Wee Stories Theatre for Children
| Organisation |
Wee Stories Theatre for Children |
| Project |
A series of initiatives to develop audiences and to pilot a merchandising scheme |
| Artform |
Theatre for children and young people |
| Location |
Edinburgh/throughout Scotland |
| Application type |
Full project |
| Date |
2001/03 |
| Status |
Completed |
| Grant |
£69,999 |
| Total project cost |
£96,999 |
Wee Stories is a theatre company which specialises in creating performances for children and adults, based around storytelling, which often involves creative participation from the audience. It’s vision is to inspire artists to find creative ways of telling stories to children.
The company usually presents three different performances per year and tour to small- and medium-scale theatres, art centres, schools and nurseries throughout Scotland. It also runs other theatre-based work for children, encouraging further active participation.
The project comprises a two-year programme of initiatives to develop audiences and a pilot scheme of educational and interactive merchandise.
- To deliver a strategic approach to marketing within the company including a review of company image and internal marketing systems
- To develop the company’s relationship with venues and promoters, to promote creative new ways of marketing a visit by the company, and to improve the range and quality of marketing and materials it is able to offer venues
- To meet the demand from the public for activities and merchandise
- To find new ways of connecting with audiences, informing and responding to the public and education sector, increasing audiences at target venues, encouraging audiences to return and reaching more people
This will be achieved through:
- Employing a freelance marketing consultant to develop the company identity and create a marketing strategy
- Developing a website to build connections with current audiences and target new audiences
- Venue animation which includes developing relationships with venues and staff and encouraging information exchange, creating ‘child and family venue’ packs and guidelines, and raising the profile of the company within local communities
- Two sales development pilot schemes to develop the company’s interactive approach through the production of appropriate and creative merchandise. Each pilot will be based on one of the company’s shows and will include a music and story CD, activities and games and complementary education packs.
Marketing consultant Sally Wilson was employed by the company to work with it in developing a marketing strategy. A new marketing system was installed and the company has promoted five touring productions with the new system in operation. The system includes regular venue visits, with questionnaires to ascertain venue requirements, and the provision of venue marketing packs and post-visit questionnaires. The press database has been updated and improved (statistics below).
Lamb Design was appointed to create a new look for the company logo, a template poster design, and subsequently to create and manage the company’s website.
Increased monitoring at performances is enabling the company to measure whether it is achieving its target of increasing audiences by 50% on average per year.
In the initial two years of the project, the following has been achieved:
- The review of the company image and audit of marketing has been completed, and a series of marketing systems installed which now form part of the day-to-day running of all projects. The data capture element has expanded the public mailing list from 79 to 1,003 during the duration of the project.
- The venue questionnaires and marketing packs which have been developed, along with a considerable increase in communication with the venues, have been extremely well received. The average rating given by venues for the ‘level and quality of communication and support’ received was 90%.
- The company has mostly either met or exceeded its targets of increasing audiences by 50%, has increased the number of repeat visits to venues, and has expanded its touring circuit.
- The press list has increased during the project’s operating period from 12 to its current figure of 328, an increase of 2,733% and press coverage has increased considerably.
- The sales development pilots did not achieve original targets and varied considerably from venue to venue, but have provided a service that has generated goodwill and raised the company profile.
- The Wee Stories website, www.weestoriestheatre.org was launched in June 2002. In the first month of going live, the site received over 4,000 hits, gradually reaching a peak in September 2003 with 8,000+ hits during the tour of Arthur, the Story of a King.
Rhona Matheson
Administrator
Wee Stories Theatre for Children
Unit 13
Canongate Venture
5 New Street
Edinburgh EH8 8BH
Tel: 0131 557 6107
Fax: 0131 557 5929
E-mail: Rhona@weestoriestheatre.org
Web: www.weestoriestheatre.org |