PUBLICITY MANAGEMENT AND THE POTENTIALS OF DIGITAL MARKETING OF UNIUYO STAGE CARNIVAL, “XHIBITZ”
The need to engage consumers of theatrical productions via online platforms does not limit to the acquisition of a marmot crowd to see a production alone; it also modifies the theatre practitioners and their crafts, fashioning out some potentials for the practitioner and the institution to depend on as a profession. Drawing from James Culliton's Market Mix Theory, which explains the importance of locale and determination and that the consumers' response to the product is based on the medium of interaction, this uses descriptive research design in qualitative approach to examine the prospects of marketing “Xhibitz” online with the bid to raise a dependable platform to reach out to a wide audience for increased patronage and to prefigure the possible practices in theatre management that can enhance creativity and potentiality resulting in entrepreneurship. Findings show that annual carnivals are purpose-oriented performances which engage the people's past and present to project a future. “Xhibitz” is an evolving carnival containing varieties of art forms which indicate the synergy of the different theatre practices in the University of Uyo and the society. Findings further reflect that marketing theatrical productions online can draw more audience to the activities of the theatre; different platforms create numerous outlets which can enhance the bond between the stage and the society; audience's patronage encourages investment, and many hidden potentials and talents may be discovered. The paper concludes that cultural practices promoted through a viable platform can reinforce all-round progress and that audience response to a production depends on the means of attraction. It recommends that trending digital outlets should be engaged to draw the audience to the theatre.
Keywords: carnival, digital, management, marketing, potentials, publicity, stage, uniuyo, “xhibitz”