A multichannel approach of direct mail, radio, email and print has helped the Winston-Salem Symphony increase ticket sales by more than 50% and increase the number of concert series subscribers by 12%.
The integrated marketing is part of an effort to decrease the North Carolina organization's emphasis on printed materials and get lapsed subscribers back into the fold, notes Sheila Virgil, vice president of patron and institutional advancement.
"Over the past 65 years we would send out large beautifully designed brochures once a year in April," she says. "Now we're mailing smaller pieces more often, every six to eight weeks. We're not spending any more money but sending out more pieces to more of the community."
The additional mailings have gone to prospects in the local area who are demographically similar to current concert goers. They tend to be households with school-age children who may or may not have gone to concerts or similar programs before, she says, noting the house file has about 10,000 names.
For about the past year, the Symphony has been sending out emails to an opt-in file of about 6,000, to remind them of upcoming concerts, upsell recipients on other offerings, and develop a relationship with music lovers by keeping them in the loop about the group's activities, she says.
The Symphony has quadrupled its radio advertising, running spots on the local National Public Radio outlet WSNC-FM, as well as drive-time spots on local news/talk and rock stations to promote such programs as a tribute to the band Queen and a "Classical Mystery Tour" featuring the songs of The Beatles.
At the same time, the organization has cut its DR print ads in the Winston-Salem Journal by about 30%, allowing it to reallocate those dollars into direct mail.
The Symphony is also using Facebook page as a way to let patrons offer feedback on performances and give musicians a forum to talk about their work.
"We did flash mob on [Handel's] Hallelujah chorus at a shopping mall last winter," Virgil says. "It got 25,000 hits after a week but it didn't bring in many more sales than other online efforts," she says.
The symphony offers classical music programs aimed at adult and younger listeners, as well as a program devoted to pop and rock music. One recent program aimed at very young children included a concert of Saint-Saens's "Carnival of the Animals" that featured live animals in the concert hall.
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