ArtsMarketing.org

Does any of the stuff we do all day actually work? Surely much of it does. And some of it surely doesn’t. So, how do we figure out which is which, and do more of what works?

As Director of Marketing and Communications for a small-but-growing Chicago theater company, these were the questions at the top of my mind nearly two years ago when an opportunity arose to attend an education series on the subject of return-on-investment, co-sponsored by Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the Wallace Foundation. What I learned in that workshop put me on a path to revolutionize several aspects of TimeLine Theatre’s marketing with the goal of measurement. Now I understand in much greater detail what works (and what doesn’t so much). And I am thrilled that I’ll get the chance to share some results and tools as a first-time presenter at this year’s National Arts Marketing Project Conference.

TimeLine Theatre is an Equity theater located on the north side of Chicago (just a few blocks from Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs), dedicated to presenting stories inspired by history that connect with today’s social and political issues. With a budget of about $750,000 and just four full-time staff members, we are — like I’m sure all of you — required to make the most of limited resources. The more I learn about ROI, the more I understand that implementing techniques to measure the actual results of marketing tactics is not a “should do” toward this goal. It is a “must do.”

And it truly doesn’t have to be difficult. Start small. Add slowly. Never attempt to measure everything at once. Valuable measurements can be gleaned from actions as simple as setting up your database and printed materials to track source codes, or as complicated as following an individual patron from email/ad click to making (or not making) a purchase.

For our breakout session, I’m preparing to show examples of how TimeLine has measured the impact of tactics such as our direct-mail season brochure, Web site optimization, email marketing, Google Ad Words, online ads and social media sites. I’ll talk about the power of putting your assumptions to the test. And in a time of financial turmoil and reduced budgets, I’ll show how ROI measurements have helped us to do more with less.

No matter where you start, the joy of being able to mathematically relate resources out to resources in — and build future decisions on what you learn along the way — is, well, immeasurable!