The Royal Ballet: Frankenstein, March 2019

[Guest]

52 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

In the case of Frankenstein................

 

1) MUCH cheaper tickets (as you say) - make it a 'loss leader' from the outset. [The pattern of sales speaks volumes and they should be listening.]

2) Offer package deals more prominently and at better value (e.g. buy one for Nutcracker, get Frankenstein half price)

3) Have posters around bearing the 'traditional' image - i.e. don't rely on social media too much

4) Cast it with 'stars' who pull in the punters (no offence to the leads but, although I love some of them, they are not all  'household names', nor are they British (thinking 'feature' articles here))

5) Give out leaflets at preceding performances; even 'advertise' on the red curtain in the intervals (well, that would create a talking point at least)

6) Get RichardLH and Janet McNulty (of BCF fame) to tout for trade for Campbell's shows!!!!!😉 There's nothing like real enthusiasm for a performer in terms of creating a buzz and they do that really well whereas the ROH does not!

 

 

I agree with most of your post, but point 5 ('advertise' on the red curtains) would completely destroy the ambiance of the performance - what a horrible idea. I would have to bring rotten vegetables with me to lob at the curtain in protest!

Point 4 - raises a few questions: which dancers in the Royal Ballet are currently 'household names'? - Osipova is a well known name in the ballet world, but doesn't have the same pull as Nureyev did. I get uneasy with the whole 'British' thing. Surely the British public could read feature articles on non- British dancers too. Most importantly, dancers should be suited to the roles they dance. 

Personally, I haven't bought tickets for Frankenstein because I thought it was a weak piece both choreographically and musically. I will be very sad not to see Hinkis' debut in a lead role, or Dyer in a lead role because, but nothing could tempt me to part with my money for this ballet a second time.

I am sure the publicity department have done a great deal of research and given it much thought, but somehow they seem to be getting a lot wrong this season. ENB have a much clearer presence on the tube.

[penelopesimpson]

Here’s a radical thought.  Put promotional material in the new coffee bar area and have a place for buying tickets that doesn’t involve leaving the building.  

 

(Ridiculous suggestion)

[JohnS]

I liked Penelope Simpson’s exhortation (yet again) to bring the Box Office inside Open Up - a focal point for current/forthcoming performances, have the Frankenstein dvd playing on decent tv screens, offer good discounts (eg three tickets for the price of two which would allow people to go as a group or individuals to go to three performances ), and ultimately give massive discounts to students/schools.  

And it doesn’t bother me in the slightest that I paid full price as soon as booking opened as I had the certainty of my preferred seats, very much enjoyed the first run, found a lot of Scarlett’s narrative very effective, and will be very interested to see what changes are made (though there’s is the pretty major problem of not having any sympathy for Frankenstein given his inaction in allowing Justine to be hanged).  

It will be a great shame if Frankenstein plays to half filled houses - performers need audiences and the Royal Ballet deserves full and appreciative houses.

[capybara]

30 minutes ago, Darlex said:

 I get uneasy with the whole 'British' thing. Surely the British public could read feature articles on non- British dancers too. Most importantly, dancers should be suited to the roles they dance. 

 

I agree but RB 'marketing' does play on that quite a bit and desperate measures are sometimes needed.

 

33 minutes ago, Darlex said:

 which dancers in the Royal Ballet are currently 'household names'? - Osipova is a well known name in the ballet world, but doesn't have the same pull

 

There almost seems to be an 'anti star' culture in the RB. But the opera has 'big names' (I know, imported) so why not 'big up' the ballet principals more? The fans crowding Floral Street on Sat.23rd March were certainly waiting for dancers they regarded as 'stars'.

 

 

Of course, I forgot the most obvious - i.e. HAVE A TICKET BOOTH IN THE CAFE!!!!

 

[Richard LH]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

Get RichardLH and Janet McNulty (of BCF fame) to tout for trade for Campbell's shows!!!!!😉

Ha ha! I can't speak for Janet but I would want a commission...

 

BTW on the "British" thing, Campbell was granted British citizenship in 2013........

[ninamargaret]

39 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

Of course, I forgot the most obvious - i.e. HAVE A TICKET BOOTH IN THE CAFE

I wonder if some of the users of the caff even know that they can buy tickets to see things. Both the National Theatre and the RSC in Stratford have plentiful posters, fliers, and prominent ticket counters, which must encourage casual visitors to buy tickets. I don't think the very expensive.marketing department is doing anything to help - certainly not earning its keep.

[Blossom]

There’s plenty of space to put a more mobile booking booth- more like a concierge’s desk. With the wonders of modern technology it surely doesn’t take a lot of machinery or space.

[penelopesimpson]

I cannot think what their marketing department is about.  They choose to communicate almost entirely on social media, a medium which a high percentage of their patrons rarely use.  The only time said patrons hear directly from ROH is when they want their money - alive or dead, its all the same to marketing.  They spend millions creating a free waiting room with coffee shop attached, yet neglect to have anywhere that people who use this facility can buy tickets, all the while telling us how expensive it is to run ROH. They send out surveys endlessly obsessed with ethnicity that fail to ask a single question about performances. 

 

ROH almost seem ashamed of their principal business which is the Arts.  Ballet and opera now appear to be an add-on to a community facility, regular customers openly told that they are the wrong sort of customer and that they should visit less.  In case they don't get the message, the already overcrowded spaces in which patrons can enjoy refreshment are now thrown open to those who have not contributed in any way.

 

The result of all this idiocy is nine performances that are going to struggle to even break even.  When you start listing all the things that have happened in the last year, it really does seem as if the management need to get a grip and recognise that they are an International Opera House.  If the gig, doesn't suit them, I suggest they find another job.

 

Have I got anything wrong?

Edited March 3, 2019 by penelopesimpson

[Dawnstar]

5 hours ago, Darlex said:

Point 4 - raises a few questions: which dancers in the Royal Ballet are currently 'household names'? - Osipova is a well known name in the ballet world, but doesn't have the same pull as Nureyev did. I get uneasy with the whole 'British' thing. Surely the British public could read feature articles on non- British dancers too. Most importantly, dancers should be suited to the roles they dance.

 

I would have thought Nunez & Muntagirov are the biggest RB stars currently. They seem to get the most high-profile first nights & cinecasts. Though as neither are in Frankenstein obviously that's no help trying to get people interested in this particular piece.

 

5 hours ago, JohnS said:

(eg three tickets for the price of two which would allow people to go as a group or individuals to go to three performances )

 

Given the ROH currently don't seem able to get that many people to book to go to even one Frankenstein performance it seems a bit optomistic to try to get people to go to 3 of them! I don't think even anyone on here has yet said they are going to see it more than twice. Personally I'm holding off booking until they a) announce the replacement for Bracewell on the date I'm thinking of going & b) in the probably vain hope that they might discount the stalls down to a price I can afford, as it sounds like I'm going to miss important action from either side of the stalls circle.

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, penelopesimpson said:

Have I got anything wrong?

 

No.

[Saodan]

24 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I would have thought Nunez & Muntagirov are the biggest RB stars currently. They seem to get the most high-profile first nights & cinecasts. Though as neither are in Frankenstein obviously that's no help trying to get people interested in this particular piece.

 

One wonders what might have been had Nuñez and Muntagirov danced their scheduled performances as Victor and Elizabeth in 2016.

[Lizbie1]

2 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

 

ROH almost seem ashamed of their principal business which is the Arts.  Ballet and opera now appear to be an add-on to a community facility, regular customers openly told that they are the wrong sort of customer and that they should visit less.  In case they don't get the message, the already overcrowded spaces in which patrons can enjoy refreshment are now thrown open to those who have not contributed in any way.

 

The result of all this idiocy is nine performances that are going to struggle to even break even.  When you start listing all the things that have happened in the last year, it really does seem as if the management need to get a grip and recognise that they are an International Opera House.  If the gig, doesn't suit them, I suggest they find another job.

 

Have I got anything wrong?

 

Seeing as the person in charge of marketing etc. opens their description of the ROH in their LinkedIn profile with the words "Global tourism destination", you might have a point.

[HappyTurk]

I question even Nunez and Muntagirov's pull as their Marguerite and Armand triple bills didn't sell out this past run (although that whole triple bill run in general was quite slow in terms of sales). So, I imagine Frankenstein would be no different. Conversely, Osipova's and Shklyarov's Marguerite and Armand performances for the triple bill were the only ones that sold out if I remember correctly, and I imagine having them headline the triple bill performances for their dates is the very reason those performances sold out. Though, I'm not suggesting the RB goes out and tries to import overseas stars. I'm just saying I think on an international level, many of the dancers at the RB are less well-known (or not as great "pullers") than we would like to think (let alone in Britain). And that could be attributed to poor marketing! But to be honest, Frankenstein has been poorly publicized and marketed in general. So, who knows what would have happened otherwise. 

 

*And I'm only making the connection between the M&A triple bill and Frankenstein because triple bills tend to be slow-sellers (as is happening with Frankenstein even though it is not attached to a triple bill). 

Edited March 3, 2019 by HappyTurk

[zxDaveM]

5 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

I cannot think what their marketing department is about.  They choose to communicate almost entirely on social media, a medium which a high percentage of their patrons rarely use. 

 

I think their use of social media is to attract the new, young 'replacement audience' for us old fogies (especially those old fogies that clutter up the place on a regular basis), so their policies - inc ticketing prices, marketing, lack of casting info, etc etc - would then make sense. Well, sorta make sense in a twisted logic of today's PR and marketing, bean-counting driven world...

[jmhopton]

9 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

I think their use of social media is to attract the new, young 'replacement audience' for us old fogies (especially those old fogies that clutter up the place on a regular basis), so their policies - inc ticketing prices, marketing, lack of casting info, etc etc - would then make sense. Well, sorta make sense in a twisted logic of today's PR and marketing, bean-counting driven world...

But if said young replacement audience don't have an interest in ballet or opera to start with they're not going to see the ROH twitter and Facebook pages anyway. Surely you have to spark an interest first and that could be done by more traditional marketing such as posters in the tubes  and leaflets and playing the dvd in the open up area. Also some sort of booking pod needs to be in this new space for information as well as actual booking . What sort of theatre -  never mind an international opera house - doesn't have a booking facility on site? The trouble these days is the 'elitist' image that opera and ballet have. Marketing seem so scared of it they seem to want to avoid mentioning it at all whereas if they embraced it in a positive way and were proud of the Royal ballet being world leaders in their field they may attract the new audience they want. 

 

 

[alison]

22 hours ago, ninamargaret said:

i think the poor sales of tickets show how difficult it is to sell 'unknown ' ballets to the general public unless the tickets are very reasonably priced

 

But on the other hand, much of Northern Ballet's programming seems to be based on the pattern of choosing a work of literature and basing a ballet on it, and it appears to work for them (admittedly there's a price difference).  Frankenstein is hardly an unknown title.

 

Just a quick totting up of the numbers of tickets shown as still available on "Select an area" for tomorrow's performance shows that there are over 450 tickets left, which is some 20% of the house, and probably quite a bit more in reality, I should imagine.  Since I wasn't buying seats, I hadn't noticed the prices before, but they are pretty eyewatering: my brain is telling me that for the first run top prices were about £85 - was it right, can anyone confirm?  They are now £115, which if I'm right is a £30 increase.

[Rob S]

I’ve noticed that the £60 Stalls Circle seat from which I watched Don Q last week is costing £70 for Frankenstein 

[bridiem]

40 minutes ago, Rob S said:

I’ve noticed that the £60 Stalls Circle seat from which I watched Don Q last week is costing £70 for Frankenstein 

 

Presumably the pricing indicates that - rightly or wrongly - they see it as a kind of 'blockbuster' ballet. But if so that has to be matched by the marketing, which it hasn't been.

[Lizbie1]

Am I wrong in thinking it sold well last time? That might have created unrealistic expectations.

[alison]

It did.  I remember waiting too long to buy, and then having to beg a couple of tickets from other people.

[JohnS]

1 hour ago, alison said:

my brain is telling me that for the first run top prices were about £85 - was it right, can anyone confirm?  They are now £115, which if I'm right is a £30 increase.

 

Top price for the evening performances was £110 (matinee £80).  Stalls H4 was £93 but this time it’s £115 because of changes in seat price categories (H4 is purple rather than orange).

[alison]

Must have been thinking about matinees, then - or confusing it with The Winter's Tale, which I'm sure was rather cheaper, as an untried "modern" work.  Thanks.

[Saodan]

Tomorrow's performance has been opened to Student Standby. This time tickets are £5 rather than the usual £10. Desperate to fill up opening night? It's worked at least. 

 

I would love to know who danced Justine and Henry at the rehearsal if anyone was there.

[Richard LH]

3 minutes ago, Saodan said:

Desperate to fill up opening night? It's worked at least. 

 

Yep, currently only a handful left.

[alison]

Bargain!  But think of the loss they'll be making ...  

 

Ironic to think of all these Don Q ads I get popping up online still when there is hardly a seat left, and so little for Frankenstein.

[penelopesimpson]

9 minutes ago, alison said:

Bargain!  But think of the loss they'll be making ...  

Never mind.  They can make it up from the restaurants and bars which will doubtless be booked to capacity.

 

Not.

[Blossom]

This one might actually do well with a younger audience. I often share my rehearsal tickets with my family au pair - it’s a nice perk for her especially when I can’t use them. We both went today and although I really enjoyed seeing the names cast members, I am largely in agreement with previous newspaper and bcf reviews. Au pair enjoyed it immensely though - much preferred to both the winter triple bill and don q. Millennial appeal. 

[alison]

Hence my remark - not entirely sarcastic - about social media somewhere above.

[penelopesimpson]

6 hours ago, jmhopton said:

But if said young replacement audience don't have an interest in ballet or opera to start with they're not going to see the ROH twitter and Facebook pages anyway. Surely you have to spark an interest first and that could be done by more traditional marketing such as posters in the tubes  and leaflets and playing the dvd in the open up area. Also some sort of booking pod needs to be in this new space for information as well as actual booking . What sort of theatre -  never mind an international opera house - doesn't have a booking facility on site? The trouble these days is the 'elitist' image that opera and ballet have. Marketing seem so scared of it they seem to want to avoid mentioning it at all whereas if they embraced it in a positive way and were proud of the Royal ballet being world leaders in their field they may attract the new audience they want. 

 

 

I still don’t understand why you would want to replace a loyal, committed, often high spending audience with a fickle, hard-to-reach one.  Surely it is not just the pursuit of yoof for it’s own sake?  Even today’s yoof grow old.

[James]

1 hour ago, Saodan said:

Tomorrow's performance has been opened to Student Standby. This time tickets are £5 rather than the usual £10. Desperate to fill up opening night? It's worked at least. 

 

I would love to know who danced Justine and Henry at the rehearsal if anyone was there.

 

Justine was danced by Romany Pajdak and Henry by Valentino Zucchetti.

[Lizbie1]

1 hour ago, penelopesimpson said:

I still don’t understand why you would want to replace a loyal, committed, often high spending audience with a fickle, hard-to-reach one.  Surely it is not just the pursuit of yoof for it’s own sake?  Even today’s yoof grow old.

 

ACE targets. Also, the Director of Media and Audiences' background is with the BBC, which is *obsessed* with yoof (this isn't the Daily Mail talking, I have several family members there).

[Blossom]

25 minutes ago, James said:

 

Justine was danced by Romany Pajdak and Henry by Valentino Zucchetti.

I assumed it Was Romany Pajdak recognition wise but didn’t actually hear who was replacing Isabella Gasparini. Sad not to see her- is she injured?

[penelopesimpson]

Do you mean the Director of Media blah blah also works at the BBC?  

 

Yes, the BBC's obsession is tiresome but there are at least some caveats.  Firstly, they are wholly publicly funded and, secondly, they have such a wide variety of programmes that it is reasonable to expect that they attempt to reach a younger audience with some of them.  But ballet and opera are always going to be niche and it just so happens that that niche is, generally speaking, amongst more mature groupings.