Marketing strategies of the Sage Gateshead - Case Study Example

?The Sage Gateshead Insert The Sage Gateshead is a business centre located in North East, England. It ventures into musical performance, education and conferences. However, it is very large and undertakes many other activities such as weddings, children playing area, library for reading musical materials, cafe where you can take meals and bar among other things. This context gives a clear picture of how Sage Gateshead was established, how it was build, the amount spent on it, period of time spent and many other facts and figures about it. This paper also illustrates the marketing strategies of Sage Gateshead and how it maintains a strong competitive advantage. It also analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis). The paper also answers vital questions concerning Sage Gateshead that helps to bring out a clear image of Sage Gateshead. Word Count : 3, 593 The Sage Gateshead Introduction Sage Gateshead is a famous centre for musical performance, education and conference situated in Gateshead on the south bank of River Tyne, which is found in the North-East of England. It began operations in 2004 although it was launched sometimes back in 1950s. The location of Sage is part of the Gateshead Quays development which encompass the BALTIC basis for modern Art and the Millennium bridge of Gateshead. The Sage Gateshead region entails a “curvy glass and stainless steel” construction modeled by Foster and associates, Buro Happold who participated as structural engineer, Arup as an acoustic and Mott Macdonald – building services, with observations from Gateshead Quayside and Newcastle, Tyne Bridge and the millennium bridge at Gateshead (Hill & Westbrook, 1997). The entire planning and development process cost more than 70 million pounds, money that was contributed mainly using the National Lottery grants. The main outworker was Laing O’Rourke. Sage Gateshead centre has a variety of patrons, mainly the Sage Group Plc who raised a big lot of money to have the construction in their name. They have also been playing vital role in supporting generous activities of the Sage Gateshead since its outset (Foster and Sargent, 2007). Nevertheless, the ultimate aim of this paper is to analyze the Sage Gateshead exhaustively with allusions focusing on its marketing abilities and standings. It examines its history, facts and figures about Sage Gateshead, its marketing strategy and how it outshines its strongest competitors in the region. The paper also looks at its SWOT Analysis where it examines the strongholds of the company and its weak points and threats (Furnivall, 1999). Brief History of Sage Gateshead The Sage Gatehead’s Concourse is mostly compared to a large railway station or airport fatal and the hustling and bustling crowds and absolute scale of the space under the high-ceilinged roof surely induced that idea. However, the comparison continues since to get into The Sage Gateshead is to link together with other travelers on a voyage of musical exploration that started several years ago and has several achievable destinations (Foster and Sargent, 2007). The initial departure point was the identification for opportunities for the North East people to participate in live music whether as contestants, listeners or student were extremely restricted by inadequacy of facilities of the type that were present in almost every other provinces of England. This means that North Eastern region was lugging behind in terms of entertainment and learning about musical concepts. In early 1990s, through motivation from Northern Arts and artistes, the now famous pop group of Northern Sinfonia started functioning on plans for a new performance hall (Menon, et al., 1999). They were soon joined by the folk development group, the Folk works which hastily became obvious to all who believed that what was required was “more than just a performance hall” (Mcgregor, 2008). During the same time, it was noted that the region had several young individuals interested in music going to study it in other regions like Manchester meaning that there was the need to develop a music school in the region. Moreover, some kind of a music school could be noted and appreciated in the region. Since it had come up clearly that with several other music instruction and engagement requirements in the North East, what was required was actually “more than a music school” and it also turned up that it was possible to house the region’s two musical needs under one roof. Therefore, most of the encouragement came from the chances that lent a helping hand on the way with the influx of the National Lottery in 1994 (Pencer, 2002). Two years later, the victorious bid by the Visionary Gateshead Council, in contest with other regional authorities, to issue out a dramatic riverside site and financial prop up for what was then referred to as Regional Music Centre as its working title, which later on changed to Music Centre Gateshead. Subsequent to the international architectural contest, Foster and his partners were selected with acousticians Arup to model auditoria with superlative natural acoustics and a music-learning centre that would turn up to be the backbone of the internationally approved region-wide centre for learning and participation in different music related programs (Mcgregor, 2008). In December 2004, the long voyage reached a vital distance when some 15,000 individuals participated in a happy opening weekend as The Sage Gateshead entered the symbol of cultural renaissance that goes on rapidly across the region. Another very joyous event came in December 2005 when Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh paid a visit to the centre and witnessed some of the broadly prolonged activities that crowd its day-to-day program (Foster and Sargent, 2007). That is when the popularity of The Sage Gateshead rose since the occasion was all over the media in the entire United Kingdom. The Sage Gateshead later on came to mean both the structure and the company that manages the structure, the operations in the structure and those that originate from the building. The structure is in fact possessed by the Gateshead Council and managed by the organization whose brand name is North Music Trust. The Sage Gateshead comprehensive approach makes it possible for all the performance, learning and engagement programs to be steadily motivated and supported by each other. Indeed, the Sage Gateshead is possibly an exclusive organization that encompasses an incorporated management (Hill & Westbrook, 1997). This means that a single team runs all concepts of the structure’s program: the educational and engagement program, the pop group (Northern Sinfonia) and the concert program are not run by distinguished administrations. In other words, the initial organizations of Folkworks, North Music Trust and Northern Sinfonia were joined to form a single organization before they shifted into the new structure. Gateshead Council The initiation of The Sage Gateshead marked the conclusion of eight years of toil and determination by Gateshead Council – operating with several associates to change a derelict site on the Tyne River banks into one of the fabulous centres for music in the world. In 1996, the area, which ten years later had turned to a historical site, was merely a vacant plot of industrial waste area but Gateshead Council had a dream to transform it (Menon, et al., 1999). When the project was initiated, several people ignored it and assumed that it was all but a failed dream but the Council had a complete tract record of bringing into being impossible dreams such as the creation of Antony Gormly’s Angel of the North and changing the derelict BALTIC flourmill into a worldwide balcony for modern art. The Sage Gateshead spots a foundational milestone in the achievement of the new arts and culture quarter well known as Gateshead Quays (Foster and Sargent, 2007). Before a person visits a place, he or she has to be familiar with some important concepts about the place. What are some of the important facts and figures about Sage Gateshead? Just as mentioned, the Sage Gateshead was launched on 17th December 2004 by the North East people of Newcastle. During that first occasion which was free for the North East people, the Sage Gateshead hosted more than 430 performances with 12, 319 learning and enjoying participatory conferences. The Sage Gateshead has developed more than 400 new jobs ever since it was established. The number is much bigger in comparison to other related organizations in other regions. Through that structure, Gateshead Council was awarded about 47 milllion pounds by Arts Council England using the National Lottery funds. It was the biggest ever project funding outside London. It is much interesting to note that each ?1 endowed in the Sage Gateshead through means of revenue funding in its first year of operation, it came back later ?11 into the economy of the region. The gateshead Council, Folkworks, Northern Sinfonia and the Northern Arts which is now called Arts Council England North East were the four main launching partners. The program of Sage Gateshead pertakes music and musical exploration out into the North East Newcastle and Cumbria – a region of 10, 000 square miles (Mcgregor, 2008). One of the largest musical events to be hosted in The Sage Gateshead was the May 2006 BBC Young Musician of the Year whereby more than one million viewers watched the Final on BBC 2. That was an equivalent of a jam-packed house in hall one each single night for more than 20 months or 588 nights on the run. The roof of Sage Gateshead contains a 3, 500 square meter of glass – 280 double-varnished panels, the biggest being 4m x 2m (Furnivall, 1999). The glass panel is correspondent to 8.3 basketball courts. The outside walls of the structure, which are all glasses, contain about 630 panels of glass with each weighing about 450kg corresponding to 2 baby elephants. The roof also contain around 3043 stainless steel panels (9000m2) which is equal to 2.2 football pitches say the old Trafford and Emirates Stadium plus an additional of .2 of a pitch. The building measures more than 40 meters which is double the height of the Angel of the North or similar height to Grey’s monument. Its foot print is more than 8, 000m2, equal to 20 basketball courts or 2.1 football pitches (Hill & Westbrook, 1997). More than 4000 construction employees took eight years which is about 2 million man hours to construct the Sage Gateshead. The Sage also consumed more than 18 million litres of concrete which corresponds to 31, 675, 571 pints of Brown Ale found in Newcastle. It also consumed over 18, 000 tonnes of steel in the construction. The entire process favored the North East people since 33 out of 54 subcontractors who took part in the building process came from North East. The structure of Sage Gateshead is as shown in the figure below (Menon, et al., 1999). In general, the structure is a profound business centre that has risen above all the other competitors because lately, it is the most preferred venue for hosting large events particularly the musical awards and remarkable musical concerts (Mcgregor, 2008). This means that its competitive advantage is very strong and cannot be met by other competitors. Explain some of the business ventures that Sage Gateshead deals with and their performance in the market field The stainless steel crown of Sage Gateshead enfolds: Three distinguished performance spaces Music education centre The Sir Michael straker cafe Four bars, a public concourse and a brasserie This means that under the same roof, the Gateshead Council offers the public all types of pleasurable activities (Furnivall, 1999). Such a strategy is so attractive to the public that the Sage Gateshead is able to win the hearts of the public since people are able to get everything they want under the same roof. Some of the most interesting activities carried out in different rooms at the Sage Gateshead are as follows. To begin with, there is the stunning varnished concourse that issues unsurpassed scenes of lively cityscape and the river Tyne, integrating the Sir Michael Straker Cafe, brasserie, the Squires Lounge and explore music. Artiste Kate Maestri designed this spectacular 200m colored glass balustrade. Therefore, it is clear that the concourse encompass numerous activities that are attractive to the public. Besides, another important point to note about it is that all services are cheap, actually charged slightly cheaper than other regional fun areas. The Sage Gateshead also contains other interesting areas and activities for all people of all ages (Menon, et al., 1999). For instance, there is the Greggs children’s room where all enjoyable children’s activities are acquired. It is also the place where they can meet with their fellow schoolmates and or classmates, sing and play happily. Just near that room, there is the Barbour room which can accommodate up to 300 people. The room is a place of fun and enjoying where activities like wedding and conferences are hosted. This is one place where Her Majesty the Queen dined when she visited The Sage Gateshead in 2005 (Mcgregor, 2008). Moreover, there is the shoe box-shaped hall – hall one – which has about 1, 700 accommodative seats on three levels each with its own bar. This hall is modeled to the highest international standards and to maximize audience enjoyment for all types of music. In other words, hall one is the venue of music and where all sorts of musical concerts are hosted (Foster and Sargent, 2007). For instance, it was in that hall where the BBC music awards were held. The hall is very classic since it was made of acoustic panels hanged above the audience that weighs approximately 14 tones and can be regulated to change the sound in the space. The walls also contains acoustic drapes hidden in them which are mostly used for covering the walls in case they need to change the acoustic. Another performance area is the second hall well known as Hall II also has three levels but can only hold up to 400 people (Hill & Westbrook, 1997). The hall is also modeled to the international standards and is appropriate for both acoustic and intensified music. It is thought to be the initial ten-sided performing arts space in the world. In other words, it is the leading ten-sided performing arts environment in the entire world and can be positioned out in five different ways –with the performance at the centre of the hall, or on stage at one end. Yet, the seats in this hall are movable meaning that during concerts they can be removed to create a dancing space for people. Besides, ash and beech are employed with the beech dyed red for, warm, comfortable atmosphere. Other areas used for remarkable activities include the Northern Rock Foundation Hall, ticket office and Music Education Centre among others. Generally, the Sage Gateshead is a very gigantic structure that roofs over fifteen distinct rooms with different activities. There are very few structures in the world and The Sage Gateshead is one of the best with a very strong and unrivalled competitive advantage (Foster and Sargent, 2007). Sage Gateshead Marketing Strategy The Sage Gateshead has numerous advantages over other competitors in the area and the entire market since its structure alone says it all. With its unusual atmosphere due to its nearness to River Tyne and its unrivalled scenes, the Sage Gateshead remains to be the greatest social environment as well as a local and international music centre of international quality (Hill & Westbrook, 1997). This means that the Company’s marketing strategy relies heavily on the external and internal image of the structure as well as the quality of services offered. Therefore, the following are the marketing strategies for Sage Gateshead. Design To begin with, its fundamental marketing strategy is its design. The Sage Gateshead was modeled to seal the big gap on the map of music in Britain. Before it structured, the North East was the only area in England without admission to first class music equipments, the nearest being either Manchester, Scotland, London or Birmingham which is not less than six hour round trip (Furnivall, 1999). The consequential design, a swiftly modern ?70 million performing arts region, was opened to the public in late 2004. The Sage Gateshead with its theatrical rolling roof settles on soaring above the River Tyne, taking pleasure in spectacular scenes towards Newcastle. The structure forms the showpiece of the rejuvenated Gateshead Quays region, issuing an international class of incredibility in teaching equipments and great performance, while offering completely comprehensive and accessible for all people from all over the world (Foster and Sargent, 2007). Environmental Design The designers of The Sage Gateshead needs congratulation for the incredible work they did because they had several environmental concepts in mind and its sleek shape paths the predominant local winds to issue natural ventilation. Besides, through its compass reading, there is no insincere cooling needed in the large concourse. The solid actual and masonry divisions of the building function as thermal storage issuing radiant heat to the concourse opening (Furnivall, 1999). The Sage Gateshead tackles the nature of public space and the issue of democratic, comprehensible ‘urban living room’. All these variety of operations are joined in one area promoting interaction between concerts, music students and the public, therefore, breaking down cultural and imaginative obstacles. Actually, it is much difficult to find a structure that considers environmental issues, that respects and values natural atmosphere and that loves to retain cultural concepts. This uniqueness makes The Sage Gateshead unrivalled by its competitors thus serving a revolutionary purpose as its design. This is reveled by the type of entrance at Sage Gateshead (Mcgregor, 2008). Preservation of North East Culture North East and the entire Newcastle region had fabulous and very attractive cultural events that involved traditional dances, displays ethnic discipline but these have diminished with time and The Sage Gateshead is the only place that retains and promotes the English culture in North East (Furnivall, 1999). As we all know, the North East and Newcastle region contains several people from diverse races and areas of the globe who can easily influence the English citizens to leave their culture and style up into the modern culture. For instance, Newcastle contains a football club very famous at St. James Park with players, coaches and team management from different parts of the world. These people contribute a lot in diminishing the English culture and promoting the modern culture. Therefore, other than The Sage Gateshead using it as a marketing strategy, it also serves a critical role in the North East community. Music Music is hosted and found in several other centers in Britain but The Sage Gateshead is the best because it offers more than just music. It provides high-tech music information and library functions under the management of Gateshead Council which issues variety of resources for the community to move on with its musical voyage in the structure or from their home. The Sage Gateshead music library contains 18 Personal computers with free internet access, reference, music books for loans, a study desk with energy for laptops and music magazines (Pencer, 2002). The PCs also gives access to music software applications encompassing Ableton Live and Reason, Sibelius and free training obtainable in these products. The Sage Gateshead music library also provides its clients with an opportunity to download music to CDs or MP3 players. The music area also contains a small area where children play while there parents relax and peruse through the newspapers while the children get busy with their favorite books. Due to the availability of free access to internet, the online ExploreMusic gives an inclusive listings operations for their areas with elements of local music workshops, tutors, sessions, choirs, repairers, makers, instrument and ceiling bands (Mcgregor, 2008). SWOT Analysis Sage Gateshead Strengths Sage Gateshead Weaknesses Only place that promotes culture in the region Very big with several rooms which have different activities Generates good profit than the competitor centre Contains experienced and able jazz musicians Has experienced professional music tutors thus preferred by many Has several organizations in place including jazzaction and the Jazz North East Contains a pool of experienced advisors Is under the best management in North East Strong marketing strategies and event promotions Able to charge slightly cheaper costs and still make good profits Deficiency of precise objectives Doubtful event control programs since some events collides in same venue say Hall II Danger of clumsy activities that leads to replication of tasks Death of some students and young musicians Insufficient ability in terms of appropriate venues and information websites Deficiency of promoters Death of young promoters Sage Gateshead Opportunities Sage Gateshead Threats Expansion and opening of other centres either within North East or Outside. It can also be outside the country or even outside the continent to a place like United States where people love fun Music education able to expand and encompass larger number of students than now Market jazz to the audience for modern dance Sale more music albums for the centre’s musicians and for the organization Provides music library users with chance to download music on CDs and MP3 players Strong competition from other centers especially those found in Manchester, London, and Birmingham. New inventions and notions from the competitor centers Stagnated ideas especially in management field Lack of a jazz economy Audiences of jazz have reached maximum and remain below the national average Conclusion Sage Gateshead is centre for musical concert, education and conference located in Gateshead on the south bank of River Tyne, which is situated in the North-East of England. It began functioning in 2004 although it was initiated sometimes back in 1950s. The Concourse of The Gateshead is mostly compared to a large railway station or airport fatal and the hustling and bustling crowds and absolute scale of the space under the high-ceilinged roof surely induced that idea. The entire Sage Gateshead was initiated and is still under the management of Gateshead Council. The structure cost the council up to 70 million pounds to be completed in 8 years under more than 4000 subcontractors. Due to its outstanding design and unique operations, The Sage Gateshead remains the most preferred centre of entertainment and relaxation in North East with a strong competitive advantage. It also contains several strengths and opportunities than weaknesses and threats. Bibliography "Business of the year 2002". Red Hot Curry. 2002-10-29. Archived from the original on 2004 Andrew Mcgregor, 2008. The Sage Gateshead Development.  Routledge Perspective on Development, London. Duke, Simon (2010). "Sage chief Paul Walker is set to exit with ?21m". London: Daily Mail Foster + Partners web site. The Sage Gateshead. Retrieved from http://www.thesagegateshead.org/about/careers_vacancies.aspx?recordid=634148747745532500 Hill, T. & R. Westbrook (1997). "SWOT Analysis: It’s Time for a Product Recall". Long Range Planning 30 (1): 46–52. doi:10.1016/S0024-6301(96)00095-7. J.S. Furnivall, 1999. A Comparative Study of The Gateshead Council. New York press.  Menon, A. et al. (1999). "Antecedents and Consequences of Marketing Strategy Making". Journal of Marketing (American Marketing Association) 63 (2): 18–40. doi:10.2307/1251943 Norman Foster and Anthony Sargent, 2007. The Sage Gateshead ArchitectureWeek No. 534, 2011.0928, pD1.1. Pencer W., 2002. Gateshead, North East. Princeton University Press. ISBN 069111532X. The Cambridge History of North East, England: Volume One, Part One. Cambridge University Press. 1999. pp. 73–74. ISBN 0521663695.  Tony Hobson , 2009. "The Sage Gateshead" London. Read More