Contemporary Canadian Marketing Cases 5th Edition Solution by H.F. (Herb) MacKenzie -Test Bank

Contemporary Canadian Marketing Cases 5th Edition Solution by H.F. (Herb) MacKenzie -Test Bank

Instant Download – Complete Test Bank With Answers

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

MacKenzie, Contemporary Canadian Marketing Cases, Fifth Edition
Teaching Notes
Case 5: The Writers at Woody Point Festival
Case Overview
This case illustrates the growth challenges experienced by the Writers at Woody Point Festival in Woody
Point, Newfoundland. Since its inception in 2004, the festival had grown significantly in terms of box
office sales and memberships. Reading and musical events sell out within hours after the tickets go on
sale in May, almost 15 weeks before the start of the festival. As a result, in 2010 the festival expanded
from a four-day to a five-day event. While additional reading shows had been scheduled concurrently
with other reading shows, the demand was still higher than the supply, as the additional shows also sold
out quickly, leaving out large numbers of potential festival visitors without tickets.
Stephen Brunt and the board felt that it was time for the festival to adopt a formal marketing strategy that
could provide long-term economic sustainability for Woody Point and the other nearby communities. The
marketing strategy had to evaluate the festival’s customer base and recommend new revenue streams and
customer segments. Apart from the brochures, community announcements, website, and word-of-mouth
advertising, the Writers at Woody Point Festival did not have a marketing plan. This marketing plan had
to re-evaluate current product, pricing, distribution, and promotion strategies.
Courses and Learning Objectives
The Writers at Woody Point Festival case is suitable for Introduction to Marketing, Marketing
Management, and Marketing Strategy courses at the undergraduate or graduate level. It may also be used
in general management courses to discuss issues associated with tourism, cultural tourism, sustainable
economic development, and social business.
The objectives of the case are to encourage students:
• To explain the characteristics of literary festivals and the role of these festivals in providing local
economic development and tourism revenue for small communities;
• To understand the nature of these festivals as social enterprises and the challenges they face to
create a sustainable business;
• To do a SWOT analysis of the festival;
• To assess the customer base of the festival and propose new customer segments;
• To do a competitive analysis of other literary festivals;
• To suggest new revenue streams for the organization;
• To propose a marketing strategy;
• To review the current marketing mix and develop a marketing plan.
Research Methods
This case is based on field research. Additional information was gathered through database searches of
publicly available documents. The marketing plan format used in the assignment questions and answers
section is based on a modified version of the template outlined in Armstrong, Kotler, Cunningham,
Mitchell, and Buchwitz, 2007 Marketing: An Introduction (2nd edition). Instructors can also use marketing
plan outlines found in other textbooks.
MacKenzie, Contemporary Canadian Marketing Cases, Fifth Edition
Teaching Notes
Assignment Questions and Answers
Suggested assignment questions are listed below. Instructors may also want to develop their own
questions to suit the objectives of the course.
1. Prepare a SWOT analysis.
2. Prepare a competitive analysis of what other festivals have been doing to generate a revenue
stream.
3. Evaluate the festival’s customer base and suggest a marketing strategy.
4. Develop a marketing plan for the Writers at Woody Point Festival.
Answers
1. Prepare a SWOT analysis.
Strengths
• The Writers at Woody Point Festival creates economic development for Woody Point and nearby
communities in the Gros Morne National Parks (GMNP) area
• Board of directors are committed to the success of the festival
• Since 2004, the festival has grown significantly in terms of sales and memberships [students
should generate histogram tables, see Exhibits 1 and 2.]
• Tickets for the shows are sold out in early May, 15 weeks before the start of the festival in mid-
August
• Literary and music shows have proved popular
• Gary Noel and a network of community volunteers assist in the running of the festival
• Festival is able to attract sponsorship funds and government grants
• Customer base consist of adults, over age 40 and baby boomers, over age 55 who are interested in
literature, culture, and the arts
• Addition of folk, jazz, and traditional Newfoundland music concerts attracts younger customers,
age 18 to 35
• The festival has developed partnerships with other festivals in the GMNP area, such as Gros
Morne Summer Music Festival, Trails, Tales & Tunes Festival, and the Theatre Newfoundland
and Labrador youth programs
• As a non-profit organization, the festival has been generating financial surpluses
MacKenzie, Contemporary Canadian Marketing Cases, Fifth Edition
Teaching Notes
Exhibit 1. Box Office Sales from 2004–2010
Exhibit 2. Membership
Fees from 2004–2010
\
MacKenzie, Contemporary Canadian Marketing Cases, Fifth Edition
Teaching Notes
Weakness
• Heritage Theatre has limited capacity
• Festival has a reputation that it is difficult to get tickets
• Tickets are sold only through telephone
• Revenue streams mainly generated through literary and music shows
• Festival lacks formal marketing strategy and marketing plan
• Board unaware of how other literary festivals generate revenue streams
Opportunities
• Festival can expand by adding more literary shows to the program. For example, assuming 160
paid customers @ $20/person (+10 volunteers in the building), one show generates approximately
$3,200. Adding a third show on Thursday and Fridays and one more on Saturday, translates into
an extra $9,600 in sales
• Inclusion of more music concerts that attract a different customer segment (age 18-35). Concerts
are held at the Heritage Theatre. Adding an extra concert generates additional $3,200 per show
• Explore holding new literary events or music shows in other venues such as at the Royal
Canadian Legion building, the local high school, outdoors, and boat reading tours
• Explore holding literary events throughout the summer as a way to smoothing the demand
• Introduce new events such as comedy shows, films, art, and multimedia shows
• Expand literary events targeted to children and high school students. While this events should be
free to children, a fee ranging from $5-$10 could be charged to parents and adults
• Explore selling promotional items and other official festival merchandise
• Explore setting up a festival bookstore
Threats
• Heritage Theatre is privately owned and the board has no control on the building
• Winterset in Summer Writers Festival competes directly with Writers at Woody Point Festival in
Newfoundland
• Weather can affect outdoor activities
• Success of festival depends on volunteers
MacKenzie, Contemporary Canadian Marketing Cases, Fifth Edition
Teaching Notes
2. Prepare an analysis of what other festivals have been doing to generate a revenue stream.
All literary festivals generate revenue from ticket sales. Dinners with writers and membership fees are
also common revenue streams, with workshops, promotional merchandise, and books clubs as other types
of revenue streams (See Exhibit 3). The Writers at Woody Point should introduce workshops into their
product offerings. These workshops could be held in a different venue, such as the Legion or at the local
high school. The Frye Festival and the Saskatchewan Festival of Words also generate revenue through
sales of promotional merchandise. The event coordinator, Gary Noel, has considered the sale of
promotional merchandise. Promotional merchandise offers customers a souvenir of the event, but
merchandise can also serve as publicity of the festival. The board could approve the sales of small items
such as coffee mugs and t-shirts to supplement poster sales.
Exhibit 3. A comparison of revenue streams of other Canadian literary festivals
Festival Membership
fees
Promotional
merchandise
Book club Dinner
with
writers
Workshops Ticket
prices
Writers at
Woody Point
$10, $100 &
$500
X $20
Ottawa
International
$20/month $15 – $20
Frye Festival X X X X $10 – $30
Vancouver
international
$35 X $17 – $33
Winterset in
Summer
X $10 – $20
Cabot Trails $20 & $60
passes
Shelburne X X $20 – $25
Blue
Metropolis
X $7 – $20
$45 pass
Read by the
Sea
X X $15
Saskatchewan
Festival of
Words
$10 $10 – $25
$160 pass
Sunshine
Coast Festival
of the Written
Word
X X $15
$85 & $250
passes
Thin Air
Festival
$12
$35 pass
Wordfest X X $6-$25
MacKenzie, Contemporary Canadian Marketing Cases, Fifth Edition
Teaching Notes
3. Evaluate the festival’s customer base and suggest a marketing strategy.
The festival customer base consist of adults, over age 40, and baby boomers, over age 55. These
customers are educated and have an interest in literature, culture, and the arts. They enjoy reading books
and may be fans of particular writers. Most of the customers who come to the literary shows are couples
or a pair of couples.
As the festival grew, the board introduced music shows that not only targeted its niche customers, but
also attracted a new customer segment, age 18-35, who was less interested in the literary shows. From
folk music, the festival gradually expanded to offering jazz and traditional Newfoundland music concerts.
While new events such as comedy shows could further differentiate the festival and add new customer
segments, it could be done only without alienating the festival core customers. Therefore, for now the
board may consider a marketing strategy that continues to target the festival’s core customers (adults over
40 and baby boomers over 55), while growing the younger customers (age 18-35).
With the festival expanding to six days in 2010, the board felt that the event should stay at this limit for
the near future. The first two days of the event are music concerts and the festival may want to experiment
with reading shows Wednesday. The Wednesday reading shows may not attract more tourists, but it will
give a chance for local residents and members, who are not able to get tickets, an opportunity to attend a
show.
The festival may also want to introduce reading shows that are targeted to a younger audience, such as
high school, college or university students as a way to build interest in literature amongst youth. An
outreach event was held at a local high school before, and additional reading shows could be held at the
local high school.
4. Develop a marketing plan for the Writers at Woody Point Festival.
The Writers at Woody Point Festival has grown with minimum marketing. The board has identified
product offering and venues as challenges to overcome in order to maintain the economic sustainability
of the event. The marketing mix needs to take into consideration new customer segments, product
diversification and penetration as additional revenue streams.
Marketing Plan
Product
The first additional revenue stream is to modify the existing programming for the 2011 Writers Festival
and incorporate more events such as reading and music shows into the schedule. There is room in the
schedule to increase one reading event at the Heritage Theatre on Thursday and Friday. As capacity at the
Woody Point Heritage Theatre becomes saturated, additional venues should be explored, such as the local
high school and the Legion to accommodate new shows targeted to the core customers (adults and baby
boomers) and the younger customers (age 18-35).
MacKenzie, Contemporary Canadian Marketing Cases, Fifth Edition
Teaching Notes
One or two more boat tours can be added into the 2011 program. The Boat Tour is an excellent
opportunity to provide the festival with a chance for the writers and musicians to interact with festival
fans. Capacity allows 99 in total. The boat tour may include readings of authors or a musical act and the
price could be higher than the $40 that was charged in 2010.
To target customers (age 18-35), the festival could add smaller music concerts that can be played
outdoors (weather permitting) and in between the reading shows. Holding some outdoor events allow the
beauty of the area to mix with the talent of the writers for an incredible experience while at the same time
increasing revenue streams. Also, workshops could be held at the local high school or at outdoor events.
A writing contest for local students may attract young writers and their parents to the festival, especially if
the writing contest is judged by writers attending the festival.
An opportunity for additional revenue lies in selling branded promotional products directly to festival
participants. For nonprofit organizations, these items are a way to allow participants to take away
something tangible and also advertise the festival. The items may be displayed at main events in high
viewing locations for purchase. Depending on the popularity of the items they can also be sold on the
festivals website in the future. Customers may be willing to pay extra for a product if they know the
money is going to benefit the organization. Furthermore, choosing products with a higher perceived value
than their actual cost, and items that best relate to the customer are ideal. Merchandise such as stainless
water bottles, travel mugs, notebook and pen set as well as soft goods such as t-shirts and hoodies may
provide additional revenue for the organization.
Pricing
The majority of the shows in the Heritage Theatre are $20 per person and all tickets are immediately sold
out. There has never been any hesitation for ticket purchase by customers due to price. It is estimated that
raising prices by $5.00 per event, which when combined with increasing programming by one show per
year increases box office revenues by 25%. For example assuming 160 paid customers per show at $25
per ticket would generate $4,000 in sales versus $3,200 at $20. As a way of smoothing the demand, the
Board could experiment with a two-tiered pricing structure based on shows. For example, bringing a high
profile author as a special guest could justify a higher ticket price, say $40 per person.
Another option to increase revenue is to increase Supporters membership fees, from the current $10 per
member to $20. Membership benefits could be enhanced by offering a percentage discount on
merchandise purchases. Also, offering incentives to existing members such as referral programs may also
lead to an increase in membership numbers.
Place
Ownership and control of the Woody Point Heritage Theatre by the Friends of Writers at Woody Point
can ensure that the festival will continue to grow and expand. Moreover, ownership of the building allows
the board to experiment with new shows and events that can add to the success of the Writers at Woody
Point Festival. From a community perspective, ownership of the building by the Friends of Writers at
Woody Point strengthens the relationship between the festival and Woody Point. It can also serve as a
means to creating new tourism-related projects, as well as generating additional revenue streams from
rental of the facilities.
MacKenzie, Contemporary Canadian Marketing Cases, Fifth Edition
Teaching Notes
Promotion
The Writers at Woody Point Festival has successfully used word-of-mouth to promote its events. Articles
in mainstream media, as well as the feature by Noah Richler help consolidate the brand image of the
Writers Festival.1 The website for the festival and other social networking channels such as YouTube,
Facebook, and Twitter can be used to further promote the event. However, local publicity may also be
needed to help increase the number of volunteers and community participants that make the festival run
smoothly.
Another feasible option is to dedicate an area of the website 2 to featuring a new book each month as sort
of an interactive book club. This could include commentary from the writer and offer a forum for readers
to leave comments.
Teaching Plan
This case can be assigned to undergraduate and graduate students as a hand-in, or as a class discussion
assignment. Students would be expected to analyze the case using qualitative and basic quantitative
analytical tools. For a 75-minute class discussion, the focus may be on deciding a marketing strategy and
assessing current and potential new customer segments. Also, students should suggest new revenue
streams for the festival. In a longer class, students can evaluate the current marketing mix and suggest
potential changes to the marketing mix. As a hand-in assignment, students should develop a marketing
strategy and a marketing plan that can guide the festival for the next three to five years. At the graduate
level, students could discuss the role of literary festivals in sustaining local economic development, as
well as attracting tourists-related revenue. The instructor can also lead the students into a discussion on
cultural tourism, social business, and the characteristics and challenges faced by literary festivals,
specifically on the issues of financial sustainability.
Epilogue
For the 2011 Writers at Woody Point Festival, the board decided to introduce gradual chances. The issue
of ownership of the Woody Point Heritage Theatre was identified as one of the top two priorities. The
board set a goal to raise new funds that would be used specifically towards the purchase of the building.
As of December 2011, the project is still on-going. The other priority was the development of a marketing
plan that could be fully implemented in 2012. Events targeted to new customer segments were also
introduced. For example, an art exhibition and a film festival were incorporated into the 2011 program. A
community breakfast was also held to raise funds for the local fire brigade. The duration of the festival
was extended from six to seven days to accommodate an extra concert. Ticket prices were raised to $25
per person. There were no changes to promotion activities.
1 Richler, Noah (2010). Best of Canada’s Literary Festivals: A list. Accessed online April 28, 2011.
http://mediacentre.canada.travel/content/travel_story_ideas/lit_fests.
2 http://writersatwoodypoint.com/