The IRT was looking to increase single and season ticket sales. Enter The Basement.

The Indiana Repertory Theater, like all Indianapolis arts organizations, is working to compete in a marketplace where patrons’ expendable income is at a premium. The IRT offers a great product and is a cornerstone of the Indy art scene. It is a true repertory theater with upwards of ten performances a season, all competing for a share of voice and mind in a vibrant city with lots of other things to do.

How to break through and compete, particularly with the limited resources that are also the hallmark of even the most accomplished arts organizations? That was the challenge faced by The Basement’s media, insights and technology teams.

The Script.

The Basement first mapped the overall customer journey for IRT patrons and the many potential touch points between them and the theater. The strategy followed, targeting prospective theatergoers at two specific points in the purchase funnel.

Using paid Facebook and Instagram advertising, we first launched with a compelling general awareness campaign, bolstered by messaging that was targeted to particular performances and designed to drive ticket sales. A high-funnel/low-funnel approach.

The Basement next integrated revenue tracking and ticket sale attribution through Facebook. This allowed the team to optimize the work and the narrative within both approaches to determine what converted best down through the funnel.

A combination of video and carousel ads told the story with efficiency and effectiveness taking center stage. The entire campaign was complemented with a targeted email campaign that drove to landing pages. This represented a new strategy for the IRT with the pages optimized to deliver more qualified traffic and, of course, increased sales.

Curtain Call.

Since partnering with the IRT in 2016, The Basement has helped the theater realize steady YOY revenue growth and improved cost efficiencies. Our mid-campaign report for 2019 shows the campaign resulted in a 12% growth in ticket sales, a 10% increase in impressions over the entire 2018 season, a 30% reduction in cost-per-click and a 12% reduction in cost-per-acquisition. All while keeping the overall budget at 2018 levels.

The Basement is happy and proud to be helping the IRT to continue its tremendous growth and success.