Learning from the Past, Looking toward the Future

A little more than a week ago, I announced that I would be leaving Arena Stage to lead the marketing and membership efforts at the Smithsonian Associates at the end of March. I've been overwhelmed by the kind words and best wishes sent my way. For that, I am very grateful.

Some have also asked if I plan to continue blogging. As you may have noticed over the years, my blog covers topics that I am passionate about, often times motivated by current trends and experiences. As I move from a performing arts organization to a museum and research institution, undoubtedly my perspective will evolve over time. However, I hope to continue to contribute to online dialogue and debate.

My four-and-a-half years at Arena Stage have been the most rewarding and exhausting of my career. When one decides to pursue a career in a field they love, like many theater artists I know, these two adjectives are not mutually exclusive; in fact, many would argue that you can't have one without the other. When joining Arena Stage, I knew there were very few precedents for what we needed to accomplish, and with the opening of the Mead Center and a 2.5 year transition ahead of us, a clear path wasn't always available. It was an opportunity that intimidated me, but I knew that I would get an education of a lifetime.

In looking back, I've learned quite a bit along the way...

• Always give an "exclusive" to your best and most loyal customers. Trust me, if they read something important in the daily paper before they hear it from you, they won't feel like part of the family.
• Customer service can be a significant competitive advantage. When the whole world has come to expect awful customer service, it creates an easy opportunity to shine.
• When hiring, if you have to pick between the two, a "fire in the belly" always trumps experience. One can teach skills, but one cannot be taught to take pride in their work.
• Resources are an investment--monitor and expect returns. Marketing directors have two primary resources: human and financial capital. Where and when to invest each is a critical decision. When budgets are tight, monitor cost of sale and make data driven investments rather than emotionally driven ones.
• Decisiveness is critical. Leap or die. Would you rather sip champagne and listen to the violins on the Titanic, or slap on a life vest and jump into the unknown? The unknown may be scary, but the known isn't an option. A delay in decision-making will almost always be costly, as it is rare for circumstances to change, but options will diminish. The non-profit theater landscape in the United States is changing rapidly, and adjustments must be made.
• Maximize successes to mitigate risks. Unless you present nothing but bankable commercial successes, risks are inherent in the theater. When you catch a break, ride it for all that it's worth in order to mitigate the risk that is right around the corner.
• Looking for improvements? Track results. By tracking, you send a signal to the company that something is important. Important enough to monitor. By not tracking, you send an equally powerful signal that something isn't worth the effort. Know your vital statistics, and track them aggressively.
• Marketers are masters of perception, not reality. Unless you are talking about financials, marketers should keep their attention on perception. Perception, as we know, is reality for most.
• Subscriptions aren't dying, theaters are killing them. If patrons can get great seats at a significant discount at the last minute, the value proposition of a subscription doesn't exist. Best seats at the best prices = more subscriptions (as long as the product is good).
• Develop a strong team, and hire to your weaknesses. Major accomplishments are always a team effort. Honestly assess yourself, recognize your weaknesses, and hire people that are better than you in areas where you need improvement.
• Comp tickets are disrespectful. There are a few good reasons to give a comp here or there, but nothing devalues the work of an organization or artists more than giving away free tickets. Why do we expect society to value the arts if we don't?
• Make decisions for tomorrow instead of today. Often times we are faced with decisions that could result in a short term gain, but a long term loss. Unless you are in desperate times, always set yourself up for a better tomorrow, even if it makes a more difficult today.
• Take a Pavlovian approach to discounting. Use discounting as a means to encourage desired behavior. Want people to purchase early? Avoid late discounts whenever possible.
• Marketing and Development are two sides of the same coin. Look at revenue generation as a team with the goal of raising the most revenue at the least cost. Consolidate resources, eliminate redundancies, invest in campaigns that perform the best across the departmental divide, and look at your customers holistically with an eye toward building loyalty and lifetime value.

I will always remember my time at Arena Stage fondly, and am thankful for the education I received.

Looking forward to catching a performance in the near future--this time though as an audience member (and yes, I will buy my tickets).

Partners or Competitors

A little more than a week ago, the Washington Post in an extraordinary effort by a daily newspaper, published a series of articles on the state of theater in Washington, DC. As part of that series, Nelson Pressley, a frequent contributor for the Post, wrote an interesting piece on the financial status of the community. In it, he notes that in terms of capacity, the Washington theater community has grown tremendously over the past decade, while government funding has decreased significantly and according to theaterWashington, the annual theater attendance has remained the same since 1988. Mr. Pressley also cites that each theater that has expanded reports significantly increased audiences, and several have recently set all-time sales records.

In the Twittersphere, this article raised the same question that NEA Chairman Landesman asked in his now famous "supply and demand" speech given at Arena Stage in January 2011. Is there enough demand to support the increase in supply? This isn't a new question. It is something I questioned in this blog in 2008, and it is something that arts administrators discuss at every conference I have ever attended.

Setting aside for the moment the data from theaterWashington, on a positive note, I've seen some extraordinary things in the DC theater community in the past few years. I'd heard that the city can only support one or two major hits at any given time, however in the late fall of 2010, several theaters reported exceptionally strong attendance numbers for multiple shows running at the same time, including Oklahoma! and every tongue confess at Arena Stage, Candide at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Sunset Boulevard at Signature Theatre, and A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre. Well, there went that long held belief. When Arena Stage was considering a 13 week summer remount of Oklahoma!, I was told that the city could not support a long sit down production of a major musical in the summer as August was completely dead in these parts, and we couldn't succeed with Congress out of session and everyone heading to the beach. Surprise, surprise when not only Arena Stage experienced sold out houses at the height of the summer doldrums, but Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company did as well with their remount of Clybourne Park. As a community, I don't think there is anything we like better than being told we can't do something, and then proving that we can.

But to Nelson's point, we have a significant challenge ahead of us. In discussing his article on Twitter, playwright Stephen Spotswood asked me "how much do DC theater companies feel like they are in competition with each other?" Soon thereafter, Peter Marks, theater critic of the Washington Post, asked me to answer the question on the record. And this is my attempt...

Are DC theater companies in competition with each other?
Yes. In my opinion, to think otherwise would be naive. People have limited disposable income, especially during tough economic times. However, we are very lucky. Washington, DC is weathering the economic downturn better than any other city in the nation. Although we have had our challenges, we have a leg up on everywhere else, and perhaps this is why we have been able to expand during turbulent times. But in terms of how people are going to spend their leisure time, theaters are in competition with each other as much as they're in competition with movies, sports, other performing arts, museums, television, YouTube, video games, etc. To say that we aren't is simply untrue.

That being said, if I am in competition for discretionary spending dollars, I want it to be with another theater. Why? I can't get patrons to come to my theater if they don't see theater as an option in the first place. My primary responsibility as a theater marketer is to get people interested in the theater. To increase the stability of our community, we have to grow the base of theater patrons in our city. We don't have any other option, and to do that, we have to view ourselves as partners first and competitors second. If we focus on cannibalizing each other's audiences, it will be a losing battle. One theater may win one year, but inevitably it will lose the next. The only way everyone wins, including the city, is if we cultivate a growing audience for all of our theaters.

In responding to Stephen's question, I would also say that I tend to think that competition in the marketplace is good. When competition is stiff, it pushes everyone to do their best. To produce work of the highest quality. To provide the best customer service. To nurture the best local talent, and to present preeminent artists from around the globe. Please forgive the personal anecdote, but I know I have a more rewarding workout when there is a strong runner on the treadmill next to me. If there is no one by my side pushing the pace, I won't exert as much energy. I want to keep up. I want to compete. And because of our competitive spirit, DC audiences will get to experience the best efforts of all.

As I look into the new year, I resolve to elevate my gaze whenever possible from being exclusively on the theater where I work to the community as a whole. I hope that competition will improve us individually, and that working together will improve us as a whole.