Introduction The M 1 Youth Connection is an annual event held by The Necessary Stage (TNS).
This event is a theatre festival held for, as the name implies, the youth. The festival does not only include theatrical productions but also art exhibitions, concerts. It is an established event that has been on-going for five years. It is also Singapore’s only annual festival of theatre and other arts for young people.
Backed by its main sponsor MobileOne (M 1), the youth connection attempts to fulfil its aims. Aims of the festival: a. To expose young people to high quality, relevant and meaningful contemporary drama productions for young people b. To involve young people in art-making c. To provide opportunities for young people to develop their artistic and aesthetic selves d. To address issues and concerns relating to young people, and to enable the wider community to access young people’s concerns Marketing the festival is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of bringing the event to the public.
I shall now go into examining the marketing approach that has been taken by the M 1 Youth Connection. Product Strategy Each festival comprises of an international act, a local act and a collaboration of local and international students as well as professionals. Some of their past productions in the festival include Singapore’s first-ever play on a bus, Is This Our Stop? (1999), a play at Zouk disco, Zero (1998) by Frantic Assembly (UK), a play and party combined into one, Sex Education Party (2001), interactive theatre in Dreaming Up a Prince (2002), and 8 Addictions (2002), a series of cutting-edge performances at The Heeren Shops. In 2003, there will also be a collaborative installation art exhibition and performance: Fires Within Fires between young people from CHIP Kalong Convent and young people from Scotland. I feel that the product is very attractive and well catered to their target age group of 13-25. The Sex Education Party (2001), for example tackles issues important to the teenagers between the ages 13-18.
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For the consumers in the higher age bracket of 19-25, whereby their values are already developed, the international acts have a higher appeal. E. g. Tai Yo is in the programme of the M 1 YC 2003, is an act brought in from Belgium that speaks about the war between humanity and nature. Acts that are or are based on examination literature texts are also brought in; schools will want their students to see words brought to life and therefore be interested in purchasing tickets. E.
g. Macbeth (2001), and Fires Within Fires (2003) which is inspired by Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Price Strategy Prices for the productions for the local productions are reasonable and competitive. For example, a ticket for the Sex Education Party (2001) costs $16 for students who book through their schools, $19 for students and NSF men and $21 for adults. Again, by relating these prices to the target audiences, the students will be able to afford these prices.
As many of them book through schools, they will be able to have it subsidised by the schools that receive the TOTE Board Grant. Even for those who are no longer in school, $21 for a ticket is affordable. In addition to that, students who book through their schools in advance receive “early bird” discounts ($16 per ticket).
Some of the shows are free, making it even more attractive to their audience. E. g.
A Day In The Life (2001) and 8 Addictions (2002).
Place Strategy The venues of the performances and exhibitions are all at very accessible places, or popular theatre performance venues, making accessibility to the venue not an off-putting factor for those thinking of buying tickets. E. g.
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8 Addictions (2002) was at Annex @ The Heeren Shops and Tai Yo (2003) will be at the Esplanade. For the performance venues that are not as highly accessible, TNS makes an effort in making sure that getting there is no hassle as well. Dido and Aeneas (2001) was performed at East Coast Park. There were clear directions given to the venue, in addition to that, shuttle bus services were provided from Sun tec City at 20-minute intervals. Advertising & Promotional Strategy For public ising and promoting the M 1 YC, TNS has depended on: flyers and posters, ZO cards, banners, programme booklets, press launches, free arts listings in magazines and newspapers, telemarketing to schools, sending out collateral to those on the TNS mailing list, releasing information via e-groups, etc. What I found was their most effective method of promoting the festival was the sending out of collateral and telemarketing to the schools.
The effort made to contact the teachers, inform them about the performances and the follow-up calls definitely made the difference in ticket sales. As one can tell from the post production survey results below, a high percentage of the audience found out about the festival from their schools. Coverage from magazines and programmes that have a large amount of teenage audiences is also effective, as that will increase the youths’ exposure to the festival. Getting coverage from MTV Asia and using Lime magazine as official magazine for M 1 YC 2002 were good moves. Found out from: Found out from: Friends 17% Radio 0.
4% Email from TNS 2% Website 1% TNS mailing list 2% School 51% ZO cards in mail 1% Newspapers 4% ZO cards picked up 2% TV 3% Flyers 2% Magazines 2% Si stic outlets 3% Others 5% Posters 2% On the other hand, promotion through ZO cards does not seem as effective, only a mere 3% has found out about the festival through them. The amount of ZO cards should be decreased and more specific venues of their distribution should be chosen. Youths from the 13-25 age group are now constantly exposed to information technology and it has also become an important part of their lives. This aspect should not have been neglected in the marketing of the M 1 YC. There was very little advertising seen on the internet, as compared to the traditional media industries like print, radio and tv. The only exposure on the internet was reviews done by online e-zines like Flying Inkpot and Aspire, etc.
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The M 1 Youth Connection was not even featured on The Necessary Stage’s website. When the M 1 YC’s logo is clicked on the site, one is brought to an outdated page for the M 1 Youth Connection 2001. (web) Outreach Which age group are you in? 13-16 66% 17-21 13% 22-30 15% 31-40 3% 41-50 2% >50 1% Have you attended a TNS performance before today? Yes 30% No 70% On the average, how many arts events do you attend a year? 1-2 28% 3-5 18% 6-10 6% >10 4% None 44% According to the above two tables, it is evident that the M 1 Youth Connection has succeeded in its objectives of audience development. A large percentage (70%) has never attended a TNS performance before and 44% indicated that they have not attended an arts performance. Sponsorship & Funding As the name implies, M 1 Youth Connection’s main sponsor is M 1- MobileOne Asia.
Every festival, there are other co-sponsors. However, I feel that more can be done to subsidise production costs and increase revenue by actively looking for more sponsors. The admin and marketing budget given is often not enough for the marketing department. In addition to that, the budget for M 1 YC 2003 marketing and admin has been cut from $50, 000 to $30, 000 and hence alternative funds have to be sourced. Conclusion In conclusion, I feel that the M 1 Youth Connection has great outreach potential and with the correct marketing strategy, it will make a strong impact on the local arts scene.
Bibliography Su-Lin, Ngiam. “Re: TS Students Project” Email to Lim Kexin. 10 Oct 2002 Su-Lin, Ngiam. “Re: TS Students Project” Attachment: M 1 Youth Connection 2003 sponsorship write-up. doc Email to Lim Kexin. 17 Sep 2002 Su-Lin, Ngiam.
“Re: TS Students Project” Attachment: productions bios – press kit. doc Email to Lim Kexin. 17 Sep 2002 Su-Lin, Ngiam. “Re: TS Students Project” Attachment: ticketing – press kit. doc Email to Lim Kexin. 17 Sep 2002 The Necessary Stage, M 1 Youth Connection 2001.
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20 Oct 2002. Audrey, Wong. “TS 3236: Lecture 11: Partnerships- Corporate Sponsorship and Fundraising. Or, Partnerships between the Arts and Business” Adele Tan, The Flying Inkpot: Theatre, 20 Oct 2002. Suman thi, “M 1 Youth Connection 2001” Aspire 20 Oct 2002.
MTV Asia: Features. “Youths take center stage” MTV Asia 20 Oct 2002.
