PROGRAM

Canadian Arts Marketing, Development & Ticketing Conference, Toronto

06.18.19 - 06.19.19

PLENARY

Marketing & Ticketing: Make It a Love Story

How often we have used words, statements and siloed perspectives to create chaos. We have gone awry with the most important internal customer relationship of all: marketing and ticketing. It is a relationship that is often fraught with frustration and contention. It is a love hate relationship that is one of the most missed opportunities in our industry. Let’s talk about how we turn this opportunity into a partnership that ignites success, that drives service, communication and revenues; that is mutually respectful, beneficial and fulfilling. Let’s stop being angry with each other and work together by changing our words to change the culture and opening the door to potential and possibility.

Maureen Andersen
President & CEO International Ticketing Association (INTIX)

NO! We need to be MORE like Airlines!

We often hear that "we are not selling airline tickets" - especially when talking about pricing strategy. What could we learn from the airlines though? Which of their practices would work the best? In this Dragon's Den style session, Andrew will argue the case for three ideas, then be grilled by the audience on their flaws.

Andrew Thomas
Director Ynys Consulting Ltd

BREAKOUTS AND PANELS

Smart Ways to Handle CASL

CASL is one of the toughest laws of its kind in the world, making its interpretation and application particularly thorny. Join Maarit for a discussion of the myriad challenges organizations currently face and smart ways to approach them.

Maanit Zemel
Partner Zemel van Kampen LLP

Annual Campaigns & Donor Retention

This session will provide an overview of how to plan your annual individual donation campaign. We will be sharing tips, tricks and best practices for building and maintaining lasting relationships with your donors that lead to long-term and increased support.

Victoria Laberge
Director of Development Nightwood Theatre

Relaxed Performances: Who, Why and Now

This panel will dive into the reasons behind the relaxed performance movement and give concrete ways for any venue to present a relaxed performance of a play, musical, concert or screening.

April Moon
Associate Director of Audience Services Canadian Stage

Rachel Marks
Relaxed Performance Consultant

Aaron McFarlane
Director of Education & Community Engagement Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Building Your Audience with Community Partners

From tourism bureaus to local businesses and social media influencers this panel provides case studies of how arts organizations have built partnerships in their communities to leverage funding and grow their audience.

Moderator: Keith Tomasek
Digital Marketing Strategist

Dorothy Downs
Founder and Executive Director Forest City Film Festival

Drea Kerr
Manager, Marketing & Development Stratford Summer Music

The Road to Optimal Pricing: Where Do You Go From Here?

Everyone is at a different point in the evolution of their pricing strategies. Hear from these seasoned marketing professionals about where they’ve been and where they’re headed in their quest for the perfect pricing strategy. What have been their successes and what obstacles do they still face? Then chime in with your own plans and questions about where to go from.

Chris Dorscht
Sales Director Mirvish Productions

Victoria Maginnis
Data Intelligence Manager Mirvish Productions

Trudy Watson
Director of Marketing Stratford Festival

Belinda Bale
Senior Associate Director of Communications National Ballet of Canada

Aaron Boyd
Senior Manager, Sales and Analytics Shaw Festival

Consumer Journeys: Personlization and its path to better ROI

Everybody loves the Arts but not everybody is made equal. Personalization taps into each of our respective interests, personalities, behaviours and desires, creating a consumer journey that speaks to people on a 1-to-1 level and ultimately leading to better ROI. Come learn some strategies that can be applied to all organizations both big and small.

Ford Shirriff
Partner/Vice President Triangles

Can a New Model of Media Partnership Help Diversify Arts Coverage?

Arts coverage in mainstream media has drastically declined. This trend is only getting worse. Intermission Magazine was created not only to help fill this void, but to explore a new, more collaborative relationship between arts organizations and media. Through tailored partnerships with arts organizations, Intermission is looking to elevate the conversation with audiences about artists and the work they do. This decentralized model of arts coverage is also opening up the conversation -- creating more diversity in the voices covering the arts. In this panel, as an example of this new model, we’ll discuss the partnership between Intermission and Obsidian, Canada’s leading culturally specific theatre company, and how they approached covering Obsidian’s 2018/19 season.

Moderator: Philip Riccio
Artistic Director The Company Theatre

Michael Sinclair
General Manger Obsidian Theatre

Mirali Almaula
Editor-in-Chief Intermission

Leveraging Non-Ticketed Events for Lead Generation and Attracting Diverse Audiences

It is often hard to capture data for guests attending free and non-ticketed events. Many of these events attract guests that are not (yet) ticket buyers. What are other types of events they are interested in attending? What information are you communicating to them while they’re on your site? More importantly, what and how are you communicating with them after your event is over? With no point-of-sale transaction, there is not an opportunity to collect this information – or is there?

Three Key Learnings:

Systems developed to collect guest data for conversion purposes.
Methods of communication following attendance to non-ticketed events.
The importance of surveying to better cultivate future relationships.

Crystal Brewe
Senior VP of Strategic Marketing & Communications Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

“That Aria Was Lit” – The Art of Communicating with Your Online Audience

Social media isn’t slowing down anytime soon, and online audiences expect more. Diverse content, quicker customer service and more videos! Learn about best practices, good places to spend your advertising dollars and get some great ideas when it comes to connecting with your patrons online.

Jordy Yack
Communications Coordinator FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

What’s in a Name? The Many Angles to Selling Naming Rights and Corporate Sponsorships

Judy will review the various categories that are active in both Naming Rights and corporate sponsorship, and outline what is required in order to secure partnerships with various categories.

Stay Tuned For Many More Sessions To Be Added, Including:

Increasing Revenue While Lowering Costs
Attracting Younger Audiences
Google Analytics
Strategies To Boost Advance Sales
Optimal Pricing
Digital And Traditional Marketing Mix
Social Media As Audience-Building Tool
Artificial Intelligence
And More!
(program and speakers subject to change)

Our Sponsors

Dream Warrior Group provides graceful yet technologically savvy solutions for Arts organizations. The goal-driven services focus on audience and action. As your technology advocate, we will be your ally and can manage and fully implement your online presence. Our services (à la carte or contracted) include: Web site design and development, e-marketing, e-promotion, social media management and optimization. We implement your message in a digital environment.
More Info
InstantEncore powers over one million patron experiences every year. helps arts and culture organizations thrive. Our two innovative mobile services – Appscension and InsideGuide - breakdown barriers to attendance, increase convenience for patrons, and drive ROI for you.
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BroadwayWorld is the largest theatre site on the internet, covering Broadway, the West End and beyond to 100 US cities, 45 countries and in 12 languages worldwide. With over six million monthly visitors, BroadwayWorld delivers complete up-to-the-minute Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theatre news, in-depth interviews, extraordinary photo coverage, entertaining video features, lively message boards, ticket discounts, reviews, and more.
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Spektrix is a complete solution for ticketing, marketing, fundraising, and CRM, designed specifically for the performing arts. With world-class technology and support, Spektrix helps 650+ organizations across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. grow their revenue and deepen patron relationships. Powerful, intuitive software, at-a-glance insights, frequent and seamless upgrades, training, support, and strategic consultation with experienced professionals come at no additional cost - making Spektrix the fastest-growing solution for arts organizations today.
More Info

Schedule

June 18, 2019:
Morning Intensive (Program starts at 9:00 a.m.)
Lunch on Your Own
Plenary
Panel
Opening Reception with one-on-ones

June 19, 2019:
Breakouts
Networking Reception with one-on-ones
Lunch with the Experts
Afternoon Intensive
Breakouts (Regular Conference ends at 5:00 p.m.)

Program and speakers subject to change.

Among other benefits, Arts Reach Members receive significant discounts on conference registration. Join NOW!