Live entertainment venues and their performers, staff and suppliers are all feeling the discomfort and pressure of an uncertain time. We know that passion for live events will bring audiences back, but we don’t know when.
As we work under self-isolation from home or with social distancing at a box office or venue, it’s important to keep the love of live events alive. Once we get past this – and we will – the return of entertainment from stages to stadiums will help nurture and heal our hearts and minds.
AudienceView supports 9,000 venues. Our team has been making phone calls, scouring the web and generally reaching out to our clients to see what creative solutions are being used to keep loyal customers happy and connected.
Here are some of our findings to provide inspiration, help keep you entertained, satisfy your thirst for entertainment and see how peer venues are successfully engaging audiences during the coronavirus lockdown:
Live Streaming
Several well-known venues around the world have started offering live streaming of their shows. You can sell tickets for these virtual events, move existing ticketed events online or offer streaming programming free to retain loyalty. If you have a philanthropic arm, you can also ask for donations via your own system or by leveraging Patreon. (which also provides streaming services).
As an example, the Grand Ole Opry will be streaming weekly and shares content via their archives. The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts streamed and then posted their production of Hairspray. And although it’s not part of its core programming, Blumenthal Performing Arts is live streaming the SEED20 event, a competition focused on social innovation and connecting ideas to funding.
Virtual Tours
Inviting guests to take a peek behind the scenes is a great way to engage them when your doors are closed. The Mark Twain House & Museum offers both 3D tours and immersive virtual reality experiences. When you take a virtual tour of St. James Cathedral, the organization boasts “you can pray in the same space as Abraham Lincoln, who worshipped at St. James shortly after being elected President in 1860.
Alternatively, you can create low-fidelity videos from your venue with just a phone or video camera and a free YouTube account.
Educational Content
With schools out in many areas, we’re all looking for opportunities to learn (and home school). AudienceView has a number of clients that offer some amazing educational content. People of all ages can check out lemurs via the Duke Lemur Center or discover architecture in Boise via the Idaho Preservation Society. There’s also the opportunity to explore the Trail of Tears via the Cherokee Historical Association or binge watch almost 100 videos on every aspect of making theatre from Hale Centre Theatre’s Real Access Hale.
Share Your Collections
If you have a collection of photos, artifacts, paintings or more, you can share these online like these AudienceView community venues:
- Western Development Museum’s Crafting the Canadian Quilt collection
- The work of artists featured by Rosé Mansion
- Art and ideas from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
- The history of New York City from the New York Archival Society
Grow Your List
You can continue to grow your prospective customer list, even when you’re not selling tickets. Ambassador Theatre Group is running a contest to win a year’s worth of free tickets. This is a great way to collect contact information for future marketing campaigns.
Consider what offers or content you can provide to grow your customer list.
Share Your Experience
Just like TV networks will be rebroadcasting legendary games from past seasons, you can showcase previous productions and events online. This will help keep loyal supporters engaged while giving potential customers a taste of your offerings. Here are some examples:
Your partners at AudienceView would love to share your content. If you are a theater or performing arts organization, you can submit your stories to TheaterMania/WhatsOnStage using this form.
Any AudienceView supported organization with a story to share can reach out to our marketing team via marketing@audienceview.com.
If AudienceView is not currently your ticketing system and CRM solution, you can learn more about us at audienceview.com.