Out of all the orchestra mailing lists I subscribe (over 100 so far) it never ceases to surprise me how few offer any sort of thanksgiving holiday shopping promotion. In fact, so far this season, the only one I’ve received is from the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Granted, not every group is going to have offerings suitable for a Black Friday but I was still expecting more than just one this season.
But one aspect in all of this that’s worth consideration is whether or not Black Friday is even the way to go for orchestras. Current thinking tends to divide the post Thanksgiving shopping season into three parts: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.
For orchestras, brick and motor sales aren’t exactly a primary point of contact for ticket buyers so it’s worth considering the value in focusing efforts on the latter two options.
The 11/21/12 edition of Forbes.com has some interesting thoughts on all of this from Carol Tice that are worth reading; in the meantime, I’m curious to know if any other orchestras are offering a Black, Small Biz, Cyber deal; if so, post a comment to let everyone know.
Postscript: right after publishing today’s post, I received a Black Friday email offer from Longwood Symphony.
Most professional orchestra collective bargaining agreements expire during the summer months and since the economic downturn, it is increasingly common to see groups continue…
10 thoughts on “What’s Your Group Doing For Black Friday?”
Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra is doing a Cyber Monday deal…appears it’s only available through their Facebook page, though. When you buy $50 or more in gift certificates, you get 50% more on Cyber Monday.
That’s interesting. Even my San Francisco medical marijuana dispensary was offering Black Friday sales today, so you’d think orchestras might want to go with the consumerist flow.
Lyric Opera offered a THANKS promo best available seats for $29, so I got a jump start on TAFTO and bought a young student a ticket for Werther as her first opera experience.
Nice to see you give our wonderful Seattle Symphony marketing department a shout out. They make great use of email, social networking and the web, building upon the excitement generated about the orchestra amongst our extremely loyal subscribers. Their enthusiasm for the orchestra complements the excitement generated by the orchestra’s performances at Benaroya Hall, cushioning the positive momentum that creates the exceptional earned income figures generated by the Seattle Symphony.
Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra is doing a Cyber Monday deal…appears it’s only available through their Facebook page, though. When you buy $50 or more in gift certificates, you get 50% more on Cyber Monday.
Not to mention Giving Tuesday!
That’s interesting. Even my San Francisco medical marijuana dispensary was offering Black Friday sales today, so you’d think orchestras might want to go with the consumerist flow.
Lyric Opera offered a THANKS promo best available seats for $29, so I got a jump start on TAFTO and bought a young student a ticket for Werther as her first opera experience.
Heather, you are genuinely awesome 🙂
Phila’s offering a Cyber deal.
The Columbus Symphony (Ohio) is doing a Cyber Monday deal through their Facebook page, and it includes deals for Opera Columbus etc.
Nice to see you give our wonderful Seattle Symphony marketing department a shout out. They make great use of email, social networking and the web, building upon the excitement generated about the orchestra amongst our extremely loyal subscribers. Their enthusiasm for the orchestra complements the excitement generated by the orchestra’s performances at Benaroya Hall, cushioning the positive momentum that creates the exceptional earned income figures generated by the Seattle Symphony.
LA Phil is offering one too — and a nice one, with some great stuff for 50% off.
The Tucson Symphony is offering a Cyber Monday deal for another 45 minutes: http://myemail.constantcontact.com/TSO-Cyber-Blitz-Sale—only-2-hours-left-to-purchase-tickets-.html?soid=1103540043692&aid=I9IkLsOYS64