Item 11.2 - Attachment 2 |
Minutes
of Riverside Advisory Committee 12 April 2012 |
MINUTES OF THE
LENNOX THEATRE,
COMMENCING 6.11 PM ON THURSDAY 12 APRIL 2012
PRESENT
Owen
IN ATTENDANCE
Robert Love
(Director Riverside Theatre), Pam Thornton (Business Manager), Suzanne Hannema
(Marketing Manager), Nick Murphie (PCC Manager Communications and Marketing)
and Joy
Bramham (Minute Clerk)
APOLOGIES
Apologies
were received from Christopher Tooher and Jane Witter.
1 Welcome
Owen Eckford welcomed everyone to
the meeting.
2 Minutes
The Minutes of the meeting of the Riverside Advisory Board
held on 9 February 2012 be taken as read and confirmed as a true record of the
meeting.
3 Discussion Item –
· Most marketing has been
traditional (brochure, mail outs, banners, emails) but future focus on new
media, interactive websites and email and site tracking to target interested
audiences.
· Many people will attend
one event only. The main ticket sales are not from the Parramatta LGA, but more
towards the Hills District.
· The need to improve
e-communications to make a theatre experience more inclusive including blogs,
discussions with producers as well as tracking interest from website clicks and
being able to follow up. The new website should be completed by the end of June
2012.
· The need to review old
databases, including attendance and VIP guests is ongoing.
Suzanne will email the three presentation questions to board
members and feedback to be given to either Suzanne or Robert for comment next
meeting.
The board discussed a number of issues arising from the
presentation including the price of tickets in
Social media marketing was discussed as a way to encourage a
new younger audience. Concern was also
expressed that existing, older audiences might be isolated if social media
became the sole marketing tool.
VIP guests and personal invites were discussed. The
possibility of invitation saturation, and the need for VIP guests to bring
something to the table and know why they have been invited are considered
important.
The Board discussed marketing to hirers as well as ticket
buyers. It was noted that while
The possibility of packaging arts performances as part of a
conference was discussed. However, it
was noted that
A future loyalty program was discussed. The current
subscription offer is more for early bookers, but does not promote loyalty and
additional purchases throughout the year. A shift towards a loyalty program
would promote and facilitate repeat attendance.
4 Riverside Theatre 25th Anniversary
Councillor Andrew Wilson noted that
the there was an opportunity with the upcoming 25th anniversary to
look for long term financial commitment at a State and Federal level as well as
bringing together the friends of Riverside who have previously assisted (eg Bob
Hawke and Ross Cameron).
The Board discussed how marketing this event needs early and using social media
to reach out to the community for assistance in planning an event.
A pre 25th Anniversary
event could be used to position
An alternative approach could be to
commission an economic feasibility study for a new or upgraded theatre facility
(including new employment opportunities both during the building of enhanced
theatre facilities and as home for a permanent production vehicle in
The Board discussed the need to look
at the current priorities of both State and Federal Governments and how any
Riverside proposal would complement such priorities. It was noted that
education is currently important to the State Government and
The Board discussed using the
pre-anniversary period as a launch-pad for the next 25 years and for the
development of future capital works project. The $10,000 allocated by Council
for the pre-event could be used to facilitate the beginning of this process and
present preliminary findings to Councillors and stakeholders to note the
importance of Riverside Theatres. It was also noted that even if the
anniversary cannot be used to assist in the capital project, that it is still a
vehicle to drive future interest and participation in
Actions
The Board proposes to Council that
it support a week of 25th Anniversary activities in 2013 to
celebrate Riverside Theatres achievements and focus on future audience and
facilities development.
Before the next meeting, the Board
requested that two additional workshop meetings be held to develop ideas for
future capital projects using the 2010-14 Strategic Plan as a starting point. Results of the meetings will be reported back
to the next Board Meeting with a view to developing proposals for the Council
to consider in relation to the 25th Anniversary of Riverside
Theatres.
5 Operational
report
There have been three good quarters with
a $90,000 surplus, but the next quarter has a lot of
The third quarter surplus is a
result of reallocations of employment costs, increased bar sales and a
reduction in the marketing spend on advertising, However, these savings were in
part offset by increased expenditure on systems and databases.
The former Meat and Wine Co, now
Ribs and Rumps restaurant, is being refurbished, and, as a result,
ACM will be hired to do some work
with graphic design for social media. They have experience with theatres and
the use of social media.
Robert Love and Pamela Thornton had
further discussions with the Ambassador Group that owns 35 theatres throughout
the world. It is considering Riverside as a venue for future regional touring.
There needs to be a feasibility study, but could generate a reliable few weeks
hires in the future.
The performance of other recent
productions/hires were discussed including the James Valentine Quartet concert
and upcoming shows such as Screen Café, “Behind the Lines” (the year’s best
political cartoons), Dickens Women, Scooby Doo, Thanks God It’s On Stage,
Parramasala and a Children’s Festival to be held in September.
Meeting
ended at 8.32pm
Next Meeting
14 June 2012