Free Night of Theater - San Francisco

San Francisco

Theatre Bay Area's mission is to unite, strengthen and promote the theatre community in the San Francisco Bay Area - the third largest theatre center in the country, with more than 400 companies in 11 counties. We are driven by our conviction that the performing arts are an essential public good, critical to a healthy and truly democratic society, and invaluable as a source of personal enrichment and growth. Founded in 1976, Theatre Bay Area is today the largest regional theatre service organization in North America. Theatre Bay Area counts as members more than 375 theatre and dance companies, from multi-million dollar organizations to grassroots community groups; some3,000 individuals, including actors, directors, designers, playwrights, technicians, and theatre patrons; and more than 100 organizational members, from libraries and universities to theatre industry professional services. Theatre Bay Area's most prominent programs include TIX Bay Area ("online or in line" ticketing services), Theatre Bay Area magazine (a glossy monthly, reaching 10,000 readers), our website (www.theatrebayarea.org) containing one of the most comprehensive arts listings available, numerous re-granting programs for emerging theatre companies and local theatre artists, and advocacy for the theatre and dance community on the local, state and national level.

Budget

Secured 17 sponsors, including foundations, civic agencies, media and corporations and raised $253,834 in cash and in-kind support

EXPENSES			INCOME
TBA Staff (4 months only)			Cash
Executive Director @ 10%	2,280		SF Convention & Visitors Bureau	5,000
Business/Marketing Mgr @ 20%	3,360		Irvine Foundation	10,000
Company Services Mgr @ 20%	2,533		Hewlett Foundation	20,000
Ticketing Services Mgr @ 33%	4,180		Applied Materials	10,000
Ticketing Services Asst Mgr @ 33%	2,803		Theatre Communications Group	4,944
TBA support staff (extra hours)	706
TBA Staff subtotal	15,862		Total Cash Income	49,944
TBA Overhead (4 months only)			In-kind
Rent @10%	1,683		BART (place banners in stations, etc)	68,000
Phones @ 10%	400		Viacom Outdoor (posters in bus shelters)	30,000
Insurance @ 10%	167		KNBC TV (produce/air PSAs)	25,000
Legal/Accounting @ 10%	450		KGO Radio (produce/air PSAs)	17,000
Repairs/Maintenance @ 10%	417		San Jose Mercury News (ad space)	25,000
TBA Overhead subtotal	3,117		San Francisco Chronicle (ad space)	10,000
			Macy's (ad space in SF Chronicle)	10,000
Media/Launch Event coordinator	532		San Francisco Magazine (ad space)	8,890
Media/Launch Event: permits	1,325		San Francisco Arts Commission (posters)	5,000
Media/Launch Event: signage	626		Arts polis (e mails to 11,000 members)	5,000
Web Site: reservation system setup	2,750
PR Agency	4,877		Total In-Kind Income	203,890
VIP Reception	1,110
Online Advertising	2,000
Paid advertising	623
Printing	5,696
Postage	642
Supplies	840
Print 50,000 postcards (paid by TCG)	3,342
Print program inserts (paid by TCG)	1,602
Direct Expenses subtotal	25,965
TOTAL EXPENSES	$44,944
(not including $5,000 of Applied Materials money put to South Bay Publicity Distribution Network)
Grand Total	$49,944

Service Organization Staffing

For us, this was a huge project, and enormously time-consuming, taking a good deal of time from a number of out staff in various departments. The project took up a considerable portion of the executive director's time as well as the business/marketing manager (50% during 2 months before Free Night, and healthy portion in the summer as well). In addition the company services director and the company services associate were actively involved in recruiting theater participation. The ticketing services director and her staff of five were deeply involved in the two months before the start of Free Night. We hired a Web design firm to design and implement the online reservation system. We also had two interns dedicated to the project, one focusing on PR. We hired a PR consultant to handle the press outreach, while also involving the PR staff from 6 leading theaters as volunteers. We used in-house talent (the company services associate) to make necessary changes to ads, posters, etc.

Community Impact

The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, from both the theatre community, where 93 companies participated, and from the broader community, business and corporate, media, government, funders and general public. The campaign for us not only far surpassed our goal of 80 participating companies and 4,000 free seats, it also achieved the larger goal of promoting our theatre community to a large population ( 6 million people) spread out over nine counties. The visibility of our theatre community has never been larger.

We asked companies to donate the un-subscribed portion of their house, or at least 25%. Many gave more, even adding second performances, especially after we made our second solicitation for tickets, after the inventory sold out in the first week. I would prefer a large number of theatres participating with a portion of their houses over a smaller number of companies donating 100% of their houses. Our larger message,"Look how much theatre there is here!" is best communicated by a LONG list of theatres and shows. For the campaign to be perceived as meaningful, though, theaters must give a significant portion, such as the minimum we set.

Media Coverage

Advertising and Promotions

We also executed, with a great deal of in-kind support, a major marketing effort that placed adverting in various mass media: including online (sfgate.com, artsopolis.com, KGO radio Web site); major daily papers (SF Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News), weeklies (SF Weekly, The Bohemian); regional glossy magazine (SF Magazine); outdoor advertising (bus shelters in SF, regional commuter train stations); and radio/TV PSAs through our media partners.

We marketed the campaign with posters, 50,000 postcards, with email blasts through TIX Bay Area and through Artsopolis, which together reached more than 17,000 every week. Our media sponsor, KGO Radio, also sent an email blast to its 20,000 subscribers.

Mass Media Campaign

Public Relations

This was a huge success for us. We saw coverage multiple times in major Bay Area dailies (SF Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, Marin Independent Journal), were covered in free weeklies in various regions (SF Weekly, The Bohemian) and reported online postings (sfgate.com, oaklandtribune Web site). The program was also reported in media beyond the region (Christian Science Monitor, American Theatre).

Sponsorships (incl. PSAs, promotional emails, posting on web sites, advertising and hand-outs) secured:

News Coverage generated
Local:

National:

Event listings (online):

Pre-Free Night of Theater quote:

"The great thing about Free Night of Theater is that on October 20th, everyone in the Bay Area has the chance to be VIP and see terrific local theater for free," stated Theatre Bay Area's executive director, Brad Erickson.

Post event quote:

Brad Erickson, executive director of Theatre Bay Area, stated, "We were thrilled to see the response to Free Night of Theater here in the Bay Area. The support was extraordinary, from our theater companies and the broader community. The demand from the public for this kind of live artistic experience was overwhelming … tickets went so fast, we had to go back to our companies and ask for more!"

Back to Top