The Situation
Arden Theatre Company, a full-service professional regional theatre in Philadelphia, wanted to increase subscriptions for its children’s series. At the time, most customers were purchasing tickets to only one event in a series. They also found that the parents coming to their venue were predominantly Millennials and not willing to commit to a subscription. The organization’s marketing team needed to find a way to breathe new life into subscription and multi-show sales.
The Solution
Arden Theatre Company leveraged AudienceView Unlimited to bundle shows in a way that would be more attractive to its audience – with a buy one, get one (BOGO) promotion.
They marketed the subscription on-sale as a 72-hour BOGO sale where customers could buy tickets to one event and get tickets to another event for free. This allowed the organization to limit availability and receive revenue from ticket sales in advance.
Arden Theatre Company advertised this special with postcards, targeting past audience members that would be interested in the children’s series, as well as marketing to local organizations and businesses geared to parents and children.
The Results
The BOGO promotion resulted in the largest subscription on-sale in the history of the organization.
Arden Theatre Company sold $25,000 within the first 24 hours and $50,000 total over the 72-hour period.
The BOGO promotion wasn’t a major financial risk for the organization, either. Customers received a 50% discount with the promotion versus a 40% discount with the purchase of a subscription.
“[This was] a great way to remove the price barrier without devaluing the ticket itself,” says Clayton Tejada, General Manager of the Arden Theatre Company. “Both AudienceView Unlimited and the way our website works were really conducive to making this promo successful.”