Booz Allen Creates Sustainable Growth Plan for Historic Ford’s Theatre

Proposed new vision includes enhanced performances and increased educational activities to benefit patrons and the community.

Ford’s New Theater opened in 1863 in Washington, D.C.—and closed just two years later, on April 14, 1865, after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while attending a performance of “Our American Cousin.”

Left unused and vacant for a time, Ford’s New Theater later served as an office, warehouse, and museum before President Eisenhower signed a restoration act in 1954. The modern-day Ford’s Theatre reopened in 1968 to quickly become one of Washington’s premier attractions.

“It did well in its first 38 years of existence and had strong name recognition based on its history,” says Booz Allen Hamilton senior vice president Eric Spiegel.

Recently, however, Ford’s Theatre Society (FTS), which runs the production company, found the theater’s popularity was slipping. Over the past decade, the thriving local theater scene had become one of the most robust in the nation, and Ford’s Theatre—whose lobby and infrastructure were showing signs of age—was competing for patrons.

“It needed a new direction to redefine itself,” Spiegel says. “The FTS had numerous ideas to restore the theater to the prominence it once enjoyed, but no consensus on how to move forward.”

So, in 2006, Booz Allen undertook a pro bono effort to help Ford’s Theatre to reclaim its position as a top D.C. attraction, and provided recommendations that combined the theater’s historical identity with a new artistic vision.

Paul Tetreault, Ford’s Theatre’s producing director, was impressed with the team’s commitment and expertise. “We needed an outside perspective, and the breadth and depth of talent that Booz Allen brought to this project—from strategy, marketing, and IT to the Web and finance—was unparalleled.

“This was exactly the type of services we needed at exactly the right time,” he continues. “My staff and the Booz Allen team worked closely together and as a result, Booz Allen’s recommendations were taken to heart by the board and staff and earned strong support. We plan to implement almost all of the team’s recommendations.”

“Ford’s Theatre is a national treasure—both in history and the arts—and Booz Allen is proud to support it,” says Dr. Ralph Shrader, Booz Allen chairman and CEO.

Restoring a Landmark Theatre to National Prominence

With almost one million visitors annually, Ford’s Theatre is the most popular National Park Service destination off the Mall, ranking ninth among D.C. national historic sites and monuments. But attendance has not returned to pre-9/11 levels.

To discover why, the firm analyzed FTS’s mission, strategy, and business model and compared them to other local, national, and international theater models and other tourist attractions. They found that the theater’s financial performance was average when compared to the national market, but not when compared to its D.C. peers.

“With limited federal funding available, FTS needed a financial growth plan, facility renovations, and an enhanced education program to remain competitive,” says associate Jennifer Pawlowski. “Because it caters to two distinct markets—tourists and theater-goers—FTS also needed a new marketing direction.”

Senior consultant Caroline Brown says the team focused on the theater’s mission: Portraying Lincoln and American history and emphasizing Lincoln’s values, legacy, and love of the arts. “We developed a revised direction and operating model for the organization, with a five-year strategic and business plan to support them.”

The recommended business model targeted several areas and includes:

• Theater – Add a summer show; increase investment per production; produce artistically significant works that promote Lincoln’s legacy
• Education – Increase programming variety to serve patrons of all ages; upgrade the website; create extensive online programs
• Interactive museum – Renovate the existing museum to trace Lincoln’s footsteps as he arrived in Washington and visited the theater and depict his final moments
• Operations – Develop a fully staffed education department; increase marketing; fully invest in facilities including classrooms, exhibition space, retail, and theater
• Development – Expand the current capital campaign; grow annual contributed income target areas; focus on educational programming to attract new donors

The proposed plan includes programs to service student/teacher curriculums—and tourists as well.

Currently, the theater’s revenue originates mostly from corporations with some individual contributions, augmented by the National Park Service, ticket sales, and endowments. To attract additional patrons, Booz Allen suggested increasing the number of shows and ticket prices, and tapping into merchandising, which had not been tried before. They also identified grant funding that may be available from the city.

“Booz Allen pulled ideas from its entire firm, and their depth of research was extraordinary,” Tetreault says.

Leveraging Intellectual Capital to Provide Community Support

Booz Allen funded this national landmark project for many reasons, says principal Joe Suarez, who heads the firm’s Community Relations department. “It has great historical significance, it’s a place where arts and culture will remain alive, and it provides tremendous opportunities to learn about Lincoln and the role he played in ensuring our nation remained whole. We wanted to ensure it remains a great institution with great vitality that can adjust to changing needs of the environment.”

Pawlowski notes that Booz Allen’s comprehensive strategic plan would allow the theater to build off its strengths. “It would help FTS grow its operating budget, enhance performances, expand educational activities, and better benefit the community.”

Booz Allen receives more than 100 requests for pro bono project funding each year, Suarez says, but can pursue only about 25. “We select the best of the best. We look for engagements that are of significant importance to a community, where we can lend our greatest asset—intellectual capital.” Although leadership is considered when making choices, more important to the firm are projects where it can have an impact in charting an organization’s future.

“We want pro bono projects that can showcase the quality of our work and cultivate relationships with business leaders,” Suarez continues. “We want opportunities for junior staff to hone their skills under the oversight of leaders like Eric Spiegel, and acquire qualifications they may not be able to achieve in their day-to-day job functions that enhance their professional growth as well as assist their community.

“We look for the best of all worlds—making a difference in community and in the lives of our people.”

For Brown, the project was inspiring. “Ford’s Theatre is a place you hear about while you’re growing up. To actually have had a chance to help enhance it is exciting. Rarely is an organization open to the possibility of reinventing itself, but Ford’s Theatre was.”

Moving Forward with an Ambitious New Strategy

In February 2007, Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Shrader attended a White House dinner hosted by President and Mrs. Bush to present Dr. David Herbert and Doris Kearns Goodwin with the 2007 Ford’s Theatre Lincoln Medal, an annual award given to individuals who exemplify the legacy and character embodied by President Lincoln. The new strategy and direction for Ford’s Theatre was announced that evening.

The event also kicked off cultural events leading to the February 2009 bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth, including a commissioned play about Lincoln’s presidency, and lectures, panel discussions, and readings by Lincoln scholars and others. The theater will also inaugurate its first summer season with programming tied to the Civil War.

The following evening—February 12, Lincoln’s birthday—Spiegel attended a fundraising event for the theater at the National Portrait Gallery, where Lincoln held his inaugural ball.

Ford’s Theatre’s board of trustees—whose membership includes prominent names befitting the theater’s stature—ratified Booz Allen’s recommendations in September 2006. Preliminary milestones include opening the educational center and lobby, and introducing concessions and merchandising, in FY 08.

The board is chaired by Wayne Reynolds, whose wife, Catherine Reynolds, was named one of the 50 most philanthropic living American women, and whose foundation sponsored the February White House award ceremony and celebration. Board members also include vice-chair Nicholas Chabraja, CEO of General Dynamics; vice-chair Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon/Mobil; and Booz Allen’s Eric Spiegel.

story posted March 28, 2007