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Asher Kelman
Miserable Cities” in early 2009 (second only to Detroit). The economic situation is compounded by the city’s demographics: the median age is 30; median income is below $40,000; and more than 50 percent of high-school students do not graduate. “If you say age, income, and education levels are all factors in whether someone becomes an orchestra patron, we have three strikes against us,” says Kenworthy. Still, Kenworthy had a feeling that there was untapped potential in the largely bluecollar town, which is more than a third Hispanic and has a large and diverse Asian population that includes sizable Filipino and Hmong communities. “It was clear to me there was a market that wasn’t being reached,” she says. “Previously, it had been that, well, the orchestra belongs to a certain group of people in town, and it’s not the blue-collar population.” Along with efforts to conThe Churn nect with more diverse auReport diences, funded through a James Irvine Foundation quantified grant, the audience capacity-building Kenworthy also tailored the turnover “killer offer” concept of the Churn Report to what she problem felt was the right price-point. in such A special six-day, Pick Two dramatic campaign at the beginning of the 2008-09 season offered fashion the best available seats for that it gave $19. The deal was promoted orchestras in the local newspaper, with an imperative ad space donated by the publisher (an orchestra supportto act. er), and 1,200 tickets were sold to kickstart the season. “It gave us a real boost at a time when Stockton was really hurting,” says Kenworthy. Such efforts helped the orchestra sell 4,000 more single tickets in 2008-09 than the previous season, and by the end of September it had added 300 new subscribers for 2009-10. New subscribers received a 50 percent discount, and “freshmen” (those who have subscribed for one year) were offered a 30 percent discount for 2009-10, which the orchestra is calling, “A Season to Lift Your Spirit.” Reducing ticket prices has also been successful for the San Antonio Symphony. First-time subscribers there were offered a 50 percent discount for the 2009-10 sea-
to five years, that would generate more revenue and more subscribers and more donors than all these big, splashy ‘We’re Getting Young People to Come to the Symphony!’ ad campaigns. And it’s measurable, it’s trackable.” Results became evident rather quickly after the orchestra instituted its first Crystal Lohman, director of patron services and marketing at the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, discusses the results of her discounts for single-ticket orchestra’s implementation of the Audience Growth Initiative. At buyers last January: sales right is “Churn Revisited” panelist Kevin Giglinto, vice president for for its Classics series were marketing and sales at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. up 27 percent for the second half of 2008-09. By August, subscription sales for 2009-10 had son, and a Pick-Three-for-$19 campaign a already matched 2008-09 year-end totals. week before the season opener brought in The San Antonio Symphony does have $125,000 in revenue, more than double the more sophisticated long-range plans. It will anticipated amount. Single-ticket buyers be moving to a new performing arts center received email thanks, with the incentive of in 2013 that will also be home to the San an additional gift if they filled out an online Antonio Opera and other presenters. They survey. “And of course, a significant number will share a unified box-office computer of them go to the survey, click on it, and system, “so the era of Paul typing away on whether they actually do the survey or not, spreadsheets for hours will go away.” Inthey get a followup email that says, ‘Thank formation gleaned from customer surveys you for helping us and would you be interis also being utilized in discussions about ested in a buy-one, get-one-free offer for amenities at the new hall—an important the next concert?’ ” says Jack Fishman, the point, since the Churn Report found that orchestra’s president and CEO. The orchessuch seemingly peripheral issues as parking tra tries to make the offer as relevant to the problems or long lines at the bar during inbuyers’ experience as possible, linking them termission can have such a negative impact to concerts with similar types of programon first-time attendees that they might not ming or artists. want to go through the experience again. Fishman admits that one of the biggest Fishman points out that the Churn findchallenges for San Antonio, and a probable ings have focused SAS staff on such patron majority of orchestras across the country, is issues, and provided ammunition to back simply getting the work done with limited up marketing and sales strategies for board staff and resources. “If you have an automeetings. “That alone has been one of the mated system it’s relatively easy,” he says, most valuable parts of the Churn research, “but in San Antonio, we are doing it with because it has allowed us to very quickly get one person who still has all his other duthe institution to turn and engage in new ties.” That person is Paul Salazar, director behaviors that I think will be helpful, but of patron services, who has been identifying are controversial,” he says. “A lot of board single-ticket buyers manually, printing out members see the discounts and get scared spreadsheets, and comparing them nameto death.” for-name to see which buyers are new to the That’s significant in San Antonio, given system. (It helps that Salazar is the orchesthe lingering memories of a 2003 bankrupttra’s longest-tenured employee and has a cy. The orchestra emerged from Chapter 11, feel for patron names, almost at a glance.) and Fishman says operations have been in “That’s a big burden on him, on us, but the black for four years. But people from the it’s been such a valuable tool,” says Fishcommunity still stop him to ask if the orman. “It’s going to be hard work, it’s going chestra is back from bankruptcy. “The San to transform his job, but if we do it conAntonio Symphony clearly has two brands sistently year after year and change the 90 in the community: we have a solid brand of percent dropout rate to 60 percent in three symphony
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