Segmentation by genres: the case of Aardklop National Arts Festival

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to distinguish between genre supporters and non-genre supporters at the Aardklop National Arts Festival. This was done to determine genre supporters' individual needs and wants so that effective marketing strategies can be developed and the festival programme can be designed to attract more genre supporters. Previous research indicated that the future of festivals is dependent on the number of show tickets sold and festivals therefore need to attract more genre supporters. To achieve this goal, a questionnaire survey (N = 495) was conducted, where afterwards independent t-tests were used to determine the differences between visitors who attend the different ticketed shows/productions and those who do not. Results showed that genre attendees and non-attendees differ significantly based on socio-demographic and behaviour characteristics, which gave a comprehensive profile of the two types of visitors at the festival. This method proved to be successful especially in increasing ticket sales. Marketing and management implications for effectively targeting genre supporters were also indicated.