...Cirque du Soleil Case Q1. Outline briefly the environmental factors contributing to the demise of the traditional circus, and compare the offering of the traditional circus with the offering of Cirque du Soleil. Q2. Analyse Cirque du Soleil’s Blue Ocean Strategy and assess the sustainability of the proposed diversification strategy. Environmental factors contributing to the demise of the traditional circus Legal & Political * Tough laws and taxation policies. * Lack of governmental assistance and financial support. Economic * The increasing cost of moving from place to place. * Cost of animal maintenance got larger. * Hiring star performers led to rise in expenses. * The US went into recession. Environmental * Growing concern relating to the mistreatment of animals. * Scarcity of large tracts of land to accommodate circus tents in the city. Technology * Introduction of new technologies such as the TV, game consoles, iPods and laptops. Sociocultural * Two working parent families with no time to bring their kids to the circus. * An increase in movie theatres, along with the TV becoming the new medium for family entertainment. Comparison between traditional circus and Cirque du Soleil’s offering | TRADITIONAL CIRCUS | CIRQUE DU SOLEIL | PERFORMANCE | Based on acrobats, ringmasters, jugglers, clowns and animals acts. Star performers. | Emphasis on artistry. Human performers, no animals, stagecraft &...
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...Analysis of the Cirque du Soleil case What is Cirque Du Soleil’s product and its strategy? Cirque du Soleil is a dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment. It was the first and foremost a circus without animals. Cirque du Soleil combined street performance, clowns, acrobats, and gymnast to present feats and create theater and dance dramas. In 1999, Cirque released its first feature film and its first television. In 2000, Cirque created an IMAX large-format film production. Besides, it focused on diversifying its commercial activities projects in publishing and merchandising. In 1998, it opened its first store on the property of Walt Disney world Resort in Florida. The company was beginning to develop a concept for entertainment complexes. What has Cirque done (especially relative to HR practices) to support its casts’ ability to deliver superior performances? Cirque hired artists from different countries and took into consideration what their nonartistic needs were. Cirque helps artists to grow. They cast children who live on the streets of Brazil, and changed their lives. If they find a single talented people in the village, they will not bring him. They only bring him if they find a few people who are equally talented that he can be supported by and who can support him. Cirque did everything possible to improve their performance. Each artist can feel comfortable to be a excellent artist. What challenges does Cirque face in the future and how would YOU suggest...
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...‘Cirque du Soleil’ was established in 1984 by a group of young street performers who had two years earlier formed ‘Club des Talons Hauts’. It was based on the innovative concept of mixing the circus art entertainment featuring wild costumes, staged ‘magical’ lighting and set to original music. It was having the elements of dance, circus and opera. During this period of time the circus market had become stagnant, generating acts with same dressing up termed as ‘new’. Circus families and individual artists created highly developed and ever challenging variations on the same formula of trained animals and death defying stunts that have been popular in the past century. The circus business had reached a stage where to create a little difference it had to invest huge amount e.g. increasing the no of animals etc. But Cirque du Soleil defied the principle of gravity and changed the whole scenario of circus industry thereby entering a blue ocean of new possibilities, higher profit, less competitors, new takers. Soleil started their early production with ‘we reinvent the circus and Nouveelle Experience’ which proved to be a new experience to the audience. With a US$1.7 million contract from provincial government of Quebec, the show was huge success with a surplus of US$50.000. The troupe took another huge gamble, spending all its remaining funds after the season to join the Los Angeles Arts Festivals in 1987. The gamble paid off and Cirque du Soleil was a huge success and immediately...
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...For the exclusive use of S. Philip, 2014. HEC027 Volume 9 Issue 3 September 2011 Visioning Information Technology at Cirque du Soleil Case prepared by Professors Anne-Marie CROTEAU,1 Suzanne RIVARD2 and Jean TALBOT3 Danielle Savoie, recently appointed Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Cirque du Soleil, was delighted. She had just met with the firm’s Executive Committee to present the very first information technology (IT) strategic plan in the history of Cirque. The plan presented a coherent and organized vision of IT use at Cirque. The Executive Committee had reacted very positively to her recommendations, although the members of the committee were not accustomed to discussing issues as technical as IT. At Cirque du Soleil, IT was deemed a significant but not always necessary cost. Indeed, it was sometimes perceived as a useless expense. Danielle Savoie’s main challenge now was to discover how IT could best serve Cirque. She was convinced that in order to meet this challenge, she had to develop an IT strategic vision that would be accepted by Cirque’s top management, deploy a highly professional IT group and enhance the credibility of IT among the leaders of the firm. Before being hired by Cirque du Soleil in April 2000, Danielle Savoie was the Vice-President of Strategic IT projects at Desjardins, a credit union and one of Quebec’s largest financial institutions. Obviously, the transition from a financial institution to one of the world’s most innovative...
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...Cirque Du Soleil Before the Cirque Du Soleil became the multimillion dollar industry that it is today, it started off as a shared idea between two Canadian circus performers in the 1980s. Guy Laliberte and Gilles Ste-Croix both became obsessed with combining circus skills with aspects that rooted from theatre. Their inspiration came from previous work that Ste-Croix had partaken in that incorporated papier-mâché animals with stilt-walkers and musicians. They also found inspiration in the European cirque nouveau movement from the 1970s. This movement frowned upon the use of live animals in acts because they wanted to show true talent through the use of acrobats, clowns, and jugglers paired with choreography and theatrical themes (Markels). Laliberte launched the Cirque’s first major show, Le Grand Tour, in 1984. Within two years the show had travelled all over Canada and Laliberte began introducing new shows to large cities across the border and into the United States (Markels). At the time, the public was unsure how to feel about watching a “circus” act that didn’t contain the giant roaring lion and the elephants as entertainment. For Laliberte and Ste-Croix the decision to exclude animals was more practical then creativity. By eliminating animals from their shows, the Cirque would save a fair amount of money because they required care and feeding along with a nice paycheck to their star handlers. Too their surprise, the “whole new circus concept,” drew quite the...
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...PREPARATION SHEET 1. Describe product and strategy of Cirque du Soleil. In which ways is it different from traditional circus? The Cirque du Soleil offers a one of a kind of spectacle, made for many types of audiences of different cultures to enjoy. The product that Cirque du Soleil offers is an artistic shows which semblance a circus but it’s not quite the same. For starters, all of the shows are a rich mixture of several acrobatic and acting talents, without using any animals. They also include in every show inspirational and unique composed music, which has the particularity of being sung in Latin, that way they are transcending all cultural barriers they can encounter in their audiences and making the artists and the stories told in each show the unique purpose of the Cirque du Soleil. Each show that the company has ever made has the drama component (another difference between classical circus which is usually a various of non related acts happening one after the other). In Cirque du Soleil the story is important, it helps the audience to live in a fantastical world where you can live a series of acts that are connected to each other and speaking to the public. But, to make this kind of product, Cirque du Soleil had implemented a rigorous strategy that combines the business world with the world of the people responsible of every show. For the company, maintaining a thorough control of their marketing rights and a busy schedule of international showcases...
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...Case: Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil 1. What concrete means are used to achieve standardization? • Cirque du Soleil takes a very standardized approach. Here are some examples of how they have standardized the method in which they take their show on the road: • Specific timing when planning for future shows. Shows will be planned 5-years ahead of time when it comes to continent choice. They then follow a 2-3yr lead time when they are selecting cities to visit. The tour plan is finalized 24mo prior to the event. They are very diligent with this timing as 90% of their tours are scheduled 2-years in advance. • Consistency when working on their own or with a promoter. In either case, the expectation, absolute must, is for Cirque to get the majority of the earnings from the event. • Specific timing when breaking down a performance site. Cirque states that it normally will take 10 days to move to a new site. This includes specifics in dismantling and preparing the equipment to be shipped (3 days) and time to set up completely at a new location (7 days). • Standardization of box office at new location complete with fiber optic wires. • Proposals follow a standard procedure beginning with a generic Cirque email before moving forward. This includes various reviews that Cirque has decided upon and opportunity in a market, especially like Turkey where they have yet to tour in the case study, to determine if having a show will be a good decision. • Detailed...
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...Research Report on Cirque du Soleil Julien Lallement ISEG Business School 5 Group2C January 10, 2012 Human Resources Management, Pr. Michelle K. Duffy, Phd ABSTRACT This final research report relating to the Human Resource course will be focused on the Cirque du Soleil business case discovered in class. In a first part we will develop and articulate the Cirque du Soleil HR portfolio. This part will also relates the company values and core competencies. The first part will be concluded by a series of recommendation discussed during the group presentation provided in class The second part of the report will focus on the strategy developed and used by Cirque du Soleil in order to reach the success. This strategy called Blue Ocean strategy will be in a first part detailed to the Cirque Case and then we will see in a second part where this concept can be applicable or if it was already applied and by which industry. A bibliography will be added at the end of the document. SUMMARY I. Development and Articulation of Cirque du Soleil HR portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 a. Company Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 b. Human Resources Management related issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 c. Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 II. Application of Cirque du Soleil concept to other...
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...STRATEGY DISCUSSION Question 1: Red Ocean Analysis Explain why anyone applying Michael Porter’s “Five Forces” competitive analysis in 1984 would have told Guy Laliberté not to start another circus. Explain your reasoning. Applying Michael Porter’s Five Forces to Guy Laliberté’s decision to start ‘another’ circus would lead individuals to come to one of two conclusions, depending on how in-depth they understood Laliberté’s plan. On the surface level, his plan seems to be an inevitable failure - trying to become a new player in a market that is declining and facing new challenges in sustainability daily. Laliberté’s plan fits almost all of the criteria for struggle and potential failure according to Porter’s Five Forces. Breaking down each of Porter’s forces, it is clear that starting a new circus lends very little promise for Laliberté. First, Laliberté was facing supply issues to find talented circus acts that would draw in an audience. In order to acquire a high caliber of talented performers, a circus at the time was forced to put financial strain on their profits from ticket sales just to afford the acts themselves. Additionally, the power of buyers produced a real challenge at the time, as audiences were only interested in attending the circus if compelled by acts that were in turn too expensive for the circus to make a profit on. Laliberté was also facing tough competition in entering the circus industry. This space had been established by the century-old...
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...its innovation goals. Cirque strengthens its distinctive competency of creativity and achieves business objectives by creating an environment of trust and dedicating resources to encourage employees to hone their craft and try ideas. Analysis and Recommendation In order to attract more talent and increase its employees’ satisfaction along with its commercial success, Cirque will need to change how it manages its culture, talent and growth. It must create and communicate a vision and mission that establishes a shared sense of purpose. And, it must manage its culture through systems that alter and reinforce how employees should think, behave and feel about team work, taking risks, diversity and innovation to further drive its brand and strategic evolution. To manage its talent needs, recruitment should be a continuous process managed online where candidates can upload videos of their talents and complete assessments. The website will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of finding the right fit and can be used to create a “B” candidate database to replace injured artists last minute. Cirque should also create a succession planning program that helps artists identify alternate career paths in the backstage aspects of the entertainment business. This will boost the motivation of the performers knowing their part in Cirque does not end when they can no longer perform and will build Cirque’s future leadership bench strength. To manage its growth, Cirque needs to focus on keeping...
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...com/viewpaper/201127.html Cirque Du Soleil is a company that has built its success on its ability to be creative and innovative. It has successfully developed a new market and continued to expand on that market. This makes Cirque Du Soleil an example of a company that has creativity and innovation at its base. The following paper will focus on Cirque Du Soleil as a creative and innovative company. It will consider its product and creative strategy. It will look at the structure of the company and how this enhances creativity. Finally, it will look at the threats facing Cirque Du Soleil and what the company can do to ensure its ongoing success. Cirque Du Soleil's product is a performing circus. The basis of the company is a show combining music, dance, and theater. The show uses acrobats, gymnasts, clowns, and other performers. The show also uses a type of music based on a created language. The purpose of the music is to transcend cultural boundaries and make the show accessible to everyone. The company's show is also multicultural in nature. It is designed to reach the widest audience possible. This is done by using the music that is not based on any real language. It is also done by using performers from around the world. The company is global and shows are performed throughout the world. Cirque Du Soleil has also expanded into other areas. This has included releasing two films and a television special. This has also included ventures in publishing and merchandising. Cirque Du Soleil also opened...
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...IT at Cirque du Soleil May 28,2014 1. Describe how IT supports the touring show life cycle (from creation through performance). What is interesting is that Cirque du Soliel when boiled down is just a circus. When people think of a circus as the Vice President of Information Technology and Knowledge management Danielle Savoie points out technology is not generally used, but Cirque du Soliel revamps the image and makes it completely unique. In touring show life, information technology is very important because first of all it is a time saver, which is incredibly important when the show is on a schedule. When people are about to go perform they have to have very quick makeup and dress changes or else the entire show is off schedule, which can result in a disaster. One situation that really saves time due to IT is the make up. Putting on the make up used to take an hour and that was with several make up artists working on one person. With IT, the artists save not just time, but they get an opportunity to work on more than one person. The article even mentions that the performers can do their own make up, which saves even more time. The make up artists use a program that breaks down each performer and what they are wearing as well as how his or her make up is done. The program also keeps the measurements in the computer as well, which really helps with costume changes and alterations. Another way IT helps is to market the production and show people what Cirque du Soliel...
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...Since 1984 Guy Laliberté has been building Cirque du Soleil, an artistic circus that has amazed thousands of people in hundreds of towns. Cirque has worked hard on keeping their strengths unbeatable and weaknesses miniscule. In the process of making their weaknesses turn into strengths they have taken advantage of many opportunities available to them. Cirque has done so well at expanding their horizon is it difficult to find opportunities they have not taken advantage of; so, where will they go from here? They do have a few threats; yet even these do not seem to injury Cirque du Soleil. They may need to watch negative media attention and keep founder Laliberté under wraps. Although with Cirque’s popularity, little will affect this strong company that takes advantage of all opportunities and turns their weaknesses into strengths. Cirque du Soleil: The Circus of the Sun Shines 1. Mission Statement: Invoke, provoke and evoke the imagination, the senses and the emotions of people around the world. 2. Organizational strengths/weaknesses a) Strengths i. Unique: Cirque Du Soleil, French for Circus of the Sun, was founded in 1984 by Guy Laliberté in Baie-Saint-Paul, Canada for the 450th anniversary of Canada’s’ discovery celebration in Quebec City. (Roux, 2009) Cirque du Soleil now boasts 5 offices around the world: Amsterdam, Las Vegas, Singapore, and the headquarters in Montreal. The show that provides the audience with a mix of circus...
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...resold without prior written consent of Cirque du Soleil (“CDS”). Cameras and tape or video recorders are forbidden. Ticket holder assumes all risk, liability and responsibility for all damages incurred in connection with the show, and waives all rights to claim damages or to institute proceedings against CDS, its affiliates, other related entities or persons acting on their behalf or in collaboration with them. CDS reserves the right to refuse access for reasonable motives and to request photo ID. The following show contains flashing lights which may cause difficulties for people with photosensitive epilepsy. This ticket is subject to the Purchase Agreement available at www.cirquedusoleil.com/purchaseagreement. No exchange or refunds. FOLD HERE - DO NOT DETACH FOLD HERE - DO NOT DETACH SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2013 Showtime: 7:30 PM Doors open at: 6:45 PM ROYAL ALBERT HALL Kensington Gore LONDON DOOR SECTION ROW SEAT 4 CIRCLE Q 3_ 20 E-TICKET 1 / 4 CIRQUE CLUB EXCLUSIVE! Membership includes access to the best seats, insider stories and much more. It’s free! Exclusively online at www.cirquedusoleil.com/club LONDON, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2013 7:30 PM DOOR SECTION ROW SEAT TICKET PRICE BOOKING FEE: ADULT £ 60.00 £ 3.25 99000016024574355391 (VAT INCLUDED IF APPLICABLE) ORDER NUMBER: E-TICKET: 002-0577 7172 99000016024574355391 E-TICKET 1 / 4 ADULTADMIT ONE 4 CIRCLE Q 3_ 20 © 2011 Cirque du Soleil Inc. All rights reserved. © 2011 Outbox...
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...Blue Ocean Strategy: Article Summary Abstract The Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) is a business strategy about capturing uncontested market space, thereby making competition irrelevant. The corner-stone of BOS is 'Value Innovation'. A blue ocean is created when a company achieves value innovation that creates value simultaneously for both the buyer and the company. The innovation (in product, service, or delivery) must raise and create value for the market, while simultaneously reducing or eliminating features or services that are less valued by the current or future market. The "ocean" in the title refers to the market or industry: • Blue Oceans are untapped and uncontested market, which provides little or no competition for anyone who would dive in, since the market is not crowded. • Red Oceans, on the other hand, refers to a saturated market where there are fierce competitions, already crowded with companies providing the same type of services, producing the same kind of goods. The idea is to do something different from everyone else, produce something that no one has yet seen, thereby creating a blue ocean. Blue Ocean Strategy: Article Summary BOS explains that rather than competing within the confines of existing industry or trying to steal customers from rivals (Red Ocean Strategy), uncontested market space should be developed that makes competition irrelevant. Red oceans are all the industries in existence today—the known market space. In the red...
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