70% of Americans prefer to read on paper and 67% of people prefer printed material over digital advertising.

While swiping left-or-right may become the new norm on our omnipresent handheld devices, turning the pages of a printed performing arts program book will remain a family-favorite and a treasured part of our posterity.

We call this experiential marketing!

Is your performing arts organizations main goal to put on a fabulous performance for your community and to keep your patrons coming back for more, or is your performing arts organization a niche publisher?

Program book advertising, like many other forms of marketing, is all about return on investment.

With many such performing arts organizations bartering program book advertising, it is important for them to realize the difference between advertisements and qualified sponsorship payments.

While publishing your own program books is expensive, your audience expects to receive them. Not having a printed program book is a disappointment in your patrons’ minds.

Don’t think of marketing to performing arts audiences as if you are narrowing your audience. Think of it as segmenting and selecting a subset of a broader audience that is more likely to purchase from you.

There is no shortage of opportunities for restaurants and performing arts venues to work together collaboratively.

Our approach has always been rooted in getting to the right audience the first time, rather than lots of trial and errors.

The performing arts attracts a demographic that is widely coveted, and famously hard to reach.

We know the value of our medium and the audience engagement it provides.

Measuring your ROI is an important aspect of any marketing strategy.

You can’t get this kind of coverage with a regular TV ad!

When a performing arts organization reaches a certain point, publishing their own program books no longer makes economic sense.

The true test of a good performing arts program book publisher is being able to hold onto advertisers in good times, and bad times.

What marketing industry is expected to grow by 12.8% by 2023 to reach a total value of $8 billion across the industry? What if we told you that it was digital signage?

Let’s face it–fundraising is sales, period.

What if you could build trust by merely advertising your products/services to people?

One of the most common reactions to a recession – and one of the biggest mistakes – is to cut advertising. This is actually when you should stand firm in your commitment to advertising your business.

We spot the problems, we analyze the best route, and more important, we get results.

83% of people that regularly attend the performing arts say that their primary value is loyalty and devotion.

Performing arts advertising allows your brand to harness the power of knowing your audience.

As a brand, you want to seem approachable, interesting, easy to find for whoever is seeking you out…but where do you find long-term, loyal audiences?

The truth is, performing arts audiences have the disposable income to spend, and they are willing to do so–no matter their geographic location.

If you are looking for advertising that does not waste your time and allows for unparalleled reach and exposure to the right audience immediately, then performing arts advertising is the right solution for you.

Performing arts advertising, however, has been accomplishing exactly these things for decades.

It’s that simple, really! Performing arts advertising has been doing this for eons and has seen great results.

Using these three methods allows you to create a hyper-focused advertising strategy that will drive success in the long-term and the short-term.

Ultimately, combining these four methods can make your national performing arts advertising buy count. In one price, you get multiple ways to uniquely find and target audiences in a laser-focused way.

Here are some stats to prove this is the demographic you should be targeting.

The arts and culture industry here in the United States generates $166.3 billion in economic activity each year.

To be successful in performing arts advertising, there are several things to keep in mind. 

Deliver the right message at the right time to your potential customers.

If your revenues don’t exceed your expenses then that essentially means that your symphony, opera, theater, or dance company is not sustainable, and will eventually go dark.

A well placed and effective ad placed in a performing arts program book penetrates a hard to reach audience.

Performing arts program books are actually read!

If you want your audience to truly engage with you, then YOU need to engage with them in a meaningful way.

Partner your program book advertising with performing arts digital signage and your brand or business will dominate the venue!

One of the bigger questions surrounding performing arts digital signage is how much does it cost? Though the actual truth of the cost is far more nuanced than just one big number, the important thing to keep in mind throughout the evaluation process is that it is an investment. It is one that can have […]

In fact, the most ironic part of this scandal has been that Mark Zuckerberg apparently didn’t even trust his own site to communicate!

Successful advertising strategies rest on the quality of customers they bring in.

Adding testimonials from social media to your printed program book advertising will organically help to grow your online following.

And all this can be done while making money instead of just breaking even, or worse, losing money!

You get the best of both worlds by choosing to go with both performing arts printed program books and digital signage.

For over 100 years and counting, performing arts program books have provided quality content and advertising, both from an advertiser standpoint and a consumer standpoint.

Imagine if I could put you in a stadium in front of your most perfect prospects, giving you the opportunity to present to them all at once about your product or service?

There is one secret weapon that we always use and really gets these potential advertisers’ attention.

The room for improvement is the biggest room in the world.

There are ways for smaller companies to advertise that will have a similar impact, provided you know your audience.

Luxury brands advertise in performing arts program books for good reason.

It is extremely important to work with a team that is seasoned in this niche and can help drive success for your performing arts organization.

What I found most interesting in this discussion, is that the conversation went very much like my many other conversations I have had throughout the years of managing professional sales representatives.

I hear all the time “we’re making a killing on our program books!”

I discovered a treasure trove of suggestions, tips, and an actual series of video presentations which substantially provide a complete training course for fundraisers.

Performing arts program books are one of the oldest styles of niche publications.

If you’re looking for a unique advertising medium for your business, one often overlooked place is performing arts program book advertising.

Though initially, it might seem like a long, drawn-out journey in making the decision, it does not have to be.

Today’s technology allows for a more immersive and dynamic experience in a venue than has ever been possible before.

A performing arts program book publisher that offers digital signage, as well as printed program books and an app adds significantly to the value of your partnership.

With performing arts digital signage, it’s easy to display the names and messages of your largest or most recent significant donors.

Just like the candy at the grocery store check-out lane, the content you want to share with your patrons will change based on many factors to create the same type of impulse purchases.

Entertainment venues that have made the switch from printed posters to digital signage have seen an increase in patronage experience as well as group ticket sales

Performing arts program book advertising can allow you to put your brand in front of a very specific group of people who might otherwise be difficult to reach.

The performing arts is big business.

Performing arts program books and digital signage advertising is an opportunity not to be missed!

When deciding on whether to install digital signage in your performing arts venue, there are many costs that need to be taken into account.

Why Digital Signage Is Important for Your Performing Arts Venue.

It needs to be visually interesting and has to convey information clearly, which is why excellent design is paramount.

This time of year is so crucial that it can literally make or break your program book ad sales.

To get the most from your performing arts digital signage strategy, take these helpful tips to go from “eh” to “Wow!”

An Interview with Steve Hancox of Financial Resource Associates, LLC – Should a Non-Profit Be Run Like a For-Profit? – Podcast

It was like angels singing!

The performing arts were the YouTube of Ancient Greece a long, long time ago.

Here are 7 reasons to consider performing arts digital signage in your advertising mix starting from number 7 to the number 1 reason.

There is something magical about a night out at the performing arts.

Niche publications distribute to a much more targeted audience than the larger, national mastheads.

The trick is how you sell it!

Adding a dash of mobile and digital signage to the printed program books is going to give the kick that the audience expects.

The secret sauce is telling a story in addition to the story or performance your patrons are about to see.

Applying Deming’s Principles to Non-Profits

Rome wasn’t built in a day, so don’t expect your program book production department to be fully automated in a day either. It will take time.

How to engage patrons emotionally as well as intellectually and keep them coming back for more.

The secret I am about to tell you on how to sell program book advertising will change your life forever. Because it will literally change your life!

Ringling Brothers Circus may have closed their curtain after 146 years, but the program book advertising balancing act show must go on!

Believe it or not, much of the great content is still in print.

Now you can engage with your audience anywhere they are in your venue.

Emerging audiences, technology & the arts, and reducing costs.

The smart program book advertising sales rep sells the printed program book as an integral part to the overall marketing strategy.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the demographic of the performing arts patron is high net-worth.

Your patrons want to be intrigued and entertained. They are attending an artistic event, after all!

These other costs are very important to capture, otherwise, you’re just fooling yourself.

Thoughts on branding, experiential marketing, and audience data management.

Remember, performing arts digital signage is a marketing tool.

The good news is that these surprise costs can be fully recouped, or at the very least, lessened.

Specializing in PR, Media, Advertising & Marketing

By understanding this principle, many businesses can dramatically improve their bottom lines.

When used correctly, digital signage is a powerful marketing tool.

These companies realize a branded print magazine is a strong marketing tool for them.

Specializing in Marketing and Audience Development

This was our Ah Ha moment!

It’s almost a sponsored content advertising approach that we take, but without all the additional work true sponsored ads take.

These are not shoot from the hip, I think we should have a gazillion dollar goals.

There are many ways to keep your print costs to the absolute minimum.

Performing arts digital signage is a powerful marketing tool if done correctly.

Having a great mobile program book companion to your printed program book does not have to be hard.

When the program book ecosystem is working in harmony, the printed and digital program book advertisers follow.

Performing arts digital signage is still in its infancy, but we’re seeing more and more of it being adopted.

If these are not captured, they will certainly turn a positive number into a negative number very quickly!

To get the best results possible from this tactic, you will want to have a prospect pool of 50 or more businesses.

There are many things that will factor into making your dream become a reality.

There are 4 main gauges that should be looked at daily during your program book advertising sales canvas.

This is what should be expected from any good publisher, as well as any professional advertising account executive.

The printed program book ad makes for a very nice off-line extension for the “Attract” portion of the inbound marketing methodology.

Understanding what makes a good program book advertiser prospect will lead you to more play bill ad sales than you can handle.

So how do you create an effective program book ad? The easiest way is to remember the acronym RASCIL.

Having your reps hold onto loss will kill your market quicker than you think.

One should not be embarrassed or feel defeated to ask for help.

And then the hammer drops come late August!

Performing arts program book publishing is a continuous learning curve.

The key that we found with our marketing is that a dedicated effort needs to be made and the effort needs to be consistent.

This got me thinking about core competencies for non-profit performing arts organizations.

We are honored to be recognized by Ohio Business Magazine as one of Ohio’s 2016 “Best Places to Work.” We couldn’t do it without the great people here at Onstage Publications.

We came up with a solution that seems to be working and can be implemented very easily.

With paper being half of the print cost, the only sure thing that adding more pages will do is add to your print costs.

First of all, performing arts program book advertising is NOT a donation.

There are always those things on your to-do list that you keep moving to another day, another week, and before you know it, to another month.

I can’t tell you how many times I come across people that think marketing and advertising is one in the same.

This story is an oldie but a goody!

“Be number one or number two and keep redefining your market”

If you like puzzles, you’ll love this because it’s kind of like a big jigsaw puzzle.

We’re starting to see more and more performing arts venues play around with these small funding campaigns

We thought what better way to get some action on this but to “drink our own cool aid!”

This wall is the evil force and it will tear down any organization quicker than you can say Jar Jar Binks!

There are ways to make your program book stand out to a potential advertiser to help make the sale a little easier.

Program book advertising rates are highly price sensitive with the buyer.

Any performing arts organization can do it, as long as you follow certain steps.

An end of season program book checklist before you call it a day.

In reality, advertising is an investment in their business and if the right advertising is purchased, it will pay for itself.

If you go about it in a smart way, there is a way to achieve double digit program book advertising revenue growth.

Patrons are attending a performance to be entertained, so why should that entertainment be limited to the stage?

Nope, that’s not a typo–the headline shouldn’t be “Is Your Arts Organization Outsourcing To The Right Vendor?”

Now is prime time to begin next season’s ad sales campaign!

Do this right, and you’ll be set up for success, but do this wrong, and you will be in a world of hurt.

Instead of a “pay wall” they wanted a “program notes wall!”

I love the line trying to serve the different impulses can result in a hodgepodge approach.

This program book advertising sales objection is a common one, especially just to get you off the phone.

If you are a performing arts organization and you are handling the publishing of your program books in-house, like it or not, your organization is a niche publisher.

You will always have program book advertisers that will string out their terms as long as they can.

Everything we do here at Onstage Publications is based on systems.

If you are in charge of marketing for your business or performing arts venue, you know then that within the last couple of years, all the rage has been with automated marketing.

Is there a right time to close? Yes, often and early.

The program book advertising recommendation is the beginning of the end.

Anymore, company culture is all the rage.

By handling your program book ad sales this way, your program book ad sales cycle never ends!

At Onstage Publications, we run into this objection often.

The program book advertising sales presentation is the heart and soul of the entire sales process.

Fact finding is the foundation on which any program book advertising sale is built

I gave Stageview a try and quickly learned what an impressive development this new media truly is.

The holiday’s have traditionally been a very strong program book ad sales time for us.

Program book page turns are not old technology but still a pertinent piece of the marketing package for performing arts venues.

Careful preparation for each call is not merely helpful, it’s an obligation to the customer.

At Onstage Publications, we love getting this particular program book advertising sales objection.

If it were only as easy as getting hypnotized!

If you follow a system to handle them, and practice the system, they can actually be fun.

I am able to immediately gauge who our top producers are.

When calling new prospects and renewal advertisers, make sure you follow this simple approach on each and every call and you’ll be on the road to success.

When we launched Stageview two years ago starting with the 2013-2014 performing arts season, our clients kicked and screamed at us and were adamant that no one would use it.

A ringing bell, laughter, lots of clapping, big screen television flashing, grill fired up, surprise Friday happy hours. Is it a party? Nope, it’s just our sales floor!

If you don’t have a good system in place for invoicing your advertisers, expect to continue guessing about when you’ll get paid.

Just as there is a system for a bullet proof pub schedule, it’s easy to set up a system for a bullet proof ad schedule.

If your seats look blank to you even though they’re filled with patrons then you may want to consider using a program book app.

No need to stress out, follow these 5 tips and you will have a bullet proof pub schedule.

I think lots of times, especially in the not for profit world, sales is a dirty word.

You have to have an edge over your competition or you will be certain to be lost in the mix.

Another way to position this question would be–what is the true role of a performing arts organization?

Right about now is when program books start to show up on performing arts organization’s radars and the panic starts to set in.

Focus your attention and energy on the stuff that really matters.

The question is relatively easy to answer with the correct data.

Selling print advertising is not something that comes naturally to everyone.

It is very important to keep your eye on your current ad revenue base and plan your sales canvas accordingly.

What Are They, You Ask?

A great question, but also a dilemma!