Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ALHAMRA ARTS
COUNCIL
MARKETING FOR NPO
MOHSIN ABBAS
MEHREEN RIZWAN
MAHWISH ZAHRA
MARIAM TARIQ
SAAD ZAHID
ALHAMRA ARTS COUNCIL
MARKETING PLAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Alhamra Arts Council is the only place where Lahori Art can emerge and get discovered.
Alhamra arts council is a non-profit organization and is striving for the betterment of Pakistani
arts in all possible ways. It’s a semi-privatized organization and relies 60% on government funds.
In this report, we have suggested a series of marketing techniques for Alhamra and tried to
position it and see where it stands in the market. Questions that we have answered are of the
type: What do people think about Alhamra, is it doing its job perfectly? Moreover, we did the
SWOT analysis and also conducted market research to view Alhamra’s current performance and
have redesigned a whole new marketing strategy for it. According to us, Alhamra should be
completely privatized by now and should rely on its own resources to sustain itself. It is high
time that Alhamra explores new art dimensions and expands all over Pakistan. It should open
new branches and improve the same old techniques of arts. Double shifts should be made for
teaching music, drama etc and more rooms should be constructed. It should start advertising
itself and engrave themselves in people’s minds. There should also be a contingency plan incase
competitors enter the market.
We have suggested all the possible ways that Alhamra can change themselves according to the
dynamic conditions of the country. Alhamra has always been this way since its inception and it is
high time that it changes for the better now.
INTRODUCTION OF ALHAMRA
Final Term Project: MNPO Page 2
ALHAMRA ARTS COUNCIL
MARKETING PLAN
Alhamra was built in 1979 by Nayyar Ali Dada. It is a semi government organization, with 60%
being owned by the Government and 40% by the private sector. Its board of directors consists of
18 members, of which 6 are official members while the rest are all famous actors, musicians,
writers and artists.
Alhamra has many crucial functions. Some of which include: To promote Music, Drama and
Fine Arts, to promote and preserve the art traditions and give opportunity to artists from all
genres and showcase their creativity, to develop and maintain facilities for all forms of arts and
to provide professional technical/audio-visual aids, to establish an academy/school of performing
arts, to institute and award scholarships, diplomas, grants, loan, aid or other assistance for
furtherance of arts, to conduct cultural fairs, festivals and other related activities in art & crafts
within Pakistan or abroad, to document the performers and their performances, to establish
museums of musical instruments, folk-heritage, archives, gallery/museum of contemporary art,
library including audio-visual library, to publish books, periodicals, brochure etc. conducive to
the attainment of aims and objectives of Lahore Arts Council .
The best part of Alhamra is that everything is done for free. Unlike private galleries, No
commission or rental fees are charged for exhibitions. The eligibility criterion for these
exhibitions is also very stringent and a panel of judges sits and decides whether a particular
exhibition can be showcased or not. The concerts, plays and shows are normally also free.
However Alhamra no longer creates its own plays. There are performances by outsiders and
almost 6-7 original, well scripted and well performed plays are allowed to be showcased. The
regular stage dramas attract almost 1000 people a day. The entrance to these is free and although
they are of low quality, they are not vulgar.
Alhamra's funds are generated mostly by the government, and also private plays, concerts and
shows which have tickets. Some minimal funds are also generated by the classes that Alhamra
offers at a rate of Rs. 300 per month.
The Executive Director is In charge of the entire Alhamra Arts Council and gives approval of all
programs and exhibitions held at the premises. All matters pertaining to finance, security,
programming, legal and administrative matters are in his realm. He is also the Secretary of the
Board of Governors. All personnel and Departments of Alhamra comply/report to the Executive
Director.
The Alhamra Arts Council comprises of two complexes that are approximately 8 km apart. One
is on the Mall Road or Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam and the other known as the Alhamra Cultural
Complex is situated at the complex of stadiums at the Gaddafi Stadium.
This Department has two galleries one in each campus of Alhamra. The gallery in the Alhamra
Cultural Complex Gaddafi Stadium is known as the Permanent Art Gallery and houses the
collection of paintings, prints, sculptures and ceramics owned by the Lahore Arts Council. A full
time curator looks after the collection and other affairs pertaining to the Permanent Art Gallery.
The other gallery is known as the Alhamra Art Gallery and is part of the Mall Complex. It is a
gallery that hosts short term exhibitions; these are on the national and international levels. A
person, group or organization can apply to have exhibitions of their art work by writing an
application and providing his/her CVs and a CD of their work, it is preferred to see some of the
work in original. Provided that the work is to a standard, dates for exhibition are given with
mutual consent of the artist and gallery. The space and services provided by the Alhamra Art
Gallery are free of charge (for art based exhibitions only) and no commission is charged on sales.
The gallery is headed by a curator who deals with all the bookings/reservations of the gallery.
2. PROGRAMS DEPARTMENT
The sphere of activities of the Alhamra Arts Council is vast and varied. The halls and theatres are
occupied all year round and the people of Lahore enjoy a plethora of informative and
entertaining programs that range from music, theatre, festivals, literary (book launchings, poetry
reading, seminars, lectures & discussions), school programs and government organized
programs. This department is headed by a Deputy Director who oversees all activities of the
auditoriums. To apply it is required that an application be written giving details of the program
plus duration along with script, cast etc.
3. ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT
This Department handles all finances of the council, income expenditure etc. The Audit &
Accounts Officer also oversees the annual audit of the Arts Council. Payments are made with the
sanction and approval of the Executive Director.
5. LIBRARY
The Alhamra Arts Council has a library equipped with books on art, music, theatre and much
more. All leading newspapers cuttings pertaining to art & culture can be seen and read there.
This is not a lending library but is there for reference. A full time librarian is available for any
assistance or help
Alhamra, if privatized will surely produce more artists, discover more talent and publish more events. As
more and more attention will be given to this sector than it is being given now. It is Lahore’s biggest arts
council and really needs a change in the management, more educated personnel’s are needed to run this
big council and to cope with the emerging talent.
TRADITIONAL SUPPORT:
Traditional support is normally considered as government subsidies or grants, corporate giving and
private giving. Alhamra should not say NO to these sources, but it should not rely on them totally. Being
a privatized organization it should be able to hold the expenses its is occurring and even generates sales
and gain a normal profit , which is enough to sustiain Alhamra’s expenses. Sponsorships and grants are a
big help but if Al hamra decides to totally rely on these sources it will soon be facing a downfall or
negative profits. Since our country’s condition is not well socially, politically or in any other way. We
stand no where in the world, so it is obvious that this sector will be ignored in such times of agony. So
self support for alhamra is vital now, and traditional approach to sustain should be made optional.
• CAUSE-RELATED MARKETING:
Alhamra should show the cause of their marketing and prove themselves that they have a very
valid reason to promote themselves and also the country needs them.
• VOLUNTARY/CIVIC MODEL:
Alhamra has seen people working for the greater good for free or volunteering. It shows that even
the services which aren’t available from the government can be fulfilled by the voluntary work.
• PHILANTHROPHIC PATRONAGE:
Alhamra, by its work, plays, drama, and events make people realize that there is still need for
more and its should be the responsibility of the arts lovers and the people who can afford it and
they should take steps to promote it.
• COMPETITIVE/MARKET STAGE:
- Individual willingness to share
-The generosity of the wealthy
- The largess of federal, state and municipal governments
Although Alhamra is not facing any kind of competition at the moment but they should be
prepared for one. Competitors can take any shape, there should be a contingency plan to
survive in that case.
Alhamra should focus on ‘exchanging’ services rather than taking money or funds. Because an
exchange only takes place when the target audience takes some action, which the ultimate
objective of marketing, i.e to influence behavior
Alhamra is a customer centered organization, relatively. But it should focus more on satisfying its
customers in all possible ways.
The critical planning reality is where the organization as a whole aspires to go. Mature
organizations have a well defined set of strategic planning process. It’s also very important for
organizations to rethink and reformulate their aspiration from time to time. And they are usually
expressed in three statements, mission, objectives and goals.
MISSION:
the basic purpose of organization it is trying to accomplish. They have to be motivating , distinct
and feasible
OBJECTIVES:
major variables that the organization will emphasize social impact, market share, growth and
reputation. The direction in which the company will go
GOALS:
breaking down the objectives into specific benchmarks with respect to magnitude, time and
responsibility. This entails specific tasks to be done in order to achieve the objectives
The mission statement of AAC is feasible but not distinctive and motivating. It needs to
inspire people and has to be unique that sets it apart from other organisations
To develop and maintain facilities for all forms of arts and to provide professional
technical/audio-visual aids.
To promote and preserve the art traditions and give opportunity to artists from all genres
and showcase their creativity. To document artists and their works.
To institute and award scholarships, diplomas, grants, loan, aid or other assistance for
furtherance of arts.
To conduct cultural fairs, festivals and other related activities in art & crafts within
Pakistan or abroad.
To publish books, periodicals, brochure etc. conducive to the attainment of aims and
objectives of Lahore Arts Council
CULTURE CONFLICT:
One of the major conflicts a non profit organization undergoes is the clash of social service
culture with corporate culture. As for the Alhamra Arts Council(AAC), the management doesn’t
feel the need to incorporate the corporate culture as they strongly believe they are a separate
league altogether since they are providing services almost free of cost. Only the private functions
or events earn them rents Also that they are doing services for the expression, exploration and
nurturing arts which is hugely funded by the government support, so the beaureucratic approach
reigns supreme which negates the corporate culture which promotes customer centric approach.
The approach of Alhamra Arts Council is very organization/product centric as they feel the
customers will come to them naturally. Therefore even minimalistic promotions and advertising
ill get them the required number of audience.
One of the main reasons AAC is still pursuing the social service culture is the lack of resources
which curtails the geographic and service expansion. Almost 60% of the funds are being
acquired by the government and 40% of the funds are being generated through the rents of the
halls for various events of private organizations. Due to this fact, AAC doesn’t have the required
financial resources to expand and incorporate the corporate culture.
Also due to another fact that the social service sector allows you the freedom to do anything i.e
less or no scrutiny at all and no accountability and the corporate culture encourages people to
think out-of-the box, to produce results and entails a strict scrutiny of various administrative and
financial affairs therefore AAC is still pursuing the social service sector and has no intention to
incorporate the corporate culture in near future which can only be introduced when theres
enough room and resources to expand.
AAC like any other organization is operating in an environment that is constantly changing and
evolving. Hence it becomes important for it to analyze the position where it stands amidst the
volatility. The external environment tells what is feasible and possible and also the constraints
within which a organization has to operate. And the internal environment helps understanding
the loop holes and the organizations capabilities to cope with the challenges it is faced with. A
tool to measure the strength and weaknesses of the company and the opportunities and threats it
is going to face, is the SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
Location
The location where AAC is situated has historical importance attached to it. Also the
architectural design by Nayyer Ali dada is unique and elegant, depicting the essence of art to
it.
Good reputation
AAC has good reputation attached to it. the name itself is associated with quality driven
services. We can say that AAC has a good positioning in the minds of its target audience due
to the kind of services it had been providing in the past and present.
Cost leadership
One of the biggest asset for AAC is cost leadership. It is providing art classes for Rs 300/-
only, something which is not being provided by any of the institutions around. Also the other
events which are being hosted at AAC are done free of charge except for any event that is
charging through tickets.
AAC is probably the only institution that hosts art classes where aspirant artistes come and
learn various things and that too for nominal fee.
Weaknesses
No vision
The management is blindfolded to the emerging indirect competition which makes them
unable to formulate any strategic marketing plan to combat the competition. There is no
plan to expand or to improve the current services being provided.
No CRM model
AAC is a typical product centric organization that focuses on its products/services and
not on the target audience. Theres a belief that people will keep on coming to them as
theres no alternative available as such and the fact that AAC is providing services that no
other organistaion has done all under one roof, keeps their focus away from their target
audience which is slowly waning and being taken away by other organisations
Opportunities
marketing and offering services to various segments that could garner them expanded
target audience base which in turn can help them mainitaining finances at a reasonable
level
Threats
Indirect Competition
Although the management feels that they do not have a competition with any of the
institutes directly or indirectly involved with arts. But the studies have shown that AAC
faces enterprise and service competition from other institutes like Lahore Arts Council,
Chitrkaar, Peeru’s, Lahore Museum, HunerKada and even cinema/theatre are a indirect
competition for AAC all of these are providing various services and activities that are
related to arts
The internal environment analysis entails analyzing the organsational capabilities to deal with the
ver changing external environments and modification of strategies due to the volatility of
external variables. It also tell us what a company can do and the boundaries/constraints under
which a npo has to operate
The funding system consists of 60% government supported funds and 40% funds are generated
through renting the halls for various events.
Keeping the demands of the changing environment in mind and the field AAC is related
to,requires technological support as well. Currently, All the equipment is in the process of
upgradation
Adequate number of administrative staff is employed. Also various trainers/teachers for different
art classes are employed.
There are different departments in AAC, namely Fine Arts Department, Programs Department,
Administration Department, Audit & Accounts Department, Library. The reasons for not having
a Marketing Department for promotions and advertising is that the management thinks marketing
is purely a commercial activity that negates the spirit of AAC which is not working on
commercial basis. Also they feel that advertising Alhamra is pointless because they already have
ample no. of people coming there for different events or classes, the demand is met by adequate
supply of services and also that theres no other place like AAC which is offering myriads of
services under one roof and people already know about the institution. Moreover it is felt the
electronic media is very expensive. Due to lack of funds, AAC is unable to afford such
marketing tactics.
MARKETING MIX
Pricing
Pricing has been kept competitive and reasonable. tickets are charged for the private
events and npo events are hosted free of charge. The fee for art classes is Rs.300/month
Promotion
Promotions are done only through print Ads, Road banners, Hoardings and Hall
Announcements
Placement/Expansion Plans
Due to increasing demand, AAC has plans to further expand locally at ravi and few other
places in Lahore
1-Market environment
Segmentation, targeting, Positioning of current market
Various segments of our society are considered to be the target market of AAC. The main
audience AAC is currently catering to is artistes, poets, actors, musicians, writers,
children, general public, politicians, lawyers and aspirant artistes. AAC is a brand itself
which is always associated with good theatre and quality driven events, so it has a strong
positioning. It only needs to build and rely on its strengths
Consumer perception
Not a lot of people are aware of services AAC is rendering and that too on nominal fee.
AAC needs to undertake a mass marketing campaign to create awareness and gather
strong audience base which is still untapped. Also by hosting quality driven events in the
past, AAC has earned itself a good reputation in the minds of its target audience.
2- Economic environment
The economic condition has less or negligible effect on Alhamra’s sales and promotion but the
recent unstable law and order situation did take away a chunk of foreign audience that used to
come for its theatre. And also the target market consists of people from different social strata’s,
the pricing has been kept competitive and quite reasonable which almost everyone can afford. So
the economic downturn had negligible effects
3- Competitive environment
Although the management feels that they do not have a competition with any of the institutes
directly or indirectly involved with arts. But the studies have shown that AAC faces enterprise
and service competition from other institutes like Rafi peer theatre, Lahore Arts Council,
Chitrkaar, Peeru’s, Lahore Museum, HunerKada and even cinema/theatre are a indirect
competition for AAC all of which are providing various services and activities that are related to
arts and are taking away a chunk of audience. As the management is oblivious of any
competition consequently theres no current strategy to tackle the emerging competition which
needs to be taken care of.
4- Public Environment
The major publics involved for AAC is its target market/clients,Donors (government and private
public),General Public and Mass Media
COMPETITIVE STRATEGY:
Alhamra Arts Council(AAC) is following the two strategies proposed by Porter, which is
Cost leadership
AAC doesn’t charge anything except for the tickets for certain events. The fee charged by
various arts classes is only 300/month. As the funding is mainly supported by
government, Therefore no other organization has been able to provide all these facilities
under one roof for such nominal charges.
Differentiation
AAC is differentiating by being able to provide all these services which are not currently
provided by any other institute in such an organized manner. The art classes introduced in
AAC is offer differentiation as no other institute as been able to do so whereas promoting
the organization as the one rendering services in order to encourage arts is image
differentiation
Understanding the target market is very important for an organization. Only through
understanding your target audience will help you in formulating services that could cater
to their needs. A customer centric approach helps great deal in understanding the target
audience behavior and perception. Alhamra Arts Council is typically a
product/organization centric institute where the common belief is that people would come
to them no matter what as the institution is unique in image and offers services that no
other organization has been able to come up with. However it is important to understand
the target market of Alhamra Arts Council. Following is the model through which we can
understand the mindset and behavior of AAC’s target market
AAC’s target market is at the top of Maslows need hierarchy , where the esteem needs
are to be fulfilled. as all the below levels of physiological, social and safety needs are
already being fulfilled. People coming for the entertainment or participating in any other
activity that connects to arts is exhibiting the target markets need for recognition and
status.
Dissimilar
By offering new products and services to existing markets an organization can do three things, it
can either penetrate the market through market expansion or through inducing patronage
switching by those already in the market. It can decide not to grow significantly but to become
more efficient and it can either choose to maintain the status quo.
Secondly if we look at cells 2 and 3, an organization can seek out new markets for its existing
offerings by adding market segments that are similar to their present markets or can either add a
dissimilar market segment which is a very challenging task in itself. Furthermore the npo can add
new offerings that are relatively similar or relatively dissimilar to their present offerings. In
either case they can focus on existing markets (cells 4 and 7), similar new markets (cells 5 and 8)
or dissimilar new markets (cells 6 and 9).
Alhamra in as we know by now is offering a variety of services which are really not marketed
well so in Alhamra basically needs to firstly adopt a market penetration strategy. Which means
that it should keep on offering the services its currently offering to all its current market in a
more effective and efficient manner. So that their currents market/existing markets can
completely benefit from their existing products and services. Alhamra should also be exploring
similar markets, by adopting market extension strategy. As it’s situated in Lahore which is the
hub of Punjab and Pakistani culture, it would also benefit if it branches out in other different
cities of Punjab too so that the culture and heritage of Pakistan can be expressed in those cities as
well. Alhamra can surely develop new offerings and can serve its existing market with it. For
example Alhamra does not offer Acting Classes in theatre; it can opt for this so that the aspiring
actors can join in and train themselves for theatre. It should also offer stage designing and
costumer designing for people who like to learn design and work as stage/costume designers for
different plays and shows. It can also start giving lessons as to how to write script and stories for
dramas and plays and it can ask the renowned artists and scriptwriters who are part of Alhamra
to assist them in this. If Alhamra continuously adopt this offer extension strategy, it can in future
move on to continuous diversification strategy as well.
Offer development is also something Alhamra needs to look into, for example it can go into
different arts schools around Lahore and setup offices in there. It can arrange workshops there
and can ask for volunteers/students to come in and contribute towards different departments of
Alhamra or can arrange plays for those schools and take in actors and then show the plays in
their own halls. There can also be so many other offers which Alhamra can develop and branch
into.
To be successful in developing new offerings the organization must be both creative and
systematic. The first stage of the process is to generate ideas for new offerings. This can involve
careful searching of available information or attempts to create new ideas through artificial idea-
generating techniques. Once the ideas have been produced it should then screen them and
eliminate those that do not meet established organization goals.
Alhamra can generate ideas from the artists who are a part of Alhamra or students who learn
music and dances at Alhamra. It can ask them to give ideas as to what should be launched, what
should be improved, what is that would attract more people etc. it can get ideas from competitors
such as Lahore Chitarkar Society and Lahore Arts Council as to what they are offering which is
different from Alhamra. It should continuously be looking at the magazines, newspapers to to
gauge important information related to its field so that in future it can benefit from that
information.
It can take ideas from the producers and directors of other dramas and shows, as to how they
should arrange shows and what kind of stories they should produce themselves and what kind of
stories would people like to see. What different things they can afford to show etc.
Alhamra should have a proper panel of experienced and qualified individuals who should screen
those ideas and eliminate those which are irrelevant. It can then focus on to what is the most
important one and what is that will benefit it the most in the long run.
The next stage involves elaborating the idea into a concrete concept that can be subjected to
formal testing. The concept if successful must then generate a specific marketing strategy which
in turn must survive a rigorous business analysis. The final stages of the development process
then involves specific offer development and market testing followed by a carefully
commercialization process.
After Alhamra has screened those ideas and has chosen the best one, it can produce several
different concepts from that idea which does not have to be equally attractive but still have to be
applicable and practical. Then it can test those concepts in the actual market by a survey
research. It can form questionnaires for each concept and test them in the market and gauge
customer reactions and perceptions about the new idea. Afterwards a specific marketing strategy
is to be formed on the basis of that idea. Then after all the necessary procedures of testing the
idea is to be commercialized that means it should be formally introduced in the market. Now 4
basic questions have to be answered before launching the product in the market.
They are when to launch, where to launch, whom to launch and how to launch. Alhamra should
be very careful in addressing these questions before launching a new offering because if these
questions are not observed, the whole new offer idea can be devastated which will not be
beneficial for it. When to launch include factors such as the removal of an existing old
programme, or launching in a peak time etc. where to launch means that does it need to be
marketed in a wide geographic area or just a small area. For whom to launch consists of factors
like is the idea to be marketed to the overall target market or just to a limited number of people.
And how to launch includes how much marketing as per media, billboards etc is needed. So the
whole point is that the idea and the strategy should be effectively communicated to the target
market.
New offerings follow an S-shaped pattern over their life cycle. They move through introductory,
growth, maturity and decline stages.
The strategic issues facing the the non profit marketing manager differ across these stages. That
means that at every stage the manager has to take different decisions regarding the idea.
For example;
• Introduction - the managers should decide the best time to enter and focus on potential
customers who are the readiest or most able to buy
• Growth - as profits increase managers should watch for decelerating rate of growth
In the introductory and growth stages the manager must first be concerned with securing trials of
the new offerings. 5 target audience groups maybe identified on the basic of when they are likely
to enter the innovation adoption process. First are the INNOVATERS who will try almost
anything that is new and who are often considered odd by the rest of population, they can usually
be ignored by the marketing manager. The second group the EARLY ADOPTERS cannot be
ignored because they are the opinion leaders who influence the next large group, THE EARLY
MAJORITY. THE LATE MAJORITY enters next and pays less attention to others in making their
decisions to adopt and must be convinced that the new offering is not a fad. The last group the
LAGGARDS can typically also be ignored. So the point here is that Alhamra should consider all
kinds of target markets as it basically targets all age groups and social classes. It should divide its
target market among these 5 broad categories and then look into each of them accurately. As to
which segment needs to be focused more and which needs to be ignored.
Marketing Environment
Sophisticated modern nonprofit organizations like Alhamra Arts Council recognize that their
most important resource is the knowledge they possess. Such knowledge must systematically be
developed at the organizational level-as well as for specific campaigns.
Target Market
The target market of Alhamra Arts Council is quite diversified. From students interested in arts
and culture and emerging artists and the youth that is interested in plays and concerts to a class
which watches stage dramas. Alhamra does not believe in marketing. They are using no
marketing channels to advertise and it’s a fact that majority of the people don’t even know about
Alhamra’s offerings and all that is being offered over there. Since they have no competitors as
such they have never even bothered coming up with a proper marketing strategy. Competitors
like Lahore Chitarkaar, Lahore Arts Council, Rafi Peer Theater and to some extent the cinemas
that are attracting the majority of our youngsters. Alhamra is affected by certain macro
environmental issues as Alhamra attracted a large number of foreigners but due to the current
situation in Pakistan nobody wants to come here. People are afraid of going to places for such
activities. Alhamra does not advertise through media. They do not print any ads in the newspaper
or television.
Alhamra has an internal Reports system. They keep record and track of all the artists who’s work
is displayed in their galleries. They maintain all the records of people who have acted in their
plays and stage dramas. They keep a file with a list of names and addresses of all famous artists
and contributors. They maintain a file which keeps track of all the money that has been spent on
direct mail, salaries and the minimum advertising that they have done. They also make sure
there’s a book that records complaints of everyone and alerts the management about them. The
internal records system is a major source of insight into how the organization is performing.
Alhamra does not have a market intelligence system. Since they don’t even believe in marketing
to begin with thus a market intelligence system is alien to them. This system if implemented
would do them good as it would give them an idea of perception of people that are inside and
outside the organization. Alhamra should routinely carry out market research studies. The
management should occasionally commission specific qualitative or quantitative marketing
research studies to learn how the organization is positioned in the minds of key publics. If
Alhamra compiles the data that it gets from internal reports systems, the marketing research
system and market intelligence system it can be turned into knowledge that managers could use.
They can increase their target market and offer services that the general public wants. This way
more and more people would be attracted towards Alhamra.
A “backward” research design process is also recommended for Alhamra. Here the research
manager first looks to the decisions to be made using the research results and then works
backward to design a study that would best inform such decisions.
Using this type of technique, Alhamra will able to determine what report format would best
inform such decision most managerially useful information. The report form would then suggest
the type of analysis needed, which in turn would specify how the data are to be collected and
processed.
For Alhamra’ s qualitative research, in-depth interviewing or focus groups, can be useful in
identifying a problem; gathering background for later quantitative studies; interpreting past
studies; pretesting advertisements; offering concepts, packaging, and brochures, and generating
ideas for new offerings, services and advertisements. Other techniques for keeping research costs
low are experimentation, low-cost sampling designs, and the use of secondary data and volunteer
assistance.
Snowball Sampling.
During the various visits to Alhamra and meetings with the management there we learnt that the
management there kept track of all the important people and celebrities that participate in various
activities at Alhamra. Through them they gain more and more contacts and references and later
they call these people as chief guests or honor them at their functions and the public is attracted
to such events.
Before Alhamra decides to develop a marketing strategy for itself, it needs to decide whom it is
designing the strategy for. Whom it wishes to target and who it wants to be affected by that
strategy strongly. The segmentation of the audience is the first step towards becoming a target-
audience oriented organization, followed by choosing targets and then developing a positioning
strategy. In the process of segmenting markets it needs to identify bases for segmenting the
market, develop profiles of resulting segments and develops measures of segment attractiveness.
In order to develop a sophisticated segmentation approach, there are two stages to be recognized
and followed. Firstly Alhamra needs to conceptualize and research into identifying and
describing the groups it may wish to target. This is known as developing market segments. It
requires choosing among the different bases for segmenting the market, developing profiles of
those segments, and then developing measures to attract the respective segments.
Dividing up Markets
Alhamra might have divided its market but it has not particularly aimed towards the proper
segmentation process by dividing its market according to mutual exclusivity, exhaustiveness,
measurability, reach ability, substantiality, and differential responsiveness. Alhamra basically
concentrates on the youth of today. Helping the young emerging artists by giving them a
platform to display their talents. On the other hand Alhamra has its set clientele that has been
there for years. A certain class that enjoys stage dramas. The bases for segmentation are general
or behavior-specific, objective or psychological. As a nonprofit, Alhamra has to consider the
simple objective general measures of segmentation first like age, generation, gender, income,
geographical location, and marital status. Alhamra attracts a large number of foreigners as well
as people from all over the world who are visiting Lahore get to see the different cultural sides of
Pakistan all in one place through their galleries, musical evenings, plays and shows. Alhamra
does not relate to measures like social class, lifestyles and psychological measures while
segmenting their marketing. There’s a certain class that visits Alhamra on very regular basis for
the stage shows. On the other hands there are the youngsters interested in plays and come to
Alhamra everytime a play is being shown.
Targeting
• mass marketing
• differentiated marketing
• niche marketing
• mass customization
The approach that Alhamra is following is undifferentiated (mass) marketing. They do not target
different sectors or different social classes or ages. They are doing mass marketing. If they print
an ad or do any sort of marketing it is going to be for everyone and not for particular target
market. It is not asking for any special target audience thus mass marketing concept sits well
with its present situation.
Positioning
There are several positioning strategies that Alhamra could follow. Some of them being
understanding the present position, understanding the position of the competitors, deciding on
how offerings should be differentiated and making the positioning known. The positioning of the
Alhamra requires research on the target audience perceptions of relevant behaviors and the key
dimensions on which the perceptions are based. The present positioning of Alhamra is in dire
need of development so it can make an impact on its target audience.
with that. A purpose built building in the heart of Lahore is a major strength which they can
make use of. Secondly being the most known arts council without any major competitors is a
strength as well. They are majorly being funded by the government which is a benefit to them
therefore they need to utilize these funds on more marketing and expanding their target market
and holding such events and activities that would attract more and more people towards
Alhamra
Identifying the competition is very important for Alhamra. Competition for people's time-rather
than for their money-is often the most serious obstacle to success. What other attractions are
targeting the potential visitors? Knowing the answer to this question will lead to important
marketing decisions.
These measures include past behaviors of people that are said to be an indicator of the degree of
responsiveness to be received in the future. Thus, the measures used would include:
Occasion:
Alhamra can take into account the type of people who attend its events and exhibitions. By doing
so, it will be able to identify the various types and age group of people who are likely to attend
again and it can include them in its future segmentation. When launching campaigns, these
people can be targeted as well as those who come under the similar demographics.
Doer/Non-Doer Status:
This would include those who are regular in paying their donations to various other nonprofit
organizations for the good and development of that organization. Alhamra can segment such
groups of individuals as it can be expected that once they are given the information regarding the
museum’s activities and future plans, they can involve them in the activities too.
Usage Rate:
Markets for Alhamra can be segmented according to light, medium and heavy user groups for the
offer which can include visitors. Determining the demographic characteristics and habits of
visitors and aiming the marketing programs towards them can be fruitful. Also, medium and light
visitors and contribution-givers can be included and marketed to more strongly.
Loyalty Status:
To build a permanent clientele, Alhamra needs to try to keep the old customers rather than aim
towards making new ones. But as the existing ones are not on a large scale, finding a target
audience that can remain deeply loyal to the cause of Alhamra is difficult and a long term
process. It takes time and effort to build the trust of its market and assuring that what it promises
to deliver.
• Social class
• Family life cycle
• Status change
• Life styles
• Geoclustering
Psychological Measures
In order to find out more about the character of the target audience, what they are like, what they
think and value, psychological measures need to be developed. Alhamra requires going deeper
into researching about the personality and values of its audiences, and then moving on to find out
about their current knowledge, attitudes and intentions. These are as follows
• Personality
• Values
• Knowledge and Attitude
Now we come towards how Alhamra can facilitate marketing behaviors and what areas it needs
to look while facilitating these behaviors. Marketers must find ways to make behavioral
opportunities convenient and personally pleasant and rewarding. This involves developing
channel strategies to bring behavioral opportunities to the target audience and “occasion
strategies” to make the actual encounter entirely reinforcing.
Channel Strategy
“A channel is a conduit for bringing together a marketer and a target audience member at some
place and time for the purpose of facilitating behavioural opportunities.”
Alhamra’s main channel which is specifically uses is its building that is where it is currently
located. It only uses this channel to provide its services. It has one other branch in Gulberg which
is called Alhamra Open Air Theatre. But this branch is only responsible for renting out halls for
different stage dramas and shows. So in actuality Alhamra is only using one channel to distribute
its services and that is of its own. We can assume that due to the shortages of fund its unable to
branch out or use other channels but still we can quote several examples of other low funded
NPO’s which are using variety of low cost channels to market themselves so Alhamra can do this
as well.
There are a number of strategic problems that apply to all channel decisions;
• Direct versus Indirect marketing; the npo must decide whether to carry out channel
services within its own organization or with outsiders.
• Length and breadth of the channel structure; the npo much decide on the number of
levels to be interposed between the production of the offer and its eventual exchange
with target audience members and also the total number of different channels or the
number of elements to be included at each level of the channel
• Allocation of functions; the npo needs to decide who will handle the several channel
flows
• Recruiting channel members; the npo needs to know how to recruit and motivate channel
members
• Coordination and control; the npo must develop systems for coordinating and controlling
various channel members in the system.
In our opinion Alhamra should be using indirect channels to deal with their target audience
members and use intermediaries. However using direct channels can be advantageous to
Alhamra because the whole control of the marketing activities will remain with the entity itself.
But still Alhamra may not have the required funds to market everything themselves so a need for
intermediary is important. Even if it has funds it is better that it uses those funds on other areas
than on this thing.
As we explained earlier on, Alhamra is using only one outlet to market itself and this can be
termed as an economical decision for Alhamra as using more outlets because a lot of money and
Alhamra needs to spend money on other areas as well. So we can say that Alhamra is better off
by sticking to only one outlet but in the long run it would be better to branch out. Alhamra is
catering a mass market so it should also be distributing its offerings widely so that it can be
reachable to everyone in its target market.
We proposed that Alhamra should indulge in indirect marketing, now this obviously can lead to
problems of coordination and control with the intermediaries. As the intermediary will have
different perceptions and goals which may be inconsistent with Alhamra’s policies and
procedures. Alhamra can opt for three diffract coordination strategies in order to achieve
maximum results.
• Requiring intermediary cooperation through use of coercive and legal power such as
contracts etc
It can also cooperate with the intermediaries by the use of formal contracts which specify in
lesser or greater degree the rights and duties of each party. These contracts can cover specific
functions.
Occasion Strategy:
The other major facilitation challenge is making occasions easy, emotionally satisfying and
rewarding. The requires attention to atmospherics and customer reinforcement. Often target
audience needs to be taught how to rewards themselves.
Now we know that Alhamra represents the culture of Pakistan. By showing the culture to the
people in a creative manner it can give them an emotionally positive experience. It can bring
everyday stories and portray them on shows and dramas. It can bring social causes on stage and
enlighten people as to what is happening and what is not. By doing these kinds of activities it
will provide its customers with an experience which they can relate to. It can organize cultural
events and setup and decorate the whole building in a beautiful way so that the people coming in
get attracted towards it.
We all know that Alhamra has such a beautiful building, if it’s decorated with lights it can
become so attractive that it can even attract people passing on the roads and paying a visit to it.
So Alhamra should always decorate its building like this so that it registers itself in people eyes
and they remember it. When organizing events it can decorate its building even more with
different colours and drapes and banners so that it becomes attractive to people
Alhamra is located on a nice and convenient location in Lahore that anyone can easily visit it and
can have a look at what Alhamra is all about. One important thing that needs to be mentioned is
that normally Alhamra gates are not open for general people or visitors. Its only open when there
is a show or an exhibition. Alhamra should try and open it gates for everyone at all times of the
day so that people can come in and have a look at everything Alhamra is doing. It should be
welcoming visitors and even try to make its building a tourist attraction. All these things will
help people get more and more aware of Alhamra and its services.
There are six steps through which Alhamra Arts Council AAC can develop an
effective communication strategy
5) Choosing a medium
As identified earlier AAC is at the Precontemplation stage, where the audience need to
be educated about the organization itself and the services it has been providing. The
target audience is aware of AAC but does not really know what are the primary
functions of AAC and the myriads of services and events it hosts.
Therefore the first step would require making our target audience aware of the
importance of arts and preservation of our culture. Since in a society like ours, we do
not attach great importance to arts and almost are indifferent towards our culture
whereas these two fields, if exploited in a beneficial way, can bring about monetary
and non monetary benefits to our country. This awareness campaign can be held in
form of seminars, publishing articles, putting up ads that glorify the cause, radio ads
that can be easily related to.
The next step is to increase the perceived social importance of the behavior. That can
be done by the role-play acts, making a short film on our culture and the artistes that
have been associated with the field of art and worked for its glory.
roof, the services provided and the events being held. How each and everything is
funded by its own etc. and this can be done through sending brochures, making
customer centric advertisements that can highlight the desired behavior of the
audience.
Fourth step includes influencing the media to cover the issues and support the desired
behavior. The media personnel have a great reach to people at large and have a very
strong influence on the minds of audience. talk shows hosts, newscasters and other
analysts working for media can influence the behavior of our target market. For
example, making it a topic of debate for some of the most watched talk shows can
bring about favorable results
The next step in formulating the objectives and goals of communication programme is
to change the perception about sponsoring organization, which is the government in
AAC case. This is a very difficult task to do, since the association of government with
any activity, organization or event makes it highly dubious since the credibility of our
government is quite low. People are put off and highly demotivated when they come to
know the event has governments share of interest involved in it, be it a charity or fund
raising programme of any kind. This can be achieved by educating people how the
government has taken the initiative by patronizing arts and culture in our country since
the majority of funds are being given by the government. All of the above mentioned
steps should highlight this factor as well, in their communication programme.
The last step involves influencing the funding agencies. As mentioned earlier, the 60
percent of the funds are being donated by the government and the rest of them are
generating by AAC itself through renting the halls to private organizations. In AAC
case the major funding sponsor is the government and the second one is the private
organizations or the general public. Government can be influenced by having
meetings and presentations with them which highlight the increasing demands and
how they have been met by AAC and the subsequent need to expand both
geographically and financially. The same can be applied to private organizations
where the importance of having private sponsors can be highlighted by underlining the
benefits a sponsoring organization can get from this type of association
Once the objectives have been defined and outlined by AAC, then we can come to the
stage where we could select what specific messages are to be transmitted out to the
public and target audience. The message generation involves developing various
alternative appeal themes, motifs and ideas from which the best can be chosen
The best way is to use the Rational, Emotional and Moral (REM) framework for the
selection of certain ideas to be communicated
The emotional messages are designed to stir up some negative or positive emotions in
target audience that will motivate the desired behavior. Using the guilt, fear and shame
appeals especially in connection with getting people to start or stop doing things can
really bear positive fruits. The emotional messages can be conveyed in advertisements
where we could blame ourselves for distancing from arts and culture due to which
these thriving fields have been dying a slow death.
We tend to neglect all those messages or information that does not interest us. Or some
way they frighten us. And the responsibility of overcoming selective attention is on the
creative specialists working for the NPO’s (the advertising agencies or in-house
marketing units). These specialists have several variables at their command in
designing an effective communication message. The style, wording, tone, order and
format of the message have to be in line with NPO’s theme/image.
Slice of Life:
AAC showing an artiste, how he has become one great artiste, how his talent has been
polished and nurtured, how his talents got a platform through AAC.
Lifestyle:
A lifestyle of a passionate artiste, how he likes to spend his time, what he would like to
do throughout the day, the people he meets, the things he does etc.
Fantasy:
An aspirant artiste dreaming about winning various competitions at a national/global
platform
Mood:
A painter creating an image on the canvass in morning amidst a flowery garden
Musical:
An artiste dancing to the tunes of classical folk music
Personality symbol:
A famous figure or celebrity enjoying music, classical dance or a theatrical
performance
Technical expertise:
An artistes speaking about his technical expertise, how has learned it and how it’s
being utilized by him
Testimonial evidence:
An artiste who has been given fame by the platform provided by AAC, talking about
this institution as to how it has helped him discovering and polishing his talent.
CHOOSING A MEDIUM:
The target audience can be reached through personal or impersonal communication
vehicles such as
To be successful for any organization be it a profit or a nonprofit organization, the brand must have a
distinctiveness. Branding for Alhamra requires making it clear that an organization’s branded offerings
can serve several roles as shown:
Reflect a
unique
social
contribution
Comprise a
Promise
to target
audiences
and
stakeholders
Reflect the
organizations
Mission and
values
In case of Alhamra, its brand image should be such that it should have a distinctive media voice, evoke a
service which is different from what the rest of its direct/indirect competitors are offering. It should evoke
a sense of tradition so that it can represent its country all over the world. The steps that Alhamra should
follow in order to reposition its marketing strategy are:
Step 1
Step 2
Conduct Qualitative Research
to understand competitive
Conduct Qualitative Research
brands
to understand competitive brands
Step 3
Conduct Quantitative
Research
to understand market
position of
competitive brands
Step 4
Determine current market
Position and change where
necessary
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Alhamra needs to identify its target market to which it is catering the most. Their main target
market is the youth of Pakistan, whom they want to encourage to excel in the field of arts. These
include the students and young professionals. Other than that their target market is also the adults
who go to alhamra for the traditional music, ghazals etc. It also incorporates those people who
are fond of arts and exhibitions. These are the people who are the target market of Alhamra and
it needs to understand them in order to what its brand need to do. Alhamra’s branding should be
such that its target audience start valuing the brand, assign credibility to it and become loyal to
Alhamra.
Other than this Alhamra also needs to identify its competitors whose brand image it needs to
understand. For instance Alhamra needs to find out if people are going to the Museum or Rafi
peer theatre or Lahore Arts Counsel, what are the main reasons for that. Alhamra needs to find
out the difference between its brand and all these others. If people are going more to Rafi Peer
for the same musical nights and puppet shows etc that Alhamra is offering than the reason for
that needs to be found.
For this one of the options for Alhamra would be to conduct a qualitative and quantitative
research among the target audience in order to find out how they perceive Alhamra’s brand as
compare to the other brands of its competitors. This is the only way that Alhamra would be able
to find out where they stand in the minds of their target audience and whether they are satisfied
with it or not. Only then they can define the desirable position they would want to be in and work
towards that goal. This position should not only be for the target audience but the Government as
well which happens to be the only donor of Alhamra. Approvals should be taken from the staff
and a strategy should be developed according to that.
Brand
Symbol
Name
s
Spokes-
Logo person
Brand
Slogan The Promis
e
Look
BRANDING DETAILS
The LOGO
The logo of any organization represents the look of the organization. The logo of Alhamra needs to be
designed with the help of experts so that it represents all the aspects attached to Alhamra. It needs to be
very creative and artistic as Alhamra itself serves as the hub of Arts and Culture.
The SLOGAN
The slogan of Alhamra is LIVE YOUR CULTURE represents the services that Alhamra is offering but it
is not recalled at all since it is not marketed. Alhamra needs to do more marketing of its slogan so that
everytime people hear of it, Alhamra comes to their minds.
THE LOOK
The look of Alhamra is not consistent as it doesnot represent anything specific about Alhamra. They
should make sure that simple things like their posters, banners have a consistent look so it should convey
the same message and the recall factor is also there.
Spokesperson
Since Alhamra deals with all the top celebrities and their shows one way or the other on regular basis,
they can use any of these top personalities to be the spokes person for Alhamra. This would add to the
brand value of Alhamra and its target audience would be able to associate it with spokesperson. One thing
that is very critical is that the person to be chosen for the spokesperson should have credibility before the
audience and should not be a controversial personality at all.
PRODUCT MARKETING
Core Product
The main features of Alhamra are the benefits that its target audiences are seeking and what need
it is satisfying. Alhamra has the perception of being a place that provides entertainment to its
target audience in the form of Ghazal nights, Plays, stage dramas, puppet shows etc. One of the
major benefits that Alhamra is providing is teaching of music, dance, art to the young generation.
Alhamra should advertise it as being a part of its core product
Tangible Product
Features
The Alhamra marketers can add features like
1. Showing special cultural programs during the holiday season to attract foreigners. This
should be advertised throughout the year in order to make it an event that people can look
forward to
2. Alhamra can give different items as giveaways after their special shows like T-Shirts,
show cds or any form of souvenirs.
3. Alhamra can open up a souvenirs shop within the Alhamra premises so that all those
people who come for a show can buy the souvenirs on their way back. This would be a good
source of income for Alhamra.
4. Alhamra can open up a café somewhere near their halls so that people can sit there and
eat during the intervals of the shows or before the show starts. This can also be a very good
source of income for the organization.
Quality
Alhamra needs to focus on the quality of the events that are being held their. This adds to the
credibility and image of the organization. It should make sure that the stage drams, plays,
exhibitions being held there are serving the main purpose of LIVE YOUR CULTURE. These
should be the best quality and family events that should portray our culture rather than vulgarity
and lame issues.
Branding
Once the quality is ensured, Alhamra will be able to attract a huge target audience and can
generate much more funds.
Augmentation
Since Alhamra is one place where so many events take place under one roof, it can offer its
target market additional services and benefits. For instance it can offer free passes to those
people who are taking some king of music, dance or arts classes from Alhamra. The can be
offered a package which could include the training and also access to Alhamra’s different events
at lower prices or complementary basis.
SERVICES MARKETING
Alhamra can make the intangible services tangible by paying special attention to the
atmospherics. They should focus on the quality of their printed material like broachers, banners,
improving their external and internal architecture, ensuring cleanliness inside and outside the
halls etc. They can also make their services tangible by giveaways like T-Shirts, small souvenirs
of their shows, broachers etc. The staff of Alhamra from the top tier to the bottom should be
trained in a way that they can protect and enhance their organization’s brand name. Alhamra’s
visit should be made a wholesome experience for the people visiting it my ensuring top class
service from the guard to the hall management and the maintaining the quality of the shows.
Alhamra should train their employees to build a long term relationship with their target audience
and focus on user friendliness.
PRODUCT MIX
An organization’s product mix can be defined in terms of its length, width and depth. In case of
Alhamra we can see that its length and width consist of:
Literary
Width
Violin
Sitar
The product mix of alhamra in terms of its length consists of five main product lines; Fine arts,
Music, Dance, Theatre, festivals, Poetry. Each product has a certain width. Thus the Fine arts
include paintings, sculptures, ceramics and calligraphy. Music includes classes in Tabla,
harmonium, flute, guitar, violin and sitar. Theatre includes Plays, Stage Dramas and Dance.
Festivals include Cultural festivals, seasonal festivals, world performing arts festivals and film
festivals. Poetry includes poetry competitions and adabi mushayray. Finally each product item
has a certain depth: Music comprises of concerts folk, jazz, qawalli. Theatre comprises of english
plays, urdu plays, kathak dance etc. Festivals comprise of sufi festivals, youth festivals, spring
festivals etc. Poetry comprises of Urdu and punjabi competitions.
Fine Arts Department has two galleries one in each campus of Alhamra. The gallery in the
Alhamra Cultural Complex Gaddafi Stadium is known as the Permanent Art Gallery and houses
the collection of paintings, prints, sculptures and ceramics owned by the Lahore Arts Council. A
full time curator looks after the collection and other affairs pertaining to the Permanent Art
Gallery.
The other gallery is known as the Alhamra Art Gallery and is part of the Mall Complex. It is a
gallery that hosts short term exhibitions; these are on the national and international levels. A
person, group or organization can apply to have exhibitions of their art work by writing an
application and providing his/her CVs and a CD of their work, it is preferred to see some of the
work in original. Provided that the work is to a standard, dates for exhibition are given with
mutual consent of the artist and gallery. The space and services provided by the Alhamra Art
Gallery are free of charge (for art based exhibitions only) and no commission is charged on sales.
The gallery is headed by a curator who deals with all the bookings/reservations of the gallery.
The sphere of activities of the Alhamra Arts Council is vast and varied. The halls and theatres are
occupied all year round and the people of Lahore enjoy a plethora of informative and
entertaining programs that range from music, theatre, festivals, literary (book launchings, poetry
reading, seminars, lectures & discussions), school programs and government organized
programs. This department is headed by a Deputy Director who oversees all activities of the
auditoriums. To apply it is required that an application be written giving details of the program
plus duration along with script, cast etc.
The core products of Alhamra are theatre and festivals. This is what it is known for the most.
Alhamra Advertising
It is important for Alhamra to be judicious in the use of personal persuasion. Alhamra needs to
make sure they don’t have a distorted view of what it takes to influence people’s behaviors.
Alhamra needs to make sure that advertising and promotion are not relied upon that only way to
achieve behavioral objectives. Advertising can only get target audiences aware and interested in
a new behavior. It is much less at achieving final action. The objectives for advertising and
promotion are within Alhamra’s reach. At the same time there is a very careful consideration of
the ethical implications of advertising. Alhamra should make sure that its advertising is simply
conveying its message.
Alhamra has a large number of tools available for carrying its message to its target audience. For
instance Alhamra can go for :
• Paid advertising
• Joint advertising
• Direct or internet promotions
• Personal persuasion
• Unpaid advertising
• Publicity
• Bogging
• Direct mail
• Newspapers
• Broadcast TV
• Cable TV
• Radio
• Yellow Pages
• Consumer Magazines
• Internet
• Billboards
• Posters
• Business Publications
Alhamra must start with a clear target audience in mind. Their target audience are the youth, kids
for their puppet shows, middle aged people for their classical music and stage dramas and also
the lower middle class for their stage dramas The target audience has a crucial influence on
Alhamra’s decision on what to say, how to say and when to say it.
Target Response
Alhamra needs to define the kind of market response they are soughing The ultimate response is
obviously the behavior of the target market to come to Alhamra and show more interest in its
activities. Alhamra needs to know the current stage of the target audience and which stage it
should move to next. Different messages must be tailored to different groups at different stages.
Like different segments of Alhamra is upper class/upper middle class/lower class, youth, Artists
etc.
The third objective of Alhamra must be to set optimal target reach and frequency of advertising.
Usually funds for advertising are limited and it is difficult to reach the whole target market.
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ALHAMRA ARTS COUNCIL
MARKETING PLAN
Alhamra needs to decide what percentage of audience of the audience they should reach with
what exposure frequency per period. The key issue is how many exposures are needed to create
the desired response, given the target segment’s state of readiness.
Television, Radio and internet are the most effective medium for advertising for
Alhamra. Television is the most effective medium for demonstrating what all Alhamra is
offering and creating the awareness of a lot of functions that Alhamra is performing that
people are not aware of like dance, music classes etc.
Other than that Radio adds are effective for the reminders to the youth as there is a trend
of listening to radio while going to work/ college/universities. So this can act as a great
recall factor.
Internet website of Alhamra would serve as a vehicle for those audiences wanting more
control over what they see and a chance to interact with marketers of Alhamra.
Alhamra should show their television advertisements during special occasions more
frequently like cricket series or in the evening when people are usually home and
watching TV. The internet on the other hand has a great potential for interactive
conversations with those who wish to influence. The popularity of websites like face
book, you tube indicate a huge potential for Alhamra’s marketing.
Media timing is another very important thing that Alhamra needs to check. Alhamra
should reach the target audience at the time in which they are most likely to be interested.
For example the add should be most frequently aired when research shows the maximum
number of people are watching it.
Television
Alhamra should go for continuous advertising in which the exposures appear evenly
Extensive reach for the audience
throughout theDifferent
period. target groups of Alhamra will be reached
Possible use of celebrities
Radio
Final Term Project: MNPO Page 63
It will reach large target audience of Alhamra
Low cost
Timely and repetitive
Possible use of celebrities
Literacy not an issue
ALHAMRA ARTS COUNCIL
MARKETING PLAN
Set
Advertising
Objectives
Determine
Advertising
Budget
Decide on Select
Messages media
Evaluate
advertisin
g
Advertising Evaluation
The final step is advertising evaluation both before and after execution. Alhamra can go
for focus group interviews for checking the response of its target audience. Since
advertisements are viewed in group settings, pretests with groups can indicate how
Final Term Project: MNPO Page 65
ALHAMRA ARTS COUNCIL
MARKETING PLAN
message is perceived and how it’s passed on. It can generate more reactions than one on
one session and it can yield data relatively quickly.
Personal communication is part of the marketing mix and as such is capable of achieving
certain marketing objectives better than the tools in the marketing mix. Alhamra should
decide the relative importance of the different tasks and coach its personal representatives
accordingly. For Alhamra the marketers should spend more time in prospecting i.e find
and cultivate new target audiences. They must communicate useful information about the
organization to the public and persuade the target audience to visit and join Alhamra.
They should also supply the organization with useful research and intelligence.
Relationship Marketing
Alhamra should look for long term relations with its target audience. Building strong
long term relationships is very important and personal contact can play a very important
role in this. These target audience especially those who are influential should be given
continuous attentions. They should be given special passes for different programs being
held at Alhamra. Similarly there are a lot of other techniques like sending eid cards,
birthday wishes(to influential members) etc. This nurturing of target audiences can also
have important pay offs in favorable word of mouth.
Internal Marketing
It is extremely important for the marketers of Alhamra to do internal marketing.
Every individual in the non-profit organization who has contact with the target audience
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ALHAMRA ARTS COUNCIL
MARKETING PLAN
Public relations is a well established function in profit and non profit organizations. Traditionally
public relations has been responsible for maintaining and enhancing the organizations public
image.
Earned Media
It is any form of communication not paid for or under the control of the nonprofit
marketing organization through which the organization must earn coverage. Earned
media can be in earned through appearances on Key Talk Shows, articles in the Leading
Newspapers and the through Op-Ed pieces.
At the moment Alhamra is not following any earned Media strategy but it would be of
great benefit to Alhamra if either or all three of these channels are used to earn more
publicity. Developing this strategy is easier as compared to many other strategies and can
be really profitable and successful for the organization.
The artists at Alhamra can be really helpful when it comes to implementing this strategy. They
can go on different talk shows on various channels and talk about all that is Alhamra is doing for
our culture. People will be more interested if a person who is on the show is well known. Such
activities are really influential. Secondly the main head or artists or musicians or anyone from the
management can write articles for the newspaper to spread awareness about Alhamra. This way
they are educating people by talking about their services. Alhamra can get different advocated
to work for its cause and promotion. They can write op-ed pieces for Alhamra that can
capture the targeted audience.
Traditionally the task of public relations is to form, maintain or change public attitudes towards
the non profit organization, its programs and its personnel. The process of public relations
consists of 8 steps which are shown in the diagram below.
As we go through the 8 steps of public relations we see that if these 8 steps are followed, it
would be extremely beneficial for the organization and in our case Alhamra. Alhamra does not
follow any public relations plan or strategy. But if this process is followed it would further
strengthen Alhamra’s position as a nonprofit organization and would also help with its
prosperity.
A public relations manager plays a very important role in any organization and is responsible for
these two tasks.
• The responsibility for maintaining and enhancing the reputation of the organization
Alhamra at the moment does not have a public relations manager. All such responsibilities lie on
one person only and that’s the Director. He is the one who maintains relations if at all. He is the
one who invites people and has to create and maintain and good image of Alhamra. In my
opinion he has so much other work to do that for him this task doesn’t carry any weight age and
is not of any importance.
Alhamra must hire a public relations manager. They would be qualified and educated and trained
for exactly this job. They would know what to say when and to whom. He would be much more
professional which gives away a good image of Alhamra. Also if a problem occurs he would be
trained to handle it in a much organized manner rather then a person who is doing a 100 other
things as well. When people who are contacted find out that this organization has a public
relations manager it will give a very professional image and people will be more interested in the
services. If Alhamra hires a public relations manager it would help create consistent public-
oriented policies and strategies.
Public Advocacy
Public Advocacy is the act of influencing decision makers and promoting changes to laws
and other government policies to advance the mission of a particular organization (in this
case the Alhamra Arts Council) or group of people.
Social Agendas
Social problems go through a relatively predictable set of stages as we see in the diagram above
by which they arise and are eventually dealt with or fall back into obscurity
Alhamra should follow the social agenda tactic given above, as currently it is lagging and
doesn’t have any such policy. This process can help them identify their weaknesses and
see where exactly they are lagging and this way they can pinpoint it a lot more easily and
work n strengthening their weaknesses and achieving what they actually want.
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MARKETING PLAN
There are great many tools and tactics that a non profit public relations advocate can use to
achieve a campaigns aim. Some of the major ones are mentioned in the diagram below
Alhamra like we mentioned before hardly believes in marketing which is why they have
lost their audience and the youth is more inclined towards other activities rather than
nurturing their own culture. There are various ways and tools and tactics that Alhamra
can use to start getting the attention that it requires. Through this process Alhamra can
launch very effective campaigns and spread their message across to its audience.
All businesses require cash infusions, and non profits must get funding to continue providing
services or support to their constituents. Non profits and not for profits can acquire funding
through several ways. Donations form the bulk of funding to most non profits, followed by
grants from corporations, foundations and private individuals.
The four major sources of funds for an npo comprise several sub categories;
Donations
a) Major Individual Cash Gifts
b) Small Gifts
d) Product Donations
h) Membership dues
i) Investment Income
Partnership Proceeds
j) Cause-Marketing shares
k) Licensing fees
Nonprofit organization typically passes through three stages of marketing orientation in their
thinking about how to raise funds efficiently
In the production orientation stage the normal attitude is that “we have a good cause, people
ought to support us” Money is raised primarily by the top officers through an old boy
network. The organization relies on volunteers to help raise additional funds.
In the sales orientation stage the attitude is “there is a lot of competition out there, People are
usually reluctant to give. If we want to grow, we’re going to have to be much more
aggressive” the institution appoints a hard charging development director who hires a staff
that is given specific assignments and target numbers.
In the customer orientation stage the attitude is “Like all marketers our challenge is to
understand the needs and wants of our target market and then figure out how to meet them.
In our case it is very obvious that Alhamra Arts council is at the product orientation stage for
a long time and is doing all those activities which a typical firm in a product orientation stage
does. For example it organizes glamorous events and parties for its guests and artists. It tells
its story through exhibitions and theatre. And again the mindset is that “we have a good
offering and we just need to tell people about our work and our plants”
The point that lies here is that Alhamra should be operating at a customer orientation stage
that means it should realize the needs and wants of their target market and make ideas to
satisfy them. They should create such strategies so as everyone in their target market can be
satisfied with its products and services. Here a very important thing comes and that is word
of mouth advertising. Now we all know that if we recommend a friend or relative of our
family that we really had a good experience in a particular organization or we usually give in
to thus organization, there are very much chances that they will also like to go there. So the
point is that if we provide our target market with what they desire, it will surely get us more
attention and will lead to betterment for the whole organization. So a marketing oriented
stage is something which Alhamra should try and achieve.
What your nonprofit does--your programs and products--is the highest priority for any
nonprofit manager. Fundraising is the second.
New fundraising techniques and methods come into existence every year, but the basic ones
should be the backbone of your fundraising efforts. These are, literally, our "bread and
butter."
• Individuals are the largest source of funding for non-profit organizations. According
to Giving USA, total charitable giving in the U.S. reached more than $300 billion in
2008. Of that amount 75% came from individuals
special programs, and special events. Look for opportunities to form partnerships for
sponsorships and cause-related marketing.
• Federal, State and Local Governments. Many non-profit institutions benefit from
all levels of government. Obvious examples are public education, higher education,
and the public media. Federal, state, and local government grants fund many
programs provided by nonprofits, especially in areas such as social services and
healthcare. Grants.gov provides up-to-date information and a directory of federal
grants.
• Federated Funds such as United Ways, United Arts, etc., can be steady sources of
relatively large amounts of money. Available only to well established non-profit
organizations
• Foundations come in various sizes and types but their grants can be important and
substantial.
• Corporate Foundations are private foundations, but their boards are often made up of
corporate officers. Their endowment funds are separate from the corporation and they
have their own professional staff.
• Community Foundations are public foundations and pool the assets of many donors.
They work to improve their local communities through grant-making, awarding
scholarships, and providing services to donors. Community Foundations have become
very active in providing donor-advised funds for donors who want to become more
purposeful in their giving but don't want to set up their own private foundations.
Besides seeking support from a variety of sources, our fundraising program should seek both
ongoing financial support and episodic support.
• The Annual Fund. An annual fund means just that, annual (or more frequent)
appeals to a core group of constituents. Such funds are usually unrestricted
(available for any use) and may represent a large percentage of your annual
income.
Episodic funding can come from foundation or corporate grants; special events; or a bequest.
These funds may be restricted to one purpose or devoted to unrestricted use by the nonprofit.
However there are certain caveats as well as advantages for using these fundraising sources, they
are mentioned in the matrix below.
· Can be source of large sums of money · Large sums of money aren't ongoing
· Smaller amounts of money may be · Hard to get around staff
Large Corporations / ongoing · Must be within their guidelines
Corporate · Often accessible, professional staff · Not likely to contribute if not
Foundations · May be tied to volunteer involvement headquartered locally or have a public
· Business strategy may be clear consumer base
· Source of cause-related marketing · Often want board representation
Now we would like to explain as to what foundations Alhamra should apply funds for. We know
that around 60 % of funds of Alhamra are generated by the Government and 40% are internally
generated by rents and fees of classes etc. Alhamra should be going to individual as well for
funds because these individuals can show keen interest in what Alhamra is offering. There are so
many rich people out here in Pakistan which we know are very much fond of arts and paintings.
We have seen so many expensive paintings in the houses of these individuals. So Alhamra
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MARKETING PLAN
should be targeting them as well. Alhamra should organize a painting exhibition on its own by its
own artists and then call all of these individual and try to sell those paintings to them. Punjab as
we all know is filled with all these kind of individuals who will show keen interest in Alhamra
and will be happy to provide funds to them. After government and individuals, Alhamra should
look out for corporations to provide them with funds. They would obviously be having a medium
interest level in Alhamra, but it’s the challenge for Alhamra to convince these corporations and
make them show interest in Alhamra and its activities. First of all Alhamra should look for those
corporations with which it have good contacts or a key member of Alhamra has personal
relationships with. That can be really helpful.
As we know that Alhamra is situated on Mall Road, and there are so many other big corporations
which come under the same area as of Alhamra. For example there are so many banks situated
there as well. So Alhamra can ask those banks for grants and in return it can offer its employees
free tickets or passes to its shows and continuously invite the bank managers as chief guests on
its special events and occasions. So banks can also become a part of Alhamra this way.
Furthermore Alhamra can go to foundations such as independent ones and family ones to which
Alhamra can market and attract funds. It should market in such a way so that it convinces the
givers that Alhamra really is giving birth to artists and striving hard to keep up the standard of its
shows and events. It should make them realize that Alhamra is an important part of Lahore and if
its not funded well, the culture and tradition of Pakistan will melt away and no one will really
know about it. So in order to keep the cultural values high in the people of Pakistan, Alhamra
should be doing all these things and it will thus surely attract funds.
The following is the fundraising grid derived from our above discussion.
After identifying a few foundations that might have strong interest in a project, the nonprofit
organization should try to estimate more accurately the foundation’s likely level of interest
before investing a lot of time in grant preparation. Most foundations are willing to respond to a
simple straightforward letter and indicate how keen they are in the project. Sometimes the
foundation officer maybe receptive and for that it is very important that an elaborate proposal
should be made. There are different forms and formats for full funding proposals. Every funder
has different guidelines and priorities, deadlines and timetables. Some funders accept a Common
Application Form (CAF), a single proposal accepted by a number of grantmakers to help
grantseekers save time and streamline the grant application process.
• Evaluation - the plan for meeting performance and producing the program/project;
Alhamra can furthermore indulge into these activities in order to raise funds as well
• Auctions
• Get everything FREE - Get in-kind donations for every possible expense