Friends of Covent Garden Membership Renewal

[capybara]

1 hour ago, ninamargaret said:

I've not received this, it's not in my junk file and I go to opera when I can afford it! So who's it going to?

Clearly a chosen few, including Alison !

[alison]

I usually only seem to get the mainly-opera stuff - although on re-checking I see I did get the ballet one that you did, late on this afternoon.  It's like the old days when they used to send me the booking-period brochures, along with a little piece of card with 3 operas they'd picked especially for me (none of which I was remotely interested in, usually!)

[JohnS]

7 hours ago, alison said:

3 operas they'd picked especially for me (none of which I was remotely interested in, usually!)

Perhaps the ROH’s marketing was spot on? They knew you’d book again for those operas you’d previously attended without any special prompting but if they could interest you in just one or two different ones, that’s a result.

[alison]

Except they would have been needing to do it for ballet - there was no guarantee I'd have booked any opera a second time

[Blossom]

On ‎28‎/‎04‎/‎2020 at 23:14, capybara said:

Unfortunately, when it might have been expected that the ROH would be  a key player in connecting with its audience, I have found its offerings meagre - certainly in comparison with many far smaller dance/arts organisations.

 

Thinking about it and seeing how a lot of dancers are working with e.g. Bloch to run online classes or are doing interviews with social influencers, I would imagine that a lot of dancing staff are on furlough.

20 hours ago, alison said:

 

Seriously, though, if the ROH is genuinely interested in "opening up", this is a huge opportunity for them to reach potential new audiences, and lead them step by step into discovering more about the art forms, surely?  They have plenty of content all there ready to go ...

In terms of the digital premieres on facebook, one consideration is probably digital rights to broadcast online. I remember when I used to work with publishers to create video content on behalf of my advertising clients, digital rights were completely separate. Thinking about their content partnerships with the BBC and the likes of Marquee TV, maybe they don't have the rights to distribute themselves online.

 

So here's a proposal for you all, who is in?

We know the ROH has lots of content, but should we consider ourselves key influencers  (i am sure our non-ballet friends would consider us to be) for the Royal Ballet and share some of their best bits? I

We could start a thread specifically for this to share some of the great content with introductory blurb, highlighting what's officially available on Sky/YouTube/Facebook for the ROH and all British companies. We could all share the same content at the same time and make it a weekly or twice weekly thing (or promote their Friday premieres, ENB's Wednesday watch parties and then agree on 1 piece of other content to share weekly).

Essentially we can be the digital version of the Royal Ballet in wartime, showcasing as much as possilbe to the length and breadth of the country, to generate new audiences to keep the ROH and others in business!

 

[SPD444]

Having started this thread regarding extending Friends membership renewals because of the lockdown and lack of performances. For completeness I have received a reply from the Opera House which I copy the relevant part below.

 

"Whilst your membership is a donation, we are aware that many members choose to join us in large part because of the benefits which we give in thanks for your generosity. We are in the process of evaluating how best to manage the delivery of these benefits and assessing a range of options for recognising your support whilst we are closed.

 

I would be so grateful if you please bear with us while we consider your request for an extension of your membership until the completion of this work; we will be in touch in due course.

 

My thanks again for your generous support of the ROH, we are reliant on your donation now more than ever."  

 

So, they are considering all the options.

 

[capybara]

2 hours ago, SPD444 said:

 

So, they are considering all the options.

 

 

That's nice note which should really have been going out as a matter of course as part of any renewal reminder.