Understanding audiences and marketing theatre

Theatre has been described as a sociological public event that begins and ends with the spectator ( Bennett 1997 , Elam 1980 ). This definition has implications for how the traditional marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion) is applied to theatre: If theatre begins and ends with the spectator, then the audience’s role must be central; if theatre is a sociological event based around producing experiences for the public, then it needs to be marketed in a way that is commensurate with sociological norms. Insights from social, event and experiential marketing can assist theatre marketers in applying a version of the marketing concept tailored to these norms. Indeed, as an emerging discipline, arts marketing owes much to these niche disciplines, as it does to wider fields of inquiry such as psychology and consumer behaviour.