1. HARRIS THEATER FOR MUSIC AND DANCE
MILLENNIUM PARK
Chicago Community Trust
Grantee Roundtable
October 21, 2010
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2. Who We Are
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3. Description of Grant Project
 Using the Harris Theater’s economies of
scale, the Theater designed and executed
targeted arts engagement campaigns for 6
resident companies during the 2009-2010
season
 Chosen because of their administrative and
financial needs, the 6 companies represent a
cross sample of the organizations that
typically perform at the Harris
 Tactics included; teleresources, public
relations, e-communications, social
networking, and bundled advertising
 Provided companies with ROI reports and
patron data analysis
 Data collected to be used for future analysis
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4. Sources of Audience Data and Information
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 The Harris Theater uses Tessitura, an integrated customer relationship management
system (CRM).
 Central data warehouse
 Tracking mechanism for all customer interactions and transactional information.
 Track each component of our sales strategy by using specific promotional codes and
giving us the tools organize and analyze the data collected.
 To get the most out of the data you store, you need to know exactly what information you
are looking for... Getting the answers to questions can be labor intensive.
 In the second phase of the CCT grant, the Harris will purchase T-Stats v2.0 to
complement and enhance the Tessitura Software.
 Allows front end control of powerful data mining tools without the need for custom report writing.
 The Harris has also engaged the services of Slover-Linnett Strategies Inc. –to analyze
patron data and present a more holistic view of the different kinds of patrons and patterns
that exist in the database.

5. Anticipated Outcomes Actual Outcomes
 Cultivate a new audience through
public relations and community
outreach
 Increase audience from previous
season engagement by 60% for a
total minimum attendance of 500
 Achieve a gross ticket revenue goal
of $12,500
 Provided complimentary tickets to
community organizations,
churches, and HT donors –
introducing new patrons
 Exceeded attendance goal of 500
by 58% with a total attendance of
788
 Total ticket revenue goal = $10,828
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Company 1

6. Anticipated Outcomes Actual Outcomes
 Engage new audiences through use of
social media, viral marketing, community
relations and bundled advertising
 Achieve a minimum of 500 audience
members for each performance
 Achieve $2,000 in ticket revenue for each
performance for a total of $6,000
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 Successful at attracting local residents and
office employees – many new to the
Theater
 Lunchtime performance not ideal for
college students
 Exceeded attendance goal of 500 for all
three performances, averaging 720 per
show
 Total ticket revenue for the Eat to the Beat
series: $6,900
Company 2

7. Anticipated Outcomes Actual Outcomes
 Audience development through cross
promotion with HT dance buyers
 Increase audience by 12% from 2,230 to
2,500 for each engagement
 Attendance for fall decreased by 15%
(1,891)
 Attendance for spring decreased by 17%
(1,858)
Though fell short of goal, positive
trends became evident and will be
explored in 10/11:
 Reduction in complimentary tickets
and increase in average ticket price
 Increase in African-American audience
- 60% of this audience new to company
 Willingness to explore subscriptions
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Company 3

8. Anticipated Outcomes Actual Outcomes
 Audience development through
cross promotion with HT dance
buyers
 Increase audience by 9% from
1,370 to 1,490 for each engagement
 Provide marketing support and
assistance through leadership
transition
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Company 4
 Retained same attendance as
previous year using all online
advertising
 Attendance for fall engagement
increased by 11% (1,518)
Attendance for spring engagement
decreased by 9% (1,241)
 HT staff worked directly with
company staff throughout entire
process

9. Anticipated Outcomes Actual Outcomes
 Audience development through
cross promotion with HT dance
buyers
 Cultivate new family based
audience
 Increase audience by 28% to 2,800
for each engagement with inclusion
of Family Series performance
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Company 5
 Family Series great success
Total attendance: 1,107
 Attendance for Nov. engagement
increased by 13% (2,478)
Attendance for Feb. engagement
increased by 15% (2,533)
 Fell slightly short of attendance
goal, however, proved that the
tactics worked

10. Anticipated Outcomes Actual Outcomes
 Achieve an audience of 750 or 51%
of capacity for the inaugural
appearance at the Harris Theater
 Develop a dynamic ticket buyer list
of at least 300 individual
households/names
 Sold-out audience (1500 patrons)
 Consignment ticketing & early
sales resulted in modest ticket
buyer list
 Committed to hosting Festival at
the Theater in 2010 and adding a
matinee performance to meet
increased demand
 CCT funds used to assist with pre-
sale of 2010 engagement –
ensuring that patrons who could
not get tickets last year are able to
attend
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Company 6

11. Where We Want to Go from Here
 Leverage HT Presents series to draw new audiences to resident company performances
 Bundle select resident company performances with HT Presents performances of similar
genres or cultural communities
 Convert new ticket buyers to regular patrons of the Theater’s resident companies
 Continue working with 4 resident companies from last season whose arts engagement
campaigns left something more to explore
 Expand project to include 3 new resident companies
 Develop a comprehensive, diverse database of Chicago’s arts patrons
 Long-term goal: Develop a case-study of purchasing habits and psychographics
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12. Advice
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Data is a powerful tool to make informed decisions for the future.
Be nimble and track the results of your tactics during the process!
The outcome you expect might not always be the one you get, but don’t miss
a learning opportunity.
Lessons learned may be more valuable than the original question.
Don’t be afraid to talk with your “competitors.”
There is a value to collaboration beyond the pooling of financial resources.
The arts community is stronger when we are sharing best practices and
lessons learned.
Collaboration:
All parties work together and build consensus
to reach a decision or create a product, the result of which
benefits all parties. Competition is a nearly-insurmountable
roadblock to collaboration, and the relationship among parties
must continue beyond the accomplishment of the task in order
to assure its viability. The goal is dynamic.