Three into One: Creating Wiltshire Creative - Musings from the Marketing Desk
- Tim Croall
- Feb 18, 2021
- 9 min read
Despite a complete lack of demand following my first blog, here I am again, filling your bandwidth with more lockdown marketing musings (Well, you need it now that Celebrity Best Home Cook has finished).
IN THE BEGINNING
I think it was 2016 when discussions began. Arts Council England had asked the three organisations it regularly funded in Salisbury to consider how they could work more closely together. A full merger wasn’t always on the cards, but it became the favoured option. And so, Salisbury Playhouse, Salisbury Arts Centre and Salisbury International Arts Festival ‘began talks’, as one might say.
We were about to embark on merging (1) a producing theatre, (2) an arts centre and (3) an annual arts festival, all with histories going back decades. A breeze?
As Head of Marketing for Salisbury Playhouse, my job and responsibilities were to grow over the next few years (the name soon changed from Marketing to Communications, not as some vanity project but to represent the broader remit of the role).
Merging three charitable organisations, each with its own individuality and loyal supporters, was never going to be easy. And it wasn’t. Among my responsibilities was to deliver a plan to keep all the various stakeholders informed and on board – and there were a lot of them: audiences, participants, funders, local businesses, donors, colleagues, volunteers, the media etc.
And so, a master Communications Plan was created to match the Milestone Plan of the merger itself. As key decisions were made, we would decide how and to whom this should best be communicated. Was it a personal letter to customers? Was it a series of segmented emails? Or did it warrant a press release or even an event?
We were also aware that some news may attract negative comments or concerns and so we prepared appropriate responses – always trying to be open and transparent about why decisions were being made.
This was going to be a landmark moment for the arts in Wiltshire and the wider region, but of course, people are wary of change and it was understandable that concerns would be voiced. We knew that, ultimately, the new organisation would be judged on what it offered. But that was some way off.
We also knew that if we got it right, this bold initiative could become an example to towns and cities across the country, showing that great art and entertainment can bring economic and cultural benefits to an area.
WHAT’S THE NAME OF THE GAME?
The new organisation would need a name. This was not easy. With a small working party and input from staff, a long shortlist was drawn up. But should the name include ‘Salisbury’ or ‘Wiltshire’ (or neither)? Would the word ‘arts’ put some people off? How many names already included the word ‘spire’? We were trying to describe a new organisation, with a new remit, before we fully knew what the shape of it would be.
After much debate and pondering, the name Wiltshire Creative emerged as the front-runner. As I sit here, I’m looking at the original list of suggestions. Some were good, some were definitely bold (!) and some still make me laugh out loud.
At this point I should point out that the new organisation’s mission was to offer a range of artistic and cross-arts cultural activities to a wider reach, not just in its Salisbury venues.
Alongside the name, the organisation would need a new visual identity; something that would become recognisable, be bold and flexible across the many marketing platforms. I am proud of the suite of branding we came up with, working with the superb team at Feast Creative. It wasn’t an easy brief, but the result is strong, works and has been admired by others in the industry.
What everyone had to remember was, that while a visual identity can be created (or at least launched) practically overnight, a brand takes time. People need to buy into a brand, to understand it, to value it and, ultimately, to love it. It's like a new relationship.
And so, Wiltshire Creative officially came into being on 1 February 2018.
So that this piece doesn’t become blogging’s answer to War and Peace, I’ve had to skip over some of the important (and massively detailed) organisational changes that took place: the legalities of merging three charities, necessary staffing changes, the buildings that the organisation would ‘inherit’, future funding, membership schemes to sort out… the list goes on.
A BARONESS, THE RUSSIANS AND SIX INCHES OF SNOW
On Friday 2 March 2018, Salisbury awoke to its heaviest snowfall in years. Those of us who could, managed to get into work, including a couple of hardy Box Office staff who spent most of the day answering calls or cancelling events.
That night, the Arts Centre was due to host an evening with politician Baroness Shirley Williams, one of our first events at the venue under Wiltshire Creative. Was the event on or off? Surely Shirley wouldn’t be able to get to Salisbury? Were the trains even running? But this politician was made of strong stuff and by late morning we received a message to say she was on her way and could someone collect her from the station. That person was me. Like a royal visit, I greeted her on Platform 4, led her to her waiting car and off we went, so she could get some rest at her hotel. She would be happy to make her own way to the Arts Centre later that day.
That evening, as I manned the box office at the Arts Centre (staff shortages due to snow; God, I hate PDQ machines!), a capacity audience had arrived, excited to be hearing from one of the country’s leading politicians. 7pm, no sign of the baroness. 7.15pm, anyone seen Shirley? 7.25pm, she must be nearby. 7.30pm, oh shit. No sign of her. We’d managed to lose Baroness Williams of Crosby in a snowy Salisbury. Who was going to tell the audience?
Then, as I glanced out through the front door, a small figure was gingerly making her way up the path, negotiating the ice and snow. Hooray! It's Shirley! Come on in, get your coat off and there’s your audience. “Now who have you got to introduce me?” she asked. Oh bugger.
The following day, Sunday 4 March, was to become notorious in Salisbury’s history. That afternoon, two people were found, poisoned, on a bench in the city centre. Within 24 hours, Salisbury became the focus of the world's media and we gradually learnt about The Skripals and Novichok.
Incidentally, the train Shirley Williams took from London to Salisbury that snowy afternoon was the very same one that the Russians took for their ‘planning trip’.
MOVING ON UP
Although Wiltshire Creative officially existed from February, we planned to announce our first season in May, with press launches for invited guests at Tate Britain in London and at Salisbury Playhouse that same evening. Prior to this we’d been working on combining three audience databases and developing a new website – oh did I mention that important changes to data protection (GDPR) also came into force the same month? Joy. We worked with the brilliant team at Spektrix to merge the databases and develop our new CRM and online sales system. If you’re so inclined, you can read more in an article I contributed to at the time for Arts Professional.
WE HAVE LIFT OFF!
The launches were received well and we were off and running with our first season of programming. Gareth (Machin, former Artistic Director of Salisbury Playhouse, now leading Wiltshire Creative) had the idea of holding a big weekend of free entertainment during the summer and so our focus was now on Lift Off!.
Over four days across the August Bank Holiday more than 13,000 residents and visitors came into the city to enjoy a range of events, from outdoor theatre in the Market Square to community groups performing at the Playhouse. From a Family Fiesta of craft activities to an exhibition celebrating the history of the three organisations and a performance of Howard Moody’s moving opera Push, performed by the Salisbury Festival Chorus and La Folia musicians in St Thomas's Church.
The highlight of the weekend was an outdoor concert of live music from bands Just Us and The Deloreans, followed by fireworks set off from the roof and tower of Salisbury Cathedral. Now the weather was far from kind, it had been raining pretty much all day and we didn’t know if anyone would turn up. But turn up they did, in their thousands and, at around 9.30pm, just before the fireworks were due, the rain stopped and the clouds cleared. The fireworks, set to music, were spectacular and Wiltshire Creative staff breathed a soggy sigh of relief (mainly because the gothic Cathedral survived the fireworks). There were even a few tears.
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
The rest of 2018 and into 2019 had us experimenting with different programming, some familiar, some new. Behind the scenes we were working on creating marketing strategies that now had to accommodate twice as many events, two venues and activities across the county.
One of the benefits of a merged database was that we could now begin to encourage audiences to try something different - 'cross pollinating' as we liked to call it. Until then it was surprising how divided the audiences of the Playhouse, Arts Centre and Festival were. One of our successes of those first seasons was how we encouraged crossover. Playhouse audiences who had never stepped foot in the Arts Centre began visiting events there; Festival concertgoers were trying plays at the Playhouse – and it seems everyone wanted to book onto a pottery course!
Early in 2019 at Salisbury Playhouse we premiered a new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d, adapted by Rachel Wagstaff and co-produced with Wales Millennium Centre. The production undertook a short tour, with a cast including Susie Blake, Simon Shepherd and Julia Hills. There was even an Indian version staged in Mumbai (apparently Miss Marple's big over there).
At the Arts Centre we premiered a new show of stories and folk songs called A Wiltshire Tale, written and performed by Nick Harper, and built audiences for NT Live screenings and broadcasts from the Met Opera in New York.
FESTIVAL FABULOUSNESS
The 2019 Salisbury International Arts Festival was the first under Wiltshire Creative. But could we pull it off? The annual event had been going for more than forty years and was highly respected in and beyond the city.
In the end more than 42,000 people experienced 120 events over 17 days across the city - one of the largest and most varied arts festivals in the country.
More than 350 artists from 15 countries came to the city. There was outdoor theatre in the streets, orchestral concerts in the Cathedral, exhibitions and films at the Arts Centre, dance and comedy at the Playhouse and an outdoor Family Fiesta at Bemerton Heath, on the outskirts of the city.
Wiltshire Creative also commissioned a new audio experience about the abandoned village on Salisbury Plain, Imber: You Walk Through.
But the visual centrepiece of the Festival was artist Luke Jerram’s 7-metre diameter earth sculpture, Gaia, suspended in the Cathedral. Photos never quite do it justice. Awe-inspiring is an appropriate description.
By the end of the fortnight we were absolutely knackered, but proud of the festival we had delivered, particularly following the difficult year Salisbury had experienced following the Novichok poisonings. From an audience development perspective we were thrilled that more than half of festivalgoers were first-time visitors.
2020 AND REDUNDANCY
During 2020, things changed of course. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the temporary closure of the Playhouse and Arts Centre and the 2020 International Arts Festival (which had just been announced) was cancelled. We launched a programme of online events and activities under the new banner Wiltshire Creative Connects and opened the venues between lockdowns for a small number of events.
The arts industry has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic (and continues to be so). It relies hugely on people coming together to enjoy events. As humans, that's what we crave. This of course couldn’t happen and organisations everywhere began looking at their operation. Sadly, Wiltshire Creative, like most, examined its priorities, began scenario planning and restructuring the organisation.
At the end of July I was told my post was one of several at risk of redundancy. By September I worked my final day for the organisation.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The process of the merger and launch of Wiltshire Creative was challenging for everyone involved. Thank goodness for my amazing Communications and Sales team. I learnt a great deal, for the first time I was able to use knowledge I’d gained elsewhere and I remain immensely proud of what was achieved and the community-focused arts organisation we created.
Being made redundant is not easy. But I will be forever grateful to the colleagues and trustees who got in touch following my departure, particularly the one who, a few days before Christmas, turned up on my doorstep with a large bottle of gin. Sadly, I couldn’t invite them in. But we WILL have that gin one day!
This is really only a personal story of the beginning of Wiltshire Creative. As we emerge from this pandemic I know it's an organisation that will grow and flourish to offer Salisbury and the region a creative route to recovery.
Tim Croall was Head of Marketing at Salisbury Playhouse (2007-2017) and Communications & Sales Director for Wiltshire Creative (2017-2020).
www.timcroall.com
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