Marketing Strategy

This marketing campaign consists of two aspects: a short-term marketing strategy and a long-term strategy. The short-term strategy can be applied for upcoming performances to maximise engagement and ticket sales, whereas the long-term strategy is an ongoing marketing effort to establish ITCE as a leading force in bridging cultural differences. The long-term strategy will be discussed first.

The long-term strategy aims to establish ITCE as a recognised and respected organisation dedicated to international theatre and bridging cultural differences in the Brainport region. The focus should be on (1) a strong brand identity, (2) building lasting relationships, and (3) securing sustainable funding. By maximising these three aspects, we can expand ITCE’s impact.

(1) Brand identity

A consistent brand identity which reflects ITCE’s mission and values needs to be in place at all times. This includes a memorable logo (see the upper right corner of the pages of this document), a website, social media channels, a compelling tagline, and a clear visual style for all marketing materials.

The ITCE tagline is as follows:

Create.
Connect.
Belong.

Our website and the rest of our marketing materials have a visual style which matches the ITCE logo, both in font and in colour, taking the specific colour pink of the logo as the accent colour (headers, tagline, etc), which has been matched with the dominant and secondary colours, in order to establish a clear brand identity.

The colours are bold and quirky to reflect the many different cultures that come together at ITCE. We are a unique cultural melting pot of actors, crew, and other professionals, and our vibrant brand identity reflects this. Everyone is welcome at ITCE, and everyone can be themselves.

(2) Building lasting relationships

In order to establish ITCE as a leading force in international theatre, the most crucial aspect is to build lasting relationships. This concerns three different types of relationships, namely:

1. with our actors, crew, and other professionals
2. with our audience
3. with third parties

These different types of relationships have been detailed below:

1. A lasting relationship with our actors, crew, and other professionals:
   Since not all ITCE members are always able to participate in rehearsals or workshops, we offer an annual informal get-together. By organising this we maintain the contact between all ITCE members and strengthen the sense of community, even when certain actors/crew members are not part of an upcoming performance. In order to create and maintain an active community of actors, crew, volunteers, and other professionals, we frequently offer them rehearsals which will culminate into performances, as well as the possibility to sign up for workshops. In between rehearsals and workshops, we keep all ITCE members informed of upcoming activities by sending a newsletter each month or after the ITCE board meeting.
   
2. A lasting relationship with our audience:
   We build a lasting relationship with our audience by offering them regular annual performances. Additionally, we inform our audience of upcoming performances and other activities by sending out regular newsletters. The interval of regular in this case varies, depending on where we are in the production/performance process. However, ITCE ensures to send a newsletter at least every 4-6 weeks, and more frequently when our activities are gearing up as described in the short-term marketing plan. The recommended optimal timeframe to inform our audience of a new play after they have just seen a play is within 6 months, with the golden rule ‘the earlier, the better’. At this point, we do not communicate many details (except for theme and a rough estimation of the performance dates), but we inform our audience that we have something in the works to cultivate a lasting relationship. That means that we are already in the planning phase of our next play before the current play is over.
   
3. A lasting relationship with third parties, such as other organisations that bridge cultural differences, news outlets, theatres, etc:
   In order to maximise our relationships with third parties, we organise activities (performances or workshops) to support this. A lasting relationship with a third party could be considered a partnership, in which we both promote each other’s brand. Additionally, we join networking events or cultural markets, such as the Winter Market in Eindhoven in December. We have a unique selling point: (for audiences) do you want to see theatre in English, and (for actors) do you want to act in English? We bring marketing materials (flyers, banners, etc) in our recognisable visual style. Our contacts with the press, theatres, and other noteworthy individuals and organisations are documented in a contact sheet, so the connections are maintained on an organisational level instead of a personal level.

The language of our marketing communication depends on the target group we wish to reach. Consequently, that means when communicating with:

• Actors, crew, and other professionals: communication is in English. Our performances and rehearsals are in English, so English is a requirement to work within ITCE. We therefore do not specify communication in Dutch or other languages to our actors, crew, and other professionals.
• Our audience: communication is in English. Our performances are in English, so we target audience groups who feel comfortable with and understand English spoken theatre.
• With third parties: communication is in both English and Dutch, depending on the party. Many of these organisations and individuals employ both Dutch and non-Dutch speakers who will be our point of contact. Press contacts and theatre professionals are, in our experience, predominantly Dutch speakers, so here we employ Dutch communication.

(3) Securing sustainable funding

To secure sustainable funding we have developed a separate (short-term and) long-term plan, which is not included in this document. We employ a comprehensive fundraising strategy, which includes grant applications, corporate sponsorships, and individual donations in which we clearly articulate ITCE’s impact and the value we bring to the community.