Propose a full primary market research project

Propose a full primary market research project suitable for your client – Virginia Symphony Orchestra (VSO). Below is the Program Overview & Goals, Proposed Goals, Stakeholders as well as Research Objectives.  Research Questions have also been established below.

Provide Executive Summary that reflect only your method (mine is Survey).  Items below (bullets) should be included within the executive summary (500-750 word) and a PowerPoint presentation (see PowerPoint template).

• What does your client need to know to best achieve their goals? What are some clear objectives for the market research you are proposing?
• How can we transform what they need to know into clear, concise research questions (RQs)? Think about both perception/reception and portrayal methods.
• What methods (minimum 3) are suitable for studying those research questions?
• What sample is suitable for each method, and how do you suggest getting that sample?
• Outline how you would conduct the method. If you’re suggesting a content analysis of social media, events, or newsletters, for instance, what codes would you use? If you’re suggesting a comparative textual analysis of websites, what taxonomy would you use? If you’re suggesting focus groups or interviews, provide the interview guide. If you’re suggesting a survey, provide the questions and scales. Etc.
• Explain what you hope to learn from the way you conducted the method. How would you analyze the data? What exactly are you looking for? (e.g., correlations among data, trends in responses or analysis, clear differences that explain something specific, etc.).

Program Overview & Goals

The purpose of this market research is to gather valuable information about the needs of the market, consumer behaviors, and identify potential market challenges faced by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra (VSO).  The VSO is the largest performing arts organization in southeastern Virginia and is the only full-time professional symphony orchestra serving Coastal Virginia. For more than 100 years, the VSO has served as a cultural cornerstone of Southeast Virginia, committed to fostering a dynamic, accessible, and creative community. The VSO is the foundation of the performing arts community in the region and regularly collaborates with other arts organizations, providing the professional musicians for partners including Virginia Opera, Virginia Arts Festival, and Richmond Ballet.

The VSO has received national attention for its unique mission serving a home area of 1.7 million across the diverse communities of southeastern Virginia. Through appearances at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall and commitment to adventurous programming, the VSO and its musicians have been highlighted in the media including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio and BBC Worldwide News.  The VSO performs more than 150 concerts and 100 educational and community engagement events annually for more than 100,000 residents and visitors.  In collaboration with Old Dominion University, the VSO has created a new African American Fellowship Program for four early-career orchestral string musicians to advance the goal of increased diversity of orchestral musicians nationwide.  The VSO’s collaboration with Old Dominion University is one of the only programs of its type in the country that enhances music education for students by providing hands on instruction with the VSO’s professional musicians. And, just this past year, the VSO performed its first-ever sensory-friendly concert to expand access to people on the autism spectrum.

Since 2016, the VSO has significantly expanded its strategic vision by deepening its education and community service beyond presenting concerts.  Other recent innovations include health and wellness programs, including interactive therapeutic experiences for people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and adopting welcoming concert environments for those who are neuro-diverse.  The VSO has been recognized nationally for striving to reflect the region’s ethnic and racial diversity in its members, its programming, and its leadership.

Proposed Goals

1. Provide unique insight into the expectations of exiting donors and prospective donors/participants and tailor marketing strategy to meet VSO’s specific needs.
2. Identify better/additional channels to reach customers/participants.
3. How does the VSO target audience feel about attending the concerts and what barriers do they feel are impacting their desire to attend?
4. Better understand market demographics and identify channels that can yield best return in terms of lead generation and revenue.
5. What is driving a decline in concert attendance to include decline of donors, subscribers, aging audiences, and issues related to the decline of arts education in public schools?
6. How well does the VSO communicate via the various social media platforms leveraging industry best practices?
7. How effective does VSO communicate compared to its competitors?
8. What are the facts that have caused audience attendance in classical music to decline in the past decades?
   • Identify participant needs and preferences
   • Identify neglected market segments
   • Identify characteristics of young

Stakeholders:

• At risk people
• Public Audience (attendance)
• Non-profit organization
• Donors/Visitors
• Current donners/visitors
• Orchestra

Research Objectives

Background – would be issue (macro and micro) and stakeholders /audiences

*Address what we hope to get of the research market

The symphony orchestra in the United States has struggled with different challenges as a whole has changed over the years and have encountered new challenges and opportunities to attract a broader audience.  Productions are costly, corporate funding continues to diminish, and music education has disappeared from public school curricula due to tight budgets over the years.  Some contributing factors to this change are also changes in social values, changing generational lifestyles, and the prospective audience’s perception of classical music concerts.  The younger demographics may be less concerned with the significant role of symphony orchestras and concerts in the American cultural.  The declining audiences may threaten the future success of symphony orchestras.  In order for the VSO to survive, they need to identify these challenges and adapt their programming and marketing to maintain their existing audience and donor base and identify ways to attract new and broader audiences in order to increase attendance at VSO performances.

Research Questions (RQ) Specific: among YYYY audiences

• RQ 1 – What do current donors identify as barriers and incentives to attending a VSO performance:
  • Method 1: Focus groups with donors
  • Method 2: Surveys with donors
  • Method 3: Interviews

• RQ 2 – What do military service members identify as barriers and incentives to attending a VSO performance:
  • Method 1: Focus Groups
  • Method 2: in-depth interview (IDI)
  • Method 3: Observations (ethnography) of service members at a VSO performance
  • Method 4: surveys with service members

• RQ 3 – How does current and perspective donors respond to VSO’s social media presence and website
  • Method 1: Focus groups with current and perspective donors
  • Method 2: IDIs with current and perspective donors
  • Method 3: Surveys with current and perspective donors

• RQ 4 – How does service members respond to VSO’s social media presence and website
  • Method 1: Focus groups with service members
  • Method 2: IDIs with service members
  • Method 3: Surveys with service members

• RQ 5 – How does ODU students respond to VSO’s social media presence and website
  • Method 1: Focus groups with current and perspective donors
  • Method 2: IDIs with current and perspective donors
  • Method 3: Surveys with current and perspective donors

• RQ 6 – How does ODU students to VSO’s social media presence and website
  • Method 1: Focus groups with ODU students
  • Method 2: IDIs with ODU students
  • Method 3: Surveys with ODU students

• RQ 7 – How does the VSO communicate with various stakeholders via various online platforms (e.g. social media platforms, business websites, and/or E-Newsletters).
  • Method 1: Focus groups with donors
  • Method 2: Surveys with donors
  • Method 3: Interviews

• RQ 8 – What factors is driving a decline in concert attendance to include decline of donors and ability to attain new subscribers.
  • Method 1: Close textual of the business web platforms
  • Method 2: Content analysis OR textual analysis (E-Newsletter)
  • Method 3: Content (social media, 3 months of Instagram and Facebook)

• RQ 9 – How is VSO attracting a younger audience to concerts to appeal to the segment of the population to less likely the converts?
  • Method 1: Close textual of the business web platforms
  • Method 2: Content analysis OR textual analysis (E-Newsletter)
  • Method 3: Content (social media, 3 months of Instagram and Facebook)

Chosen Method 1: Survey (Farah)

• Method Details (Sample and Execution):
• Desired Results/Analysis:

*Incentives to conduct the surveys:

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Incentives can include cash, gift cards, ticket discounts, entries into a prize drawing, or free concert subscription.