Powerful Stories: The Cultch

Welcome to the second installment of ‘Powerful Stories’, a new series showcasing cultural and non-profit organizations from a communications and branding perspective.

This week we’re proud to present The Cultch. Since their inception 36 years ago, they’ve been instrumental in Vancouver as a hub for innovative theatre, dance and performance art. Housed in a century old Methodist Church, they’re well-known as one of Vancouver’s special cultural treasures. Armada recently sat down with communications director Rebecca Sharma to learn more about The Cultch brand and some of their recent initiatives.

What does The Cultch do?

Our mandate is to provide a space and institutional support for contemporary theatre, dance and performance artists, bringing together emerging ideas and artistic voices from the region, within Canada, and abroad. Simply put, we aim to give these artists a platform they wouldn’t otherwise have in Vancouver.

Tell us a bit about your history and the role it plays within The Cultch brand today

Our history is really at the heart of our story. Having grown from humble beginnings as a neighbourhood Methodist Church, it’s important for us to maintain a community presence and ensure The Cultch brand continues to reflect the character of East Vancouver. Part of honouring that history is celebrating our space as a landmark within the neighbourhood. Although the building has been retrofitted and expanded over the years, essential characteristics such as stained-glass windows, rails, and other classic architectural details remain intact.

You’ve recently re-branded The Cultch. Speak a bit about that process and how you manage the brand today?

Our re-branding began by commissioning a consultant to head up our stakeholder surveys and market research. Encouraging input from patrons and the community in terms of how we’re being perceived and where we’re succeeding or failing has been invaluable to the process.

One of the most common responses we received was regarding our name. Up until then we were operating as the ‘East Vancouver Cultural Centre’. In spite of this we were often referred to as ‘The Cultch’. Consistency issues aside, we realized this nick-name had a lot of equity in the community and eventually decided to change our name formally.

Today our communications department consists of two people in-house. As the communications director I ensure all ‘touch-points’ of the brand, whether the caliber of customer service or the look and feel of a program schedule, are consistent and help provide a premium experience.

In the past few years The Cultch has expanded its programs and initiatives considerably. How have you managed this growth? Has it affected the integrity of the brand?

Managing growth in the past several years has been largely positive. Any new initiative we undertake, whether a youth program or our city partnership developing the York Theatre, has to fit into and strengthen our vision. From a branding stand-point, these initiatives have helped enforce our core message.

What are your major communications needs? Where have you seen success?

Our biggest need is developing new audiences and increasing overall attendance. Traditionally our base has been 60 percent female, 40 percent male, aged 40 and up. In an effort to build a more diverse constituency within East Vancouver, we’re now pushing attendance with the under 30 crowd as well.

With respect to approaching both audiences, social media has been hugely successful for us. Our Facebook groups, which are updated often with event listings and promotions, have seen a steady increase in followers. Targeted advertising on Facebook, free ticket offers and an ever-growing subscriber list have helped us reach a wider audience and tangibly increase our ticket sales.

Essential to all our initiatives are our annual surveys. We regularly talk to our patrons to help gauge which strategies are working most effectively, and adjust them as needed to ensure we’re on target.

Community development partnerships have also been a major driver. Sponsor partnerships with local media such as the Georgia Straight and cross-promotion with similar organizations have increased our exposure and opened doors to new audiences.

What have been your biggest obstacles?

Our two biggest issues are competing with mainstream entertainment, such as television and film, and by extension creating a compelling argument for the performing arts.

For us, the major benefit is the ‘transformative experience’ one has attending a performance at The Cultch. In addition to the appeal of innovative theatre and performing arts, the energy of being at a performance and sharing that experience with other like-minded people is a powerful selling benefit. This experiential angle is playing an increasingly bigger role in our brand communications, particularly in our push to attract younger audiences.

What suggestions would you give to a cultural or arts organization starting out?

With any cultural or arts institution a strong social media presence is key. We’ve found a considerable constituency of arts and theatre enthusiasts actively using these channels, whether through our blog or Facebook. Cross-promotional opportunities are a huge factor as well, especially where your community base or resources are limited.

Collecting and acting on community feedback is significant. Building a targeted mailing list and surveying stakeholders regularly can help you determine the best strategies and build-in continual improvement into your operations.

Finally, not getting caught up in “promo speak” is important. In spite of carefully managing our brand and ensuring a consistent experience for our patrons, giving individual voices a place in The Cultch keeps us connected to the community in an authentic way.

 

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Interested in having us feature your organization? Contact us at blog@armadadesign.ca and we’d be happy to arrange an opportunity for an interview.