The Marketing Impact Report

Trends from 2016-2018

Explore

  1. Key Takeaways

    How did arts organizations of different size, location, and sector perform in 2018? We analyzed what kinds of organizations tend to spend the highest and lowest levels of marketing expense per person who attends.

  2. Trends

    Overall, in-person attendance rose over time, while marketing dollars spent per person were lower. Is this the future of patronage for arts & cultural organizations? We analyze by sector, size, and geography.

  3. Performance Drivers

    We identified what drives performance in the areas of managing marketing expenses and attracting in-person attendees and participants. See the results

  4. Resources

    Our mission is to provide valuable insights and useful tools to help arts and cultural leaders tell their story, overcome challenges, and increase impact. Find real-time stories, webinars, and testimonials from our community and partners.

  5. More Details

    A Breakdown of our Methodology and Tabular Data Observations

Intro

We examine the 2018 results of marketing ROI of over 3,886 organizations across 11 different arts and cultural sectors throughout the nation. You’ll also see trends for a subset of over 1,530 organizations from 2016 to 2018. 

Demand challenges are rising in the performing arts. With two exceptions, our studies show that performing arts sectors saw attendance declines over time. This is one metric where a downward trend – i.e., less dollars spent to attract each attendee – is a good sign.

Our mission is to provide valuable insights and useful tools to help arts and cultural leaders tell their story, overcome challenges, and increase impact.

 

The average arts and cultural organization spends $2.88 on marketing to bring each attendee.

This figure includes both personnel and non-personnel marketing expenses.

Average total marketing expenses for all organizations in 2018 was $99,995 and the total in-person attendance average was 34,771.

*3,886 organizations

Report

 

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Key Takeaways

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