of

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web pages was reviewed, looking at the publishers and their interest. At the same time the objectivity of the literature was taken into consideration, looking at the authors or publishers interest of the release and if there are any subjective opinions given. Then the currency of the document was checked and whether it was completely up-to-date and relevant in this day and age. Lastly the coverage and completeness was looked over, in order to be sure that the literature is relevant. This means in detail that it was checked if the information is complete, if the target audience matches, if the material is presented on an appropriate level and if the information is relevant to the core concepts.

2.2 Marketing Plan

For the core concept “marketing plan” the book “essential guide to marketing planning” by Wood (2007) will be used as one of the main sources. Wood combines all relevant aspects of a marketing plan, which have been researched in the literature research and puts them together in a clearly arranged seven-step-plan. Wood is a reputable author in the field of marketing, who has worked with Philipp Kotler, the author of “Principles of Marketing”, which was a set book in the marketing semester at the Saxion University of Applied Sciences.

A marketing plan is defined as “the part of the business plan outlining the marketing strategy for a product or service” (Marketing Terms, 2013). According to Wood (2007) a marketing plan consists of seven stages: 1. Analyse the current external and internal situation, 2. Research and analyse markets and customers, 3. Determine segmentation, targeting and positioning, 4. Set marketing plan objectives and direction, 5. Plan marketing strategies, programmes and support, 6. Plan to measure progress and performance, 7. Implement, control and evaluate the plan.

Wood (2007) describes, that the first stage consists of an internal and external audit, which lead to a SWOT analysis. The internal audit examines the current situation of a company and includes a mission statement, resources, offerings and other factors, which are relevant for the current status. The external audit on the other hand includes trends and developments displayed within the PEST model, which describes political, economical, socio-cultural and technological factors. Taking both audits together a SWOT analysis can be created, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company. The definition of a SWOT analysis is described by the business dictionary as a “situation analysis in which internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization, and external opportunities and threats faced by it are closely examined to chart a strategy. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.”

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Market existing products in existing markets

Modify existing products for existing markets

Market new products in existing markets

Market existing products in geographical expansions of existing

markets

Modify existing products for dispersed markets

Offer geographically innovative products

Market existing products in new markets

Modify existing products for new markets

Offer new products in new markets

According to Wood (2007) the second stage defines the market for the offered product and identifies sources of information about the consumer and the several business markets. Also the market share of a company’s product needs to be estimated, which involves looking at the share of the competitor as well. Lastly there is an analysis of customers in the consumer market, which consists of customer characteristics and needs, social connections, cultural elements and personal and psychological elements. The business dictionary defines competition as “ rivalry in which every seller tries to get what other sellers are seeking at the same time: sales, profit, and market share by offering the best practicable combination of price, quality, and service.”

In the third stage the customers are grouped into segments, based on characteristics, behaviours, needs or wants that influence their demand or usage of the product. The next step is to choose a targeting approach for the several segments and finally decide on how the product or service will be positioned in order to differ itself from the competition and how this difference will be communicated. Kotler (2008) defines positioning as an “arranging for a product to occupy a clear, distinctive and desirable place relative to competing products in the minds of target consumers” and states that the marketing mix is the company’s ‘toolkit’ for establishing a strong positioning in target markets. He identifies four variables in market segmentation:

Geographic  Region  Country Size  City Size  Density  Climate Demographic  Age  Gender  Family Size  Family life cycle  Income  Education  Religion  Occupation  Race  Nationality Psychographic  Social class  Lifestyle  Personality Behavioural  Purchase Occasion  Benefits sought  User status  Usage rate  Loyalty status  Readiness state  Attitude towards product

According to Wood (2007) the fourth stage defines the direction and purpose of the marketing plan. This mostly includes one of the nine ways shown in the growth grid (Andreasen, Kotler, 2003).

Markets

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The fifth stage is about the marketing mix, which consists of product, price, place and promotion and defining strategies for those. Also a plan of how the marketing mix will be supported needs to be created, which means that an appropriate customer service level needs to be defined and decided on and internal marketing needs to be introduced in order to have the commitment and cooperation of others to implement and control the marketing plan. Kotler (2008) defines the marketing mix as a “set of controllable, tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market”.

In the sixth stage Wood (2007) describes metrics to measure specific marketing outcomes and activities towards financial, marketing and societal objectives, in order to be able to track marketing progress and measure the achievement of objectives. This also involves developing and documenting budgets, forecasts and schedules as well as responsibilities for the several marketing programs. The last stage is the implementation of the marketing plan and at the same time the control of how the implementation is being transacted. This involves applying several types of marketing control on different levels, which can be specific standards and measuring the actual marketing performance. Results are being compared on a regular basis, which makes a valid evaluation of the implementation possible.

Woods model of a marketing plan founds as a red line through the thesis paper, where almost every stage will be taken into consideration, in order to create a valid marketing plan. This can be also retrieved from the sub-questions. Firstly a SWOT analysis will be created, as in Woods first stage, followed by a competition analysis. After that the segmentation will take place with the help of the field research as in the third stage and eventually a positioning strategy will be chosen, which will become manifest in a new marketing mix. Due to the fact that the advice will show among others how to overcome the gap between the wishes of the Dutch market and the products the GOP Varieté Theater offers, the third stage will be discussed in the recommendation chapter, where it will be decided on weather existing products, modified products or completely new products will be offered. The advice of the thesis project is a renewed marketing mix, the decision if and to what extend it will be implemented on the other hand, is the decision of Mrs. Blasum. Therefore the last two stages of developing responsibilities and schedules and finally implementing and controlling the plan will be left out and ceded to Mrs. Blasum. Woods (2007) seven stages of creating a marketing plan will be applied in the thesis project by answering the sub questions on one hand, which will be done in the first, second and third stage and by giving advice on the other hand, which will be done in the fourth and fifth stage. Like mentioned before the last two stages are on Mrs. Blasum’s authority.

2.3 Cultural Tourism

There are several definitions and opinions about cultural tourism, what it includes and how it is represented.

According to Bonink (1992) there are two basic approaches. The first approach is product-based and describes “sites and monuments”, so types of attractions, which are visited by cultural tourists. However, this approach narrows down the purpose of cultural tourism drastically and does not show

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any purposes beyond sites and activities. ECTARC (1989) has composed a list of the elements, which belong to the first approach.

1. Archaeological sites and museums

2. Architecture (ruins, famous buildings, whole towns) 3. Art, sculpture, crafts, galleries, festivals, events 4. Music and dance (classical, folk, contemporary) 5. Drama (theatre, films, dramatists)

6. Language and literature study, tours, events 7. Religious festivals, pilgrimages

8. Complete (folk or primitive) cultures and sub-cultures

The second approach takes others aspects of travel into consideration, including the history, heritage and the way of life of others, which can be experienced by tourists. This cannot be exemplified through sites and activities, but more through habits, traditions and behavior.

Both approaches were combined in a conceptual and a technical definition by the ATLAS Cultural Tourism Research Programme (2009) as:

Conceptual Definition

“The movement of persons to cultural attractions away from their normal place of residence, with the intention to gather new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs".

Technical Definition

“All movements of persons to specific cultural attractions, such as heritage sites, artistic and cultural manifestations, arts and drama outside their normal place of residence”.

In this research paper the technical definition of “cultural tourism” will be applied, as it is more appropriate for this project. The technical definition is more specific in distinguishing cultural attractions by implying heritage sites, artistic and cultural manifestations and arts and drama. The Varieté Theatre fits perfectly in this definition because it combines a cultural attraction with artistic, arts and drama. The conceptual definition on the other hand only includes cultural attractions as a whole, which makes this definition rather general and broad.

The core concept of cultural tourism is important for the thesis project in terms of having an overall perspective on the company the paper is written for. It is essential to know and define what kind of company the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster displays and what it is composed from before writing a marketing plan for it. The GOP in Münster belongs to the niche of cultural tourism, which eventually leads to the conclusion that the target market consists of cultural tourists. Knowing how cultural tourism is formed will be a crucial point of view in the course of the project looking at the SWOT, the competition in this sector, the target market, the positioning and hence the new marketing mix. This concept is essential especially for defining the competition of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster and the prospect target market, which consists of cultural tourists. Therefore the operationalization of this project will partly be based on the concept of cultural tourism.

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2.4 Relationship among the Core Concepts

There is a relationship between “marketing plan” and “cultural tourism” in terms of selling and commercializing cultural tourism to customers. According to Silberberg (1994) cultural tourism can be market best with joint marketing, which includes “partnerships among cultural products of the same type, among cultural products of different types and most importantly with non-cultural tourism partners such as hotels, bus tour operators and retailers.” In the case of the GOP Varieté Theater there are already partnerships with non-cultural tourism partners, such as the Netz Münsterland, Hotels and Outlets. It is also probable that these kinds of partnerships will remain with the marketing plan for the Dutch market.

Möller and Deckert (2009) state that cultural tourists show higher satisfaction in terms of cultural oriented activities and are well informed and decisive in their expectations. However the customer loyalty is lower when looking at the repeats of a visit. Therefore cultural tourism has a lot of potential for cross-marketing.

Cultural Tourism is a product and/or service, which generally needs marketing efforts, in order to be successful. The main relationship between the two core concepts is that cultural tourism needs to be planned in terms of marketing such as other tourism sectors. The most common way to plan marketing is composing a marketing plan. For this project specifically the GOP Varieté Theater in Germany belongs to the sector of cultural tourism and wants to attract new customers from the Netherlands. This undertaking needs planning beforehand, which is displayed by the creation of a marketing plan. In the field research the term of cultural tourism will be relevant, as the target market consists of cultural tourists. Therefore the field research is about gaining information about what cultural tourists expect from a company from this sector. So both, cultural tourism and marketing will play a role in the field research and especially in the survey. By conducting the survey it is essential to reduce the Dutch population to a common denominator of marketing and cultural tourism.

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3. Methodology

In the following firstly the research strategy will be stated followed by the methods of data collection. Moreover the operationalization of the field research will be introduced together with the sampling plan. Lastly it will be described how the data analysis will proceed.

3.1 Research Strategy

Looking at the central research question “What is the positioning of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster in relation to the Netherlands?” the research paper deals with a descriptive research.

According to the Business Dictionary a descriptive research can be defined as “a statistical study to identify patterns or trends in a situation, but not the causal linkages among its different elements. Descriptive studies (such as a cross-sectional study) help in generating hypothesis on which further research may be based.”

Brotherton (2008) states that descriptive research is solely designed to establish a factual picture of the given issue under investigation, whereas explanatory research deals with explaining the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of the issue and exploratory research needs initial exploratory work in order to be able to generate insights and understandings of the value. In this case the goal of the field research is to gather information about the Dutch population and the internal and external environment of the theatre and evaluate this information without exploring the causes behind the effects and without putting the gathered information into relation to other issues.

This research deals with a mixed methods research, or to be more precise with a convergent parallel design, which means that both, qualitative and quantitative approaches are combined and compared and lead to one interpretation and analysis of the field research (Creswell, 2011). This research design involves quantitative data, which in this case is displayed by a survey and qualitative data, which is displayed by interviews. Furthermore there will be also desk research taking place, in order to be able to answer every sub question in the most effective way. The surveys will give quantitative information about the leisure behaviour pattern of the Dutch population, which will help to establish a target market in the Netherlands. The qualitative data, or to be precise the interviews, will give information about relevant internal and external factors of the GOP, which will result in a SWOT analysis on one hand and on information about the current target group and the appropriate products on the other hand. The desk research will result in information about the competition of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster, with which a competition analysis can be drawn up.

The reason of using the mixed method research strategy is to get multiple perspectives in regard of the sub questions, in order to be able to answer the main research question. Mixing quantitative and qualitative data makes it possible to answer each sub question independently in the most effective way, which also means that every sub question is of equal value and should be looked at individually. According to Cresswell (2011) the process of the convergent parallel design can be distinguished in four steps. The first step is to collect the qualitative and quantitative data, independently. Both data do not stand in any relation to each other and do not base on each other. Also they have equal importance

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and are therefore of the same value in the advisory part of the thesis. The next step is to analyse the data separately using appropriate analytic procedures and finally merge the data to one result. This way a better understanding of the issue is made sure and the research question can be answered by taking various perspectives into consideration.

3.2 Methods of Data Collection

Due to the fact that this thesis paper deals with the mixed-method research design multiple methods of data collection will take place. Each sub question will be dealt with individually and bares the appropriate data collection method. Below you can see how the information to each sub question will be retrieved.

1. What does the current SWOT Analysis of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster look like?

In order to answer this sub question in-depth information about the company is needed. It is difficult to obtain this kind of information with quantitative data collection, because of the complexity of the issue. Also the sample for this question is very small looking at the number of respondents who have such an extensive knowledge about the company internally and externally. Therefore an interview will be conducted with Mrs. Blasum. Due to the fact that Mrs. Blasum is the Marketing Manager of the GOP in Münster, she is more than suited to answer question about the internal strengths and weaknesses as well as about the external opportunities and threats. This interview will be conducted face-to-face and on a one-to-one basis. Regarding the structure of the interview an interview guide will be developed beforehand on a semi-directive basis. This means that the interview will be controlled in terms of the superordinate concepts of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, but other than that the content of each concept will be handled in a rather flexible way. This way it is made sure that all information Mrs. Blasum considers as important per concept will be taken into consideration and no information gets missed.

2. What does the competition of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster look like?

For this sub question desk research will take place. With the help of the technical definition of the cultural tourism concept competitors will be recognized and analysed. According to the Management Study Guide (2014) there are two types of desk research: internal and external desk research. Internal desk research deals with internal documents of an organization, such as account or sales related information. In this case there are no relevant documents internally, which deal with competition, which makes this type of desk research unsuitable. There are three different methods considering the external desk research: online desk research, government published data and customer desk research.

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In this case the online desk research will be used to find and analyze the competition of the GOP Varieté Theater. Certain factors were established in cooperation with Mrs. Blasum, in order to justify what can be seen as competition for the GOP theatre. These factors are the geographical area, the product and the price.

3. What does the current and prospect target market of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster look like? This sub question has two different approaches of data collection. In order to find out what the current target market looks like, an interview will take place with Mrs. Blasum. She is the Marketing Manager of the company and with this position she knows exactly for whom several marketing activities are for and who the GOP wants to attract. The interview will be structured with an interview guide, which will be based on the core concept marketing plan.

In order to find out what the prospect target market looks like a survey will be conducted using questionnaires. The survey will be handed out personally, which means that it is possible to give assistance to the respondents in answering the questionnaires. The main advantage of questionnaires is that if the recipient is confused by the wording or does not entirely understand the question, someone is there to clarify the issue. Unlike the distributed interviewing online or via telephone misunderstandings can be avoided easily and on the spot. On the other hand clarifications and explanations can also influence the respondent towards an answer, which increases the chance of systematic errors. Therefore it is crucial to only give object clarifications, which should be prepared beforehand (Brotherton, 2008). Due to the fact that quantitative data is required in this part of the field research, the questions will be structured, closed and will often include a measurement scale to prescribe the available responses to the respondents. This way a statistical analysis of the sample is possible (Brotherton, 2008). The sample, which will be defined in Chapter “3.4 Sampling Plan” will fill in the questionnaires in public spaces. Taking this into consideration the sample population might have a limited time frame to fill in the questionnaire, which is also a reason to choose closed question with measurement scales, as “this format will probably be the best as it is generally easy and quick to complete.” (Brotherton, 2008). Brotherton (2008) also recommends motivating the respondent in some way to complete the questionnaire, as this will improve the response rate and decrease the non-response error. In this case Mrs. Blasum wants to offer a complimentary ticket for a show for each respondent, who fills in the questionnaire, which will provide as an incentive for the respondents. 4. What are the wishes of the Dutch target market in terms of the design of their recreational activities in relation to the offering of the GOP Varieté Theatre in Münster?

This research question will be answered with the information of the survey on the one hand and with the information of the interview with Mrs. Blasum on the other hand. The wishes of the Dutch market can be retrieved from the survey and the offering of the GOP can be retrieved from the interview, where Mrs. Blasum talks about the current target market and the appropriate products that are offered. Combining these two methods of data collection it is possible to get an answer to this research question.

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3.3 Operationalization

The operationalization of the field research can be found in “Appendix III” and is based on the theoretical foundation, which can be found in chapter 2 “Theoretical Framework”. There are two different graphics of the operationalization: a tree diagram showing the concept of market segmentation and cultural tourism with the corresponding aspects and sub aspects and a table, which also displays the indicators that are used as a measurement tool.

In the literature review it is stated that customers need to be grouped into segments first before choosing a targeting approach and ultimately position the company by drawing up a marketing mix. Therefore the field research leans towards the segmentation of the Dutch market and uses geographical, demographical, psychographical and behavioral aspects as variables.

However not all aspects of those variables are used in the operationalization, as not all of them are suitable and convenient for the project. Looking at the geographical segmentation for instance, it is unnecessary to ask for the climate the respondents live in, as this circumstance is known beforehand and irrelevant for the project. Another example can be seen in the demographic segmentation, where the race of the respondent does not play a role, as the concept of “cultural tourism” is not dependent on what skin color the respondent has.

3.4 Sampling Plan

Brotherton (2008) defines a sample as “a smaller version of the whole it is obtained from that reflects the same characteristics as those of the whole” In this case the ‘whole’ or more precisely the ‘population’ is the entire Dutch population, which needs to be as identical as possible with the sample. The purpose of sampling is to draw up a valid and reliable generalization from the chosen sample to the whole population (Brotherton, 2008).

The sample frame, from which the actual sample will be selected from, is the Dutch population in Enschede. Enschede has a population of 157.943 inhabitants, which means that it is the 11th_biggest city in the Netherlands and it belongs to the mid-field (Pernambuco, 2012). It is the most diverse city in the eastern part of the Netherlands with various cultural institutions such as the Cultuurmijl, the TwentseWelle and several exhibition spaces and studios. Furthermore there is the Saxion University of Applied Sciences and the AKI/Artez Art Academy, which brings a lot of students to Enschede (ARE Holland, 2014). The cultural diversity and medium size of the city are two reasons to choose it as a sample frame. Another reason is the direct train connection from Enschede to Münster, which is included in the entrance ticket to the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster, and which can be seen as an advantage for the inhabitants in Enschede regarding a visit to the theatre in Münster.

The sample size is 271 surveys, which was calculated with a margin of error of 5% and a confidence level of 90% (Raosoft, 2004).

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The sampling method used for the survey is ‘probability-based sampling’, which means that the chances of getting a sample respondent are equal (Brotherton, 2008). Within the probability-based sampling the ‘simple random sampling’ method will be used, which gives every person an equal and random chance to be selected in Enschede. In practice this means, that the sample subjects will not be stratified and separated into groups beforehand, but chosen completely randomly. This way an objective analysis of the segmentation variables is possibly without clustering the sample frame from the beginning. The outcome of the field research will be the definition of the market segmentation and the target market. Stratifying or clustering the sample frame in several strata before the field research without having prior knowledge about the frame could lead to false assumptions and results.

3.5 Data Analysis

According to Brotherton (2008) the first step in analyzing qualitative data is to unitize and code the interviews. This means that the information is ordered and summarized in different units of the data, which makes it more manageable and coherent. After that different identical or similar codes can be brought together and analyzed separately. In detail that means, for example, that everything that is coded with “strengths” in the SWOT interview will be put under “strength” in the actual SWOT analysis. Regarding the other interview, which deals with the current target group the code “students” can indicate a target group and the appropriate products offered for this group. This will result in a matrix, showing up several target groups, their characteristics and the corresponding products.

With regards of the desk research, which deals with the competition of the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster, it is necessary to first define factors for what can be seen as competition. These factors will be based on the cultural tourism concept on one hand and on other crucial similarities to the GOP on the other hand. Afterwards the competition will be assessed and compared with the help of various factors, such as price, product and geographical area.

According to Brotherton (2008) quantitative data can be analyzed best with the SPSS Software, which will also be the case in this thesis project. However, the questionnaires have to be precoded first in terms of the variables they address and the values of the respondents. In practice this means that each question asked in the questionnaire is differentiated from the other questions by naming the columns of the SPSS data sheet according to the questions. The next step is to pick out certain cases from the data and see in what way they meet certain conditions. In this project one interesting case could be to see what kind of demographical conditions the people have, who are interested in visiting the GOP Varieté Theater in Münster. Another example is to see the relationship between the demographical conditions and the information source where the respondent informs himself about leisure activities. In

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the SPSS analysis both, descriptive and bivariate statistics will be used. In order to get a picture of the characteristics of the sample and to see certain tendencies as a whole, the first step is to draw descriptive statistics of each and every survey question. This will be done by looking at the modal value of all nominal data and the mean value of all ordinal data. In this case a nominal research question could be:

How often do you attend leisure activities in one month?

O 0-1 times O 2-3 times O 4-5 times O 6 times and more

For the answer of this question the modal value will be used, which shows which answer was given the most, as this is the only way of measuring tendencies of nominal data.

An ordinal question could be:

To what extent are you interested in heritage sites?

(not interested) (interested) (very interested)

□1 □ 2 □ 3 □ 4 □ 5 □ 6 □ 7 □ 8 □ 9 □ 10

For this kind of answers the mean value will be used, which can also be referred to as the average. Calculating the average makes it possible to make statements about the sample as a whole.

After the descriptive analysis, the bivariate analysis follows. The bivariate analysis allows drawing connection between variables and helps drawing up certain target groups. This will be done by producing cross-tabulation results and comparing demographical factors with psychographical, geographical and behavioural factors. For each drawn up target group in turn, the mean and modal value will be drawn up, in order to be able to generalize and characterize certain groups.

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4. Field Research

In the following chapter the results of the field research will be presented. After the presentation there will be a discussion in which the results will be interpreted and further analyzed.

4.1 SWOT Analysis

The SWOT Analysis is based on an interview with Mrs. Blasum, which can be found in “Appendix IV”. The GOP in Münster shows up a lot of strengths due to the fact that it is part of a theater chain. According to Mrs. Blasum there are various benefits in being a branch of a larger company; one of them is the overall financial benefit. The GOP as a whole pays production costs for a show only once, although this show will play in each location for two months, which also means that the artists get an attractive annual contract for one show. This way it is enabled to not only work with talented and known directors, but also to hire the best artists around the world. Another financial strength can be seen within the collaboration with suppliers. Due to the fact that the GOP markets all theatres in a consistent way, a lot of products such as flyers and posters are being ordered in a great deal, which simplifies negotiations with certain suppliers and results in great discounts. Furthermore the GOP as a group is able to effort cinema trailers and a TV commercial, which also results in strong brand recognition throughout Germany. The last benefit of being part of a chain is the experience. There are six different GOP theatres in Germany and the more it got, the easier it got to open up new theatres. This kind of experience is a very important strength when it comes to the extension of the company. Other than that there are also specific strengths of the GOP in Münster, such as the pleasant working atmosphere, which is also displayed to the outside and can be explained by the young and dynamic team. Also, it can be seen as a strength that the GOP does not get any subsidies, as it is not depending on financial help and does not have to fulfill any conditions, but can decide on all economic activities itself. Lastly Mrs. Blasum states, that the low season in summer can also be seen as a strength, when looking at different promotional activities, special offerings and invitations of outlet partners. This way the GOP in Münster also gains customers and strengthens the commercial partnership to its outlets. Mrs. Blasum states that being part of a whole theatre chain can also be seen as a weakness in terms of being bonded to certain frame conditions of the upper management, which also means that the GOP in Münster has no total freedom of decisions. In that manner the GOP could not start a marketing campaign solely for students, but has to stick to the overall marketing strategy of the company. According to Mrs. Blasum, another weakness is that the GOP does not get any subsidies, as it carries all the financial risks itself and the government would not show any financial support in case of a false investment or mismanaging the financial sources. Lastly the low season can be seen as both, a strength and a weakness. Due to the fact that there are fewer visitors during summer time, it can be seen as a weakness. However, as mentioned before, the GOP uses this low in a very effective and wise manner, which makes it a strength in the same time.

The GOP in Münster has a lot of opportunities when it comes to attracting new clients. Mrs. Blasum states, that there are new students moving to Münster every year, which means that new potential customers arrive to Münster continuously. Keeping this in mind the GOP has the opportunity to build up a steadily growing customer base, without having to seek out farther than Münster. Furthermore the

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Netherlands are a new potential target market, which can be entered easily in geographical terms. Mrs. Blasum explained that the Netherlands show up a great opportunity, because of the connections that already exist not only between the Netherlands and Münster, but also between the Netherlands and cultural tourism. According to Mrs. Blasum there is a circus festival either in Hengelo or Almelo in December, which can be a nice opportunity to make promotion for the GOP around an audience, which is interested in artistic. Furthermore there are buses coming to Münster from the Netherlands around that time as well, where Dutch people visit the Christmas market. These two events in particular can form a great opportunity for the GOP to further expand and reach the Dutch market. Looking into the aspect of expansion in general, Mrs. Blasum states, that there is the possibility that one day the GOP will open up a theatre abroad. However, there are no such plans yet, which makes it a long-term opportunity.

Regarding the threats Mrs. Blasum mentioned the competition as the only threat for the GOP in Münster. Münster has a lot to offer when it comes to leisure activities in the field of culture. Other theatres in particular are the biggest threat, as they have a very similar product and attract similar audience.

Below you can find the SWOT analysis summarized in a table.

In te rn al F ac tor s Strengths

- Large company consisting of six theatres, which means

 Economic benefits

 Annual contracts for artists

 Experience

 Bigger advertisement in terms of TV commercials etc.

 Best artists worldwide

 Strong brand recognition throughout Germany - Pleasant working atmosphere - Young and dynamic team - Does not rely on subsidies

- Uses low season during summer time to create special offerings, do a lot of promotion and invite outlet partners

Weaknesses

- No total freedom of decisions

- Bonded to frame conditions of management of whole chain

- Limited possibilities to market themselves towards their specific target groups

- Gets no subsidies and carries the whole financial risk

-

Less visitors during low season in summer

Ex te rn al F ac tors Opportunities

- Constant growth of first-year students - The Netherlands are a new potential

market to enter

- Buses from the Netherlands arrive during Christmas time in Münster to visit the Christmas market

- There is a circus festival in Hengelo / Almelo

- Expand and open up a new theatre abroad

Threats

- Competition in the field of cultural tourism, such as theatres in Münster

- Münster has a lot of cultural activities to offer, which are a competition for the GOP

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4.2 Competition Analysis

In order to determine what can be seen as competition for the GOP Münster in the Dutch market, it is important to first define a geographical limitation. Theatres that are located in the far west or far north in the Netherlands are not included in the competition analysis, as they cannot be seen as competition anymore. Mrs. Blasum states in the interview regarding the current target market in “Appendix VI”, that the GOP seeks their customers within a radius of 60 km, cities which are farther than that are too difficult and circuitous to reach. For this reason the geographical limitation will be set at a 100 km radius in the Netherlands. This way it is made sure that all potential competitors are included in the analysis and taken into consideration. Competitors, which are not located within this radius will be left out of the analysis, as they are irrelevant for the GOP in Münster in geographical terms already.

The next step is to collect all potential competitors within the chosen geographical area by using the definition of cultural tourism, which was stated earlier in the theoretical framework.

“All movements of persons to specific cultural attractions, such as heritage sites, artistic and cultural manifestations, arts and drama outside their normal place of residence.” (ATLAS Cultural Tourism Research Programme, 2009)

In order to find all competitors an internet research has taken place, where several Dutch databases were searched and the distance between the potential competitor and Münster was determined.

Looking at the definition all businesses that deal with arts and drama and culture can be seen as competition, as well as heritage sites within the chosen radius. In “Appendix V” you can find a table with all potential competitors, the category they belong to and their location.

Other than the geographical location of the competitors, there are other factors, which need to be taken into consideration. The factors have been chosen in accordance with Mrs. Blasum and make sure that the competitors are in correspondence with the product of the GOP theatre in Münster. This way legitimate competition can be separated from businesses, which are not in line. Below you can find the chosen factors with a description.

Factors Description

Geographical Area At most a 100 km away from Münster

Price Between 15€ and 40€ for product / entrance

Product - Must offer additional menus /

food&beverage options

- Must have regular changing or different entertainment opportunities

The price of the competitors product has to range between 15€ and 40€, in order to be comparable with the product that the GOP offers. Also it is important that there are menus, or other food & beverage opportunities, as this is a large part of the product the GOP offers. As stated in the interview

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with Mrs. Blasum concerning the current group, which can be found in “Appendix VI”, product combinations including menus are very popular. Even if there was no menu booked in advance, the guests do consume food & beverage during the show, which influences the whole experience and is part of a visit in the GOP. Lastly the product or experience of the competition has to be consumable multiple times. The GOP changes the show every two months, which also means that it strives to build up customer loyalty and it is more important to gain regular visitors, than just one-time visitors. The GOP can be visited regularly and offers a changing program, the competition has to offer a diverse product as well, otherwise it could not be compared to the GOP and cannot count as competition. After carefully examining all potential competitors, only six theatres are in accordance with the chosen factors. All of these theatres are in the geographical area the GOP also would like to operate in. Furthermore each theatre has different and changing programs, offering entertaining shows, arrangements and food & beverage opportunities respectively. The Dutch competition of the GOP theatre in Münster can be seen below.

Competitor Category Location

De Hagen Theater Hotel Theatre Almelo

Concordia Enschede Theatre Enschede

Wilminktheater Enschede Theatre Enschede

Prismare Enschede Theatre Enschede

Stadstheater de Bond Oldenzaal Theatre Oldenzaal

Theater De Storm Theatre Winterswijk

4.3 Current and Prospect Target Market

In this chapter the results of the interview with Mrs. Blasum concerning the current target market and the results of the survey are being presented.

4.3.1 Current Target Market

According to the interview with Mrs. Blasum, which can be found in “Appendix VI”, there are five main target groups, which are currently being aimed: students, couples, families, groups and best-agers. They differ in demographic, psychographic, geographical and behavioral factors and thus different products are currently being offered to each target group. The division of the variables has been chosen according to Wood (2007), who identifies demographics, psychographics, geographics and behavior as the four factors in the market segmentation.

Students are an important target group of the GOP in Münster, as Münster can be seen as a student city with around 40.000 enrolled students, therefore the educational level of the several target groups is also rather high. Students spend around 20€ to 25€ during an evening in the GOP, which can also be explained by the special price of 15€ for a ticket. Furthermore students distinguish themselves from the other target groups in terms of their booking behaviour; they make the most use of online booking. On the other hand students also like being informed personally at information stands and through flyers. This is also a reason why the GOP gives away flyers to several universities since 1.5

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years. In terms of product combinations students tend to include a two-course-menu to their visit, which means 10€ of additional charge. Finally, according to Mrs. Blasum, students are an attractive target group, because they are the best-agers of tomorrow and therefore also future clients.

Couples from the age of 35 or higher are another main target group of the GOP in Münster. There are special offerings for couples, such as the candlelight dinner or “zu zweit dreifach genießen”, which include a dinner and a beverage allowance.

Families with children mostly visit the GOP during Easter and summer vacations, as the GOP has a special offering during these vacations, where one child under 15 gets free entrance for each paying adult. The Sunday afternoon show at 14.30 o’clock is also very popular for families with children, because it does not end too late in the evening. Furthermore, according to Mrs. Blasum, families travel the least from all the target groups, as travelling much for one activity can be exhausting for children. Generally families tend to spend a lot during a visit in the GOP, which makes them an attractive target group.

Groups and companies visit the GOP mostly during Christmas time, when they celebrate their Christmas parties. This is also the reason, why there are special offerings for larger groups for this time of the year, which are already being promoted by the GOP in the summer time. These special offerings can content a discount, a welcome drink or the like. Groups are of big value, because of their importance during Christmas time, when they fill out the theatre easily.

According to Mrs. Blasum best-agers spend the most money for a visit in the GOP. This target group is characterized as rather wealthy, with a lot of free time and the attitude of wanting to treat oneself to something nice. Best-agers also travel the longest compared to the other target groups and tend to inform themselves about the GOP through flyers, which they like to get send to their houses. Due to their financial situation, best-agers like to book the deluxe package, where everything is included. In terms of product combinations, best-agers rather combine their visit with the more expensive and extensive menu in the restaurant. Mrs. Blasum clarifies that best-agers are a very attractive target group, because they have more free time and spend the most money.

There are certain characteristics, which apply to more than one target group. The gender division is well distributed, despite the several target groups. Also the educational level is rather high in all of the target groups and cannot be clearly assigned to one specific group. There is a group of premiere subscribers, which visit each premiere of each show, but generally speaking most guests visit the Varieté in Münster two to three times a year. Furthermore Mrs. Blasum states that most people, except of students, spend around 50€ for one visit in the GOP. It is known that best-agers spend the most, but it cannot be further distinguished how much exactly each target group spends in the GOP averagely. Also in terms of the geographical factors Mrs. Blasum states that most people come from within a radius of 50km to 60km. The only differentiation here is that families with children travel the least and best-agers travel the longest. In terms behaviour it is known that most people are aware of the GOP due to mouth-to-mouth marketing, there is no distinction between the several target groups either. These rather general factors are explained by the whole spectrum of people the GOP attracts.