Remember when summer used to be our slow season in the world of arts marketing? In an industry that never decelerates, let’s explore some of the hottest trends and strategies to boost your upcoming campaigns.
Embrace Organic Video
Short-form organic video content is growing in popularity for paid ads on Meta and Tik Tok. Most users scroll with the sound off, so captivating visuals are crucial. Aim for 4-8 second videos that showcase a single action or highlight the patron experience.
Take inspiration from the Fabulous Fox, who drove 91 conversions in 5 days with a 6-second Hamilton video paired with 4th of July messaging. No B-Roll available? This clip was pulled directly from an approved TV spot.
While longer video spots (15 & 30 seconds) remain valuable for YouTube and OTT campaigns, prioritize short-form content for social media engagement.
Leverage Dark Posts
A major trend in 2024 is the rise of dark posts – ads promoting artists or events directly from their pages. This requires advertiser access to the artist's Facebook page and approval of the ad content. Fans are often more likely to be swayed by a call to action from their favorite artist than from a venue. Additionally, gaining access to artist pages allows targeting their existing audience on Facebook and Instagram – a valuable demographic for your campaigns.
California Mid-State Fair A/B tested dark posts vs. regular ads for headliners Miranda Lambert, Nate Bargatze, and Brad Paisley this summer.
Metrotix offered unique promos for the social media followers of each of their headliners for the upcoming Music At The Intersection festival this Fall. Their carousel ads included a deep linked landing page embedded with a promo code for a seamless purchasing experience.
Generate Demand
You are likely familiar with Google Performance Max for driving ticket sales. But have you considered Google Demand Gen? This option prioritizes awareness over conversions, excluding search placements and focusing on display and video networks. While Performance Max remains ideal for direct sales, Demand Gen can be a valuable addition due to three important nuances.
1. Location Targeting by Ad Group
Demand Gen offers a unique perk: location targeting by ad group. This allows you to target out-of-market buyers with different parameters than in-market audiences. It also lets you expand location targeting for first-party audiences like CRM lists and retargeting campaigns.
WestCoast Entertainment utilized Demand Gen for their 24-25 Subscriptions campaign, targeting both a CRM list with broad geographic reach and a lookalike audience focused on the Spokane DMA. They also capitalized on Google's exclusive carousel ad format to showcase their offerings.
2. Carousel Ads
Like West Coast Entertainment, The Classic Center embraced Google Demand Gen's carousel format for their Broadway Season campaign. This unique ad format is perfect for highlighting multiple shows within a season and is only available on Google with Demand Gen!
3. Video and / OR Display Ads
We understand that securing YouTube assets for campaigns can be a challenge. Only have production photos or graphics? Demand Gen allows you to run display-only campaigns with often a higher conversion rate than traditional display ads.
Be Direct
Customizing content to speak directly to your audience segments is not a new trend, but implementing it in the arts can be challenging.
The Fox Theatre of Atlanta used unique videos tailored to different audience segments for their 2024-2025 membership campaign. Each segment received targeted messaging highlighting the membership benefits most relevant to them. These ads drove viewers to an Eloqua landing page with clear calls to action, including a "buy now" button and a lead form for sales inquiries.
Interested in multilingual ads? No problem! We often incorporate Spanish-language ads within our campaigns and can translate the copy on your behalf. Increase your conversion rates by having Spanish voiceover and text in the ad as well.
Additionally, leverage CRM Lists to tailor messaging to specific segments. Here’s several examples we’ve seen from the last year:
Use weekly CRM updates to identify those who haven’t made a time sensitive decision (ie: renewals) and adjust the messaging to increase the urgency.
Pull audiences from Eloqua based on email engagement. Educate those who don’t open their emails and be direct with those who do.
Identify unique 1st Party audiences and talk them directly:
Similar Show Purchasers: You’ll laugh out loud…
Lapsed Patrons: Return and be blown away…
Ticket Transfer Recipients: For more unforgettable performance…
Family Buyers: Your new family tradition…
Don't Ignore The Brand
Brand awareness campaigns boomed in 2024! The key to success lies in defining your goals. Are you looking to:
Grow your social media following?
Drive leads or newsletter signups?
Increase website traffic for your videos or content?
Connect with your community in a non-promotional way?
Newman Center for the Performing Arts employed a multi-pronged approach to brand awareness. They ran general awareness campaigns across Google Display and Performance Max to connect with the Denver community, while simultaneously launching a social growth campaign that garnered them 587 new Facebook followers.
By understanding your goals and utilizing the right tools, you can leverage brand awareness campaigns to achieve lasting success in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
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