Archive for August, 2010
Shakespeare Free For All-ish?
To avoid the problems of long queues in the heat of Summer, the Washington based Shakespeare Theatre Company is resorting to an online lottery this year to distribute the very popular “free” tickets to this year’s Free For All event Twelfth Night.
“the Shakespeare Theatre Company will distribute the majority of Free For All tickets through an online ticket lottery. Last year, high demand created long lines in the summer heat. We hope this will provide a safer and more pleasant experience for all our patrons. Lottery winners will be randomly selected and notified via email.“
FREE IS A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL CONCEPT
Sounds like they have quite a balancing act servicing all the ‘constituent’ demands for seats and finally the GP wanting access to free seats.
“We host “Ward Nights,” where D.C. council members and their ward constituents are invited to specific performances. We also host large school groups for some performances through Students for Shakespeare. Because of these reserved groups, certain performances will have fewer seats available, so your patience is appreciated as we reach out to the D.C. community.“
“All 2010–2011 Season subscribers and Friends of Free For All may reserve Free For All tickets in advance for select performances. Anyone may join Friends of Free For All by making a tax-deductible contribution to support this important outreach program. Subscribers are eligible for two tickets, but the number of tickets that Friends of Free For All may reserve varies by level of giving.“
The different categories of Friends and the benefits are listed as follows:
- VIP Friend ($1,500+)
Reserve up to 25 tickets - Producing Friend ($500-$1499)
Reserve up to 10 tickets - Sustaining Friend ($500-$1499)
Reserve up to 8 tickets - Supporting Friend ($250-$349)
Reserve up to 6 tickets - Contributing Friend ($150-$249)
Reserve up to 4 tickets
12 August, 2010 at 1:27 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 1 comment
The Media Keeps Beating It, But What is the Truth?
“Figures out this week seemed to suggest the industry is in rude health, yet artists claim to be struggling. Who’s telling the truth?“
“The good news: Live revenue is up by 9.4% on last year.“
“What it really means: Now here’s where it gets tricky. The report includes “on-the-night” spend, such as food, drinks, parking, merchandise, etc – money that doesn’t necessarily go back to the artist, label or people closely associated with the act. It also includes revenue from secondary ticketing, of which none goes back to them,…“
“It is possible that the aim is to display what the music business contributes to the UK economy, and not what goes to people and companies involved in the actual music industry.“
Behind the music: The music industry roars back, or does it?
10 August, 2010 at 10:10 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
The World of Ticketing Options
Helping Nonprofits Make Smart Software Decisions
Laura Quinn of idealware has made a start at an overview of system options for ticketing.
The categorisation of system options is interesting:
- General Admissions Ticketing
- Stand-Alone Solutions for Reserved Seats
- Integrated Constituent Tracking and Ticketing Solutions
- Solutions Specializing in Commercial Venues
A few of the comments made for interesting reading and warrant further exploration for anyone considering a new solution:
- EventBrite or BrownPaperTickets both integrate with Salesforce.
- Patron Technologies has just launched PatronManager “which is built on top of the Salesforce platform to include reserved seating ticketing and box-office functionality. It’s an interesting option especially for small to medium sized organizations who have a number of constituents to track in addition to their patrons.“
- “Blackbaud’s The Patron Edge also provides box office functionality, with some ability to integrate into The Raisers Edge.” It seems rather shortsighted that The Patron Edge only supports some integration with The Raisers Edge with the naming as part of a suite suggesting full integration. The Patron Edge is just a rebadged third party product TopTix from Israel. Not dissing TopTix, but The Patron Edge is still only version 3 of this software.
- Tessitura, the “Cadillac of the arts management world.” That has unfortunate connotations in Australia
”It’s a complex system that’s much more appropriate for organizations with multi-million dollar budgets than for small ones — it requires considerable customization, training, and staff time to use.“
Some issues that have not been addressed are Social Media integration and Mobile Web interfaces, but this article is just making a start.
READ FULL ARTICLE ONLINE HERE>>
8 August, 2010 at 12:38 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 2 comments
How to choose CRM software?
“Every business already has a CRM system—though the owners may not realize it, or think of it as such, … It could be pen-and-paper-based, or it could be data locked in a spreadsheet or some e-mail folders. Either way, businesses are already tracking customers in some way.“
Some interesting opinions in this piece that smacks a little of advertorial. It also has some short reviews of some affordable CRM solutions.
READ FULL ARTCILE ONLINE HERE>>
6 August, 2010 at 3:53 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Forecasting Demand and Unknown Unknowns
“Known unknowns are questions that you think of asking. You know the question, and the task is to find the answer.“
“Unknown unknowns are far more interesting. An unknown unknown is a question you did not know you should ask. Finding an unknown unknown is potentially far more valuable than finding the answer to a known unknown because such discoveries expand your awareness. But how to find them?“
Cluster analysis of keywords means that trends can be both discovered and monitored from Social Media discussion.
“Working with one of its clients in the music industry, WiseWindow started analyzing 25 million comments a month with respect to the top 500 musical acts in the U.S. (Lady Gaga gets 70,000 comments a day.) The cluster analysis shows the rise and fall of intensity with respect to 84 aspects of the artists such as stage presence and music. Users can create heat maps of how hot the artists are in various dimensions.“
“The big news from this analysis is that there is an immensely strong correlation (r2 of .94) between record sales and social media activity. There appears to be a two-week lag between activity and sales. The implications for marketing tactics and artist management are profound.“
5 August, 2010 at 10:10 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
CRM Discussion on NAMPRadio
I was a guest panelist on a NAMPRadio podcast recently to discuss the benefits of using CRM systems to look at your patron data in different and useful ways.
“NAMPRadio is a monthly podcast covering arts marketing, technology and audience development topics led by leading specialists in the field. Our goal is to discuss important issues that arts marketing people face every day, and to inspire enthusiasm for experimentation and innovation in promoting attendance to arts and culture.“
4 August, 2010 at 10:10 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Ten steps to great CRM
“Correctly implemented CRM will enhance your business and reputation, but in order to implement effective new ways of interacting with your customers across multiple channels you may be looking at a complete organisational shift.“
“A strategic business change at this level isn’t always easy, but there are ways to minimize the stress and align your company philosophy so that you can really deliver for your customer.“
Matt Owen of eConsultancy makes ten practical recommendations:
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What’s are you getting out of this?
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Do your homework
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Be inclusive.
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Let the right people know.
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Practice what you preach.
- Shop around.
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Budget responsibly.
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Be the boss.
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Take your time.
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Keep moving forward.
3 August, 2010 at 10:02 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Are you looking for a one night stand? Don’t hook up with Social Media then.
Recent research by the Society of London Theatres (SOLT) in Britain reported that social media helped 65 per cent of people surveyed decide to go to the theatre, and choose what to see, while 41 per cent of U.K. theatregoers are Facebook users.
“Social media are a boon when it comes to expanding audiences – if you get it right. Users want the full Monty – intimacy, conversation, all the bells and whistles of “rich media.” Fail to deliver, and they won’t hesitate to give you the dreaded “unfollow” treatment.“
“Why did we even post that?” says Sue Boyle, the AGO’s co-ordinator of community relations. “We quickly realized that marketing messages weren’t what the public wanted to hear.”
“My take is that social media is kind of about being human, … You have to show that there’s a person behind the scenes who’s taking care of this.” says Dre Labre, creative director at Rethink Communications
“You don’t build a community because you have a festival coming up. You build a community. And then when you have your festival coming up, there’s a community there to help you. Everybody does it sort of backward,” says social-media expert Mitch Joel, president of Twist Image and the author of Six Pixels of Separation.
“… fan or follower numbers are to be taken with a grain of salt,” Joel says “because they don’t show the level of engagement of any one person.” Instead, Joel argues that Twitter’s “Retweets” (the process of re-broadcasting a tweet to one’s own list of followers) as “one of the best metrics [of success] we’ve ever experienced in the world of marketing and advertising.”
“It’s like sex. Are you looking for a one-night stand? Because that is the traditional mass media mindset,” Joel says.
Cultivating a loyal, long-term relationship, he argues, “is a whole different sale.”
2 August, 2010 at 6:54 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
