Introduction to the play
“And the Soul Shall Dance” is a play depicting the life enjoyed by Japanese immigrant families living in California during the great depression. The pinch of a hard life is explicitly shown in this play, especially given that immigrants did not enjoy any rights to control land. Insight is provided, especially on Asian-American culture, presenting an insightful comparison to Asian and American cultural norms and expectations. The difference between the generations represented in this play is evident, especially with the Japanese-born Americans, and their American-born children. The conflict between the American and Japanese ways of life is represented by the desires of the Murata family to return to their Japanese homeland, although the economic realities are facing these families (Walmsley, 79). It makes an ideal theatre experience for many metropolitan areas, as its shows the struggles that people from various backgrounds have to suffer in an attempt at fitting in with the society.
‘Prime Theatre’s’ primary desire is the attraction of the masses to the theatre through effective marketing as well as through the provision of relevant and quality content. While the company utilizes various techniques in promoting the brand, as a whole, the marketing process for an individual show is a personalized endeavor, seeking to reach people who are most probable to take an interest in theatre as a whole, or who buy into the message carried by the show. Showing in the San Jose Repertory Theatre, ‘And the soul shall dance’ is a perfectly suited play for the area’s residents, given the multiethnic diversity enjoyed in this area (Huang, 24). Since the marketing budget available is constrained, the production seeks the use of cost-effective methods that grant direct access to the targeted population, while ensuring diversity in the communication vessels chosen to reach the widest target population as possible.
The cumulative figure targeted in effecting this marketing plan is in the range of $500 - $600, with the company emphasizing on minimizing advertising costs, while maximizing of the return from this endeavor. While Google advertising held massive appeal during the strategy formulation process, the expense associated with the platform is dissuasive, with the ‘per click’ payment method used by Google in billing leading to exorbitant prices charged on the client for ineffectual click-on (Huang, 26). The mediums chosen in this marketing strategy are listed below, with specific application to the target audience succinctly explained.
Postcards
Postcards are a great way to interact with potential audiences, since a postcard requires intimate interaction with the recipient, thus holding a greater chance of making an impact on the holder. For the show, the postcards shall be printed in batches, where the first batch will be released five weeks before the opening while the second batch will be released two weeks before opening. The distribution will utilize the San-Jose distribution service. The first batch of the postcards will also feature discount codes for $5, redeemable on the price through web purchases.
Press release
The press release, as well as the listing release, are pertinent documents in the success of the marketing strategy. Preparation of these documents is normally a month before the screening of the show, with several re-writes to succinctly capture the essence of the play. The emotional anguish suffered by the individual characters stem from the variation in degrees of adaptation to a foreign environment. The press release, as well as the listing releases, should avoid the description of the play, rather, should strive in explaining the experience for the target audience. Use of adjectives should be minimal, and where they are used, common adjectives such as ‘exciting’ should be avoided.
Enhanced Web Listings
While how they contribute to increased ticket sales remains unclear to most people within the industry, the listing is a great way for the marketing team to incorporate increased content on the show, serving potential customers desiring additional information before making a decision on whether turn up for the show.
Newspaper and website listings
This marketing feature is utilized through the exploitation of listing services, which allow posting to newspapers as well as event websites. The choice for the service to use must be meticulous, especially to avoid problems with missed posting deadlines.
While this method holds the potential to be one of the strongest means of advertisement for the show, its use should be targeted and precise, to avoid coming across to some recipients as being a spam mail. The targeted service for this endeavor designs emails and sends them to a specified list. Possible theatre enthusiast will be identified through various big data services that generate marketing lists based on known target customer interests. The utility of this service is measurable, given it provides feedback on whether emails are opened or just ignored. Further, people who click on the link to the website are also identifiable, thus quantifying the expected reach of the advert. Follow-up communication is targeted in this method of advertising, with the targeted recipients who never opened their mail being targeted after a few days. The time that the email is sent to the targeted audience is also significant, with the full list blast being done at least 15 days before the show.
The show is suited to the metropolitan area of San Jose and is especially significant in helping the current generation understand the process of Americanization that the various generations of immigrant families pass through. This message is significant in helping people relate to the situation of other who might have a differing background and perspective on life.
Works Cited
Huang, Guiyou. The Columbia Guide to Asian American literature since 1945. Columbia University Press, 2013.
Walmsley, Ben. "“A big part of my life”: a qualitative study of the impact of theatre." Arts Marketing: An International Journal 3.1 (2013): 73-87.
