Ideas

Before it lands on Broadway this spring, the new revival of The Who’s Tommy had a triumphant premiere at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, where it received rave reviews for its sold-out run. A fresh reinvention of The Who’s 1969 rock concept album, Tommy, the musical features classics like “Pinball Wizard” and “I’m Free.”

The world of digital marketing has always been largely rooted in an inherent trust that technology will cooperate once we hand over our meticulously crafted campaigns and ads. Now, we’ve reached a point where we aren’t just handing over our ads, but sometimes the creation of the ads themselves.

We know it’s never easy to hand over control when it comes to something you care about, especially when fickle technology is involved, but CI is here for support as we all navigate the new digital future of dynamic ads. Let’s dive into some top use cases where it makes sense to let machine learning do the heavy lifting, if you aren’t already.

As we approach the end of the year, your thoughts have likely turned to your Nutcrackers and Christmas Carols (and if they haven’t yet… what are you waiting for?!). But there’s likely one other end-of-year effort on your mind: fundraising. 

With social platforms like Instagram and TikTok transforming into search hotspots, is investing in Google paid search (SEM) still a savvy move?

It’s a common question we get from clients, and we completely understand why. Social media is where consumers predominantly spend their time, and search is baked into the UI of these platforms, so it’s easy to assume people are gravitating away from traditional search engines.

If you’re stuck in a query quandary and wondering where to put your advertising dollars, don’t worry—we analyzed CI client data to help you better understand arts buyers’ search preferences. The short answer: Google still reigns supreme, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook other search methods; it all depends on your organization's goals and resources.

Summer is the season of camps—and we don’t just mean the ones with tents! With schools out in your local communities, summer camps are a golden opportunity for arts organizations to inspire and nurture the next generation of artists, musicians, and performers. But in a digital space as crowded as your favorite beach, it’s not always easy to make a splash with your camp-focused digital campaigns. We’ve got you! 

After the usual “dada,” “mama,” and “banana,” the very next thing my now-17-month-old daughter said was, “Hey Google.” She says it clearly enough that our Home device responds to her. She hasn’t quite mastered the next step of asking Google for whatever she wants (usually, to listen to her favorite song, “Stayin’ Alive”), but I’m sure she’ll figure it out any day now.

That’s because search is so ingrained in our lives that we may not even realize how frequently we use it. We turn to search instinctively any time we have a question or a need. According to HubSpot, Google handles an estimated 2 trillion searches per year and over 63,000 searches every second on average. Your search strategy should reflect the robust role search plays in our day-to-day lives—and your Google Grant, while a wonderful asset, can’t cover all of your bases.

Enter: paid search.

When you market a large volume of programs and initiatives, it can be tempting to run as many campaigns as possible—the more ads, the better, right?—but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee an equally significant payoff. When it comes to digital advertising, sometimes less is more. 

Intentionality is key, especially for multifaceted arts organizations with small (but mighty) marketing teams. We worked with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art to streamline their campaign structure, mitigate audience overlap, and reduce their team’s workload, all while maximizing overall impact.

It's summertime, and you know what that means: arts marketers have visions of Sugar Plum Fairies dancing in their heads. That’s right: now is the time to plan—and, in many cases, start—your holiday programming campaigns. 

Audience development is a crucial task for arts organizations. When growing your pool of prospective ticket buyers, thinking outside the box and utilizing innovative digital strategies is essential.