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  2. Key Takeaways

    How did arts organizations of different size, location, and sector perform in 2018? We analyzed what kinds of organizations tend to spend the highest and lowest levels of marketing expense per person who attends.

  3. Trends

    Overall, in-person attendance rose over time, while marketing dollars spent per person were lower. Is this the future of patronage for arts & cultural organizations? We analyze by sector, size, and geography.

  4. Performance Drivers

    We identified what drives performance in the areas of managing marketing expenses and attracting in-person attendees and participants. See the results

  5. Resources

    Our mission is to provide valuable insights and useful tools to help arts and cultural leaders tell their story, overcome challenges, and increase impact. Find real-time stories, webinars, and testimonials from our community and partners.

  6. More Details

    A Breakdown of our Methodology and Tabular Data Observations

Key Takeaways: What We Learned

Marketing Impact

How much total marketing investment does it take to bring in one person?

Shakespeare Theatre Company, Philadelphia, PA. Photo by Scott Suchman.

How Much Marketing Money Does It Attract One Person?: By Sector 

  • It took an average of $15.95 in marketing expenses including staff costs to bring in each Opera attendee, and $8.77 for Symphony Orchestra to attract each attendee. By contrast, Arts Education, Art Museums, Community organizations, Music Organizations and Other Museums each spent under $3 in total marketing per attendee.
  • PACs average roughly double the amount of any other sector on annual marketing spend. They bring in fewer average attendees than museums but five times more than any other performing arts sector. Their response to marketing index is very similar to that of Theatres.
  • One organization skews the Dance sector’s figures high. Without it, response to marketing would average $5.66, average annual attendance would drop by 1,200 and marketing expenses would average roughly $20,000 less.
  • Organizations in the Music and Dance sectors tend to attract similar levels of annual attendance. However, Music organizations tend to spend less than a quarter of what Dance organizations spend in marketing.

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How Much Marketing Money Does It Attract One Person?: By Size 

  • As organizations grow, they tend to spend more on marketing to bring in each attendee.
  • There is a significant increase in average marketing expenses per attendee between Medium organizations and those that are Large.

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Key Note

The bigger you get, the more you spend on marketing per attendee and the more program revenue you earn per attendee, with the margin between the two increasing with organization size. It costs more to bring in someone at a higher average price point.

How Much Marketing Money Does It Attract One Person?: By Geography 

  • In 2018 it cost more in total marketing expenses to bring in one attendee in DC than in other markets: $4.73. The next costliest market is Chicago at $4.52. LA and SF are close behind. In all other markets, the total marketing dollars to bring in each person is within the 90-cent range of $1.88 to $2.74.
  • Large markets experienced the highest level of average annual attendance, driving them to have the lowest marketing expenses per attendee.
  • New York and Medium markets had very similar levels of average marketing expenses and average annual attendance.
  • DC organizations spent more than twice the level of marketing dollars as those in Small markets but attracted slightly fewer attendees annually.

See the Trend

Explore

  1. Key Takeaways

    How did arts organizations of different size, location, and sector perform in 2018? We analyzed what kinds of organizations tend to spend the highest and lowest levels of marketing expense per person who attends.

  2. Trends

    Overall, in-person attendance rose over time, while marketing dollars spent per person were lower. Is this the future of patronage for arts & cultural organizations? We analyze by sector, size, and geography.

  3. Performance Drivers

    We identified what drives performance in the areas of managing marketing expenses and attracting in-person attendees and participants. See the results

  4. Resources

    Our mission is to provide valuable insights and useful tools to help arts and cultural leaders tell their story, overcome challenges, and increase impact. Find real-time stories, webinars, and testimonials from our community and partners.

  5. More Details

    A Breakdown of our Methodology and Tabular Data Observations

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