Team: Alan Brown, Surale Phillips, Alan Kline, Erin Gold
Following a competitive RFP process, Children’s Theatre Company, the distinguished producer of youth theatre based in Minneapolis, MN, selected WolfBrown to conduct a Market Assessment and Audience Renewal Plan. The study aimed to explore a range of strategic questions about brand, competitive positioning, and product differentiation, and also to develop a set of shorter-term marketing and communications initiatives to build audience.
This mixed method study employed a range of qualitative and quantitative research techniques, including: 1) a participatory interviewing exercise with segments of CTC constituents; 2) a marketplace and competitive positioning analysis including focus group discussions with nonusers; 3) a set of focus groups to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the brand; 4) interviews with nonreturning ticket buyers to assess reasons for lapsing and inducements to return; 5) “experiential tour” focus group discussions with nonusers; and 6) an extensive survey of current and lapsed ticket buyers for the purposes of assessing their experience with the company, and building a segmentation model based on preferences and motivations.
The study built on WolfBrown’s deep experience evaluating community and youth programs, such as Lincoln Center Education: Multi-Year Evaluation Support and New Victory Theater: Assessing the Impact of Performing Arts Education in the Lives of Young Children, and our years of experience supporting youth theaters, science centers, and other youth programs across the US and Canada.