Saving on IT, Web and Ticketing Expenses · Saving on IT, Web and Ticketing Expenses Joseph Yoshitomi, Marketing Director Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles . PRIOR EXPERIENCE: No coding,

The Art of Lowering Electronic Costs: Saving on IT, Web and Ticketing Expenses

Joseph Yoshitomi, Marketing Director

Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles

PRIOR EXPERIENCE:

No coding, programming or other

specific technical experience – template work

PRIOR EXPERIENCE:

2009: Redesign of website

using vendor

PRIOR EXPERIENCE:

2009-Now: Built custom CMS

using a vendor

PRIOR EXPERIENCE:

2009-2010: Ticketmaster to AudienceView

database transition

WE SAW THE LIGHT! PROBLEMS – RESOLUTIONS

THEN: Patrons charged $11 per ticket in fees

--

NOW: Patrons charged $6 in fees

Anna Gunn in Radiance. Photo by Michael Lamont Anna Gunn and John de Lancie Alan Alda’s Radiance. Michael Lamont.


THEN: Clunky egalitarian design

--

NOW: Image, template, conversion design


THE OLD SITE …


THEN: No flow for Signature Series or events

--

NOW: Proper order of information/payment flow



THEN: No SEOs

--

NOW: SEO! (archive too)



THEN: High opportunity costs: staff, software, ads

--

NOW: $1/2 million saved/revenues over five years Doesn’t count advertising savings/added efficacy!


LESSONS LEARNED

Arts organizations, artists and patrons

can be held at gunpoint by unscrupulous vendors

And it’s largely our fault for not noticing or talking!

Melody Butiu, Michael Cassady and Gregory Itzin in

Donald Margulies’ Shipwrecked! Michael Lamont.

LESSONS LEARNED

Mid six-figure website designs and CMS creation!

Astronomical mobile, SEO and social media $!

Equivalent of a 50 cent postcard or $100 CPM

Melody Butiu, Michael Cassady and Gregory Itzin in Shipwrecked!

Photo by Michael Lamont.

LESSONS LEARNED

Are we complicit?

Lazy RFPs, sporadic expense tracking,

amortized expenses, limited vendors, unfamiliarity



LESSONS LEARNED

How much should “e” cost?

Work with colleagues to determine a value for

you, your department, organization and patron



LESSONS LEARNED

Get out from under the gun.

And get in the ring!



SAVINGS: GET IN THE RING

CMS

Free: Drupal. Joomla, Wordpress, Google

Low Cost: Expression Engine, ArtDynamix, manual

High Cost: Custom built, .asp coding, integrated

Justin Leeper in Kristoffer Diaz’s The Elaborate

Entrance of Chad Deity. Michael Lamont.


DESIGN

Free: Wordpress, Google, Artful.ly, ticketing?

Low Cost: Other design inspiration, individuals?

High Cost: Firms charging low-mid six figures




PAYMENT (TICKETS OR DONATIONS)

“Free”: Artful.ly, PayPal, Reddit, indie stuff

Low Cost: Per-ticket fee solutions, low up-fronts

High Cost: Traditional systems $50,000+(licenses)




ADVERTISING

“Free”: Do it yourself: Google, Adroll, Yahoo, FB

Low Cost: Agencies – paying for time/expertise

High Cost: Rip-offs, traditional buys, $100 CPM!



INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY An Ensemble Performance

*Costs can be $25,000/month or $175/hour.

“Fair” hourly might be $65-$85 hour

after some up-front costs

The cast of Superior Donuts. Photo by Michael Lamont.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY An Ensemble Performance

Geffen Costs by Percentage:

Coding/Data: 10%

On-Site Logistics: 60%

Third Party Vendors: 20%

Miscellaneous Hardware: 10%

Watch amortized expenses!

The cast of Superior Donuts. Photo by Michael Lamont.

WHAT CAN WE DO NOW?

EXAMINE ALL COSTS (Opportunity costs too)

of managing electronic assets as-is

The cast of Tracy Letts’ Superior Donuts. Photo by Michael Lamont.

WHAT CAN WE DO NOW?

RENEGOTIATE YOUR WEB CPM into a range:

$5-$12 (If hyper-targeted – email, etc.)


WHAT CAN WE DO NOW?

BEFORE A BIG EXPENSE call around

(I give free advice!) *Satisfy your curiosity *

Use cheap/free options as baseline


Documents

Saving on IT, Web and Ticketing Expenses · Saving on IT, Web and Ticketing Expenses Joseph Yoshitomi, Marketing Director Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles . PRIOR EXPERIENCE: No coding,