The Acquisition Artist

This year, we’ve been sharing our perspective on why audience growth isn’t just about adding more tactics—it’s about clear accountability. We feel that marketing teams can be most effective when they define who is responsible for acquiring new audiences, retaining current ones, and supplying the data that supports those efforts.

We’ve made the case that the path to growth starts with setting clear goals around acquisition and retention—and assigning ownership for hitting those goals. When roles are aligned and responsibilities are clear, audience growth becomes not only possible, but predictable.

That’s a shift away from organizing work around internal categories like single ticket campaigns versus subscription campaigns. Instead, we encourage teams to think relationally: Who is accountable for bringing new audiences to your organization, or introducing existing audiences to facets of your organization that are new to them? That shift opens the door to more strategic, audience-centered marketing.

Meet the Acquisition Artist: The person responsible for audience acquisition.

We’ve already introduced you to the Retention Rock Star.

Today, we’re focusing on one of the key players in this structure: the Acquisition Artist.

This team member is accountable for one core goal: getting new people in the door. The Acquisition Artist focused on all things new, whether that means a brand new audience member attending their first ever performance or an occasional audience member purchasing their first ever subscription package.

This person reviews research on recent new audience members to craft look-alike campaigns to target underrepresented segments of the community. The tactics in focus here may be efforts such as advertising, community engagement, and list trades for mailings.

The Acquisition Artist seeks to understand what motivates people to walk through your doors and then finds avenues to meet potential audiences wherever they are and motivate them to attend.

Accountability #1: New Leads

Why it matters: Brand new audience members don’t just materialize out of thin air. (If only they did!) You need to find them somewhere. Whether you’re meeting these folks in person at community events or driving them to register for an e-newsletter via digital ads, it’s important to constantly be finding new people that are interested in your organization to whom you can market your offerings. Don’t forget to make sure that you’re obtaining the necessary permissions to communicate with them!

Key Metric:

• New customer records in your CRM and/or email platform with appropriate marketing permissions – How many new records are being created in your email and CRM systems? Do you have appropriate permissions to market to them? Whether you’re checking this number monthly, quarterly, or annually, the Acquisition Artist should have a sense of how many new contacts are needed to continue to bring new audience members to your organization.
• Social Media Follower Growth – If you’re actively using social media to market your organization, the Acquisition Artist should ensure that those channels are growing steadily. This can be a lower impact way for potential ticket buyers to begin a conversation with your organization without feeling like they’re giving away their personal information.

Accountability #2: First-Time Ticket Buyers

Why it matters: This is the heart of the Acquisition Artist’s role – bringing new people to your organization for the very first time. Long Lapsed audience members may also be considered a piece of their accountability. Once the Acquisition Artist gets folks into your venues, the Retention Rock Star has even more audiences to speak to.

Key Metrics:

• Number and Percentage of New to File Ticket Buyers – How many new people are in your audience? And what percentage of your audience is new, season over season? Are there individual performances or types of performances that tend to bring new audiences in? Understanding these numbers will help the Acquisition Artist track the effectiveness of their efforts and look for ways to continue to refine their strategy.
• Customer acquisition cost – This can sometimes be difficult to calculate, because it takes multiple touch points to motivate a new ticket buyer to make their very first purchase. Try to look for opportunities to get a rough sense of this cost (e.g., cost to purchase a mailing list, cost to participate in a community event) to help you spend your marketing resources most effectively.

Accountability #3: First-Time Subscribers

Why it matters: Acquisition isn’t just about single tickets. You need to grow your subscription programs, too. An Acquisition Artist should be an expert in understanding when someone is ready to purchase something for the very first time and then motivating them to do so. And with subscription rates down across the board, first-time subscribers are an essential piece of growing your loyalty programs.

Key Metrics:

• Number and Percentage of First-time Subscribers – This is equally as important as understanding what’s happening with new to file single ticket buyers. What percentage of your subscriber base do they make up? What shows are they attending? Are there particular packages that appear to be motivating first-time subscribers? These metrics are essential to understanding what’s happening with first-time subscribers.
• Time to First Subscription – Do you know, on average, how many performances an audience member attends as a single ticket buyer before purchasing their first subscription? Do you know the pathways that lead someone to buy their very first subscription? If you do, you can more effectively target those audiences that will be ready for marketing about subscriptions at just the right moment.

Accountability #4: First-Time Donors

Why it matters: While the development team owns donor relationships, marketing plays a crucial role in encouraging that very first donation. Most of your donors begin their journey in the audience, and a great Acquisition Artist can help their colleagues identify and solicit first-time donors who are primed to make an impactful first gift.

Key Metric:

• Time to First Donation – Again, this is about finding the right audience at the right moment. It’s possible that your programming often motivates first-time attendees to donate immediately! Work with your Data Diva to learn more about the pathways to donation so that you can make your ask at the optimal moment.

What Success Looks Like

There is always going to be some degree of churn within our audiences, so the Acquisition Artist is always going to be an essential member of your team. And we’ve seen that audiences are growing, so this is an opportune moment to focus on continued growth!

Remember that the Acquisition Artist is successful not only when they bring in people for the very first time but also when they help introduce existing audiences to new offerings, or encourage them to interact with your organization in a new way, like subscribing or donating.

Discounts, perks, and other offers may be a piece of getting people through your doors, but what’s ultimately needed to bring in first time audiences is a person on your team with the focus, mandate, and data support to find and attract new audiences.

Ready to Align Your Team Around Audience Growth?

JCA Performing Arts can help you clarify your marketing team’s roles, set measurable goals, and ensure the right people have the right data to grow your audience—strategically and sustainably.

Let’s Talk!