New Service Charges for Ticket Marketplace
By · CommentsFor the very first time since the service launched nearly 6 years ago, the schedule of service charges for ShowUp.com’s Chase Ticket Marketplace has been adjusted.
Unchanged is the fact that these charges are still “embedded” into the offer of discount tickets that appears on the Chase Ticket Marketplace. As much as ticket buyers are grateful for discount tickets in the first place - they also tell us frequently that they LOVE the fact that the discount price they see is the actual price they pay.
For those who “price” discount tickets for sale on the Chase Ticket Marketplace, you’ll be interested to know that the simple ”logic” behind this schedule is that a 40% discount on your original ticket price PLUS the embedded service charge should still yield a 30% discount to the ticket buyer.
As before, YOU maintain complete control over your organization’s discount pricing decision. Many organizations choose to offer a 50% (or even greater) discount on their original ticket price. For some, it makes sense to offer less.
In many cities around the county, such services are locked into a strict ”Half-Price” model. Here in Arizona, you’ve always enjoyed total flexibility! You are welcome to discount more (or less) based on whatever strategy works best for your organization. (Margaret, Veronica and I always welcome the chance to be of assistance in helping organizations think through that strategy.)
When planning your discounting strategy, here’s the new pricing schedule:
| Your “Base” Discount Ticket Price | Surcharge (to be added per ticket) |
| $0: | No surcharge |
| $8.99 or less: | $1.00 |
| $9 to $11.99: | $1.50 |
| $12 to $17.99: | $2.00 |
| $18 to $23.99: | $3.00 |
| $24 to $29.99: | $4.00 |
| $30 to $35.99: | $5.00 |
| $36 to $41.99: | $6.00 |
| $42 to $47.99: | $7.00 |
| Greater than $48: | $8.00 |
| ShowUp for Fun: | No surcharge |
However, because the public only sees the TOTAL price, we disclose the charges differently – so ticket buyers can clearly see what portion of their total price is allocated to the ShowUp.com service charge:
| The Discount Ticket Price here on the Chase Ticket Marketplace | Surcharge (already included) |
| $0: | No surcharge |
| Under $10: | $1.00 |
| Up to $13.50: | $1.50 |
| Up to $20: | $2.00 |
| Up to $27: | $3.00 |
| Up to $34: | $4.00 |
| Up to $41 | $5.00 |
| Up to $48: | $6.00 |
| Up to $55: | $7.00 |
| $55 & Over | $8.00 |
| ShowUp for Fun: | No surcharge |
As always, please let us know whenever we provide any additional information or assistance.
Yesterday, your Alliance for Audience/ShowUp.com staff team held a day-long retreat to coordinate plans for the coming year.
We spent the day at Childsplay’s Campus for Imagination and Wonder – in one of their classroom spaces where we could SPREAD OUT, TAKE TIME & THINK DEEPLY about how we do everything we do. (By the way, their spaces are available for rental!)
2 quick observations:
1) Childsplay’s offices & classrooms are housed in a former elementary school in Tempe. They call it a “Campus for Imagination and Wonder.” How wonderful to have a place whose very name speaks to the highest aspiration of the organization – as well as of the people who work and visit there. (Just curious: does any other Arizona organization have such an inspiring subtitle for their space?)
2) Something that has always impressed me about Childsplay is the sense of deeply shared commitment among its staff. The word “teamwork” just doesn’t do justice to the feeling. I’ve always thought of them as being more like ”invested.” Looking at Childsplay’s website this week, I happened upon the secret of that success:
“One of the underlying core values of Childsplay is the notion of ensemble. There is a resident group of theatre artists (our Associate Artists) who, in collaboration with the Artistic Director, are responsible for planning and creating the artistic products that illustrate Childsplay’s mission. But these artists do not create in isolation. Everyone who works at Childsplay — other artists, technicians, educators, administrators and trustees — is a part of this resident ensemble. This mindset guides the way our work is created, the way it is marketed and the way it is delivered.” - 2012 Strategic Plan
If you’ve interacted with anybody from Childsplay, you may have sensed this all along. I just never before realized it was so, well, purposeful. That’s truly inspiring! You’ll find it here: http://www.childsplayaz.org/company-staff.php
Last May, the US Airways Center and METRO light rail entered into a creative partnership which allows consumers who possess a ticket to any event at US Airways Center to ride METRO light rail at no additional cost, on the day of the event. CLICK HERE TO SEE METRO’S PRESS RELEASE.
Recently, I met with METRO executives to ask if such a partnership might be created with the arts & cultural community. They are open to the concept, but there are some concrete limitations:
- METRO has absolutely ZERO ability to enter in to such arrangements for ”goodwill” or even ”philanthropic” purposes. Their rate system is strickly regulated and such a relationship must be “revenue neutral” – meaning that they can’t sacrifice revenue.
- METRO’s agreement with US Airways Center is a PAID relationship – that is, METRO calculated the value of the number of riders who routinely use the system to attend events at the Center; and US Airways Center agreed to pay a certain % of EVERY admission to the Center to METRO to directly cover that expense.
- Even if we can figure out the monetary aspects of such a relationship, we would also need to figure out how to make such a process operational. Consider the fact that METRO needs to be able to easily enforce this policy – which means that its staff needs to be able to quickly determine if a rider has an authorized ticket. I imagine that US Airways Center tickets exist in 3-5 different formats (i.e. hard tickets, print @ home) – but imagine asking METRO to recognize all the different kinds of admission tickets that come from 10 (or 100+) different arts and cultural organizations all over the Valley. It seems obvious that a larger coalition of organizations would need to find a way to “standardize” this process as well.
What do you think? Is this a desirable objective? If so, how could we fund it and make it work? Please “Leave a Reply” with your comments/suggestions here: http://notes.allianceforaudience.org/2010/08/22/metro/
And if you’d like to be part of a task force to explore/advance this opportunity further, please write to me directly at MLehrman@allianceforaudience.org.
Define: “Audience Development”
By · CommentsWhat is your organization’s best one-sentence definition of the term “audience development”?
Chances are good that the phrase ”audience development” appears somewhere in your organization’s strategic plan – or in a recent grant application – or in the minutes of a Board meeting – or in a marketing analysis – or possibly in all of the above.
But how do you concisely DEFINE the term “audience development”?
Does the phrase mean substantially different things depending on the size or type of organization you are – or by the type of art you produce or present?
Let’s compare notes! What is YOUR ORGANIZATION’S best one-sentence definition of “audience development”? Please post it here: http://notes.allianceforaudience.org/2010/08/26/define-audience-development/ (Scroll down to “Leave a Reply.”)
For Alliance for Audience & ShowUp.com, here’s our best definition (so far):
“Audience development” is the on-going process of diversifying and cultivating audience participation in which all arts and cultural organizations must engage in order to ensure long-term viability.”
Consider the Phoenix Art Museum’s 1-minute Cézanne video REQUIRED VIEWING for everyone whose responsibilities includes the marketing of arts & cultural activities: http://www.phxart.org/cezanne/
It is profoundly simple – and stunningly effective. For 3 reasons, I hold this up as a BRILLIANT example of arts & cultural marketing:
- It speaks to prospective audiences regardless of whether or not they’ve ever heard the artist’s name.
- It doesn’t merely announce the exhibit – it advances an INDEPENDENT and COMPELLING reason to experience it.
- It pursues just ONE objective – that the viewer should know Cézanne as a “Great Innovator” in art – akin to the great innovators in society, music, literature, science.
Think that’s easy? With all due respect, take a look at how another museum presented their recent Cézanne exhibit: http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/312.html. Typical. BORING.
Think that’s expensive? That they must have had a big ad agency produce this for them? Think again. Mark Patel, Phoenix Art Museum’s Director of Marketing & Public Relations tells me that this was written and produced internally – using on-line templates and royalty free images - on an incredibly modest budget. (How would you like it if we scheduled a “study session” with Mark to talk about WHERE TO FIND and HOW TO ACCESS such cool resources? “Leave a Reply” to this post and let us know if that’s something you’d value!)
Remember this exchange between Curly (Jack Palance) and Mitch (Billy Crystal) in City Slickers? It’s not just the ”secret of life” – it’s also the secret of truly effective advertising – which the Phoenix Art Museum has clearly grasped and from which we ALL can learn a lesson:
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?
[holds up one finger]
Curly: This.
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean sh**.
Mitch: But, what is the “one thing?”
Curly: [smiles] That’s what *you* have to find out.
Prescott Museums Offer “3-for-1″
By · CommentsNEW THIS WEEK on the Prescott homepage of ShowUp.com look for the ”Prescott 3-for-1 Pass” that invites guests to visit the Phippen Museum, Sharlot Hall Museum, and Smoki Museum all for just $12.
Creating such a collaborative pass had been the subject of discussions among these museums in the past, but became actionable with the arrival of Alliance for Audience’s in Prescott last Spring.
Let’s applaud Cindy Gresser, Executive Director of the Smoki Museum, Kim Villalpando, Executive Director of the Phippen Museum and John Langellier, Director of the Sharlot Hall Museum for their creative leadership and collaborative spirit.
Finally, let me acknowledge Margaret Fallon, Alliance for Audience’s Director of Services, who worked with the museums to put Alliance for Audience resources in service to their objectives - and who would be delighted to hear from other organizations with requests to support YOUR collaborative endeavors.
Remembering Joe Onofrio
By · CommentsJust received this note from Gary Bacal, Managing Director of Center Dance Ensemble…
—–
Hi, Matt.
Did you know Joe Onofrio? See Wednesday’s Arizona Republic obituary here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/azcentral/obituary.aspx?n=joseph-onofrio&pid=144208331
As you can see he worked with and for just about everyone–and knew everyone.
When I first came to Arizona in mid-80s, and was working at ATC, four or five of us–I can’t remember all the players–got together in Tucson and put together an Arts Sampler–a package that got the buyer one ticket each to any performance of, as I recall, ATC (me), Ballet Arizona (Chuck Fischl), Arizona Opera (Joe), the Tucson Symphony (Yvonne Tost Ervin) and I think an admission the Tucson Museum of Art. We always talked about doing something like that for Phoenix , in fact talked about it a lot at the old Cafe Casino that used to be at 24th and Camelback next to Harkins. And maybe a broader discount pass or system like ShowUp.com has. But we never did because all had full-time commitments to our organizations–never broke free like you did from Scottsdale . I know Joe was intrigued and pleased by the success and growth of ShowUp.
And I thought you’d be as intrigued and pleased to know there was the kernel of the ShowUp idea so many years ago.
- Gary Bacal
————
I’m sorry to say that I didn’t know Joe – but I am truly touched by Gary’s note and his reminder that the work we all are privileged to do today – and the community in which we live – is built on the vision, efforts and spirit of so many capable and passionate people who preceded us.
To everyone who knew Joe, I offer my condolences for the loss of your friend and colleague.
When I asked Gary for permission to reprint his note, he replied, “Sure, Joe loves good publicity.” Sounds like someone I would have really liked!
Ecstacy
By · CommentsThese are the kind of ”highs” that audiences crave:
- When the script, acting and set merge into an absolutely perfect DRAMATIC moment.
- When an ideally-situated work of art leaves us BREATHLESS with its full force impact.
- When we find ourselves PLUNGED into an immersive music experience.
- When we just can’t stop SMILING.
- When a child is CAPTIVATED by an experience that will surely be a cherished lifetime memory.
Artists, curators, crews and artistic directors devote themselves to the CREATION of such moments (and manymore.) It seems like the ENTIRE arts and cultural sector exists to support their efforts – for we know how challenging, elusive and truly extraordinary such moments are to achieve.
So, having just encountered this video of one person’s “exquisite moment” – a hiker encountering a full double rainbow (click the link for the 3-minute video). It sure gets my vote as the BEST ENDORSEMENT EVER for our National Parks.
I’m left wondering: What similar evidence exists that shows any audience member’s genuine, profound and personal joy with the kinds of experiences
they find in arts & cultural experiences?
Can you share an example that doesn’t just TALK about “transformative experiences” but ACTUALLY DEMONSTRATES it as vividly and honestly as this hiker’s video? Please post your comments/links here: http://notes.allianceforaudience.org/2010/07/09/ecstacy/
Any Landing You Can Walk Away From…
By · CommentsResilience. In the arts & cultural sector, there is no more valuable quality.
As today marks the end of the fiscal year for many organizations, let’s observe that there are measures of success even MORE important than a financial statement’s bottom line. Any landing you can walk away from IS a good landing. So today, let’s take a moment to celebrate that we have endured!
These are surely some of the toughest times we have faced: in our families; our careers; our organizations and companies; our sector; our communities; our State; and our Nation.
Yet every day, those of us who work in the arts and cultural sector rise with strength, tenacity and incredible passion to advance the missions of our organizations and to provide valuable services to our communities.
Even in the best of times, we understand that success isn’t linear. ”Three steps forward; two steps back” is an expectation we have all known for a long time. Yet, in recent years we’ve learned to persevere – even when progress is measured as “Two steps forward; three steps back.”
Many years ago, (in a time before computers, when I received a daily paper ”target report” that showed the day’s & season’s ticket sales) at the end of a particularly frustrating and disappointing year, we held an outdoor ceremony and BURNED the final target report of the year. It was, truly, a liberating experience - to let go of the old season. To unburden before taking on new challenges.
However your fiscal year is ending, let me invite you to raise a toast – or just take a breath.
To my colleagues among all Alliance for Audience member organizations: I applaud you. Hug you. Respect you. Admire you. Love you. The very last line of Sunday in the Park with George returns the audience to the artist’s perpetual renewal: “Blank, a white page or canvas. His favorite. So many possibilities.”
Tomorrow, we have the great privilege to start again.