Since my last blog post, a lot has changed. I mentioned last time that I had become more independent, taking on more responsibility. That has not changed, if anything I’ve grown more independent in these last few months. I’ve started numerous projects, some that I am still working on from earlier this year, but it’s been rewarding to see them develop. During this time, I’ve learnt an important lesson. Priority takes precedence. You have to understand which tasks need to be immediately acted on. This could mean that my planned day could change completely, the department may need me to act on something immediately, whether it’s a new show or a cast announcement that we’ve been informed of.

Recently, I’ve been organising my priorities. Many of my tasks fall on the 1^st of each month, but these tasks don’t take up much time, such as updating TV screens promoting our shows around the theatre, or sending out our monthly online presence report to the team. Planning the Grand’s online competitions, often weeks in advance, takes more planning than you might think. I have to keep in mind what kind of competition it will be, how best to attract people’s attention and keep them engaged, but also how I can keep them engaged after the competition has ended. I keep the team informed as to each competition’s progress and the results, and from those results we can see how much interest the show is getting from our audience.

I schedule Facebook and Twitter posts in advance which go out at regular and consistent points during the day so that they reach the show’s target audience just as they come online, leaving me free to watch and react our social media. I regularly update our Instagram and Pinterest, making sure the information is fresh, new and fun for the user. Not always posting about the show, but related news, videos or images that grab the user’s attention. I evaluate which shows need more promotion, depending on how quickly tickets are selling on a daily basis, using ‘Ritetag’, I can determine which hashtags will help us reach an even wider audience.

We’ve been working on several marketing projects, as well as our individual projects. We’ve been taking a look at our emails and redesigning them to fit the theatre ticketing system. I design and create them in Spektrix, taking the results and analysing them to find out important information. This could mean how many people opened the emails, which links got the most clicks, down to the smallest details such as how they viewed the email, for instance if they saw it on their computer or a second screen device like a phone or a tablet, or even what platform they viewed it on, e.g. Iphone or Android.

I’ve been doing lot’s of networking in these past few months, meeting with other young creative Interns as well as working with other theatres online. I’ve become confident enough to contact producers and companies requesting various materials. We’ve also been attending family events, such as this year’s Alfresco at the Blackpool Cricket Club. We gave out leaflets on our family friendly shows, and we got to network with other businesses from the local area.

Recently, I’ve been invited to join meetings in regards to the rebranding of The Grand’s online presence, specifically our website, giving the marketing manager my views. We’ve looked closer at the needs of our audience and how they interact with our website getting the best experience. We aim to implement new systems that will keep users engaged with our new site in addition to being more socially interactive with not only us, but with their friends and family.

All in all, it’s never a slow day at The Grand. It’s always busy and exciting, which makes the days just fly by. I’m looking forward to being part of a team and the changes The Grand are making. I’m excited to see the results.