The Impacts of Experiential Marketing on Theatre
Gao Yunlin
S2724790
Professor Kim Joostens
y.gao.12@student.rug.nl
+31 6 44446393
Master’s thesis in Arts, Culture and Media, University of Groningen
Name of student: Yunlin Gao Student number: S2724790
Master’s degree programme: Arts Marketing specialization
Title of final-year thesis: The Impacts of Experiential Marketing on Theatre Name of thesis supervisor: dr. K.S. (Kim) Joostens
Second reader: drs. L.D.M.E. (Lucia) van Heteren
I hereby declare unequivocally that the thesis submitted by me is based on my own work and is the product of independent academic research. I declare that I have not used the ideas and formulations of others without stating their sources, that I have not used translations or paraphrases of texts written by others as part of my own argumentation, and that I have not submitted the text of this thesis or a similar text for assignments in other course units.
Date: 05/07/2015
Place: Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
Signature of student:
Table of Contents Chapter 1：Introduction 4 1.1 Research Questions 5 1.2 Methodology 6 1.3 Relevance 8 1.4 Outline 9
Chapter 2: Theatre for Distribution 11
2.1 Position of Theatre 11
2.2 Values of Theatre Venues’ Main Services/Products 15
2.3 Exchange of Values 19
2.4 Functions and Goals of Theatre 23
2.5 Approach to Goals 27
2.6 Chinese Small Sized Commercial Theatre 29
Chapter 3: Experiential Marketing 33
3.1 Definition of Experiential Marketing 33 3.2 Strategic Experiential Modules and Experience Providers 37 3.3 Experiential Marketing of Commercial Theatres 41 3.4 Influences on Theatres 45
Chapter 4: Case Study 51
4.1 Introduction of Case: 1933 Left Bank Theatre 53 4.2 1933 Left Bank Theatre before Applying Experiential Marketing 55 4.3 1933 Left Bank Theatre after Applying Experiential Marketing 59 4.4 Influence on 1933 Left Bank Theatre 63
Chapter 5: Conclusion 71
5.1 Limitations & Recommendations on Future Research 76
5.2 Bibliography 78
Chapter 1：Introduction
Experiential marketing is a relatively new concept, which was remarked as a marketing theory in “The Experiential Aspects of Consumption: Consumer Fantasies, Feelings, and Fun” (Holbrook and Hirschman 1982). It can be understood as a “process of identifying and satisfying customer needs and aspirations profitably, engaging them through two-‐way communications that bring brand personalities to life and add value to the target audience” (Smilansky, 2009, p. 5). Since new creative and innovative products, such as the iPhone, Facebook and Glacéau Vitamin Water, appeared at the beginning of the 21st century, this marketing concept has been used more and more frequently. Of course, to optimize the exchange of value and maximize the profit, theatres might also adopt experiential marketing, because it may be utilized as a method prior to consumption to enhance the consumer experience (Schmitt, 1999, p. 58).
efficient marketing strategies.
In the end, I will use the case of 1933 Left Bank Theatre in Shanghai, a megalopolis based Chinese small-‐scale commercial theatre, to demonstrate whether theatres can be influenced in the way that is discussed in this research. 1933 Left Bank Theatre is a Chinese small sized commercial theatre. As a theatre and production company, 1933 Left Bank Theatre was founded in 2010. Many kinds of drama performances were staged since then, including alternative plays, comedy, epic plays and experimental plays. Mostly the plays were original. May 2013 was a turning point for the 1933 Left Bank Theatre for it is the time that the theatre started to apply experiential marketing. Since then, the production process, management structure, as well as attendance rates and financial incomes changed.
By combining Bernd Schmitt’s research of experiential marketing concepts with arts marketing concepts of Miranda Boorsma and the study of value of artworks of van Maanen, I will be able to answer the questions why applying experiential marketing to theatres is feasible and useful, what impact will be brought to theatres, and what the causes of the impacts are.
Key terms: Experiential marketing, theatre, consumption experience, and happiness
1.1 Research Questions
the case of 1933 Left Bank Theatre to demonstrate the hypothesis that experiential marketing might influence a theatre, and the lead to a better result.
In order to complete the research objective, I list my research questions as follows:
Research Question:
What impacts can experiential marketing have on Chinese small sized commercial theatres?
Sub-‐questions:
-‐ How do theatres function?
-‐ What goals do theatres want to achieve?
-‐ What is experiential marketing?
-‐ How can experiential marketing help theatres achieve their goals in theory?
-‐ How does experiential marketing help small Chinese commercial theatres achieve these goals in practice?
1.2 Methodology
and analysis. By reviewing current relevant academic articles about the characteristics of theatre venues and the position of theatres in art market, I will elaborate how a theatre venue functions in the distribution domain and what goals performing arts theatres need to achieve through marketing behaviours. In addition, since the study should be practiced on Chinese conditions, whether the theoretical analysis works on Chinese theatres will also be tested.
Secondly, instead of focusing on marketing for art organizations, I will use an interdisciplinary method, linking the knowledge of experiential marketing with art theories. By comparing different articles of experiential marketing, a proper definition and characteristics of this particular marketing strategy will be presented. Then I will match the goals that performing arts theatres need to reach with the performance that experiential marketing can deliver in theory, in order to demonstrate whether the application of experiential marketing is suitable for theatres, and what changes might be brought to theatres by applying experiential marketing theoretically.
differences might be brought to theatres as art organizations. With all these data as the basis, I will be able to find the relationship between experiential marketing and theatre venues’ performance.
1.3 Relevance
This research will offer an example of the practice of experiential marketing on theatre. There are some examples showing theatres trying to add memorable experiences to their services or facilities, for instance, Punchdrunk, a British production company who produces theatre works to reinforce audiences’ experiences, and Het Kielzog, a Dutch theatre who intends to add extended products in the theatre to enrich customers’ experiences. Former researchers have already studied how marketing functions in theatres, mostly European and American theatres. Hardly any scientific research focused on one specific marketing strategy. Few non-‐Chinese articles studied small Chinese commercial theatres. In my research, I will concentrate on studying how experiential marketing works in theatres, especially Chinese small sized commercial theatres. I will study whether experiential marketing functions in the Chinese theatre market or not through practicing theories in the case of 1933 Left Bank Theatre in Shanghai. In addition, this research will point out the influence caused by experiential marketing on Chinese small sized commercial theatres. I believe my research will be relevant for helping other small Chinese commercial theatres, which also are based in big cities to design marketing strategies.
1.4 Outline
In the following chapters, I will first discuss the basic concepts of theatre and its product, performance, in order to study the relationship between theatre venues, performance and audiences. With the support of Hans van Maanen’s How to Study Art Worlds: On the Societal Functioning of Aesthetic
Values (2009), the position and functions of the theatre as a distributing
organization can be described properly. By comparing theatre with other non-‐theatre organizations, distinguishable characteristics of theatre venues will be pointed out. Then I will turn to theatre institutions’ product, i.e. the performance. It would be important to discuss whether artistic products should be differentiated from others. Then values and exchange of values of the particular art product and service will be discussed as preparation for further analysis. After all these basic concepts are ready, I will be able to research how theatre as a distributing organization functions and what kind of contribution a theatre venue, a distributing organization, can make to both audience and performance makers. This part of the analysis will help me to understand how a theatre connects the production (theatre performance) to audience reception. In order to fulfill the demand as a distributing organization, a theatre also needs to achieve goals that come from audience, artists and performance production organizations. Later in the same chapter, the goals that a theatre needs to achieve will be divided into different levels and will be analyzed through which methods these goals can be reached. It will help me to understand how experiential marketing can involve in the distribution process.
Experiential Modules (SEMs). These concepts will be explained mainly in relation to Schmitt’s Experiential Marketing (1999) and Experience Marketing: Concepts, Frameworks and Consumer Insights (2010). Then I will match the benefits that experiential marketing can offer for distribution, to the goals of theatre and demands from the audience. Following that discussion, I can evaluate the effectiveness of experiential marketing on theatre organizations. I believe the discussions about artistic values, exchange of values and experiential marketing will help me to understand how these concepts function in designing a marketing strategy.
Once all the concepts are explained, it will be easier to conclude whether experiential marketing works in theatre, what potential outcomes it may bring to the theatres, and propose hypotheses about influences on theatres.
After the conceptual background is introduced, I will then move to the cases, 1933 Left Bank Theatre. This case will be used to demonstrate the hypotheses proposed in chapter three. All the demonstrations will be based on the financial reports, marketing plans and other internal documents offered by 1933 Left Bank Theatre. The Marketer, producers, communication manager and sale manager of 1933 Left Bank Theatre will also be interviewed to study the changes in management and marketing strategies. Both the qualitative and quantitative data will help me to address the impacts on 1933 Left Bank Theatre and test the hypotheses.
Finally, I will summarize my research, and conclude the influences of applying experiential marketing on theatre.
Chapter 2: Theatre for Distribution
2.1 Position of Theatre
In this chapter, I will first introduce the position of theatre in the art world, following the description of functions of theatre venues. Through the research, the specificity of theatre venues will be located, in order to distinguish theatres with other organizations and other arts organizations. It will be helpful to bond the concepts of theatre, as an art organization, with marketing for analyzing the influences that experiential marketing might bring to theatres.
Theatre, as Christopher B. Balme (2008, p.1) pointed out in “The Cambridge Introduction to Theatre Studies”, today can refer to four different meanings, a building; an activity; an institution; and an art form. In the following context, the word “theatre” will be discussed as a building, instead of the art discipline “theatre”.
A theatre set a specific place and time for the audience to spectate the performance organized by author(s), director(s) and drama production company and for artists to perform and communicate with the audience (van Maanen, 2009, p.252). It is also a channel through which artists and drama production companies can communicate with each other. Beside such kind of communication, actors in the art world can also float into other sub-‐systems in society, such as the economy, education or politics as Gielen discussed in ‘Art and Social Value Regimes’. (2005, p.789-‐806) By doing so, theatre venues help artworks to fulfill almost all kinds of their values along with artistic values.
The position of a theatre venue described above shows that theatres could be regarded as distribution organizations in the art world (Maanen, 2009, p.7-‐12). Van Maanen (2009, p.7-‐12) divided the art world into four domains: Production, Distribution, Reception and Contextualization, based on different functions.
Fig. 2.1.1 What works of art do, mediated by distribution
As the figure above shows, performance only exists when there are audiences receiving and perceiving it. On the one hand, theatre venues change the performance in order to make it available for the audiences. On the other hand, audiences are also changed by theatres, according to different theatres’ rules. Audience’s way of viewing the performance is shaped by how the performance is presented. In this way, theatres give performance (in this paper, mostly dramatic performance) a public space. It can be a conceptual space or a entitative one according to the different types of event that they can provide (Maanen, 2009, p.143).
comfort or relaxation though they are also important in marketing. An audience or a customer needs experiences that will challenge him or her, enhance his or her feelings of participating in a performance.
Further, to distinguish artistic experiences with other flow experiences, the concept of aboutness needed to be introduced. “Aboutness” of aesthetic communication makes people ‘aware of themselves or experience themselves’ participating in something. If such aesthetic communication brings people to the fields of perception that they are not familiar with, their solidly formed social cohesion and social-‐identity building might be threatened (van Maanen, 2009, p.225-‐226).
In addition, the audience will be engaged in the performance under either of the following conditions, the actors reallocate ‘the quotidian space’, or the audience considers it as performance (Féral, 2002, p.94-‐108). The uniqueness of a theatre product or service makes a theatre distinguishable to other distribution organizations. An audience demands perception and experience from theatres. Those perception and experience do not only derive from the performance that theatre venues offer, but also the theatre venues themselves.
2.2 Values of Theatre Venues’ Main Services/Products
Different performances can travel freely from decorative and comfortable level to challenging level, which is also called artistic level. However, if the needs of the audience are stable, once the segmentation of a theatre is ascertained, a better way of choosing performance for a theatre is to focus on one certain level, but not confining to it (Kotler & Armstrong, 2011, p.190-‐207).
The last value of art, which is also an important kind of values for marketing, especially for experiential marketing, is semi-‐intrinsic values. Such kind of values is closely linked to experiential marketing.
Semi-‐intrinsic values are additional values based on the utterances of certain arts. This kind of values is not totally independent from artworks, and can be realized through other activities. Semi-‐intrinsic values may require acquiring technical or historical information, or affecting the emotional system or generating ‘social communication through common experience, which is good for the development of social identity and/or cohesion’ (van Maanen, 2009, p.150). By participating in the aesthetic communication, individual perception, whether new or not, and experience are shared with other individuals. Media, authoritative organizations and academic institutions help people communicate with other social groups through their own aesthetic experiences, perceptions and etc. Both methods contribute to forming a social identity of those participants who are involved in such a process (van Maanen, 2009, p.194). Social identity, which is mentioned in the concept of semi-‐intrinsic values, ‘refers specifically to those aspects of a person that are defined in terms of his or her group memberships’ (Deaux, 2001, p. 1059). According to Ms. Deaux’s opinion, social identity has collective property. Different social identities can be classified by different ‘cognitive beliefs, emotional associations, and behavioral consequences’ (Deaux, 2001, p. 1062-‐1064). Thus, social identity can be easily used when different audience groups for a theatre venue.
With the basic concepts of theatre’s product and service, it is possible to move to the next step, studying how these values of performing arts can be transmitted to audience/public, and what is the theatre’s role and function in the transmission process.
2.3 Exchange of Values
Through performance, theatre venues deliver values of their product to customers to satisfy them. In return, theatres expect their objectives can be achieved through customers’ reception or consumption. This exchange relationship between organization and customers can be seen as ‘exchange of values’. In general, the original idea of exchange of values is that ‘the organization creates values for customers that satisfy their needs, while, in return, customers deliver values that contribute to the achievement of the organization’s main objectives’ (Boorsma, 2006, p.76-‐77). Through marketing the products or brands, the exchange relationship will be optimized (Boorsma, 2006, p.77). According to this opinion, exchange of values can be understood as an exchange of goods and services, and beneficial income for organizations.
can be achieved. Art organizations also ask for co-‐creative responses from the audiences, who will help the organizations achieve their artistic mission through the interpretation of artworks (Boorsma, 2006, p.77).
The difference of marketing for art organizations and other organizations lays in the fact that receiving economic success and survival of an organization is almost the essential task of marketing, however, in art organizations marketing must balance the relationship between pursuing ‘customer satisfaction and competitive superiority’ and insuring the completion of artistic mission (Boorsma, 2006, p.77).
A co-‐creative response from the audience then could be understood as the artistic communication between audience and product or performance. Through the reception processes of the target audiences, the co-‐creation helps consumers receive artistic experiences. Botti’s four types of arts consumption benefits may explain why artistic experience can fulfill audience’s/customer’s needs. In Botti’s article “What role for marketing in the arts? An analysis of arts consumption and artistic value.” (2000), she lists four types of arts consumption benefits,
-‐ Functional or cultural benefits
-‐ Symbolic benefits
-‐ Social benefits
-‐ Emotional benefits
Fig. 2.3.1 Continuum of intrinsic/extrinsic rewards, Simona Botti, 2000 Cultural benefit satisfies people’s desire of gaining cultural knowledge while symbolic benefit can fulfill people’s need of presenting their social positions or personalities. Social benefit helps people to build up a relationship with other social members (Botti, 2000, p.17-‐18). The emotional benefit will provide relaxation experience to a customer. Boorsma added a fifth benefit, artistic benefits, to Botti’s taxonomy. Artistic benefits provide the experience of completing a work of art (Boorsma, 2006, p.81). This benefit links to artistic experience. Through four projects, which are conducted by Cooper and Tower in 1992, Cuadrado and Mollà in 2000, Boorsma & van Maanen in 2003, and an unpublished case study in 2003, Boorsma concluded that ‘artistic experience is one of the primary’ motivation of art consumption (2006, p.84). After artistic benefit is added, the arts consumption benefits are expanded into five types,
-‐ Functional or cultural benefits,
-‐ Symbolic benefits,
-‐ Social benefits,
-‐ Emotional benefits,
-‐ Artistic benefits.
approach is ‘a means to optimize artistic exchange’. Then ‘arts marketing programs must focus on the artistic experience as the core customer value’ (2006, p.79).
In summary, marketing, in theatrical arts consumption, is an intermediary between theatres and audience. The following figure shows the relationship between them.
Fig. 2.3.2 Relationship between Theatre and Audience
In the distribution process, values of performance and benefits of art consumption will be realized. Customer’s needs will be satisfied. In return, the audience will bring values back to the theatre.
2.4 Functions and Goals of Theatre
Theatre undertakes the responsibility of offering a place for performance. Since a theatre is the combination of an art organization and a distribution organization, the goals of a theatre venue combine these two types of organizations’ characteristics together.
From the perspective of a distribution organization, a theatre is considered to be the place in distribution process (van Maanen, 2009, p. 243). According to van Maanen, a theatre is the place where distribution takes place. He also pointed out that an art distribution organization is meant to make the products more accessible to the audience in order to realize aesthetic values (van Maanen, 2009, p. 245).
“This organization, which is responsible for the societal allocation of possibilities to participate in aesthetic communication creates its own offer based on its relationship with artists (or their representatives), and with the possible participants,” (van Maanen, 2009, p. 245).
profit than those not-‐for-‐profit theatres, despite the size of theatres and the locations of theatres.
From the perspective of art organizations, the functions of a theatre include staging performance, presenting, and transmitting works of art that created by artists (McCarthy, et al. 2001, p. 9). A theatre venue plays the role of delivering performance to audiences. On the one hand, art consumption benefits will be achieved by delivering performance. Therefore, the goals of a theatre can be considered as delivering those benefits to audiences, through presenting performance. McCarthy (2001, p. 55) indicated that ‘taxable for-‐profit firms in the performing arts industry’ should be profitable, just as other firms. On the other hand, the theatre needs to help a performance to realize its intrinsic, semi-‐intrinsic and extrinsic values, ignoring the economic benefits sometimes.
Fig. 2.4.1 Relationship between arts consumption benefits and value of artworks
According to the explanations of concepts of arts consumption benefits and values of artworks, artistic benefits for audiences can be either personal or collective. Personal artistic benefits can be matched to intrinsic values, while collective to semi-‐intrinsic values. The situation of emotional benefits is the same. Personal ones can be related to intrinsic values, while collective ones to semi-‐intrinsic values. Social benefits can be related to aesthetic communication and experience, but not necessarily. Aesthetic social benefits connect with semi-‐intrinsic values. Non-‐aesthetic social benefits connect with extrinsic values. Functional or cultural benefits and symbolic benefits are the benefits dealing with social values and physical or psychological values of artworks. The relationship between functional or cultural benefits, symbolic benefits and extrinsic values of artworks is closer. Theatre venues make the values of artworks meet the benefits that audience desires. One of the goals of theatre venues can also be understood as satisfying audience’s needs with values that performance contains.
and optimize the exchange of values between theatres’ performance and audiences. In addition, four types of input are involved in the distribution process. Van Maanen (2009, p. 246) listed the as following,
-‐ The material, personnel and facilitating conditions;
-‐ The supply of aesthetic utterances;
-‐ The presence of potential audiences;
-‐ The habitus of whoever is artistically responsible.
In return, theatre venues will be responsible for outcomes because they contribute to ‘the functioning of the arts in a society’ (van Maanen, 2009, p. 265). Those types of outcomes derive from the input mentioned above. Values of aesthetic utterances, artists and their environment, potential audience space, time, personnel, and other services are included (van Maanen, 2009, p. 265-‐ 273). The shape and size of the performance and aesthetic utterances will be influenced, as well as supporting services, personnel and time (van Maanen, 2009, p. 265-‐ 271).
Combining the characteristics of distribution organization and art organization together, three significant goals of theatre stand out,
-‐ Artistic goal
-‐ Meeting audience’s needs
-‐ Gaining financial income
As an art organization, a theatre serves performing arts (McCarthy, et al. 2001, p. 9). Performing arts’ intrinsic values need to be realized through a distribution channel. In performing arts, the channel refers to a theatre venue. A theatre is considered to balance the relationship between all kinds of audience’s needs and artistic goals. Audience’s needs contain all the benefits that customers might be willing to gain through participating in art events. The benefits include all the five benefits mentioned above, functional or cultural benefits, symbolic benefits, social benefits, emotional benefits, and artistic benefit (Bottti, 2000, p. 17-‐18).
2.5 Approach to Goals
satisfy audience’s needs, in order to gain profits (van Maanen, 2010, p. 259).
The tendency now in arts marketing is that conceptual marketing overtakes instrumental marketing. The conceptual marketing focuses more on customer relationship, as van Maanen indicated (2010, p. 259). Theoretically, the arts marketing process starts from understanding the distributor itself, including its potential and ‘actual aesthetic services’ that it can offer, followed by segmentation and analyzing the audience (van Maanen, 2010, p. 261). In the process of selecting and understanding the audience, analyzing potential audience’s competences and needs plays an important role. Van Maanen (2010, p. 263) points out that audiences will be reached if the experiences of engaging in art are comfortable enough for them. When the comfortable experiences are offered, the audiences will be attracted and they might be encouraged to experience more and “make the necessary investments”. One of the reason is that comfortable experience asks for less mental investment. Another reason is that, comfortable experience guarantees the audiences that they have the possibility to get the experience that they expect to have through exchanging ones’ money, ‘effort and use of time’ (van Maanen, 2010, p. 263). Van Maanen believed that it is the reason why the tendency of marketing is focusing on building a customer relationship. He also indicates that the relationship not only includes the one between audience and theatre but also between different individual audiences. Once the relationship is built according to the preference of selected audiences, user adhesiveness toward a theatre brand or performance will be formed in audiences (Burnett, 2008, p. 5). It means that they recognize the experience that a theatre offers and the theatre itself. In return, they may visit the theatre venue constantly.
experience and the experience of completing a work of art. If a theatre, as an art distribution organization, can fulfill at least one of these needs, it will acquire user adhesiveness from target audiences (Burnett, 2008, p. 5). Since marketing is chosen as a distribution method, it bears the responsibility of satisfying audiences’ needs. If marketing completes this task, benefits will be delivered to the audience successfully. The closer the relationship between the characteristics of certain marketing strategy and audience’s needs is, the more efficient marketing strategy will function in a theatre.
2.6 Chinese Small Sized Commercial Theatre
All the concepts above are the concepts of general theatres and performing arts, which can be adapted to any situation, including the Chinese small sized commercial theatres. It would be necessary to define the range of Chinese small sized commercial theatres that will be discussed in this research.
A commercial theatre, according to Relationships between Subsidised and
Commercial Theatre by Robert Cogo-‐Fawcett, is a theatre that should be
inspired by the demand of providing art and entertainment for audience, and ‘motivated by pecuniary motives and by the desire to create profit’ (2003, p.5). He also pointed out that such commercial theatres should have ‘commercial budgets for transferred productions, of agreed deals and their outcome, of a co-‐production agreement and of a commercial play agreement’ (2003, p.6). The distinguishable characteristic of commercial theatres with non-‐profit theatres is creating profit.
should not be beyond 400. Usually, the number of seats of a small sized theatre is 50 to 300, and the stage of such theatre often shares the same space with the audience in the same building. In addition, it is also stated in Types and Forms
of Theatre, that ‘these small theatres often feature a unique or especially
intimate actor/audience relationship’ (2011, p.4). It makes the relationship between audience and performance, and the relationship between customer and theatre particularly important.
Based on such definitions, Chinese small sized commercial theatres are the Chinese theatres, with the seat number under 400, and the purpose of gaining profit. Considering the capacity of such kind of theatres, the method of gaining profit is important for those theatres. As for Chinese theatre, despite the fact that ‘a few items have been banned on political grounds, and the authorities still keep an eye out in the theatre for politically incorrect or unpatriotic items’, and the ‘overall trend has been toward greater freedom, less restrictive politics, and wider variety in the Chinese theatre’ now (Mackerras, 2008, p.6-‐7), since 1990s Chinese drama is more and more westernized (Mackerras, 2008, p.12). According to Klaic (2007, p.18), nearly all types of performing arts are facing commercial pressure. The government encourages theatres to be for-‐profit ones. In order to deal with such commercial pressure, theatres have to try hard to seek ways to support themselves.
Above all, Chinese small sized commercial theatres bear the same characteristics of performing arts and theatre in general. The performing arts of such kind of theatres contain intrinsic values, semi-‐intrinsic values and extrinsic values. They can be realized through exchanging of values. Audiences of Chinese small sized commercial theatres have functional or cultural needs, symbolic needs, social needs, emotional needs, and artistic needs. Goals of Chinese small sized commercial theatres are artistic goal, meeting audience’s needs and gaining financial income. To approach the goals, such kind of theatres must build customer relationship through distribution, especially marketing.
Chapter 3: Experiential Marketing
In this chapter, firstly, in order to couple the characteristics of experiential marketing with audience’s needs, I will introduce the basic concepts of experiential marketing. By doing so, whether experiential marketing is applicable for theatres (Chinese small sized commercial theatres) will be demonstrated. In addition, the advantages of applying experiential marketing compared to other marketing strategies will be discussed. Further, the following questions will be analyzed. For example, in which way theatre venues will be influenced by experiential marketing, how the process of marketing strategy is formed and in which aspects that marketing might involve in theatres. After all these discussions, I will be able to propose hypotheses on what impacts will experiential marketing bring to Chinese small sized commercial theatres.
3.1 Definition of Experiential Marketing
As Bernd Schmitt (1999, p. 56) explained in Journal of Marketing
Management, traditional marketing focuses on advertising or marketing the
functional features and benefits of products, because it considers customers as “rational decision makers”. However, customers are considered to be both emotionally and rationally driven. Experiential marketers not only provide problem-‐solving solutions but also create experiences for customers (Schmitt, 1999, p. 54-‐59). Therefor Schmitt stated that ‘the ultimate goal of experiential marketing is to create holistic experiences that integrate individual experiences into a holistic Gestalt’ (1999, p. 53). Different goals and methods towards the goals distinguish experiential marketing with other marketing concepts.
brand will enhance their desires, or even enhance their desires for purchasing. That is why Hauser (2007) used “a holistic approach to the customer/brand relationship” to describe experiential marketing. For example, in 2012, Red Bull sponsored Felix Baumgartner to break skydiving records. This sponsorship, as well as other extreme sports that Red Bull sponsored, helped the consumer to bond the emotion of being full of “adventurous spirit” to Red Bull, and such emotion matches Red Bull’s market positioning. The desire of pruchasing of a customer who treasures adventures will be stimulated, through experiential marketing. Again, as Sharma, R. and Sharma, V. stated, experiential marketing lets customers experience the benefits, not just passes them the information of the features of the product (2011, p.2).
Desmet explained how emotions and experiences connect customers with products or services in The Basis of Product Emotions. According to Desmet, there are three main emotional forces. Different people might experience different emotions even though they may appraise in the same event, because ‘appraisal mediates between events and emotions’ (Desmet, 2010, p.63). Those three main emotional forces include a usefulness appraisal, a pleasantness appraisal and a rightfulness appraisal. A usefulness appraisal refers to an appraisal that people might make according to whether an event supports or obstructs them. A pleasantness appraisal means people might appraise whether an event will provide pleasure or pain. A rightfulness appraisal is about if an event meets or exceeds people’s standards or expectations. Desmet explains the three emotional forces as such (Desmet, 2010, p.63),
“Positive usefulness appraisals value the situation as helpful,
pleasantness appraisals value the situation as appalling, unattractive, dull, or unattractive. Positive rightfulness appraisals value the situation as fair, legitimate, legal, or sensible, and negative rightfulness appraisals value situations as unfair, wrong, unreasonable, or intolerable.”
If events, products or services offer positive appraisals that might help people to achieve their goals, meet people’s likings, beliefs, expectations and standards, these events, products or services will tend to strengthen the relationship between themselves and customers (Desmet, 2010, p.63).
3.2 Strategic Experiential Modules and Experience Providers
As a relatively new marketing discipline, experiential marketing has already been widely used. Such experiential marketing was developed based on Schmitt’s (1999) five types of experiential marketing approaches. In Schmitt’s Experiential Marketing (1999, p.60-‐62), he presented strategic experiential modules (SEMs), which was based on Dewey’s analyses in 1925. The five types of experiential marketing approaches include, Sense marketing, Feel marketing, Think marketing, Act marketing, and Relate marketing.
According to Lee (2005, p. 300) and McLean (1997, p. 107), though the core products of a theatre do not need to be changed because of marketing, augmented products, which refers to ‘complement or facilitate consumption of the core activities’, of a theatre can be modified to satisfy art consumers. In addition, in arts marketing field, marketing can be seen as a method of achieving an art institution’s artistic goals (Lee, 2005, p. 302).
Feel marketing requests for customers' inner feelings and emotions. Feel marketing is used to create “mildly positive moods linked to a brand” or “strong emotions of joy and pride” (Schmitt, 2010, p.68). Once the emotional bond is built, customers will always turn to the products or services when he or she needs to fulfill the emotional needs. Applying feel marketing is like holding up a mirror to the product. Marketers position themselves as consumers and make consumers believe that they share the same value. In return, it will evoke emotional resonance in customers. The British department store John Lewis has been using Feel Marketing since 2007. Every Christmas, John Lewis releases a TV commercial which is full of warmth, and set in home, with sweet surprises and images that enhance the value of family and friendship. It successfully created an impression on the customers that John Lewis will always contribute to creating the warmth, especially during Christmas seasons. The commercial links a mood to the “brand” John Lewis. When people want to seek warm moments or send a gift presenting the warmth, they may refer to John Lewis, because of feel marketing.
Think marketing is used to invite customers to enjoy the ‘problem-‐solving experiences’ in a creative way (Schmitt, 2010, p.68). Specialization and professionalization are used as tools to strengthen the brand image in customer’s mind.
Act marketing focuses more on physical behaviors, lifestyles, and interactions. As both Schmitt and Dewey stated, “changes in lifestyles and behaviours are often more motivational, inspirational and emotional in nature” (1999, p.62). Using movie or athlete star as advertising spokesperson is one of the methods of act marketing. It asks for customer’s physical experiences. Act marketing sometimes reveals alternative lifestyles and interactions to customers. By approaching to the alternative lifestyles and interactions, some customers might realize the advantage of such new lifestyles and interactions through physical involving.
Relate marketing relates to social identities. It creates experiences to fulfill people’s desires of being parts of social context, which include self-‐esteem, being part of a subculture, or a brand community, according to Schmitt (1999, p.62). Several examples will explain it. Apple successfully built up the image that Apple is a cool high-‐tech brand. Some people who use Apple products may consider themselves are in Apple community. Red Bull is related to adventure life in people’s mind, just as Harley-‐Davidson always reminds people Harley lifestyle, which stands for seeking adventure and achieving American Dream. Justin Boots, a cowboy boots brand, who mainly focusing on encouraging customers to share their experiences on its website and social media, successfully built up its brand image by setting cowboy lifestyle as a selling point. Relate marketing is also used on theatres.
Later in 2009, Brakus et al. developed Schmitt five modules (1999) into four experiential dimensions: sensory, affective, intellectual, and behavioral experiences. They can be used to measure experiences (Brakus et al., 2009, p.53).
of experience providers was first given by Schmitt. The ExPros, as Schmitt claimed, include seven types: communications, visual and verbal identity and signage, product presence, co-‐branding, spatial environments, electronic media, and people (1999, p63). Sharma, R. and Sharma, V. (2011, p.6) summarized them as 7Cs, which indicates convenience (C1), customer value and benefit (C2), cost to the customer (C3), computing and category management (C4), customer franchise (C5), customer care and service (C6), and communication and customer relationships (C7). Any experience within the five types of experiences introduced above can be provided by any of the seven providers. Rachna Sharma and Vishal Sharma’s grid will help us to understand the correlation between experience providers and strategic experiential modules.
(Sharma, R. and Sharma, V., 2011, p.6). The seven experience providers are only manageable if they are fully used “coherently” and “consistently” (Schmitt, 1999, p.63).
In the sense of theatre venues, the customer can be understood as an audience, the brand could be the theatre or title of one particular performance, the performance then at the same time can be understood as a product.
3.3 Experiential Marketing of Commercial Theatres
I have discussed the characteristics goals of experiential marketing and theatre venues separately. On the one hand, experiential marketing builds communication between audience and performance or services through creating or enhancing experiences, which may satisfy audience/customer’s need of pursuing art products. Seven types of experience providers can be used to provide five types of experiences. The core of experiential marketing is that if experiential marketing successfully conveys the demanded artistic experience to an audience, their emotional needs may be fulfilled. This in return can lead a commercial theatre to achieve its economic success. From this point, the study will just focus on commercial theatres, whose intentions of gaining profit are stronger than non-‐profit theatres.
venues include artistic goals, meeting audience’s needs and gaining financial income. There are tight relationships between audience’s needs and different types of experiential marketing approaches when matching them according to their definitions. The relationships are showed below.
Fig. 3.3.1 Relationship between customer needs and SEMs
emotional needs to different extents. The situation is similar when discussing artistic needs. In general manufacture procedure, product is ‘a solution to the needs and wants of the consumer; is profitable or potentially profitable; and meets the requirements of the various publics governing or influencing society’ (Burnett, 2008, p.153). As a commercial theatre, it has to research the needs and wants of the consumer and also the request from the society. Then find the features, which will satisfy those needs in core products and augmented products. However, though commercial theatres do not need to modify their products, it is possible that marketing oriented concern might involve in the artistic selection process of those commercial theatres. Commercial theatres can choose the performances that will attract more audiences and meet their own artistic missions.
of presenting their social positions or personalities.
After matching audience needs and strategic experiential modules, the relationship between them is clearly showed. Experiential marketing is a strategy, that distributing performance with feelings and emotions. It is used to connect theatre venues and performance to audiences by fulfilling their needs. Those needs can be satisfied through providing positive emotions, which experiential marketing can offer. However, all these discussions above are bases on one condition that a theatre has to know its own position on the market and its customer segmentation. Only by doing so, a theatre venue can find its unique marketing strategy to deliver certain types of artistic and non-‐artistic experiences to satisfy specific audience groups.
