||| November 2, 2025 by William Rogers

NAMP: Email Done Right

Playwrights Horizons, a critically acclaimed New York based theater company has made an art of the eblast under the leadership of Marketing Manager Bradford Louryk.  Sending out more than 109 blasts last year alone (that was an 700% increase over previous years), the key to PH’s electronic success is the highly targeted messaging encouraging time sensitive action. 
 

Subscribers are a crucial part of any theater’s audience base so they need to be handled carefully.  Here are a few ways PH is using email to communicate with their most loyal patrons.

• Subscriber Renewal eblasts save money on a costly renewal mailing and generate income more quickly
• Encourage early renewals with a Priority renewal period (can anyone say Value Fence?)
• Follow important press announcements with reminders to subscribers to book their tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

Audience development efforts at PH are also amplified by email efforts. PH used to make a certain number of tickets available at a “Pay What You Can” rate for select preview performances.  The result was less than ideal turn out and difficulty capturing information.  Now PH has turned to a unique LIVEforFIVE lottery program.  They make 50 tickets available to the first preview of every performance for $5.  You can sign up for the lottery on their website and winners are notified by email on a predetermined date.  The result: hundreds of responses, an attractive program for a sponsors, and new email contacts.  I particularly like the eblast mandatory opt-in language on the online order form.

“By entering this lottery I grant Playwrights Horizons permission to add me to its ‘Friends of Playwrights Horizons’ e-mail distribution list, which affords me the opportunity to receive special offers and updates periodically from Playwrights Horizons.”

Note: When the results are announced the subject line communicates, “The results are in” and does not indicate the recipients did or did not win.  That way they are more likely to open the email, and if they did not win PH can offer a substitution discount.

Tags: Diversifying Audiences, Internet Marketing, NAMP