Despite widespread reports of the subscription’s decline, these loyalty programs continue to generate a large amount of revenue for performing arts organizations.
Knowing what we know about audiences in 2016, what strategies are proven to help the subscription succeed?
TRG Arts is proud to bring you the stories of three arts organizations that have defied conventional wisdom by growing subscriptions:
Their secret? A simple, radical idea: when you commit to selling subscriptions, arts lovers will subscribe.
The Cultch has worked with TRG Arts on and off since 2010 and had a solid subscription campaign.
After an initial jump in subscriptions, they saw slow and gradual declines in packages and revenue. While they felt confident about their renewal campaign, they wanted to evolve their acquisition campaign practices. In 2014, they asked TRG to help them use data to impact new subscriptions.
Nicole McLuckie, Director of Patron Development at The Cultch, describes the changes:
Before:
Prior to this revamp, we had two segments for our subscription campaign: renewals and acquisition. We did have many different sub-segments and upgrade offers within the renewal segment, but the acquisition segment was very broad and included lapsed subscribers as well as best prospects, like multi-single ticket buyers.
Renewals:
Acquisition:
After:
In the 2014-15 season, we divided our Acquisition Campaign into three separate segments: Rebate, Reactivation, Acquisition.
“It can’t be emphasized enough that the time spent on segmenting and matching the right offer to the right person pays off!”
Effective campaigns make the right offer to the right patron at the right time. Lapsed subscribers, renewing subscribers, and those who have never subscribed should get different messages.
Discounts can motivate lapsed subscribers to come back.
Acquiring new subscribers is expensive. The Cultch invested more in their acquisition campaign than in the past. The Cultch also made sure that best prospects for subscription got the most investment.
Since the 2013-14 season, The Cultch has grown subscriptions and revenue from them for two years running, with a large uptick in 2014-15, then maintaining it and growing slightly in 2015-16.
Over 2 seasons:
Courtney Schroeder, Marketing Director, describes how their new upgrade campaign made subscribers to smaller packages invest more:
Before:
Two River Theater’s season runs September through June. In the past, we would begin our blind automatic renewal period in April/May and announce our upcoming season in May/June. Following the season announcement we would launch our renewal and new acquisition campaigns, which consisted of personalized letters, a season brochure, personal calls and emails. As the season progressed we would market smaller-sized subscription packages for the remainder of our season’s productions.
After:
With the help of TRG Arts we became more strategic with our subscription campaigns. We focused on moving our patrons up the loyalty ladder in order to increase revenues. A primary goal was to move subscribers with smaller 3, 4 and 5-play packages to full 6-play season subscriptions. We created more attractive marketing materials and incorporated incentives and special offers. We also began pre- populating donation asks to full-season subscribers. In the spring of 2016 we were able to announce our 2016-17 season six weeks earlier, giving us more time to promote renewals and new sales to a captive audience attending the final two productions of 2015-16 season.
If we move patrons up the loyalty ladder, they are likely to stay there! For the 2015-16 season we were able to entice 164 auto-renewal subscribers to upgrade into full 6-play season subscriptions from smaller 3, 4 and 5-play packages. That’s a 20% response rate, which resulted in $15,000 in additional income even after significant discounts.
However, we were uncertain how many of these subscribers would remain at the full 6-play level in year two, once the discounts and incentives were removed from the offer. To our pleasant surprise, almost every single one of these recently-upgraded subscribers renewed at the 6-play level!
Don’t be afraid to be bold with your asks; chances are your patrons are capable of more than what you have been asking for!
Have a plan and be aggressive. Personalize your materials, creating enticing but strategic offers, and invest time in segmenting lists carefully.
Make sure you are reaching your patrons through multiple channels and contacting them frequently during campaign periods.
The proportion of subscribers to Two River Theater’s largest package has slowly declined over the past several years.
In 2015-16, Two River Theater was able to upgrade 20% of smaller package subscribers into the largest package. These upgrades represented nearly $15,000 in revenue.
In 2015-16, 20% upgrade of smaller package subscribers to largest package.
This resulted in a $15,000 increase of revenue.
Katie Sejba, Vice President of Marketing & Communications, describes how the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) turned around subscription sales after years of decline:
Before:
The RPO was suffering from a multi-year decline in subscription sales (both revenues and packages) before partnering with TRG Arts. Our strategy was very much a ‘one size fits all’ approach with very little customization in messaging or offers. All renewing subscribers received similar letters, and the same type of renewal form and programming/package matrix. Acquisition brochures were printed in large quantities and mailed to the same patrons multiple times. All subscription packages went on sale at the same time, and most activity was focused during late winter and spring.
After:
Subscription sales aren’t dead! In fact, they’re alive and well at the Rochester Philharmonic. When we committed to selling subscriptions and stayed focused on that goal, we were successful.
Don’t be afraid to make changes if something isn’t working, and use data to help guide those decisions. Commit to increasing your subscription sales as an organization—it’s not just a marketing task. Plan ahead! Having a sound plan that is laid out in advance makes it easier to implement.
RPO’s new music director was a big opportunity. RPO put subscriptions on sale after his preview concert. They asked people to buy at a time when they were excited about the future of the RPO. If something exciting is happening at your organization, capitalize on it!
Customize your renewal materials and optimize them to encourage up grades, like bigger packages, higher-priced seats, and add-on donations. De-emphasize downgrade options.
Price subscriptions to incentivize your larger packages—the more a subscriber spends, the more value they get.
66% Revenue growth over one season caused by RPO’s upgrade campaign to move Choose-Your-Own (CYO) buyers into full, fixed series.
163% The amount RPO exceeded their acquisition revenue goal for the Philharmonics series six weeks into the 2016-17 subscription campaign
80% Renewal rates for both the Philharmonics and Pops series—the highest they have seen in at least 3 seasons.
The Cultch worked with TRG Arts on a variety of projects, including TRG’s Subscription Campaign Planning Sprint, custom data analysis, and a Best Practices Consultancy.
Two River Theater learned the latest best practices in subscription campaigns with a TRG’s Subscription Campaign Planning Sprint. This six-hour intensive helps you plan an entire subscription campaign, customized for your specific situation.
Rochester Philharmonic has been working with TRG Arts in a Revenue Accelerator Consultancy, TRG’s deep-dive engagement for organizations who want to shift their marketing operations toward a patron-centered approach.