The Art of Lowering Electronic Costs: Saving on IT, Web and Ticketing Expenses
Joseph Yoshitomi, Marketing Director
Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles
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.
WE SAW THE LIGHT! PROBLEMS – RESOLUTIONS
THEN: Clunky egalitarian design
--
NOW: Image, template, conversion design
Anna Gunn in Radiance. Photo by Michael Lamont Anna Gunn and John de Lancie Alan Alda’s Radiance. Michael Lamont.
WE SAW THE LIGHT! PROBLEMS – RESOLUTIONS
THEN: No flow for Signature Series or events
--
NOW: Proper order of information/payment flow
Anna Gunn in Radiance. Photo by Michael Lamont Anna Gunn and John de Lancie Alan Alda’s Radiance. Michael Lamont.
WE SAW THE LIGHT! PROBLEMS – RESOLUTIONS
THEN: No SEOs
--
NOW: SEO! (archive too)
Anna Gunn in Radiance. Photo by Michael Lamont Anna Gunn and John de Lancie Alan Alda’s Radiance. Michael Lamont.
WE SAW THE LIGHT! PROBLEMS – RESOLUTIONS
THEN: High opportunity costs: staff, software, ads
--
NOW: $1/2 million saved/revenues over five years Doesn’t count advertising savings/added efficacy!
Anna Gunn in Radiance. Photo by Michael Lamont Anna Gunn and John de Lancie Alan Alda’s Radiance. Michael Lamont.
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
Melody Butiu, Michael Cassady and Gregory Itzin in
Donald Margulies’ Shipwrecked! Michael Lamont.
LESSONS LEARNED
How much should “e” cost?
Work with colleagues to determine a value for
you, your department, organization and patron
Melody Butiu, Michael Cassady and Gregory Itzin in
Donald Margulies’ Shipwrecked! Michael Lamont.
LESSONS LEARNED
Get out from under the gun.
And get in the ring!
Melody Butiu, Michael Cassady and Gregory Itzin in
Donald Margulies’ Shipwrecked! Michael Lamont.
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.
SAVINGS: GET IN THE RING
DESIGN
Free: Wordpress, Google, Artful.ly, ticketing?
Low Cost: Other design inspiration, individuals?
High Cost: Firms charging low-mid six figures
Justin Leeper in Kristoffer Diaz’s The Elaborate
Entrance of Chad Deity. Michael Lamont.
SAVINGS: GET IN THE RING
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)
Justin Leeper in Kristoffer Diaz’s The Elaborate
Entrance of Chad Deity. Michael Lamont.
SAVINGS: GET IN THE RING
ADVERTISING
“Free”: Do it yourself: Google, Adroll, Yahoo, FB
Low Cost: Agencies – paying for time/expertise
High Cost: Rip-offs, traditional buys, $100 CPM!
Justin Leeper in Kristoffer Diaz’s The Elaborate
Entrance of Chad Deity. Michael Lamont.
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.)
The cast of Tracy Letts’ Superior Donuts. Photo by Michael Lamont.