“What should we be paying attention to?”
TRG gets this — and similar questions — often. As a firm that operates in four countries with a variety of clients, we have a catbird seat to the latest industry trends each year. In 2016, the trends that caught our attention included:
- The importance of “integrated patron loyalty”
- How to make a business model based on subscription thrive
- Why arts organizations should use data to program a balanced season
- The reasons that arts marketers still place low-return marketing ads, and what you can do stop the practice
Still craving more? Below are our most popular posts from 2016. We thank you, our loyal readers, who continue to inspire, teach, and engage with our content. And, we thank the many clients who have collaborated with us to tell their story of organizational change and revenue results.
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| Photo by Corey Balazowich (CC BY-ND 2.0) |
In the age of Netflix, Amazon, and Uber, does the subscription need a small tweak, a substantial jump start, or a complete-and-total-tear-down-and-rebuild to remain a worthwhile offering? TRG's Adam Scurto dissects the data on the viability of the subscription model for symphony orchestras, and strategies for reviving subscriptions at your organization.
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Toward the beginning of the year, TRG's Amelia Northrup-Simpson published a blog post detailing her interviews with the marketing and development heads at Guthrie Theater. Using data and strategy, the Guthrie developed a culture of loyalty through increased audience numbers, and expansion of their donor base, despite facing major organizational change.
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Do the titles that your organization programs actually resonate with your community? Your single ticket sales will tell you loud and clear. In this new blog post, President & CEO Jill Robinson dissects the factors that play into artistic programming decisions.
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Some ads and media outlets have a better ROI than others. Low-performing ads should be cut but, for one reason or another, we justify keeping them on our to-do list. It’s especially common with print ads. In this post, Senior Consultant J.L. Nave lists three common reasons that marketers keep placing low-performing ads and ways to stop justifying them.
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| Ronia Holmes |
Because it isn’t central to your mission. Period.
One of our most controversial and popular posts came from Ronia Holmes of the University Of Chicago’s Art + Public Life Initiative. In this blog post, Holmes confronts the prevailing industry wisdom that a “new” audience must be a “diverse” one--and discusses how this philosophy leads to community-building being co-opted as a tactic for patron acquisition, echoing similar sentiments from TRG’s late founder Rick Lester‘s 2013 blog post, Audience Engagement No Man’s Land.
As one of our commenters wrote of Holmes' take, “I found the title off-putting and I found myself getting defensive, but I'm so glad I read it.”
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Does your organization need a box office anymore? Well, yes. But the question is understandable. Certainly the roles and responsibilities of box office staff have changed as more patrons elect to buy online.
The first post in this blog series examines basics of how box office staff can impact data capture, patron experience, retention, and upgrading.
The second post in this blog series examines more advanced techniques in retaining patrons and providing great service.
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Photo by Rosalie O'Connor
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“What’s the big deal about a ballet company having a successful Nutcracker?,” you may be asking yourself. “We all know that holiday programming practically sells itself.” It’s true that holiday shows attract large audiences. But arts managers can still have a huge impact on results, as the story of Boston Ballet's record-breaking Nutcracker illustrates.
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With a capital campaign looming, Kansas City Repertory Theatre needed more support from donations under $1,000. Learn how new rules like "Never ask for less than $100" and "Stop asking people who aren’t likely to give" guided them to a 14% increase in revenue and more donors upgrading than ever before.
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Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre was stable throughout the recession. However, the company saw a dip in patron-generated revenue in the 2011–12 season. By radically changing investments, campaign messages, and tracking strategy, the company has achieved huge gains over the course of three years, including 125% growth in annual fund gifts and 59% growth in single tickets.
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