1. Background Information, Organizational Overview, & Key Facts
1.1 Background
The Stratford Festival of Canada came to life in 1952 as a Festival of Shakespearean Theatre. The festival's opening play, Richard III, took place on July 13, 1953. Now in its 49th year, the Stratford Festival offers an outstanding array of theatrical performances in three theatres, conveying to more than 640,000 people in a 28-week season.
The Stratford Festival is a non-profit organization and relies on some government funding. However, it has been very successful at generating its own funds. From 1993 to 2000 ticket revenue grew from $16.6 million to $26 million, and sales from $468,000 to $639,000. SFC employs 875 people and as of great benefit to the city of Stratford, bringing in overall economic benefits of $170 million.
1.2 Overview
* The Stratford Festival of Canada faces a large variety of competition such as movie theatres, rental movie shops (e.g.
Tom Patterson Theatre - The third stage of the Str...
Avon Theatre - The second stage of the Stratford S...
Studio Theatre - The fourth stage of the Stratford...Blockbuster although indirect, it is a cheaper source for entertainment), and other performance theatres that are more accessible (downtown core). Live theatre in general can be very pricey ranging from $40 to $100. However, people who want to attend the SFC must also spend money on travel and accommodations.
* SFC has a well-developed Marketing and Sales departments. Marketing unit has a team of 12 full-time employees, and outside help from two agencies that help administer activities such as advertising, relationship marketing, website, etc. The Sales unit is equipped with 11 full-time employees and 150 seasonal employees that manage ticket sales, product sales, etc.
* 12 % of the overall yearly budgeting is allocated to sales and marketing, advertising being the largest investment.
* A website was developed in 1996 and was used primarily to convey information on the plays, ticket pricing & purchasing, and the season...