BUSINESS MISSION Grimsby town hall has gone from a highly recognized and significant art and functional center to a place that is hardly recognized and referred to as a ‘’best kept secret”
The situation of the hall is in a declining state in terms of functionality and the maintenance is hard to keep up and there is a highly significant reduction in the inflow of cash while the outflow continues to rise whereby putting the financial status of the hall at risk.
The factors responsible for the decline of the state of the hall are both Internal and external, this paper seeks to identify, analyze and provide possible solutions to these problems as the hall holds a potential for growth.
Rebranding itself to be functional with the changes of its target market in terms of their needs and preferences, the hall would be seen in a different light communicated through the new experience it would offer and its high service quality.
With the implementation of a new marketing strategy, the hall also seeks to expand in terms of popularity, customer base and sales.
SITUATION ANALYSIS
ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS Lincolnshire’s best kept secret, the Grimsby central hall was not always filled with silent halls as it is now, the center for art and events was an historical and cultural heritage for the people of Grimsby back in the early 80’s where it earned its popularity from the influx of people that visited the sea port close to it. Located in a rundown area, it has become very difficult to promote and maintain the hall with the available resources and this has caused the managers to consider closing the hall.
For an establishment that has been in existence for over 70 years, business sustainability becomes very important. Business sustainability should be captured as more than a process by which firms manage their financial, social, environmental risks, obligations and opportunities, it is necessary to account for environmental and social impacts as sustainable businesses are resilient, and they create economic value, healthy ecosystems and strong communities (Tima Bansal, Pamela Laughland,2011) The board of trustees at the Grimsby hall can be referred to as dedicated, that is the only reason why they have been able to sustain the hall for over 70 years and even with the financial glitch, they are determined to bring life back to the Grimsby central hall. The main objective of the central hall is to provide a community resource to include the facilitation of and participation of the arts with the North East Lincolnshire. Grimsby Central Hall, however, is more than just a popular concert venue; we are a hub of community life and host a wide variety of weekly clubs and societies, as well as being a venue for training courses and conferences. All shades of life pass through our doors; our numerous rooms and unique facilities enable us to cater for 7 or 700 people and they are available for hire at highly competitive rates (Grimsby Central Hall, 2015).
In 1992 The Grimsby central hall Trust, a registered charity was formed to take over the running of the hall and ensure its future as an arts and community venue. However, the NELC cut the funding for the hall and since then it has been difficult to effectively run and manage the hall.
There haven’t been any major advertising campaign over the years and financial records for 2013 show that there was no funding allocated to advertise the central hall.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
Financial statements go beyond the use of supporting documents to monitor sales and profit. Many business owners fail to see financial statements as the basic means of monitoring progress, setbacks and opportunities in their business (Henry Reeves, 2011).
Open seven days a week, the Grimsby central hall derives its funding from shows, concert and also serving as a meeting place for many local clubs and societies (Grimsby website). The sales and marketing expense is shown in the appendix (figure1). The financial records of 2011 shows the hall was in a stable and profitable level till 2012 as the hall witnessed a massive profit level as shown by the return on net investment with a 2.91% recorded profit.
A decline in the profit level is however visible in 2013 and 2014 as the company is currently suffering financially. This is why the situation analysis is necessary to identify the problems within the company and offer practical solutions.
PRODUCT ANALYSIS The Grimsby center hall offers a theatre to people who enjoy live theatre, it also serves as an experience to people who want something different from sitting in front of the television screens. Theatre reportedly began the 20th century as the prevailing art form and the major source of entertainment for most people, the 21st century however is filled with various choices of entertainment (The Guardian, 2000). It therefore becomes necessary for new technologies and new experiences to be infused without losing originality so as to ensure the contemporary audience can relate to them and this would bring in a wider and younger audience.
The central hall consists of a maim auditorium which has an open plan stage large enough to accommodate a choir and orchestra, the auditorium can occupy a total of 667 people and is highly appreciated for its outstanding acoustic qualities. The second hall is is known as the Roy Kemp Hall, a multipurpose room which offers a smaller venue for smaller concerts and performances this hall also accommodates 170 people sitting in a traditional style and 150 in a “café “style with chairs and tables, it is also suitable for parties and wedding receptions as it benefits from a licensed bar and fitted kitchen.
Another significant part of the hall is the Fisherman Chapel with the primary purpose is to give glory to God and a solemn remembrance of those who died during the course of their duties while connected to the port.
Concerts and live theatre are still very much active but there hasn’t been a record of a sold out concert in the past year. The halls are also being rent out occasionally but nothing to show a significant growth of the hall.
The central hall can give branded souvenir like t-shirts that have inscriptions from the movies to give lucky winners at the theatre.
There should also be a means of purchasing tickets online, this would get more people visiting the websites and customers can be carried along with the events at the theatre with regular updates.
Partnerships can be made with popular party planners within the vicinity to have their events at the hall, this would get different people visiting the hall and generate awareness.
CONSUMER ANALYSIS Our ideal target market consists of the youths, the working class and the aged and the central hall is known for its diversity that can cater to the needs of these target consumers such as. The performing arts is one of the UK’s most important entertainment industries and their audiences continue to grow (Academic Mintel, 2014). These group of people want to be entertained in a manner that is not too far from their reality which is why they make the conscious effort to leave their houses to experience a live theatre or concert.
The box office is opened 10am-2pm 6days in a week, this is not a suitable time for a lot of people to patronize the business and this is a factor that would affect people coming in to see the shows. Figure 1 shows the incentives for people to attend performing arts.
From the table, we can deduce that price is a strong factor in determining the attendance of people and this is more common among women than men
Another factor is the environment and the customer service, customers feel more inclined to visit the theatre when they were received in a cordial manner
First timers or people who like to improve their familiarity with the performing arts also make a significant appearance on the chart.
The report gotten from the survey however suggests familiarity should be a key theme on which theatres need to focus on.
Brand image and advertisement are necessary for a business to boost up its business performance as brand image is an important tool which can positively change people’s buying behaviors and advertising can influence a consumer to purchase a product(Muhammad Ehsan Malik, Muhammad Mudasar Ghafoor, et al, 2013). Customers will consult other businesses offering the same service just to be sure they are getting the best value for their money. It therefore becomes important to relay the messages constantly through advertising and focusing on the benefits and services the Grimsby Central hall offers that its competitors do not.
Another survey asked people whom have paid to attend music concerts where the concerts have been located.
The figure above shows theatres and concert halls are the most frequently visited locations for music concerts and the young and youthful target markets are the ones that attend mostly.
Many of these people will not like to visit Grimsby central hall because they don’t showcase contemporary artists. To tap into these set of consumer market, Grimsby central hall would need to review its content
COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES 1. To change the perception of Grimsby centre hall from Lincolnshire best secret to the most popular arts and evens centre 2. To increase awareness and get more recognition of the live theatre and the services of the hall 3. To increase the audience by 50%(measured in ticket sales for concerts, theatre per month) 4. To increase the booking of the hall for events by 70% 5. To be inclined with modern day technology to include younger target audience in the customer base. 6. To persuade people to actively participate in the activities organized 7. Create an effective online campaign and presence
MARKET ANALYSIS
The theatre community has witnesses a significant growth but public interests in the arts have remained unaffected from 2005/2006 levels at around 7% in Q1 2014/2015 (Academic Mintel, 2015). People that patronize theatres are of various demographics in terms of gender, age, preference.
The figure above shows a 10% increase is the revenue generated from a London theatre with people opting for musicals mostly.
This table shows potential for growth in the theatre industry and the Grimsby can with this table create a need with more production in the area of consumer interests. In a society that is highly technologically inclined, to ensure growth and longevity new market trends must be incorporated and with the wave of digital theatre and new production techniques, consumers are conditioned to seek what the new element is about.
Mintel’s consumer research shows that having a restaurant or pub in an arts center makes it more commercial, this way we aim for the pub target market
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