Consultation Project

Court Square Theater

Jakob Cole, Elkin Hernandez, Vince Bradley, Justin Perez,

Ryan Negola

MKTG 385 / Section 1 / Team 3 / Dr. Atav

Market Analysis
i. The Company: Courts Square Theater - 41-F Court Square, Harrisonburg, VA
22801 “Harrisonburg's downtown community theater, featuring: Film, Live Theater,
Music, Dance, and Private Rentals.” (Court Square Theater Facebook, 2023) It is in
downtown Harrisonburg near Capital Ale House, First Presbyterian Church, and
Rockingham County Circuit Court. Popularity and awareness in college community
not high, not a huge budget to use, newsletter with thousands of people on it, no food
inside seating area, alcoholic beverages are sold, willing to offer any type of show,
can be rented out for events, student made films that are premiered tend to have a
better outcome, social medias and website are improving under new clientele, outdoor
signage cannot be improved too much more due to city limitations, show a variety of
shows (including reruns of actual movies) and are willing to emphasize shows people
actually want.
ii. Customers: Courts Square Theater has a variety of customers however, their
main source of foot traffic consistent of women over 30 years old of age. So, they are
an older demographic, in addition they are also residents of both Rockingham and
Harrisonburg. We are in hopes of tapping into the college student market in the area.
iii. Conditions: For most students in the area, they do not have any opinions on live
performances and arts, positive and negative. The real issue is, they are not aware of
the events going on to even form an opinion. Most being in this “grey” area where
they could shift into becoming an arts and performance fan or seeing that it doesn’t
interest them. According to Statista, the market size of the live performance theater
industry has continued to grow back up year to year since 2020 COVID so the
interest is still there for the people (Published by Statista Research Department & 23,
2023). The problem is finding those people. Being in a college town, most of the
student population spend their free time entertaining themselves. This usually
involves going to a house party or going out to the bars. Knowing how this new
generation operates, social media is the way to go for promotion. With the amount of
time spent on social media or JMU affiliated websites, this is a great way to create
exposure. And with the number of students that are on this campus, there are students
out there that would highly enjoy Court Square Theater.

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 iv. Competition: Courts Square Theater competition can be divided into indirect and
direct. Direct competitors include the following: Regal Theater, Visulite Cinema, and
Zeus Digital Theatre. Indirect competitors will include at home streaming services
and other forms of entertainment. Examples would be Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu,
Mulligans, Blue Ridge AXEcade, and Ruby’s Arcade. These all take away attention
that could be spent elsewhere towards Court Square Theater.
v. Additional Information: Court Square Theater wanting to tap into the college
market, Harrisonburg, VA is a great place to achieve this. Harrisonburg is the biggest
city in the Shenandoah Valley which gives the potential for businesses to thrive. And
with James Madison University and Eastern Mennonite University located in
Harrisonburg along with Bridgewater College down the road, there are enough
college students in the market to go around. In 2022, enrollment for these universities
goes as follows: JMU Total Enrollment = 22,224 (JMU Facts and Figures, 2023),
EMU Total Enrollment = 1.342 (EMU Student Population, 2023), and Bridgewater
College Total Enrollment = 1,450 (Nickmohler, 2020). One last thing to note is the
increase in the Harrisonburg population. In 2023, Harrisonburg’s population came in
at 52,684, a steady increase of ~0.55% from 2022 that has continued to trend since
2010 (WorldPopulationReview, 2023). With JMU just continuing to grow and
Harrisonburg improving the city as a whole, this increase of about 0.55% - 1.00% in
population a year is projected to continue and more than likely even grow. This
shows just the new potential customers year to year that Court Square Theater can go
after.

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Current Strategy
Looking at Court Square Theater’s marketing efforts, you can for sure say that the effort
is there. Although they may have an advertisement here and there pertaining to a certain
audience group and the show that is playing, CST’s marketing is not specifically targeting one
group and remains undifferentiated due to the fact that the entertainment they offer can be for all
ages, youth to elderly and wanting to capture as much of the consumer population as possible.
They also pertain their marketing to the general Harrisonburg area (ZIP Codes 22801, 22802,
22807, 22803) which makes sense due to the fact of the one Court Square Theater’s location and
that the Harrisonburg market should be captured before expanding elsewhere. What should be
noted though is that they possess the power to appeal to different segments due to the nature of
the theater. What we mean by that is that each show is essentially a different genre from one
another (music, comedy, dance, acting, etc.) which can make marketing different from ad to ad
to find the right audience for the show that will be playing that week. With the help of new
employment, Court Square Theater’s social media and web presence has improved since the first
meeting in class at the beginning of the semester. With the use of TikTok, Facebook, and
Instagram while also improving their home Court Square Theater website. Their posts stay pretty
much the same platform to platform and remain undifferentiated just like their other marketing
efforts. Specifically, on Facebook and Instagram but their Facebook, which has the highest
interactions among social medias, provides a little more content with online news articles and
videos where we assume majority of their follower base is on and catered more towards the older
audience. Their Instagram is basically used for just posting flyers of upcoming events that we
were shown in class just like you would see on a flyer outside. For their TikTok, a mixture of
both advertising for upcoming shows and short comedy videos are posted which is refreshing
and should have attention towards if the college student market is what we are wanting to tap
into. All three media platforms are used to bring awareness and exposure to CST and have been
posted on recently and consistently lately. For their website, improvements have been made and
it has been set up well and updated for consumers to find any information they need. Any viewer
should not have any problems navigating through the website. We do believe a theme could be
used to tie CST together between their flyers and website though. The website is set up well but
seeing the colors from the flyers to the black and red only website, they feel like a night and day
experience. This is just something to keep in mind. With all this being said, these efforts are not

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producing the results that are wanted. Specifically, the college student market is not reacting at
all to these efforts. These students are in the selective exposure and low involvement state where
they are not searching for information involving Court Square Theater. CST has been battling
these states with their marketing by using bright colors and pictures in their advertisements to
catch attention and get the mind wondering what that could be. However, our group has
theorized that the flyers CST creates may be facing a problem of clutter. For some flyers, too
much information is thrown at you at once. These advertising styles may be suited for social
media posts but for in person scenarios, too much seems to be going on. Finding that certain
“theme” that can be used across all CST shows will help with identifying that this show is related
to Court Square Theater. We are not saying all flyers need to be the same because some since of
creativity can be used for each different type of show, but possibly having a certain theme for all
comedy shows, live theater, live music, drag, etc. will help build an image in the consumer’s
minds.
When it comes to the brand of Court Square Theater, there is not much of a brand image
due to the weak knowledge of CST. While there does appear to be efforts in building a newer,
stronger brand image with the new uses of social media, we do not believe it is being done
correctly. CST seems to be only using their Facebook and Instagram mostly for posting
upcoming shows when they should be also focusing on posting other content in order to build the
image they want. Their TikTok is a good step in the right direction by posting some real-life
content that will further build on what CST has already established. One thing we would like to
touch on however would be the newsletter, social media, and flyers and how they have a
potential impact on hurting the brand image of CST. With how many shows are offered month to
month, this can cause an excess of content being posted and sent on the three platforms stated.
How does that hurt? When you get sent emails from a company you order from every other day,
do you check them? No, it becomes spam in your mind. And this is something CST may be
battling. With the influx of advertisements being promoted, consumers may have already
associated seeing “Court Square Theaters” in their inbox/feed as nothing more than a number
leading to them never truly reading, being remembered less, and never being exposed to the
show(s) being offered. By possibly combining multiple shows onto one advertisement or by only
promoting selective events and leaving the other shows that week for the consumers to go to the

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website to learn about themselves, this will help make that “Court Square Theater email/post”
feel a little more special.
Looking at the marketing mix and how it is influencing attitudes, it is a bit tricky to
pinpoint how actual consumer attitudes are due to not speaking with many CST loyal customers,
but you can see what Court Square Theater is going for attitude wise when you look at
everything as a whole. They have good intentions and want you to have a positive attitude when
recalling CST. With their affordable pricing that is needed to create somewhat a profit, the
advertising they do have with their website, social medias, and flyers we were presented with,
downtown location, the wide variety of shows and talent they offer, and the serving of alcohol,
they are trying their best to promote a fun, family or alone, show that you will walk out being
satisfied with. Which is exactly how they should be marketing themselves with being in their
industry. One emotion that Court Square Theater evokes well in many of their advertisements is
nostalgia. They often try to invoke this through promoting old movies, creating a neon sign, and
even using old promotional fliers. This is something to keep in mind going forward since this is
an area CST does well.
Court Square Theater has all the right ideas, but execution seems to be the missing piece
to the puzzle. But with the new motivation of this campaign to tap into the college student
market, hope is on the horizon. When looking at the 20,000+ students in the area between three
colleges and the experience they offer compared to a local cinema like Regal, there is a market of
students out there who would really enjoy CST if we could just get exposure out there to them.
In order for us to do this, we are going to have to push past just social media efforts. That is an
area that still needs effort put towards but with the amount of content and ads the typical college
student sees in a day, CST will not stick around in the mind with only that. They should put
themselves where their attention is. We’re not saying in a broader sense like social media, we
mean exactly where the college student's eyeballs are. Exposure on campus may be the solution
we need.

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Focus Group
When conducting our focus groups, our team hoped the meetings would help us
understand how college students react to live performances and their experience with theater,
specifically Court Square (CST). The subgoals of our focus group were to get an idea of how
college students spend their nights and what Court Square Theater could be doing to make that
the new spot. Most of the questions between our two groups were consistent. We wanted general
information about the members’ experiences, so the follow-up questions varied. An outline of
the questions asked is available in Appendix 1.
Both of our groups were made up of six people with varying backgrounds within the
James Madison University community. We were able to compile some involved in Greek life, in
service organizations, clubs, and independents. All of the participants had some variation of
spending time with friends; the library, downtown, and at home were the most popular locations.
Both groups shared that when they go out, it is usually accompanied by alcohol. A popular
sentiment in both groups was that on weekends, they like to be with their friends and participate
in some form of activity. One member of Group 1 mentioned that most of their activities are “an
excuse to drink” (6:30), which quickly became the consensus amongst the group. Both groups
were asked which downtown businesses they like to hang out at, and the answers were a mix of
bars and restaurants, like Billy Jacks and Golden Pony, and entertainment venues like Valley
Lanes and Ruby’s Arcade. All of these locations serve alcohol and when asked what aspects of
these venues the participants enjoyed, the presence of alcohol was frequently mentioned. After
determining the participants’ interests, we wanted to know their current knowledge of the arts
and their participation in it. One individual in each group had a strong affinity for the arts and
has been an active participant for multiple years. Group 1 included a girl who shared that she
regularly attends shows performed at The Forbes Center on the JMU campus and the members of
group two shared that they prefer more intimate venues. In group 1, the girl who attended shows
at The Forbes Center mentioned how, while she enjoys seeing these shows, the primary reason
for going is because she had friends in the plays. She mentioned how she would be interested in
going to CST if they offered more student-based shows. In addition, in group 1 the participants
mentioned that even though partying is their go to activity for fun, they also do enjoy other
events in Harrisonburg. All the participants said they would find both comedy shows and live
music as two fun events they would go to, especially if it was offered more at CST. Another

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theme that was brought up in group 1 was that it didn’t necessarily matter what venue they were
going to, but rather what was being hosted that attracted them. Both groups were presented with
a map of Court Square downtown and asked to identify the businesses that they knew of and
neither group mentioned Court Square Theater. Luckily, both groups had at least one participant
that attended a showing at CST. In the second group, we even included a street-view image of
the building and only one member could identify it.
After determining the current information that our participants had about CST, we
wanted to know what marketing tools they are usually exposed to and what thoughts they had
about CST marketing. Both groups mentioned that most of them haven’t heard any news about
CST and some members claimed that they would attend if they had heard about it sooner. The
main forms of marketing the focus groups are exposed to are digital marketing and word of
mouth. Many participants shared that they only hear about live events from their roommates and
others see posts on Snapchat and Instagram. The second group was shown the CST website and
asked for their initial interpretation. Many members stated that the words were difficult to read,
especially in the show's description, which is currently in grey print.
They remarked that the style of the website and the style of the posters were starkly
different and that they were drawn to the vibrant colors of the posters and hoped to see
more. One member from group 2 mentioned that they would be more inclined to attend a CST
theater show if they had more information about the artists or performances beforehand,
preferably in the form of a video.

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Strategic Strengths and Weaknesses
Courts Square Theater strengths are narrow, however, if they capitalize these strengths, it
could heavily improve their business. One aspect that has stood out is that they are very niche.
Therefore, the base that engages with Courts Square Theater is strong. This niche aspect also
reflects their abilities in their chosen craft. When a business operates in a niche market, it usually
is a sign of specialty in that distinct industry.
Hence, Courts Square Theater fits that concept because they are able to execute different
types of entertainment and deliver them in a manner that satisfies their customers. Another
strength that they have is they use a newsletter to keep their base updated with new events that
are coming up and it has around 10,000 people on it. Their designs are the newsletter also aren’t
standard to typical newsletters, hence why this subtle detail makes them stand out. The last
strength that they possess is their actual theater. It is a small venue that creates an intimate feel to
it.
This closeness provides a more vivid experience for the audience itself. Regarding the
weaknesses that Courts Square Theater, one very important one is that they lack major exposure,
through all channels. They have around 1,900 followers on Instagram and 4,800 on Facebook.
Even though active on these channels, they are not getting enough traffic. So even though
content is king, engagement is queen.
As demonstrated by the focus groups conducted, most people have never heard of Courts
Square Theater. They have no concrete effective manner to reach people. It looks like their
marketing efforts really need improvement in this area, which is why it is very smart of them to
be partnered up with external resources to assist them with this challenge. Another point of
weakness is their physical positioning. They are hidden somewhat as well, so if a person is
walking down the street on the road that they are on, it will be a little difficult to spot them.
Which is why they have sign to guide that person however, it is old and when budget allows, it
will be replaced. So those were the main strengths and weakness of Courts Square Theater.

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Recommendations
1. Student Hosted Events: From the first focus group, the participants gave some insight into
what they felt would attract them to want to go to CST on a regular basis, or at least check it out
to see what they have to offer. One of the primary suggestions was student hosted events. Most
of the participants said any plays for events they attend now are usually because their friends are
in them or have wanted to go as a group. Another idea that was brought up was from someone
who was in Greek life here at JMU. They mentioned how their sorority requires “philanthropy
hours” where members must partake in group events with each other to earn these hours. She
mentioned how it would be a cool idea to have CST host one of these events, and her sorority
could come and watch a movie or play together. After hearing all this, we feel a great way to
bring more traffic to CST would be by having student hosted events. By allowing students from
JMU to use CST as a venue for hosting activities, it will incentive more students to come and
check out CST, while also seeing an event that interests them. This will also benefit CST, as it
will allow them to show support for students and intertwine themselves with JMU culture.
Anytime students want to host something, they will also post about it on their social media
platforms, which will get CST’s name out there to people who may not have heard of it before.
Students will get to see what CST offers in addition to the student hosted events and may end up
wanting to come back another time to see an additional event. CST can also advertise these
events on their social media pages, which also will help with getting their name out there and
allowing more people to hear about them. Not only will these student hosted events bring in
students, but it could also potentially bring in locals who are interested in seeing a student event.
It would be a great idea for CST to have one of these events here and there, as it would change
things up for them and bring some excitement surrounding CST for when one of these student
hosted events is happening.
2. Local Partnerships: Members of the focus groups mentioned that the main reason they were
going downtown was for food or bar service. This team recognizes that partnering with a local
restaurant can build relationships with the community and attract new audiences. Court Square
Theater can gain a new audience by having promotional banners or pamphlets at these
restaurants in exchange for their logo in the program or a preshow announcement thanking and

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acknowledging the restaurant. By utilizing both the scheduling of the shows and a local happy
hour, CST and the restaurant can attract more attention and get additional revenue over a
seasonal promotion time or a specific nighttime event. If scheduled because of a specific
performance, CST can reach out to a unique restaurant that serves similar dishes to the style of
the show and provide the audience with a novel theatergoing experience. Partnering with a local
business for a dinner and a show event helps both businesses and the community.
3. Digital Marketing: One of the participants mentioned that if they heard that a comedian was
coming to perform at CST, they would want to see a preview for their stand-up act. This led our
group to wonder how else videos and previews could be used to market CST. Some shots of
people enjoying their time watching a show or behind the scenes cuts from dress rehearsals for
an upcoming show. Posts could also include submissions from visiting artists of their content
that they would like to share. Other members of the focus group stated that they had a difficult
time on the CST website. There wasn’t an issue with the formatting but the color. The
participants said that they expected more color after seeing some of the posters and that the grey
font color that was used for the shows’ description was difficult to read or even see. I think
including these descriptive videos from social media on the website will also be helpful in
keeping the website informative and inviting.

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Appendix 1: Outline of Focus Group
Intro questions
What are some things you like to do in your free time?
Is there anywhere specifically that you spend your time?
What do you find yourself doing when you have that time to yourself?
What activities do you do with your friends?

Marketing Questions
Where are you getting information about events in the area?
What is your first thought when looking at this poster?
How are you exposed to new businesses?
How do you find out about events in town?
What are your initial thoughts after looking at this website?

Downtown questions
What are your favorite parts about downtown?
What draws you to that Area?
What events have you been to downtown?
What businesses downtown would you consider yourself familiar with?
Does anyone have a specific entertainment venue that you associate with Harrisonburg or
Downtown?
Does anybody recognize this building?
Do you believe there is still a culture of going out at night?

Live Performance questions

Has anyone been to a live performance recently?
What are some personal experiences you all have with Live performance?
Do you believe there is a good live performance atmosphere in this community?
What do you look for in a theater or venue?
What do you believe would have to happen for Court Square Theater to become more popular?
What type of live performance interests you?

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Appendix 2: Transcript of Focus group

FOCUS GROUP 2
Do you believe there is a good live performance atmosphere in this community? (4:11)
P1: No
P2: No
P3: Not really, Harrisonburg is too small to have good concerts.
P4: No but I would be interested if I enjoyed the Genre.
P5: I know Golden Pony has live performance.

Where do you personally hear about new things? (5:50)

P1: Word of mouth and social media
P2: Friends.
P3: I don’t see too many things on social media, especially regarding things in Harrisonburg. so,
most of the stuff I find out is probably just through friends.
P4: I don’t think I’ve ever seen something for Downtown.

Does anyone Recognize this building? (7:02) - shown an image of CST without the sign
P1: Yes, I know Capital Ale and Court Square Theater are in there.
P2: The building beside it looks familiar.
P3: It looks like Capital Ale.
P4: Isn’t that the Jail right there?
P5: Is that the church?
P6: No

After looking at these posters, where do your eyes go? (10:26)

P1: The pictures.
P2: I noticed all the colors.
P3: Price
P4: I see things that pop out and informative.
P5: Overwhelming, not in a bad way but there’s a lot of information.

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P6: It’s a little cluttered.

What do you look for in a theater or a venue? (13:42)

P4: I prefer smaller more intimate venues than the larger ones, I feel closer to the people I’m
there with and more engaged to the artists.
P5: If it’s not a big name, it’s more intimate and like you’re connecting with the people up
there.
If they had a comedian and posted a funny clip where the audience seemed engaged

What are your first thoughts when looking at the website (17:16)
P1: It’s not really colorful at all, it’s just red and black.
P2: Almost hellish
P3: It’s boring.
P4 and P1: 100% contrasting the flyers.
P5: You can’t even see the text on the left.
P6: Looking at this right now, I don’t see nothing that sparks my interest.
P3: You can barely see the font too.
P1: It’s hard to read, it’s dark and the letters are light grey.
P6: If I could click on one of those things and they had a short video clip or trailer to give me
more of a glimpse of what they have going on.

What do you think would have to happen in order for Court Square Theater to become
more popular? (18:54)
P1: More movies
P2: Movies and music over theater stuff
P3: They have a whole base they’re not utilizing but these events don’t seem to be targeted to
college students.

FOCUS GROUP 1
Has anyone seen a live show recently? (10:10)
P1: On campus I saw Chicago.

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P2: I saw a performance at a theater connected to Capital Ale House, I can’t remember the place,
but it was right attached to Capital Ale.
Can you tell us more about that experience?
P2: Yea, I thought it was cool having a community aspect...I thought it was very inviting, it was
a good creative stage.

Is there still a culture of going out? (15:04)

P1: I think there still is a culture, but I think there’s not much to do downtown compared to other
schools, most things are house parties and not bar life or other things downtown.
P2: A lot of people do go out to parties, but I know there are others that don’t want a bar or party
event who would be interested in (CST)

What do you think these businesses do that bring people? (5:40)

P1: Other places like (Valley Lanes) do things that they think students would enjoy like Karaoke
and stuff like that.
P2: You’re not just going to the bar, there’s something to do and focus on while you’re there
drinking with your friends.
P3: It’s almost like it’s an excuse to also drink... like if you go to a football game, you go
tailgating beforehand.

How much does the addition of alcohol affect the scene of the town? (16:43)
P1: There’s people who want to drink every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and Trying to get
your friends to go to a show on a weekend night is going to be hard when they can go to a house
party or bar.
P2: There is a large audience that doesn’t want to drink every day and people think nondrinking
activities are only on campus...so if there was a space that’s still a fun activity, it doesn’t need to
involve drinking.

To those involved in clubs, is there something that CST can do with their rentable space
that would interest you? (18:27)

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P1: Our club (is a service organization) ... has just discussed doing service activities like maybe a
mental health seminar in that space or also like doing a fun activity together.
P2: We have a formal every semester and we don’t have a set space so that would be a new
option.
P3: Setting up a space for philanthropy events or sisterhood events like a movie night that could
be used as a sisterhood event.

What types of live performance interest you? (12:20)

P1: I’m in to live music so seeing local artists would draw me in
P2: More comedy shows and stand up.
P3: Open mic night with our friends
P4: Something interactive, I don’t know if we have something like that near campus like a
comedy club?
P5: I think having interactive events would draw people in
P1: I think interactive events would draw more attention to (all events) because it makes the
space more inviting and creates a spot to bring your friends to.

Would you say live music is a big part of the Harrisonburg Community? (7:15)
P1: Yea, Harrisonburg is kind of known in the indie music scene as a spot to play at. A lot of
bands have come to play here, and a couple have started here.

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Appendix 3: Additional Material

i.

ii.

16
 iii.

17
 iv.

18
 v.

19
 References

Eastern Mennonite University student population and Demographics. Univstats. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 27, 2023, from
https://www.univstats.com/colleges/eastern-mennonite-university/student-population/
Facts and figures. JMU. (2023, April 4). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from
https://www.jmu.edu/about/fact-and-figures.shtml
Harrisonburg, Virginia population 2023. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from
https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-counties/va/harrisonburg-population
Court Square Theater. Facebook. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2023, from
https://www.facebook.com/courtsquaretheater/
Nickmohler. (2020, February 26). Bridgewater facts. Bridgewater College. Retrieved April 27,
2023, from https://www.bridgewater.edu/about-us/bridgewater-facts/
Published by Statista Research Department, & 23, J. (2023, January 23). Live performance
theater: Market size US 2023. Statista. Retrieved April 26, 2023, from
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us/

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