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10.25.2005
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Volume Three
Issue Ten
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Welcome to our October Monthly Update. This month's Client Feature focuses on The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as they approach the one-year anniversary of a very big move into their new home. Read on...
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Client Feature: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
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Left: Alvin Ailey. Photo Courtesy of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Archives.
Right: AADT's Artistic Director, Judith Jamison. Photo by Andrew Eccles.
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Created by Alvin Ailey in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has performed for an estimated 21 million people around the world. The renowned modern dance company has earned the reputation as an acclaimed international ambassador of American culture, promoting the African-American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage.
Since Alvin Ailey's untimely death in 1989, Judith Jamison, his long-time muse and star of the Company for many years, has been AAADT's artistic director, further promoting Alvin Ailey's vision by bringing dance into the lives of people around the globe.
As well as the Dance Theater, the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation offers several community and education programs. The Ailey School provides professional training and classes for adults and children as well as a B.F.A. program in conjunction with Fordham University. The junior company, Ailey II, allows talented students from The Ailey School to continue their training while gaining professional performing experience.
Following Mr. Ailey's belief that "dance is for everybody," the Ailey Arts in Education & Community Programs initiative brings dance into the classrooms and communities around the world. AileyCamp, a summer day camp for under-served youth, operates in seven cities in the United States. The Ailey Extension, the organization's newest program, is a series of dance and fitness classes designed for the general public... fans of The Ailey!
In the Q & A that follows, Jodi Krizer, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for AAADT discusses marketing such an extensive organization and describes their recent relocation...
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Q & A with Jodi Krizer, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
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Left: Jodi Krizer, AAADT's Director of Marketing & PR.
Right: AAADT's Joan Weill Center for Dance. Photo by Šarchphoto.
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As Director of Marketing & PR for such a large organization, what are your main responsibilities?
I am responsible for the overall marketing and public relations strategies of The Ailey organization - the companies, school and community programs and the new Extension program. Fortunately I work with a staff of smart, talented individuals - five full-time staff members and one seasonal group sales coordinator as well as an external graphic design team, a seasonal publicist and an audience development consultant. Our common goal is to protect the legacy of Alvin Ailey and further the extraordinary vision of Judith Jamison.
AAADT has recently made a very big and exciting move. Tell us about your new home.
We moved from our old space last November (2004). Previously, we had only office and rehearsal space, but the new home of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater - The Joan Weill Center for Dance - is, in Ms. Jamison's words, a palace for dance.
The Center has 12 state-of-the art, column free, climate-controlled studios with floor-to-ceiling windows and sprung wood floors...a dancer's dream! The building is more than double the square footage of our former location. We have space for AAADT and Ailey II to rehearse, studios for School classes and the Extension classes for the public. Administrative offices, conference rooms, a physical therapy room, archive room, wardrobe room, library and marketing workroom offer the valued staff appropriate resources with which to conduct their business.
Also, throughout the building are historical photos from the early days of AAADT - so you turn a corner and there's a photo of Mr. Ailey dancing, or Ms. Jamison performing one of her signature roles - wonderful inspiration! We're also able to offer our space for rent to other dance and performing arts companies.
Alvin Ailey has an intense season. Can you describe how it works and how you approach marketing it - especially considering how much and how far you tour?
The "season" for AADT is as follows: for five weeks from late November through to the first days of January we perform at New York City Center; our US tour begins at the end of January and runs until late May / early June; we perform international tours in summer and fall; and our rehearsals fit in between all of this tour activity.
Our marketing strategy for the New York season is laid out in February and March as we go through our budget process. The day-to-day planning begins in mid-May with our annual photo shoot and from there we design our collateral materials and establish a mood for the season. Programming is decided over the summer by Artistic Director Judith Jamison and Associate Artistic Director Masazumi Chaya.
Our marketing campaign begins with our direct mail brochure and ads start running in the New York Times Arts & Leisure Fall Preview issue, continuing weekly in November and daily during the season. We also do an outdoor campaign with bustails and subway posters. For tour presenters we provide posters and postcards for local distribution. We work with local marketing representatives to ensure the integrity of the Ailey brand is maintained from city to city and country to country.
With so many programs under the Alvin Ailey banner, not to mention a new building and a very complex season, what are your biggest marketing challenges?
One of our biggest marketing challenges, especially with our new building, is educating the public and the media about who we really are. The world knows about Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater but not everyone knows about everything that goes on daily to carry on the legacy of Alvin Ailey and follow the extraordinary vision of Judith Jamison.
Our mantra is to educate and cultivate - we need to explain who we are and what we do, and then engage people in our activities, be it a performance, lecture-demonstration, post-performance discussion, school residency...the list goes on and on.
From a PR perspective, our challenge is to make sure that the organization, with all of its programs, along with the building, are promoted to the public and to the media 365 days a year. Finding the right "angle" to make dance relevant to today's media environment as well as to the communities we serve in New York City and around the world is an on-going process.
How does e-marketing, particular e-mail, factor into your overall marketing strategy? What has worked for you so far?
Right now our marketing budget is still pretty traditional, with more money being spent on print advertising than web-based marketing. As technology develops, we continue to re-evaluate our strategy and plan. For example, we are currently re-designing our own website so that it is more user-friendly for both visitors and the staff - so we can update the public easily and efficiently, keeping them informed of Ailey events.
Of course, e-blasts have increasingly become a more important part of our marketing strategy. For us, it is an efficient and cost-effective way to reach our audiences. We began using PatronMail last season to announce our performances and we now also use it to advertise Extension classes and of course, to fundraise.
The name Ailey is an established brand associated with success, unparalleled artistry and professional administration. Happily, I am able to use these attributes to inform ticket buyers, students, parents of students, donors, volunteers etc. about our performances and programs by cross-marketing to these different sections of our e-list members. When patrons (or volunteers, donors, students etc.) receive a message from us, even if it is not directly related to their interests, there is a sense of professionalism behind the campaign and a connection to our brand that allows readers to understand that the e-mails are not just schemes to get their attention. Patrons are very loyal, so once they experience the magic of Ailey on stage, they are far more likely to donate (online or offline), recommend performances to friends, or come take a class.
Our big challenge remains how to continue building our list - how to find the people who really care about what's happening at Ailey and get them to sign up so we can offer them a routine glimpse into what's happening in the organization.
** AAADT's New York City Center season runs November 30 - January 1 **
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Click here to visit the Alvin Ailey website
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INVITATION TO THE PARTY by Donna Walker-Kuhne
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Acknowledged by the Arts and Business Council as the nation's foremost expert on audience development involving our growing multicultural population, Donna Walker-Kuhne has now written the first book describing her methods to develop and sustain non-traditional audiences.
INVITATION TO THE PARTY: Building Bridges to the Arts, Culture and Community is a practical and inspirational guide on ways to invite, engage and partner with culturally diverse communities, enfranchising them into the fabric of arts and culture in the United States.
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Click here to read more and/or buy online
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Please watch for our next Monthly Update, coming November 22, 2005.
Our mailing address is: 850 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019
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