Atlanta Ballet

Atlanta Ballet held a Board Summit on October 13, 2016 for senior staff and board to discuss key organizational issues for a future strategic planning process. TDC, a nonprofit research and consulting firm, facilitated the discussion. The summit focused on addressing the following four questions:

1. Are you in agreement that audience growth should be the primary goal of the next several years? Are there other key goals that need to be considered?
2. What does Atlanta Ballet need to drive audience growth?
3. What other organizational issues need to be tackled going forward?
4. What other questions does the planning process need to answer?

The room was divided into four assigned groups, each with a mix of board and staff members. The following are the findings from the breakout session:

1. All groups agreed that growing audiences should be one of the major goals considered over the next several years. Many felt strongly that growing diverse audiences should be a top priority and that Atlanta Ballet should be striving for greater visibility throughout the city of Atlanta.
2. The group focused on several of the key points: 1) Test and act on programming preferences of audiences; stage productions with high levels of title recognition; 2) pursue lapsed patrons; and 3) enhance visibility through civic pride and personal connection.
3. The following additional questions were identified: 1) who should be Atlanta Ballet’s audiences? How can the organization achieve this?; 2) How can Atlanta Ballet raise the needed endowment funds in the long term?; and 3) What level corporate support would be possible to achieve within Atlanta’s unique corporate fundraising environment?

A planning committee made up of both board and staff will launch a planning process, which will include a more in-depth internal analysis alongside external research.

Actor's Express

With the support of the Audience Building Roundtable Technical Assistance Grant, Actor’s Express set out to turn our large group of one-time attendees (tryers) into repeat ticket buyers (buyers) and our repeat ticket buyers into subscribers (advocates). During our 2015-16 season, which included six mainstage shows and a large summer musical, AE welcomed over 4,000 households into the theatre. Of those households, 78% were one-time ticket buyers, 14.5% were repeat ticket buyers and 7.5% were subscribers. Based on this data we determined that we really need to focus our energy on moving patrons from one-time ticket buyer to repeat ticket buyer status. We have not yet reached the end of our 2016-17 season, so cannot give a full report on the effects of the project, but we have encountered some success with our tactics thus far.

First, we employed the help of an hourly box office assistant to clean up our database. This work included inputting new customers from third-party vendors and merging duplicate records. Our database can now output more accurate data to inform our marketing decisions. We found the results so beneficial that we have incorporated these tasks into the role of a new part-time business manager who started with Actor’s Express at the beginning of 2017.

For each show in our 2016-17 season, we have been following up with single ticket buyers with an email immediately following the performance the patron attends and a postcard mailing after the production closes. The email and mailer both include a discount to the next two productions if booked by a certain date.

Follow-up postcard mailing for Company

The good news is that the follow-up piece has increased our number of return single ticket buyers! We have compared last season’s Sweeney Todd and Yockey Repertory, which had no follow-up mailings, to this season’s Company and Appropriate, which both had follow-up mailings, in the chart below. Both sets of shows had comparable attendance and draw to the two following productions. In both cases both the percentage of single ticket buyers and first time ticket buyers for the shows with follow-up pieces (Company and Appropriate) were higher than for the show from the previous season.

While the follow-up piece did have a direct impact on single ticket buyers returning to the theatre, we did not see much use of the promotion codes. The code on the Company piece was used 32 times and the code on the Appropriate piece was used just 9 times. Based on these results, we believe it was not the discount that enticed patrons to come back, but instead the follow-up mailing was a good reminder. Going forward we plan to experiment with these alterations to the follow-up mailing:

• Using an exciting production photo from the show the patron attended instead of artwork from the upcoming shows as the focal point of the mailing
• Offering no discount on the follow-up piece but still mailing it right after the production the patron attended closes
• Using a deeper discount on the follow-up piece to encourage advance purchase of tickets
• Sending more follow-up pieces between shows

To address the next level of the patron loyalty pyramid, we have instituted a telemarketing campaign targeted toward repeat ticket buyers to turn them into subscribers. Since, in the past, we have experienced some resistance from patrons in making the leap to a subscription package, we created a special package called a 4-Pack aimed toward repeat ticket buyers. This package was not available to the general population. It was only available to the identified patrons who were contacted via telemarketing and through follow-up emails. The package, instead of providing one ticket to each show in our five-play season, allows the buyer four tickets to be used in any way he or she wants. The patron can use all four tickets for one show or use one ticket for each of four plays. This package provides a lot of flexibility to repeat ticket buyers while increasing their commitment to the next season. With the addition of the 4-pack option we saw the number of subscribers rise from 528 for the 2015-16 season to 728 for the 2017-18 season. This is a 38% increase in the number of subscribers. We plan to use the telemarketing approach in two ways for 2017-18 subscriptions.

1. Target repeat ticket buyers from the 2016-17 season with an exclusive 4-Pack option
2. Target 4-Pack buyers to move into traditional subscription packages or a 6-Pack option

Finally to increase patron engagement for those already deeply involved with the organization like subscribers and donors, we have created two programs based on results of patron feedback. During our conversations with subscribers and donors, we learned that patrons:

• Want facetime with Actor’s Express artists
• Want to know more about the behind the scenes work of a professional theatre company
• Were excited about our upcoming 30th Anniversary Season

The first program we created is called Fridays with Freddie. On the fourth Friday of every production run we invite subscribers and donors to have lunch on stage with Actor’s Express Artistic Director Freddie Ashley. Each lunch has a theme and special guests if appropriate. The first lunch was a sneak peek into Season 30 and the second focused on the casting process. These lunches allow patrons to have an intimate insider experience at AE. We also include a donation request tailored to the event presented by our Development Director as part of the program. Each luncheon has been attended by 25+ patrons and netted at least $2,000. We plan to continue these lunches into our 30th Anniversary Season.

Fridays with Freddie during The Crucible

The second program is a fundraising campaign called the $30k Club. The goal of the campaign is to leverage the enthusiasm for our 30th Anniversary Season to raise $30,000 in new gifts to support Season 30. Patrons can join the $30k Club either by making a new donation of $100 or increasing their annual fund gift by $100. Members of the $30k Club get special access to events during Season 30 and, most importantly, a pin that gets them a free drink at every show. After launching the program in February, we have already recruited 123 members. The goal of this program is to raise additional funds for Season 30 while growing our base of entry-level donors.

The Technical Assistance grant has allowed us to really look at our own patron engagement pyramid and determine the best ways to move patrons from one level to the next. Our efforts to convert repeat ticket buyers into subscribers through special telemarketing packages and to engage our subscribers on a deeper level through programs like Fridays with Freddie and the $30k Club have been very successful. We have seen some success with converting single ticket buyers into repeat ticket buyers, but we feel there is more to do here. Over the next season, we will experiment with different iterations of the follow-up mailing in addition to introducing some new tactics.

We would recommend that our peer arts organizations really try to understand what their patrons are looking for and develop programs that are mutually beneficial to both the patrons and the organization. Is it access to artists? Is it a behind the scenes tour? Is it guest passes to bring friends? One of our keys to success is making sure that when we do more deeply engage our patrons, we don’t let them leave the theatre without showing them the next step in their relationship with AE.

During this process we have not encountered anything that we would tell other organizations to completely avoid. We would say to be wary of discounting. With people who are already familiar with the organization, this may not be a necessary tool in getting them to further engage. 

Dance Canvas

Marketing to Millennials:  Could less be more?

By Sicily Ledford, Dance Canvas

While at the National Arts Marketing Project Conference in November 2016, which I attended on scholarship from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the Georgia Repertory Theater, I learned (and was reassured) that not all millennials prefer to be reached through online platforms and social media. Although, it is worth noting that we still tend to social media outreach as an integral facet to our audience building tactic. It is simply important to remember that, in fact, reaching patrons through face-to-face audience building tactics can develop a more resilient, lasting relationship. It can also be useful to focus on reaching small groups of this generation of individuals at a time. Essentially, once meaningful relationships are created, patrons will tell their colleagues and friends to attend events or support the organization. This classic bring-a-friend tactic is undoubtedly timeless. Although this process does not yield an immediate increase in number of patrons attending events or amount of donations, it does increase the authenticity of the organization to patron relationship which, in turn, results in long term organizational health. It also increases the likelihood for donations as these patrons grow in their careers. As a part of this generation, I felt charged to continue to share this simple, but vital and refreshing idea.

Since my return from the National Arts Marketing Project Conference, our administrative team developed a Dance Canvas Ambassador Program. Our team first met over pizza and brainstorming; this evening of discussion did not cost anything more than pizza, paper, and pencils. Our Executive Director, Angela Harris, began by leading everyone through a design thinking activity using the template that we received at an Audience Building Roundtable meeting, only stopping conversation when we realized that the restaurant was closing! We finished with a hearty list of ideas for engineering our student engagement initiatives and recruiting an energized group of inaugural Dance Canvas Ambassadors.

In light of the face-to-face and word-of-mouth concept mentioned above, this small but mighty group of young, dedicated Dance Canvas ambassadors – all patrons and volunteers - serve to connect our organization to the younger population in the metro Atlanta region. This initiative essentially serves as a way to engage college students in professional development opportunities and Dance Canvas events. Our ambassadors are inspired to complete special projects, carry out audience engagement initiatives, and lead a cohort of peers from several of Dance Canvas’ partner colleges. Ambassadors are asked to volunteer for at least three Dance Canvas events including our “Introducing the Next Generation…” performances.

In return, ambassadors receive these benefits!

• Free Dance Canvas T-shirt & Magnet
• Free admission to all Dance Canvas shows and events
• Special invitations to private Dance Canvas events (networking opportunities) 
• Access to Dance Canvas choreographers through masterclasses, workshops, and meet & greets
• Access to free professional development seminars, VIP Q&A's, and special DC Ambassador social / networking events
• Cohort of Peers from several colleges
• Mentorship and career goal assistance from the Dance Canvas Staff

Currently, our partner colleges are the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, and Georgia Tech. These partnerships support the part of our mission that serves emerging artists that are college students, recent graduates, and/or of the millennial generation.

In review, our Ambassador program provides volunteer support for audience building tasks and projects including—but not limited to—social media content development and targeted ticket sales.

Each of our Ambassadors reached out to their peers to increase student ticket sales for our “Introducing the Next Generation…” performance series in March 2017. Our group of Ambassadors also led the two post-show receptions in the Ferst Center for the Arts lobby. These gatherings were an absolute hit, and the post show vibe led to even more relationship cultivation as patrons could interact directly with choreographers, dancers, and Dance Canvas students while enjoying free hors d'oeuvres and beverages.

The challenge that comes with having an Ambassador team is the time it takes to educate and lead rather than simply delegate tasks. But I hesitate to call this a “negative.”  The Ambassadors are eager and quick to learn and we hope to support them in becoming leaders for our organization and for the Atlanta arts community. We encourage organizations to take the time to generate or further develop their relationships with this group of “art-zealous” patrons. It is an investment that will yield returns into the future.

We welcome you to share our Ambassador program with others using the link below.

http://www.dancecanvas.com/collegiate-alliance-ambassador-prog. We are happy to answer any questions at info@dancecanvas.com.