Broadway and Beyond

Audience picks for Top Ten Shows of 2010

The TheaterAdvisor.com list of Top Ten Shows for 2010 has just been released. 

 

 

Check it out at: TheaterAdvisor.com's Top Ten 2010

 

Internet influences film audiences, how does it affect the theater biz?

In yesterday's digital Variety, there was an interesting article about how the internet is influencing the moviegoers.  Here are some key stats and points from the article;

• 94% of all moviegoers are on line.
• 73% of moviegoers surveyed have profiles on social networking sites
• Teens (13-17) are heavily influenced by their friends opinions of movies.  They prefer to text rather than talk on the phone.
• 20somethings (18-29) are "digital natives" having grown up with technology and use the internet to find information and place a high value on online consumer reviews and sites that aggregate reviews.
• 30somethings spend the highest number of hours online and their time is dominated by family concerns
• 40somethings are more likely to use traditional media, newspapers and magazines, and attend movies with their families
• 50somethings prefer matinees and like to avoid crowds
• And yet TV is still the number one source to generate interest in a film
• 75% trust a friend's opinion over a critic, 80% were more likely to see a movie after hearing a friend's positive review
• Only 40% surveyed said they would not see a if a friends did not like it with even less dissuasion by a critics negative review, 28%
• 62% got their reviews online

So what can we learn from these number in the theater business?  Well to start, we have to take digital marketing seriously and make it a priority as we move forward.  The teens and 20somethings in this survey will be our audience one day as their purchasing power increases.  They have and are growing up with technology as a prime source of communication.  We cannot ignore the fact that they prefer to get their information using that very technology and will continue to do so in the future.  In fact, they will become more and more dependent on these technologies as they become more advanced and easier to use.

What I find most encouraging is the fact that 'word of mouth' is the most important driver in peoples entertainment purchase decision-making.  That fact does not change.  What does and will continue to evolve is how 'word of mouth' is spread.  Today, aside from email, phone calls and face to face conversations, texting, Facebook, and Twitter are highly prevalent sources of communication.  Most Broadway shows are now embracing the use of digital technology and will continue to do so.  Some, like Next to Normal have become twitter cults. (They have 792,896 followers and won a SOMMA Award for the use of twitter in their marketing.)  More can and will be done as the industry embraces the use of technology and moves away from traditional print marketing.  

So with peer opinion so influential to both moviegoers and theatergoers, I am very excited to get theateradvisor.com up and running (beta launch in November).  It will be THE place to share your opinion of shows you have seen, rate show elements and communicate with other theatergoers about theater in general. (updates of our progress coming soon)  

What we have going for us in this industry is that our audience is extremely passionate about theatre. Theater is a living, breathing art form that cannot be replaced by recording.  We will always have the element of the live experience to differentiate us from many other forms of entertainment.  Everyone involved in the business is passionate about it and that will never change.  It is the fabric of our survival as an entertainment option, and in many cases, a priority.  

To read the Variety article, click here.

How developing a website is like producing a new show-Theateradvisor.com update

There are several similarities in developing a new show and developing a new website. Here are a few that I see.

1. Choosing the right team: for both ventures to be successful you must choose the right team to create the project. For a new musical that means the composer, lyricist, book writer and, director. For a website that means the Web developer/s and designer/s.
2. Creative development: in both instances, there is a creative development process. Once the subject matter or content has been chosen for the project, the producer must then communicate to the creative teams his/her vision of the project and guide to creative's towards that vision.
3. Financing: to be successful both development processes must be properly financed. This means properly assessing the financial needs of the development of each project and then raising the necessary capital. Under financing the development process could have serious detrimental consequences to the success of the venture.
4. Buzz: for new show to have the greatest chance of success healthy buzz needs to be cultivated amongst theater goers. For a new website, the same holds true amongst potential users.
5. Marketing plan: a comprehensive marketing plan must be in place for the success of any new venture. In today's world that includes; Web, print, PR, word-of-mouth and key influencer cultivation. This plan once in place must be adaptive and scalable according to the needs of the venture.
6. Audience/user development: both a website and a new theatrical production need people to go to it. For a play or musical that means ticket sales, for a website that means users. The key difference is, in business terms, the burn rate. A theatrical production can have weekly running costs from $200,000-$400,00 for plays and $375,000-$750,000 for musicals. Therefore a new show must not only have advance sales but also substantial weekly sales. There is very little forgiveness for weak sales performance by a production. A website on the other hand can be run very inexpensively depending on the complexity of the functionality involved. Therefore, the website can afford to develop its audience over a longer period of time than a new play or musical.
7. Maintenance: a website is an iterative project. It will go through numerous versions over its lifetime. Each new iteration is often a response to the user feedback received by the web company. A new or musical, on its way to a Broadway production, will also receive feedback from its audiences. These audiences come in the form of friends and industry members invited to readings and workshops to audiences at first productions produced at venues outside of New York City or off Broadway. The audience feedback of the new production will help shape the final production presented on Broadway. Once the show is up and running, there is continued maintenance of the performances, crew assignments, costumes, lights, settings, as well as the marketing plan. As well, a successful Broadway production can lead to tours these tours are iterations of the Broadway version of the play or musical. They are often adapted to the needs of touring both physical and financial.

As the launch of Theateradvisor.com  grows nearer I am certain I will have further thoughts on this subject. In the meantime, if you have any additions please leave them in the comments.

Theateradvisor.com development Update

An update on the development of the new social community, Theateradvisor.com 

The dev server is all set up with a python framework and basic templates for signing in and becoming a member. The day I was told the dev server was up was exciting. Just knowing that the pieces are falling into place on an idea I have been germinating for a long time is a thrill. It is also daunting and scary, but I face the fears with the idea that you can only fail up. 

Now I am in the process of choosing the right designer and design elements which will make this site a place people will want to use often. So what are the parameters I am setting for the site design and usability?  Most of these parameters are taken from my research on best practices in website user experiences. 

General usability parameters: 

• Do not obstruct or compete with user’s critical tasks. I.e. when you want to rank a show or write a review, the page for that task will be simple and focused on those tasks alone. 
• I would like to try to present the elements related to specific tasks based on user frequency, importance or task sequence. 
• We will be consistent in the use of links and buttons, always using the same label for the same function. 
• We will not push unexpected animations or sounds at users. All video will have volume mute readily available. 
• We will allow purchases of tickets and other items without requiring registration. Page Layout 
• We will lay out objects on pages hierarchically so as to match the user’s expected task flow: left to right or top to bottom. 
• We will make all page lengths manageable and clean. Homepages will be no more than one page and no page will be more than 2.5 screens in length. 
• We will provide a printable version of pages when requested by users. 

Visual design 

• Any data displays will be presented in a variety of ways using colors images as well as text. 
• Site features and information will be distinctly different from any advertising on the site. 

Navigation 

• Site navigation will be persistent to support frequent task movements. 
• We will include pop-up windows when you scroll over certain information to provide further information on the subject. We will not require hovering over something to see options. 
• All links will communicate the content of the page they link to, i.e. first theateradvisor post. 
• All links will change color or have a role over effect. All links will be underlined. 
• All links will change color to indicate which links have been visited.  

Content 

• Whenever possible, we will employ the user’s vocabulary. 
• All content we write will be short and simple with correct spelling grammar and be in an active voice. 
• We will allow users to compare prices of tickets in our ticketing page as well as be able to compare ticketing services. 

Readability 

• All text will be 10 point or larger 
• There will be a high contrast between the background and the tect colors. 
• To facilitate easy scanning of the page, we will employ bulleted lists, introductory summaries clear titles, and stand alone chunks of information. 
• The fonts we use will all be from a related “family.” 

Search 

• A search box will appear in the upper right-hand corner of every page of the site. 
• Search results will be grouped into categories for easy scanning. 

Seems like a lot of basic, common-sense rules but take a look around the web and note how many sites do not use these practices.   Hopefully, our using them will make theateradvisor.com a site for sore eyes.

Broadway's newest web community.

Back from an extended blogging break. So much to discuss and write about. I plan to keep it simple in the coming months. This blog will still feature insights and comments on producing theater in NYC and it will also feature commentary on the development of a new web venture called Theateradvisor.com

The new site, when completed and live (sometime in Oct. or Nov. of this year), is a place for theatergoers to write reviews and rank elements of shows they have seen. It is a social community where people can share their thoughts, ideas, opinions and interests on theater in general. It will feature bloggers from all over the world who currently write about theater and want to expand their readership.

At first we will focus on Broadway but will then expand to include off-Broadway, Regional theaters as well as International theaters. It's going to be a fun, easy to use, exciting environment for people who like/love the theater to interact with each other. It will also be a great resource for anyone looking to find out which shows they should go see.

We have hired our developers and are starting the development process.

Sign up today and keep reading. I'll be updating our progress as we go.