“It worked, finally, our business! exclaims Dominique Violette, from the Carrefour international de théâtre, on the phone. The Festival des arts vivants de Québec, which ended on June 10, tried this year a very first experience of “inclusive pricing”. The spectator decided for himself if he paid his ticket $47, $33, $17 or $0. Without being asked any questions or asking for an ID card. The goal ? Open the theater wide. Allow people who don’t go there because they have less means to also have their assigned place in the stands. Successful bet, according to Mme Violet.
“We don’t yet have the fine detail of the analyses, but we can already see that we have had new buyers who were not in our database”, relates the general manager, Dominique Violette, her voice hoarse by the post-festival fatigue.
“We saw it in our rooms, too. We looked at the public and we said to ourselves Ah! That’s not our crowd usual! It feels good. It’s fun. And we sold more tickets than in 2019, ”continues the director.
Were these new viewers the ones who benefited the most from the lower rates? “We don’t know yet. This will be later, in the detailed analyses. »
Still, the challenge was won without loss: 80% of the initial financial target for the ticket office was achieved “and it was quite ambitious, especially compared to the risk we were taking”, underlines Mme Violet
We looked at the public and we said to ourselves Ah! That’s not our usual crowd! It feels good. It’s fun.
The two “medium fares”, the one at $17 and especially the one at $33, are the ones that have sold the most. “But there was everything, all the time. We had a show where we saw a lot of $0 tickets coming out, which really interested a new audience, and we wondered if we should put restrictions. Worse, we answered no. We decided to keep our promises. We reaffirmed ourselves along the way, as we went along. We trusted each other and things ended up balancing out. »
Nearly 40% of performances at the Carrefour international de théâtre were sold out. Phaedra! (Francois Gremaud), H+ (Astronaut Theater), The Kerouac method (Parking Level and Rhizome theater) and Angle dead (Stéphanie Morin-Robert) captivated the public, spontaneously names the director. In addition to the new pricing, “we are also seeing changes in spectator ticket buying behavior”, clearly transformed by the pandemic.
“ [Pour] in front Blind spotfor example, it’s crazy how people waited until the last minute to get their tickets, says Mme Violet. Scissors (Crying Dans’Douche) also, it worked really well: the last performance was full. »
“My hypothesis, she says, is that the person you go to with the $0 tickets, saying, ‘Money is no longer a problem, come on, come on!’ well, she doesn’t necessarily know what to come to see, and she also still wants to see something good. »
“People are left alone with their choice, even if the ticket is $0. Reviews and word of mouth have always had an impact, but maybe more this time around. As the festival progressed, it was seen that $0 purchases increased. We saw the momentum. »
Create pride (and donations)
Two collateral effects appeared. An increase in donations from individuals when purchasing tickets, a new phenomenon for Carrefour and not yet quantified. And a wave of love for this novelty of solidarity ticketing, which we could see streaming on social networks.
“Hey, that was noticeable! There vibes that we received from volunteers, who are on the ground and always in contact with the public, it was so much fun! Everyone was proud of this gesture… benevolent?…. I hesitate because the word is a little too fashionable, but we really felt it. And we really felt useful. »
The Carrefour international de théâtre has already announced that it will hold this box office next year as well. With some tweaks and adaptations. On formalities, for example, “to make sure that no one can buy several $0 tickets and then resell them. We don’t think it happened, but we want to be sure it can’t happen. »
Is this an example for other theaters to follow? “It’s not for everyone, tempers all the same Mme Violet. It depends on your situation, your audience, your position in the calendar. It requires giving up the subscription. »
“In terms of organization, it requires a lot of vigilance, day-to-day ticketing monitoring, and therefore time. For a festival like us, yes, it’s worth it and we’re going to do it again. Could a seasonal theater afford to do that? I don’t know. »
“But hey, we’ve been discussing the issue of audience loyalty for years, we’ve been telling theaters that we have to build loyalty, build loyalty, build loyalty! And that we also discuss the renewal of audiences, as if they were two separate issues, two different issues. »
The pride, solidarity and commitment that the Carrefour international de théâtre has generated with its inclusive pricing this year may indicate that the two issues must ultimately be considered together, we understand by listening to Mr.me Violet.