Boosting Engagement at Chicago Children’s Theatre

When Ben Koucherik, General Manager of Chicago Children’s Theatre (CCT), joined the beta testing group for Audience Republic, he quickly saw potential. For years, CCT had been working across disconnected systems—AudienceView for ticketing and patron data, and MailChimp for email marketing — leaving Ben with a persistent challenge: how to use their audience data to make smarter marketing decisions. 

“We were sitting in this place feeling really siloed,” Ben recalls. “One thing was trying to market to folks, and the other thing was actually taking in their transactions.” 

Breaking Down Silos with Seamless Integration 

From day one, the integration between Audience Republic and AudienceView stood out. 

“The fact that this integrates directly with AudienceView, and I can see so much data about our patrons, is exciting to me.” 

For the first time, CCT’s marketing data and patron information existed in one connected ecosystem. That meant Ben could segment audiences, personalize campaigns, and measure engagement—all without manually exporting or cleaning any data. 

He also appreciated how familiar the messaging tools felt: 

“The design functionality looks a lot like MailChimp—templates, drag-and-drop content—but with the added value of being tied to our live audience data.” 

Beyond seamless integration and campaign tools, Audience Republic also brings a suite of powerful features designed specifically for live events. Built-in automation streamlines presales, reminders, and audience tagging, while its paid ads integration connects your event segments directly to ad platforms for targeted outreach. Plus, real-time attribution makes it easy to see which campaigns are driving ticket sales, helping organizers make smarter decisions and clearly demonstrate marketing ROI.  

Early Wins: Turning Data into Action 

Ben’s first campaign using Audience Republic focused on re-engaging lapsed patrons who hadn’t attended a show in more than two years. He crafted a targeted email with a discount offer, built directly in Audience Republic’s messaging tool. 

The results were immediate. 

“I had a pretty nice return on investment, seeing a lot of people take advantage of it with the code that we tagged to it. I could clearly tell that’s what engaged them.” 

This success validated the platform’s potential—especially for a small team wearing many hats. Without extensive setup or training, Ben could execute and measure a full campaign in a fraction of the time it used to take. 

Audience Republic’s built-in attribution features make it simple to track exactly which campaigns and offers are driving engagement. Every campaign can be tagged with unique codes, allowing you to see in real time which emails, ads, or messages led patrons to purchase tickets or redeem offers. With this visibility, you don’t have to guess what’s working—data updates instantly, giving you a clear picture of your return on investment and letting you adjust your strategy for even better results. Whether you’re segmenting audiences by past attendance or targeting new groups, these tools put actionable insights at your fingertips, making it easy for any team to measure success and replicate winning campaigns. 

Looking Ahead: Gamification and Growth 

Up next, Ben plans to try gamified campaigns and building automated audience journeys that deepen loyalty among CCT’s most engaged patrons. 

“I can already see the pathway to strategies that would’ve been nearly impossible before,” he says. “Now it’s just about how much we can implement with the resources we have.” 

For Ben and Chicago Children’s Theatre, Audience Republic has become more than a marketing tool—it’s the bridge connecting data, creativity, and audience relationships. 

“It’s got all the functionality I would hope for an email marketing system to have,” Ben says. “And the integration with AudienceView is just such a major value add. It’s exciting to see how far we can go.”