Audience Development

Seat Selection Survey Results. So. Many. Hurdles.

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It’s no secret that even the best marketing campaigns are worthless if something prevents your target from completing the transaction. Consequently, the more we know about those hurdles, the better. For most performing arts organizations, allowing ticket buyers to select their own seats is a strong selling point. But if online buyers find that process frustrating, that strength becomes a weakness. To that end, the more the sector as a whole …

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Better To Shun The Bait Than Struggle In The Snare

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There’s an interesting article by David Rohde from his Medium blog that examines how the traditional telemarketing approach isn’t just a path of diminishing returns, it’s downright self-defeating. Granted, we’ve been examining this very idea for years, but Rohde manages to provide some really useful connections to help drive the point home while keeping a few key points concise. He sets up the discussion with an excellent title: “How Telemarketing Helped …

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Looking At The Business Through Merlot Colored Glasses

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I’m all for finding ways to infuse wine into the live concert experience. But while my own interest tends to start and stop at the actual consumption, others are giving the subject it the attention it deserves. Case in point, violinist Holly Mulcahy recently published an article at Neo Classical that casts an eye toward lessons our field can learn from the way the wine industry began to pivot 20 years …

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When “Repressed Joy” Is Your Brand

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There’s an absolutely fabulous video making the rounds at Instagram featuring comedian Kimberly Clark in a segment about orchestras…and Gustavo Dudamel. She has quite the fan-crush on Dudamel and while her set is pure gold, there’s more going on that should get your attention. Clark explains how much concerts move her and there’s real sincerity in her delivery. She really likes the way Dudamel’s hair bounces around too but just when …

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Here’s An Idea To Help Build On All Of Your Virtual Programming Initiatives

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Thomas Wolf published an article on 2/24/2021 at his blog that’s interesting in that it reaches all the way back to the over-funded, now defunct Concert Companion project. Nutshell: Wolf presupposes one of the reasons why Concert Companion failed was because it was focused primarily on use during the live concert. Ironically enough, in an attempt to enhance the experience, it placed too much demand on the user for attention that …

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