Eye on the Esplanade: Reaching out to you
By Tobie Laliberte on September 3, 2021.
“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.” – Oscar Wilde It’s almost Fall. It feels like Fall, and even though we’re all busier than in the summer, I love it! School has started, registrations for activities are in full swing, stores have made room by clearing their back-to-school products for Halloween, maybe even Christmas (insert eye roll). Homeowners are frantically finishing outside projects, plans are being made for this or that, and activities at the Esplanade are ramping up. As a marketer, that’s where my mind goes when – what our audiences are doing at this time of the year. Thinking of our audiences when creating content is one of our top priorities at the Esplanade, and that’s the “easy” part. The problem resides in making sure we reach the public for specific programs, events, exhibitions, and shows. It becomes particularly difficult when there is such a variety of offerings. The patron that buys tickets to the November 9th show of The Washboard Union may or may not be interested in registering their children in the Fall Art Classes. Visitors taking advantage of our Pay What You Will admission to the galleries and visit What’s Old is New may or may not want to research in the Archives Reading Room. What I never like to hear is: “I wish I would have known this was going on”. Unfortunately, it happens, but it’s not for lack of trying. We try to let the whole community and beyond know all that we have to offer through a variety of channels: traditional with the help of our local media, and digital with our website, social media, email, etc. However, even though we cover our bases in terms of promotions, trying to reach everyone is like trying to reach no one so, we have come up with a specific target audience for all that we do. That persona connects to a variety of other groups or demographics allowing us to have both a broad or more specific reach depending on the type of activity we are focusing on. That being said, we are realistic and know that even the group we are trying to reach may not see our content among all the other content out there or be so busy that our methods are not enough. If you ever feel like you don’t hear enough from the Esplanade, please connect with us and let us know how we can improve! Because tailoring our approach so that you can enjoy our community’s arts and heritage is what we do! Tobie Laliberte is Marketing & Promotions Coordinator at the Esplanade 13-12
