The Sydney Symphony A presentation by Victoria Doidge Director Market Development

1. The Sydney Symphony A presentation by Victoria Doidge Director Market Development

2. THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY • Is Australia’s flagship orchestra • Is a 70-year-old brand and a leading Australian cultural institution • In 1995 was corporatised as an independent organisation from its parent company the ABC • Performs over 100 concert per annum at our home the Sydney Opera House and regularly tours regional NSW • Has a highly respected education that reaches 28k students per annum • Concerts are attended by approximately 350,000 per annum Company Purpose The Sydney Symphony will enrich the cultural identity of Australia by performing great orchestral music with a distinctive style and presenting the highest quality musicians: our performances will entertain, educate and inspire audiences.

4. INCOME ANALYSIS

5. CORPORATE PARTNERS

6. THE PROGRAM-LED RECOVERY In 2001 the Sydney Symphony was confronted with: • A dramatic decrease in ticket sales • A loss of major sponsors owing to economic downturn • Perceived changes in audience buying trends – specifically down turn in subscription acquisition In 2002 Sydney Symphony conducted extensive market research in the area of customer segmentation which has underpinned a company-wide strategy called the Program-Led Recovery. Performances of core repertoire are now accompanied by less traditional programming styles targeting new audiences.

7. AUDIENCE RESEARCH Research was conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres Using • Focus groups • Qualitative research Outputs • Identification of audience segments • Measurement of satisfaction levels

10. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT The Sydney Symphony now uses its customer segmentation analysis to underscore its product development. It presents ten series of concerts each year to focus on its core segments – the Electrolux Masters series targets the conservative consumer; the Morgan Stanley Music series targets the emerging-audience segment In addition it has created a new arm of ‘commercial’ programming that focuses on audience growth to the developers and spectaculars segments – Valentine’s concerts and collaborations such as Dionne Warwick

11. MEDIA BUYING AND CREATIVE Total media spend in 2003 was $1.137M and resulted in approx $10M in ticket sales Media buying and creative is geared towards segments: • Older conservative consumers respond to traditional media channels SMH, 2UE, 2GB • The trialler segment responds to less traditional media such as cinema, online, outdoor • The Big Night Out segment is geared toward more corporate media – Financial Review, BRW, Bulletin, TV

12. CHALLENGES Current marketing challenges include: • How to attract new audiences and appeal to a wider range of segments • How to optimise its customer life cycle • Reinvent its subscription model for a contemporary audience • Increase its yield per seat with finite inventory • Control marketing budgets in an increasingly shorter selling cycle (more sales later in the cycle creates pressure to spend)

13. CURRENT STRATEGIC PROJECTS FOR THE MARKETING TEAM Audience Satisfaction – develop tools to measure satisfaction Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – develop or acquire the appropriate software to interface with our ticketing system Brand Audit – consult all stakeholders in a brand audit process and set guidelines B1 Audience Growth – grow understanding of this emerging audience 2004 Opening Night – a seasoning opening event that is a landmark in Sydney’s annual calendar Dynamic Pricing – trial dynamic pricing for select high demand concerts

14. 2003 RESULTS The Program-Led Recovery showed strong positive results in 2003: • The company will announce a substantial surplus in its annual results • Single ticket sales have grown by 35% year-on-year • Corporate partner revenues have increased substantially • The ROI from the marketing $ improved significantly • Strong foundation of media relationships – such as Herald Sun CD