Arts and the Market

Ryan Bengtsson, Linda; Edlom, Jessica

2023 Arts and the Market

doi: 10.1108/aam-07-2022-0034

This article examines the ways in which the popular music industry markets artists through integrated transmedia marketing campaigns. These campaigns unfold across multiple media and create multiple pathways for audience engagement, particularly fan engagement, across social media platforms. The purpose is to further theorise the relationship between artists, the music industry and audiences.Design/methodology/approachThe study used digital ethnography to scrutinise the activities within a contemporary music transmedia marketing campaign, focusing on the release of Taylor Swift's album Reputation as an illustrative case.FindingsThe study demonstrates how strategically curated activities encompass platforms' affordances and industry events by making use of fan engagement across social media platforms and streaming services. Fans shift through platforms, as well as across digital and physical spaces, through defined marketing activities at specific times. This article proposes the concept of choreographed engagement to specifically address the ways in which the temporal and spatial aspects of social media marketing are used at the intersection of platform logic, algorithm economy and fan engagement to reach wider audiences.Originality/valueBy proposing the concept of choreographed engagement, the authors bridge the gap between fan practices and marketing practices, providing insight into how commodification of fan engagement is utilised spatially and temporally within the contemporary platform economy. Choreographed engagement constitutes a significant aspect of strategic communication and marketing. The term expands the vocabulary used in the debate on the commodification of artistic work, and audience engagement in the platform era.

Mark, Tekena

2023 Arts and the Market

doi: 10.1108/aam-06-2022-0029

Arts practitioners have looked for ways to engage their audiences and sustain their interests and patronage of theatre shows amidst the coronavirus pandemic that kept patrons at home. This has led to digital engagement with audience members via social media. This research paper looks at digital audience engagement in Nigeria’s theatre using Segun Adefila’s production of Tosin Jobi-Tume’s Corona Palava which was performed on 4 August, 2020, at the Crown Arts Centre in Bariga, Lagos, Nigeria and later made available on Facebook on 22 December, 2020 and 21 December 21 2021.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on the “Arts Audience Experience Index” theory proposed by Radbourne et al. (2009). It employs netnography as its methodology. This entails observing and analysing users’ comments, communication style, frequency of engagement and dwell time while watching Corona Palava production on the researcher’s Facebook timeline “Tekena Gasper Mark” and on the Facebook group “Bolt Drivers in Port Harcourt”. Overall, 53 comments (39 from the researcher’s Facebook friends and 14 from members of the Facebook group “Bolt Drivers in Port Harcourt”) were sampled and analysed to provide insights into how the spectators experienced the Corona Palava production.FindingsThe text that accompanied the Facebook video provided viewers with information about the performance, helped them prepare for what to expect, reduced the likelihood that they would experience any unease while watching it and increased the likelihood that they would look for similar performances in the future. They were pleased with the performance; there were no functional risks, no economic risks and no psychological and social risks. Although they may have watched it at varying times, Facebook provided a space for them to engage with the performance as a group and share their thoughts in the post-performance comments.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the study’s limitations is that one cannot ascertain how many of the respondents are drivers. Also, the researcher believes that the length of the video may have discouraged participation in the study. In order to increase viewership and provide better findings, future studies and artistic endeavours could consider shorter pieces (about 3–5 min) and wider locations (transportation businesses) where a larger number of drivers with active social media presence, can participate in the research.Practical implicationsThis study documents an innovative approach to reaching theatre audience via social media in Nigeria.Social implicationsThis research demonstrates that Nigerian theatre and arts practitioners are reinventing their approaches to play production by using the social media to reach their audiences in the post-COVID-19 era.Originality/valueThe study reveals that as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Nigerian theatre artists have looked for ways to engage their audiences and sustain their interest and patronage of arts projects through social media.

Jami Pour, Mona; Kazemi, Zohre; Moeini, Hossein

2023 Arts and the Market

doi: 10.1108/aam-01-2022-0001

Advergames have attracted the attention of scholars and practitioners as a new way of increasing customer engagement and advertising effectiveness. Gamified ads provide an exciting and persuasive environment for customers rather than non-gamified advertisements. Despite the growing spending on advergames projects, the understanding of customer attitude regarding advergames has received less attention and there are not enough studies about advergames. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to design a novel TAM-based model of determinants of customer attitudes toward advergames to enhance customer engagement and purchase intention.Design/methodology/approachTo obtain this end, the mixed method was applied. In the first step, the main determinants of customer attitude towards advergames were identified by a literature review as well as semi-structured interviews. In the second step, the proposed technology acceptance model (TAM)-based model was validated by survey method through players of advergames. A total of 15 interviews were conducted in the qualitative phase and 102 completed questionnaires were analyzed in the survey method.FindingsThe results of the qualitative approach indicate that the main determinants of attitude towards advertisements can be classified into three categories, which are added to TAM as external variables. The results of the survey approach reveal that advertising content and game-related factors have a significant positive effect on perceived ease of use (PEOU). The advertising content and player-related factors also significantly affect perceived usefulness (PU). PU and PEOU also positively and significantly affect customer attitude. The findings show that the new TAM-based model can be considered as a robust model for explaining customer attitude toward advergame acceptance.Research limitations/implicationsThe research findings can assist digital marketers to have a big picture of customer attitudes regarding advergames and implement these innovative digital-enabled advertising strategies successfully. The findings further suggest considering marketing/advertising aspects and game-related aspects as well as individual factors to design advergames.Originality/valueAdvergames have become one of the priorities for digital marketers to enhance brand awareness and customer engagement, yet there is no study identifying determinants of attitude by considering multi-aspects of advergames. The most important theoretical contribution of the current study is to design a new extended TAM-based model which integrates behavioral variables (PEOU and PU) with factors related to the advergames context.