Running Your Theater: Program Ad's

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Program Ad's

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Theater Administration
Forum Name: Running Your Theater
Forum Discription: General questions about how to make it work
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3028
Printed Date: 11/22/24 at 10:33pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: Program Ad's

Posted By: landon2006
Subject: Program Ad's
Date Posted: 3/10/08 at 8:36am

I was trying to come up with an idea of how to price ad's for our programs. We have only one other Community Theater, and they only charge $200 per year for a full page ad to appear in every program. However, this will not work for us. I have come up with an idea of what to charge but I wanted you guys to look at it and tell me if I'm overpricing the space?

Keep in mind that all ad's are full color, printed on nice glossy paper and that each program will contain up to 10 Photo's from the production as to keep people interested in keeping there program's for a much longer time period than normal.

Each of our performances will also play to (up to) 561 people.

I put together an excel spreadsheet and uploaded it here: http://www.geocities.com/landon1600/ - http://www.geocities.com/landon1600/

Take a look at it and tell me if perhaps I need to come down a little on the price or maybe even go up.

Thanks,
Landon

Replies:

Posted By: John Luzaich
Date Posted: 3/10/08 at 11:42am

Landon,

I don't think we are too different than your situation. We have a 500 seat theatre, are a 501 (c) (3) non-profit community theatre located in the Midwest. We operate year round, produce our own 4 - play season (and a fifth show that changes formats every year). We also do some presenting and rentals. We use our own playbill for our own shows and the presenting events we do. The rentals are responsible for their own playbills/programs. When a client advertises in our playbill they have their ad year round for our production of Pippin and Larry O'Brien & the Glenn Miller Orchestra. They see their ad in the playbill for our production of Inspecting Carol and for Folk singer songwriter Leo Kottke.

Our clients pay us one fee at the beginning of our season and their ad runs all year long for everything we do. We charge: $295. - 1/4 page ad, $495. for 1/2 page ad, $895. for full page ad. You should leave room in your playbill for ad trades (you have an ad in my playbill and I have one in yours). We do a lot of trades with other community theatres, professional theatre, University theatre, etc.

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John
cfct@cfu.net
http://www.osterregent.org
http://www.facebook.com/osterregent

Posted By: John Luzaich
Date Posted: 3/10/08 at 11:54am

Oh, yes, and the other thing we've learned about playbills/programs is print fewer than you think you need! I can't tell you how many times we have playbills left over. I don't mean a few for our files and archives, I mean a box full. We do use them to send out to potential advertisers for next year. We'll send a playbill to those people so they can see what our playbill looks like, and they can see who else advertises in there.

But, we used to print one for every expected audience member. We had too many left over because many people just do not take the playbill home with them. We want them to and even call their attention to it during the curtain announcements. Once in awhile an ad is a coupon for something, so we want people to take them home or to work and show people, share it, put it on the coffee table, etc. But so many people just leave them at the theatre on their way out after the show. Our rule of thumb for printing is about 2/3rds of your expected attendance.

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John
cfct@cfu.net
http://www.osterregent.org
http://www.facebook.com/osterregent

Posted By: landon2006
Date Posted: 3/10/08 at 11:57am

We will only print as many as a full house. So, we print 561 x 6 performances = 3,366. That way we know we have enough for everyone if we have a full house.

We are actually getting a pretty good deal on our Programs from www.printplace.com. Each one cost us 86 cents (including the two inserts) and are in full color, with a Glossy Aqueous coating and 44 pages long.

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Posted By: JoeMc
Date Posted: 3/10/08 at 11:30pm

With comeatre & advertisers. I found out years a go, not to charge for progammes, as this gives the advirtisers & sponsors a better coverage & exsposure for thier $'s.

Also we don't have a heap left over that didn't sell.

I first tried this in a country town comeatre. We placed donation boxes next to the programmes. The first season they made more out of programme donations, than they ever did attempting to flog them.

They are still doing this to day & have advertisers knocking on thier door. Once they have enough advertisers to pay for the programmes, they close it off. Rather than having a programme full of adds.

Further in a couple of others that have followed suit, they can offer less advertising space at a premium price, thus effectivly have better quality for shows & as all punters get one for free, a lot are kept for longer, giving the adds more exsposure!

With donations it's 'money for Jam'!

-------------
[western] Gondawandaland
"Hear the light & see the sound!
TOI TOI CHOOKAS
{may you always play to a full house!}

Posted By: John Luzaich
Date Posted: 3/12/08 at 12:19pm

Joe, I hope you didn't misinterpret what we're talking about here. We don't charge the theatre patron for the playbill/program. (like at some sporting events). Those are handed out free. The charge is to the business owner or manager for having an ad in the playbill/program.

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John
cfct@cfu.net
http://www.osterregent.org
http://www.facebook.com/osterregent

Posted By: landon2006
Date Posted: 3/12/08 at 4:05pm

Yes, we only charge the Advertisers. We also reserve 4, full page ad's for our Advertising sponsors (aka: The local newspaper, radio stations, cables company, etc) that provide us with free advertisement.

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Posted By: JoeMc
Date Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:35am

I did misunderstand, as i didn't pick up on any reference to fammes to the punter.

We don't even bother with 'dodgers' [playbills/posters] as they tend to just become scrap paper or memo pads.

The only thing we do for posters, is arrange a few 'pulls' of the front cover of the programme, about 30-50 for advertisers/sponsors, the odd friendly shop front. Also we include a poster along with double comps sent to other comeatres within the region.

This costs nothing & thrown in with the overall print costs.

-------------
[western] Gondawandaland
"Hear the light & see the sound!
TOI TOI CHOOKAS
{may you always play to a full house!}