Do Your Future Self a Favor—Record Sales Data from the Election Season NOW
Jamie Alexander
Director, JCA Arts Marketing
Before we begin this post, we want to acknowledge that this is a tense and challenging time in the United States and beyond. Election results have elicited strong emotions, and uncertainty abounds. We respect whatever you may be feeling right now and hope you find moments to focus on joy and community.
As consultants, some of the questions our clients consistently ask in the lead-up to major elections: “What happens to ticket sales during an election season?” and “What programming or messaging should we focus on to engage people during an election season?” Our clients want to understand what types of art audiences seek in the weeks and months around a presidential election—and if ticket-buying behaviors change.
We’ll be looking into these questions in our next industry-wide study, and we’re just as curious as you are to see what the data shows us. In the meantime, we recommend you document your sales patterns for this election season NOW, before the year ends. Do the work now, so in three years when you’re planning for the next major election season you have the data available and can spend less time puzzling over how to reach revenue and audience goals.
Here are the questions you should explore within your sales data during this election season:
- Speed of Sales: What was the speed of sales for the shows during election season? Was there a difference in WHEN people bought tickets for shows this fall compared to previous falls (compare to both election years and non-election years)?
- What people bought: Was there any difference in WHAT people bought during this election compared to previous falls? Was there a difference in the volume of tickets purchased per person, what they paid for the tickets, or what type of programming they purchased?
- Capacity sold: What was the capacity sold of the shows on and around election night? Was there any variability from the same dates in previous non-election years? What discounts did you use to move tickets?
- Programming analysis: What programming did you have on stage this year? If you had multiple shows running, which show performed better? How did sales by programming type this season differ from sales by programming type at other times of the year/other non-election years?
- Future ticket sales: How many tickets did you sell for future shows on and around election night? What type of show sold the most tickets?
Documenting the answers to these questions now will help you with your future planning. While you may want to move on quickly, your future self will be grateful for all you’ve done now!
We’re here for you. If you need support in documenting these questions, or even just somebody to talk to about the challenges in your organization during this time, we’ve got you. Contact us at smarter@jcainc.com.