Your client at a holiday theater event

Shopping malls aren’t the only place for out-of-home marketers to target large crowds of people during the holiday season. There are other options as well, including holiday-themed plays and performances.

Theaters in many markets across the U.S. perform stage versions of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” or the ballet “The Nutcracker,” while New York City offers the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” and a Broadway version of the movie “A Christmas Story.”

Families with money to spend frequent these holiday productions. About a third of the theater crowd makes at least $100,000 annually.

Sponsors of holiday productions are seen in marketing leading up to the events, as well as in signage at the theater and in a show’s program.

To find out how to get your client at theaters during the holidays, read on.

This is one in a Media Life series on buying out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.

Fast Facts

What
Sponsorship at live holiday productions at theaters.

Who
Individual theaters handle their own sponsorship programs.

How it works
Whether they’re Broadway venues or community productions, most theaters cap the number of sponsors for a show to maintain an uncluttered environment.

It’s common for a theater to limit sponsorships to five or six brands for a given production, which helps sponsors stand out that much more.

The most basic option is becoming a title or presenting sponsor for a holiday-themed show. This will place a brand’s name and logo in the marketing for the production, such as “A Christmas Carol brought to you by U.S. Bank.”

Sponsors are also included in printed programs, which could include a prominently placed logo or a photo on a sponsor recognition page featuring executives from the company.

Brands will also appear in emails sent to theater members and on the theater’s web site, along with a link back to the company’s web site. They also often receive show tickets to be used by clients or employees, or even private performances for company events.

Finally, advertisers may also be mentioned on stage before a performance, usually on opening night.

Markets
Theater sponsorships for holiday productions are available in all major markets.

Numbers
Total attendance at live theater events was 45.26 million in 2010, the latest data available from Americans for the Arts. That was up from 39.62 million in 2009, but down from 47.31 million in 2008.

Musical play attendance has dropped at a rate of 9 percent annually from 2008 to 2012, according to a recent survey by the National Endowment for the Arts. Non-musical play attendance fell at a rate of 12 percent during that same period.

Individual event attendance often depends on the size of the theater. For example, Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., seats 650, while Radio City Music Hall in New York can seat up to 6,000.

How it is measured
Show attendance is tracked to estimate impressions, and brands can also monitor mentions in the media.

What product categories work well
Recent or current holiday theater sponsors include airlines, retail, financial, banks, telecom and auto.

Demographics
Among adults who have attended a live theater event in the past 12 months, 52 percent are female and 48 percent male, according to Scarborough Research.

Sixteen percent are age 18-29, 25 percent are 30-44, 39 percent are 45-64 and 20 percent are 65 or older.

Also, 69 percent have an annual household income of $50,000 or more, with 50 percent at $75,000 or more, 32 percent at $100,000 or more, and 5 percent at $250,000 or more.

Making the buy
Theater sponsorships for holiday productions are typically secured two to six months in advance. Some smaller sponsorships may be available up to a few weeks before a production begins.

Cost varies based on the size of the theater and the level of sponsorship. Top sponsorships for holiday shows typically range between $75,000 and $100,000. Lower-level sponsorships can range from $5,000 to $25,000.

Who’s already been at theaters during the holidays
Current or recent brands that have sponsored holiday productions include AT&T, General Motors, BAE Systems, Southern Company, Time Warner Cable, Sunoco, Pepsi, BMO Bank, American Airlines, Lincoln, Chase, US Bank and Wells Fargo.

What they’re saying
“[It's] great exposure to a broad audience, both local and national, and a show for all ages. Great exposure to VIPs [and] wonderful opportunities for recognition for the duration of the show, as well as throughout the year.” — Betsy O’Brien Anderson, director of development at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Tags: holiday advertising, out of home, out of home advertising, plays, theater, theater advertising