How We Helped The Washington Ballet Surpass its Nutcracker Revenue Goals

Our Approach

Holiday productions bring in crucial revenue for performing arts organizations, but selling the same show year after year is no easy feat.

We worked with The Washington Ballet (TWB) to refresh their digital strategy and social content for The Nutcracker. With a data-driven approach and a resourceful creative team, we helped the Ballet reach new audiences and surpass its 2022 revenue goal.

Growing Audiences with Digital Advertising

As arts marketers, we understand the unique challenges that come with advertising holiday productions. Ad prices are particularly high during the holiday season, and it’s harder than ever to rise above the influx of ticket brokers and competing cultural events.

TWB’s The Nutcracker is no exception. This celebrated production is set in historic 1882 Georgetown with George Washington, King George III, and many other historical figures. Although this is a unique take on a classic production, holiday competition is still at an all-time high. We crafted a top-notch digital strategy to help them cut through the noise—here’s how we did it:

UseD Google’s full toolbox

We took advantage of Google’s full suite of ad placements to meet people at every stage of the marketing funnel. Our consultants tested placements across display, search, Discovery, and YouTube to determine which worked best for top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel audiences.

LeanED into machine learning

Google’s dynamic ad formats help maximize reach while minimizing cost. We used machine learning technology with responsive display ads, responsive search ads, and responsive video ads. These dynamic formats resulted in up to a 44% higher key page view (KPV) rate than their static counterparts.

MaximizeD spend efficiency

We monitored campaign performance and redistributed budget halfway through the run to optimize for clicks-to-purchase (CTP). With historical data on our side, we optimized our campaigns to help bring down CTP cost per acquisition (CPA).

AdvertiseD with mission in mind

TWB also had key institutional goals of reaching audiences in underrepresented zip codes. We incorporated advanced geotargeting into a campaign for residents of D.C.’s Wards 7 and 8 and offered residents unique incentives to attend The Nutcracker. This strategy expanded TWB’s reach among these high-priority audiences.

Finding Fresh Content Angles for an Annual Production

Recurring holiday productions provide a unique opportunity to put a fresh spin on social content. It’s vital to meet audiences where they are and provide new and refreshed incentives. CI’s content team handled creative direction, graphic design, and copywriting for paid Facebook and Instagram content.

Fine-tuneD messaging

The Washington metropolitan area saw upwards of 10 different Nutcrackers in 2022, so the first step was determining what set TWB’s production apart. We developed four key buckets to guide our content strategy:

• D.C twist. TWB’s homegrown version of The Nutcracker is set in historic 1882 Georgetown. It’s a charming take on the classical ballet.
• Holiday tradition. The Nutcracker captures the season’s magic for tourists and locals alike. It’s a can’t-miss holiday staple.
• Family-friendly. With colorful characters and a heavy helping of stage magic, The Nutcracker is perfect for kids of all ages.
• Best of ballet. The Nutcracker offers some of the best dancing in classical ballet and an iconic Tchaikovsky score that balletomanes know by heart.

MADE THE MOST OF limited assets

We found innovative ways to reframe existing assets to get the most out of what was available at the beginning of the campaign.

FreeD up time for TWB’s internal content team

As we spearheaded Nutcracker paid content, it freed up time for TWB’s internal team to capture high-quality photos and video for this year’s production. We took the raw footage from their efforts and created compelling content with fun angles.