“Our patrons won’t pay that…” “Everyone wants to sit in this section…” Our assumptions about what our audiences will and won’t want or do can stop us from pricing to optimize revenue for our organizations. But we don’t really know until we look at the data. Ignoring what patron data tells us about pricing can lead arts organizations to leave money on the table—money that could be sustaining their mission. At The New Wolsey Theatre in the U.K., small changes to pricing strategy resulted in big revenue increases. In just nine months, the company reported a 31% increase in box office gross—without selling more tickets. In this webinar, New Wolsey’s Head of Sales and Marketing Stephen Skrypec and TRG’s VP of Client Development Lindsay Anderson shared how the theatre updated daily practices and challenged prior assumptions about audiences, leading to their success. We examined how arts organizations, whether in the U.S., U.K., or elsewhere, can use pricing to drive patron behavior and revenue.

1. Photo by Mike Kwasniak.
PRICING DRIVES
REVENUE AT NEW
WOLSEY THEATRE
Hosted by
Lindsay Anderson
VP of Client Development
TRG Arts
Copyright © 2015 TRG Arts
All Rights Reserved
Stephen Skrypec
Head of Sales and Marketing
New Wolsey Theatre

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PRICING DRIVES
REVENUE AT NEW
WOLSEY THEATRE
Lindsay Anderson
VP of Client Development
TRG Arts
Copyright © 2015 TRG Arts
All Rights Reserved
Stephen Skrypec
Head of Sales and Marketing
New Wolsey Theatre

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Fear Factor
“Our patrons will
never do that.”
“The cheapest seats need
to be in the balcony.”
“£25 is way too high.”

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Assumptions
“Our patrons will
never do that.”
“The cheapest seats need
to be in the balcony.”
“£25 is way too high.”

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Sources of information
survey comments
perceived price sensitivity
conversations
HiPPO
box office legacy
personal preferences of
individual staff
actual transactions

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LOW
DEMAND
HIGH
DEMAND
Demand: Either you’ve got it…
or you don’t

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New Wolsey Theatre
Assumptions
1. “Row L needs to be cheap.”
Scale and inventory management
2. “They’ll never pay £1.50 more.”
Pricing for demand
3. “What will people say? Are you crazy?”
Policy into practice

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Photo by Mike Kwasniak.

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Lilly Howard, Sarah Mahony, Sean Kingsley, and Esther Biddle in Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Mike Kwasniak.

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“What do I do now?”
Photo by Mike Kwasniak.

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“Row L needs to be cheap.”
Scale and inventory management

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1) Force the perception of
success
2) Per capita revenues
increase as house fills
3) Inventory management:
reinforce the message of
success
4) Honor and reward loyalty
Ideal Scale of House
Managing demand
Photo by Mike Kwasniak.

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New Wolsey Theatre
REGULAR: Four price levels

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Old Scale-of-house Plan
New Wolsey Theatre: four price levels
Sections Pricing
Premium
Band A
Band B
Band C
A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 A
BALCONY LEFT B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 B BALCONY RIGHT
1 C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 C 1
2 D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 D 2
3 E 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 E 3
4 F 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 F 4
5 G 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 G 5
H 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 H
I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 I
J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 J
K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 K
L 1 2 3 4 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 L
KW 1 2 KW KW 36 37 KW
STAGE

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Heat Maps
The Double Donut
STAGE
CENTER
A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
BALCONY LEFT B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 BALCONY RIGHT
BL 1 C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 BR 1
2 D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2
3 E 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 3
4 F 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 4
5 G 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 5
H 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43
K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
L 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
KW 1 2 KW 36 37
Low Attended Performance
Legend
5
4
3
2
1
0

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Heat Maps
STAGE
CENTER
A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
BALCONY LEFT B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 BALCONY RIGHT
BL 1 C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 BR 1
2 D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2
3 E 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 3
4 F 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 4
5 G 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 5
H 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43
K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
L 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
KW 1 2 KW 36 37
Average Attended Performance
The Double Donut
Legend
5
4
3
2
1
0

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Heat Maps
The Double Donut
STAGE
CENTER
A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
BALCONY LEFT B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 BALCONY RIGHT
BL 1 C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 BR 1
2 D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2
3 E 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 3
4 F 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 4
5 G 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 5
H 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43
K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
L 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
KW 1 2 KW 36 37
High Attended Performance
Legend
5
4
3
2
1
0

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New Wolsey Theatre
Changes to scale
1. Re-allocate higher prices to where the
demand was
2. Make sure price matched demand in the
areas which were harder to fill
3. Control the fill-pattern to ensure every
performance looked well-attended

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Sections Pricing
Premium
Band A
Band B
Band C
A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 A
BALCONY LEFT B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 B BALCONY RIGHT
1 C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 C 1
2 D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 D 2
3 E 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 E 3
4 F 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 F 4
5 G 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 G 5
H 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 H
I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 I
J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 J
K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 K
L 1 2 3 4 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 L
KW 1 2 KW KW 36 37 KW
STAGEPremium price all
the way back
Lower priced seats
moved to hard-to-
sell, visible areas
Control which seats were
made available when
based on demand
Old Scale-of-house Plan
New Wolsey Theatre: four price levels

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ROW L?

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Where’s your
ROW L?

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Fill pattern-before
Fill pattern-after

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“They’ll never pay £1.50 more.”
Pricing for demand

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The great £1.50 leap
Photo by Jenny Abney via flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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political
reactive
Pricing is emotional

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political
reactive
Pricing is emotional

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Pricing should drive
patron behavior.

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Behavior Drivers
Standardizing prices
• Peak/off-peak
Accessibility
• A good entry-level price
Patron-informed pricing
• Discounting
• Dynamic pricing

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LOW
DEMAND
HIGH
DEMAND
Demand: Either you’ve got it…
or you don’t

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High Demand
Mid-level Demand
Low Demand
Peak/off-peak pricing
Educated guessing

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Definitions
Demand Based Pricing
A process combining data
analysis, scale-of-house,
inventory management, pricing
and other marketing tools to
predict and then influence
patron demand. The goal is to
maximize per capita revenue.
Dynamic Pricing
A pricing tactic in which trigger
points guide the manipulation of
prices after an event has gone
on sale. Price is the only
variable.
80%20%

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What about accessibility?
1. Entry level prices always at £10,
standardized for every event.
2. Season ticket holder (subscriber) discounts
made Band B more attractive than £10.
3. More tickets available at £10.

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Before: Discounts at NWT
Over 60 Children
After: Discounts at NWT
£10 everyday value Under 26
“Under 26” icon by Stephen Borengasser via The Noun Project

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Dynamic pricing
Audience impact
1. Transparency
Be prepared to explain how it works
2. “Book early.”
Encourage to book early for best prices
3. “We’re very popular.”
Dynamic pricing communicates success

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“What will people say? Are you crazy?”
Data-guided policy into practice

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Fear of backlash

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More important than
Pricing: POLICY
1. It’s not price, it’s how you use it and when
2. Consistency backed by strategy and data
3. And, it’s how you explain it—to staff and
customers

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Monitoring fill-pattern
Good policy
1. Control how the house fills through a
hold-and-release strategy
2. Review seats maps as a team to avoid
surprises and make proactive decisions
3. Don’t focus on what’s just ahead; have a
long-range view or what’s in the future

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IMPLEMENTATION
Revenue Pacing Meetings
Ailey’s Monday Morning Meeting
Key staff, executive participation
Inventory & price focused
Mondavi Center Team Time-out
Executive-ordered
Whole team seats subscribers
Hubbard Street Loyalty Pacing
Dedicated to rewarding loyalty with the best
Loyalty metric management

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New Wolsey Theatre
Assumptions
1. “Row L needs to be cheap.”
Scale and inventory management
2. “They’ll never pay £1.50 more.”
Pricing for demand
3. “What will people say? Are you crazy?”
Policy into practice

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Next Webinar:
Promotional Pricing
Do’s & Don’ts
September 10 at 3 EDT
featuring Anita Hansen of TRG and
Laura Beussman of Blackbaud
Find your invitation in our follow-up email.

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Pricing Sprints
In Colorado Springs
Oct. 6-7 or 8-9
Nov. 10-11 or 12-13
Dec. 8-9 or 10-11
Jan. 12-13 or 14-15
Feb. 2-3 or 4-5
Other dates available—contact us for specifics.
Book now by emailing LetsTalk@trgarts.com

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Webinar
Thank you!
If you have further questions,
email info@trgarts.com.
www.trgarts.com