As Taiwanese performing arts environment changes, some performing arts groups begin to co-operate with business companies and share marketing resources aggressively. On the other hand, since National Culture and Arts Foundation has launched Performing Arts Marketing Platform project in 2006, which has promoted several platforms to co-market with business companies and to gain benefits. However, this business model has not been developed throughly. The purposes of this study are to explore the theories of co-marketing alliances; to understand the influence of the marketing platforms during co-marketing alliances as arts intermediaries; to compare four cases of co-marketing alliances; to modify the co-marketing alliances models and to conclude some suggestions for business companies and Performing Arts Marketing Platforms to improve their cooperation. This study is based on four co-marketing alliances case studies, with observation and in-deep interviews to collect research data. The study concludes that except marketing concern and brand awareness, social responsibility, which helps performing arts organizations to gain more trusts from business companies, becomes another important motivation to form alliances. These motivations affect business companies for choosing their partners, managing the alliances, and evaluating the results. Furthermore, ¡§complementary possibilities¡¨ and ¡§alliance promoters¡¨ are two advantages for Performing Arts Marketing Platforms to built relationships with business companies. Since customers¡¦ cognitions and attitude are not easy to be evaluated, business companies can only measure the outcomes of the alliances through number of consumers, advertisement impression, overall revenue and return questionnaires, which are also difficult to distinguish from normal situations. Therefore, most of the business companies prefer to evaluate the alliance by managers¡¦ subjective judgments. In order to establish a steady alliance, a business company has to familiar with the diversity of performing arts and alternative alliance models beforehand. A Performing Arts Marketing Platform has to consider the needs of business companies, performing arts organizations and itself. The study also suggests a Performing Arts Marketing Platform should increase its advantages and emphasize equal partnerships. It can connect the resource from all the performing arts organizations it helps, and enhance alliance promoter¡¦s professional ability.

This thesis is based on an action research of ¡§2006 Performing Arts Marketing Platform¡¨ in Taichung City. Combining theories with practical work to analyze the performing arts marketing channels of Taichung, the researcher tried to improve the administration skills and to exam the possibilities of accomplish the project. Within nearly 10 months of project execution, the researcher served as the project manager and helped 20 performing groups to promote their productions in Taichung City. The data were collected by using shorthand notes, self-examination, responses from performing groups, evaluation forms, interviews, working journals, proceedings of meetings, etc. The results showed that the Performing Arts Marketing Platform of Taichung City was truly practicable. It not only increased the box office of performing companies, but also received positive responses from National Culture and Art Foundation and the performing companies. The researcher comprehended how the platform operated, and what are the effective marketing channels to promote performing arts in Taichung through the work. Two suggestions were raised from this study: It is important to take care every detail and use creative mind to develop a marketing strategy. In order to maximize marketing effect, the executor should fix the strategy according to the environment changes, and adopt governmental resources efficiently. Furthermore, the government should support the project continually, extend the outcomes and minimize the ¡§gap¡¨ between two projects. We should all face the difficult positions of arts administrators and diminish the insufficient manpower. Frankly, the spirit of this project is to create a platform for people to share their resources.