Grantee roundtable presentation public

HARRIS THEATER FOR MUSIC AND DANCEMILLENNIUM PARK

Chicago Community TrustGrantee Roundtable

October 21, 20101

Who We Are

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Description of Grant Project

Using the Harris Theater’s economies of scale, the Theater designed and executed targeted arts engagement campaigns for 6 resident companies during the 2009-2010 season

Chosen because of their administrative and financial needs, the 6 companies represent a cross sample of the organizations that typically perform at the Harris

Tactics included; teleresources, public

relations, e-communications, social networking, and bundled advertising

Provided companies with ROI reports and patron data analysis

Data collected to be used for future analysis

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Sources of Audience Data and Information

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The Harris Theater uses Tessitura, an integrated customer relationship management system (CRM). Central data warehouse Tracking mechanism for all customer interactions and transactional information.

Track each component of our sales strategy by using specific promotional codes and giving us the tools organize and analyze the data collected.

To get the most out of the data you store, you need to know exactly what information you are looking for... Getting the answers to questions can be labor intensive.

In the second phase of the CCT grant, the Harris will purchase T-Stats v2.0 to complement and enhance the Tessitura Software. Allows front end control of powerful data mining tools without the need for custom report

writing.

The Harris has also engaged the services of Slover-Linnett Strategies Inc. –to analyze patron data and present a more holistic view of the different kinds of patrons and patterns that exist in the database.

Anticipated OutcomesAnticipated OutcomesActual OutcomesActual Outcomes

Cultivate a new audience through public relations and community outreach

Increase audience from previous season engagement by 60% for a total minimum attendance of 500

Achieve a gross ticket revenue goal of $12,500

Provided complimentary tickets to community organizations, churches, and HT donors – introducing new patrons

Exceeded attendance goal of 500 by 58% with a total attendance of 788

Total ticket revenue goal = $10,828

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Company 1


Engage new audiences through use of social media, viral marketing, community relations and bundled advertising

Achieve a minimum of 500 audience members for each performance

Achieve $2,000 in ticket revenue for each performance for a total of $6,000

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Successful at attracting local residents and office employees – many new to the Theater

Lunchtime performance not ideal for college students

Exceeded attendance goal of 500 for all three performances, averaging 720 per show

Total ticket revenue for the Eat to the Beat series: $6,900

Company 2


Audience development through cross promotion with HT dance buyers

Increase audience by 12% from

2,230 to 2,500 for each engagement

Attendance for fall decreased by 15% (1,891)

Attendance for spring decreased by 17% (1,858)

Though fell short of goal, positive trends became evident and will be explored in 10/11:

Reduction in complimentary tickets and increase in average ticket price

Increase in African-American audience - 60% of this audience new to company

Willingness to explore subscriptions

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Company 3



Increase audience by 9% from 1,370 to 1,490 for each engagement

Provide marketing support and assistance through leadership transition

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Company 4

Retained same attendance as previous year using all online advertising

Attendance for fall engagement increased by 11% (1,518)Attendance for spring engagement decreased by 9% (1,241)

HT staff worked directly with company staff throughout entire process



Cultivate new family based audience

Increase audience by 28% to 2,800 for each engagement with inclusion of Family Series performance

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Company 5

Family Series great successTotal attendance: 1,107

Attendance for Nov. engagement increased by 13% (2,478)Attendance for Feb. engagement increased by 15% (2,533)

Fell slightly short of attendance goal, however, proved that the tactics worked


Achieve an audience of 750 or 51% of capacity for the inaugural appearance at the Harris Theater

Develop a dynamic ticket buyer list of at least 300 individual households/names

Sold-out audience (1500 patrons)

Consignment ticketing & early sales resulted in modest ticket buyer list

Committed to hosting Festival at the Theater in 2010 and adding a matinee performance to meet increased demand

CCT funds used to assist with pre-sale of 2010 engagement – ensuring that patrons who could not get tickets last year are able to attend

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Company 6

Where We Want to Go from Here

Leverage HT Presents series to draw new audiences to resident company performances

Bundle select resident company performances with HT Presents performances of similar genres or cultural communities

Convert new ticket buyers to regular patrons of the Theater’s resident companies

Continue working with 4 resident companies from last season whose arts engagement campaigns left something more to explore

Expand project to include 3 new resident companies

Develop a comprehensive, diverse database of Chicago’s arts patrons

Long-term goal: Develop a case-study of purchasing habits and psychographics

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Advice

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Data is a powerful tool to make informed decisions for the future. Be nimble and track the results of your tactics during the process!

The outcome you expect might not always be the one you get, but don’t miss a learning opportunity. Lessons learned may be more valuable than the original question.

Don’t be afraid to talk with your “competitors.” There is a value to collaboration beyond the pooling of financial resources. The arts community is stronger when we are sharing best practices and lessons learned.

Collaboration: All parties work together and build consensus

to reach a decision or create a product, the result of whichbenefits all parties. Competition is a nearly-insurmountable

roadblock to collaboration, and the relationship among partiesmust continue beyond the accomplishment of the task in order

to assure its viability. The goal is dynamic.

Technology

Grantee roundtable presentation public