The authors of a new series of marketing guides outline the issues behind the titles. Heather Maitland suggests that teamwork is the key to successfully marketing a tour.
My brief for a new practical guide to marketing an event on tour was simple ? to reflect how touring marketing has changed since 1995 when I wrote the Golden and Silver Guides to marketing touring arts events. To help find out, I asked marketers from 41 touring companies and 50 presenting venues about their day-to-day work and the challenges and opportunities they encounter.
The results? Well, some of the tools we use have changed beyond recognition ? many venue marketers didn?t even have a computer on their desk back then, but now we are cheerfully discussing digital images and email campaigns.
Unfortunately, nothing else has changed. How can we still have the majority of venues still saying things like, ?My biggest challenge is getting companies to take responsibility for their own production (not just dumping leaflets and posters on the doorstep and expecting the show to simply sell).??
And companies have it just as bad, talking about the pressure their venues are under, which means that they can?t even be relied upon to do the basics: ?I?m still surprised and disappointed at the lack of proactive input from many venues we tour to, despite our best efforts.?
One highly experienced venue marketing manager encapsulated the widely held view that teamwork was at the heart of touring marketing: ?I know I sound like a broken record but it?s all about having a two-way relationship with the visiting company.?
Sadly, so many organisations seem to find this the most difficult thing to put into practice.
?A practical guide to marketing an event on tour? is published by Arts Council England and written by Heather Maitland. It is available as a PDF at http://www.artscouncil.org.uk