22 Nov 2011
Three arts organisations will be part of a unique programme that provides guidance and expertise in online marketing.
Auckland Theatre Company, Auckland Arts Festival and Fortune Theatre, Dunedin will take part in Creative New Zealand’s Optimise programme - which is the only opportunity of its kind for the New Zealand arts sector.
In its second year the 2011-12 programme will assist these organisations to develop online capability and marketing skills for engaging arts audiences, through a one-on-one coaching programme, workshops and webinars.
Optimise was developed as a response to a strong identified need in the sector for advice, guidance and best practice principles in online marketing.
Dunedin–based Fortune Theatre’s Marketing and Communications Manager James Higgs says, “We are looking to develop an online strategy that will help the theatre move forward in a well structured and savvy way. We have just secured a sponsorship for the re-development of our website and it is timely to align a new online strategy with this re-development project.”
As part of this online strategy, Fortune Theatre’s ambitions include expanding their geographical reach (Otago and Southland), developing a larger and more informed theatre community, and increasing attendance and engagement with students and young professionals.
This year, Optimise will include one-to-one coaching for each company, as well as a series of workshops and webinars open to organisations throughout New Zealand and catering to different levels of ability and exposure. Vicki Allpress Hill (The Audience Connection) will lead the Optimise programme for this year. A respected online marketing consultant she works with the cultural sector in New Zealand and overseas.
Creative New Zealand and The Audience Connection will also be conducting a pilot benchmarking study looking at trends in online audience engagement to help improve arts organisations’ capability in online ROI (Return on Investment) and analytics. The pilot results will be presented at Creative New Zealand’s 21st Century Arts Conference in Wellington on 28tand 29 June, 2012.
To find out more about Optimise and the results achieved by the three companies who participated in the 2010/11 pilot (New Zealand Comedy Trust, Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust and Indian Ink Theatre Company ) follow this link.
CATEGORIES: Capability building Latest news and blog
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