Research Tidbits on Advertising and Other Factors

Posted by Brian Mahoney, Vice President – Ticket Sales

Let’s Go to the Videotape

Not sports highlights but for a Broadway show.   We asked Telecharge customers whether video content on the show website, Telecharge or Broadway.com was useful in their decision.    

The answer is it depends.  Overall 53% of respondents said yes.   But there is more variance than with the answers to some other questions.  

• Out of town customers answered that they found video most useful.   57% answered yes. 
  
  
• New Yorkers found it the least useful, 46%, while residents of the suburbs were in the middle, 53%.
  
  
• Those who attended Wed Mats and answered yes were on the low side: 41% of NYC residents and 50% of suburban. 
  
  

Of course, out of town is the largest segment of the Broadway audience.   Does your show have all the current video on Telecharge where we know many customers look at more than one show? 

 

Outdoor Advertising

There is a saying in marketing that 50% of advertising is wasted and everyone wants to know which 50% it is.   Well the good news is when asked if people notice outdoor advertising for Broadway shows (and they could check all that apply), 84% checked Billboards (84% of out of town, 88% of suburban customers, and 77% of New Yorkers).  

What other outdoor did they see?

• Buses: 59% said they saw outdoor advertising on buses (52% out of town, 57% suburbs and 77% NYC)
  
  
• Taxi Tops: 40% said yes (39% out of town, 34% suburban residents and 54% NYC).
  
  
• Taxi TV: 21% (21% out of town, 14% suburban residents and 31% NYC).
  
  
• Other was 12%.   This could include subways, suburban train platforms. 
  
  

The answers on Taxi advertising are interesting.  The supposition is we are reaching lots of out-of-town customers who we assume are taking cabs, and yet the reach is strongest with locals.   Buses are another medium that we assume reaches out of town customers and yet the data tells us is stronger with New Yorkers.  

Go figure. 

 

Does Ticket Price affect a Customer’s Decision to see a show?

This is a touchy question as most customers will say prices are high.   As a first pass on this topic we asked a vague question, which people in the industry will interpret through their own lens, rose colored or not.   The question we asked: “Has your decision to see a show or not ever been affected by the regular ticket price of the show?”

80% said yes. 

Which group was affected the most?  Suburban customers at 88%, followed by New Yorkers at 86%.  Out of town visitors were the least affected at 73%. 

Now do these customers understand what we mean when we say the regular price of the ticket?  Maybe, maybe not.   When they answer whether the price affected their decision, did they mean they decided to buy because of the price or they decided not to buy because of the price?   The issue requires more research.   What we do know for sure is ticket price is a factor to a significant population of customers; we can’t assume price does not have an effect on one’s decision to see a show.   In economic terms the demand is not inelastic.   And yet most shows charge the same top price ($140-$150) with the strongest selling shows charging more.   And very few shows charge less in previews.