Experiment Results Sarah Barden and Matt Aufiero | August 9, 2019 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Experiment Results Sarah Barden and Matt Aufiero | August 9, 2019 BizLab Summer Research Fellows

Intro to BizLab WBUR’s Revenue Sources Our primary sources of revenue are dependent on the nature of broadcast radio. If radio audiences Donations migrate to on-demand 41% platforms, pledge drive donations and on-air Underwriting underwriting revenue 46% will decrease.

What is BizLab? Our work is urgent. We are a small team testing ideas for new revenue for public radio, at WBUR and other stations. Funded by WBUR, individual donors, Knight, Lenfest Institute, CPB.

Our method is to build just enough that we can measure and learn

2019 BizLab Fellows Sarah Barden Matt Aufiero Project: WBUR CitySpace Project: WBUR Guides Wellesley College and Olin Boston University Questrom College of Engineering ‘19: School of Business ‘19: Mathematics, Engineering, MBA + MS Digital and UX Design Innovation

CitySpace Audience Revenue Sarah Barden

80 events at CitySpace since opening “City Space is on to something terrific. Your programs are interesting, current and exciting.” Conversation and book signing with Glen Johnson

Sold over 8,000 tickets (+ partner events sales) “What a great space and the performances were superb. A friend came late so sat outside and was SO taken with your sending the music out into the street.” Alisa Amador In Concert

~60 more events until the end of the year “I like this space very much. This is the third event I've attended and will be coming to many more!” “We came in from outside Boston by commuter train. It was a schlep across the city. A good topic would bring me back.”

Summer Project Goals CitySpace’s financial sustainability from audience revenue. Did not include: My projects included: ● Rental pricing 1. Audience data analysis ● Sponsorships ○ Ticket sales data ○ Summer event survey 2. Ticket revenue and pricing 3. Asking for donations

Audience Data Analysis

Questions to Answer through Data Analysis ● Is the audience loyal to WBUR or not? Donors? Listeners? Not aware of WBUR? How do they hear about events? ○ If they’re already donors, will they donate to CitySpace too? ○ If they’re not donors, will they donate to support CitySpace events? ○ Can CitySpace be an introduction to WBUR for those unaware? ● Do people like CitySpace events? Are they returning to multiple events? Would they pay more for tickets? ○ If few repeat attendees, how can we encourage coming back? ○ For repeat attendees, how can we capture their love for CitySpace?

Only 30% of ticket buyers are WBUR donors. Out of people who bought tickets, 70% of are not WBUR donors. This does not count duplicate tickets (i.e. does not count their guests).

Many of the 70% non-donors are still listeners. Survey: CitySpace is run by WBUR (Boston's NPR News Station). Had you heard of WBUR before today? (161 responses)

Most people heard about events through radio spots and word of mouth. About half of “Other” said friend or family (161 responses)

CitySpace has few repeat attendees As of July 31, 246 ticket buyers came to 2 or more events, which is 9.4% of all ticket buyers. # Events People Attended 2+ 246 9.4%

Ticket Revenue and Pricing

CitySpace Ticket Pricing Most events have been $0-20. $0 17 events “Very reasonably priced which $5 5 events makes it affordable for a broader audience than many $10 17 events other events.” ($20 show) $15 12 events $20 7 events “Thank you for making this $50 1 event affordable for the whole family.” ($20 show)

Lower prices result in lower attendance Percent Attendance $50 $20 $15 $10 $5 $0 Ticket Price

Ticket Pricing Methods Flat pricing: one price for everyone. E.g. $20 for Ophira Eisenberg. Tiered pricing: 2 or 3 levels with different perks. E.g. $25/$50 for David Byrne. Can also lower prices for students, seniors, etc.

Asking for Donations

GiveLively donations Made $217 from 11 donors over 4 events (378 attendees). But time consuming for the CitySpace team.

OvationTix donations Turned on option to donate when buying tickets. Since Aug 1, $111 from 22 donors (403 transactions)

Recommendations 1. Continue to track audience data, like repeat attendees. Conduct a fall event survey. 2. Continue collecting donations through OvationTix and try GiveLively at one or two more free events. 3. Tier more ticket prices to create different levels of demand with higher prices.

Thank you! Amy MacDonald Joan DiMicco Candice Springer Ted Fuller Alex Schneps Lindsy Goldberg Desiree Arevalo Sarah Bloomer Katie Stack

Affiliate Marketing CitySpace Event Experiments Experimentation

Affiliate Marketing Online retailers pay commission on traffic or sales generated from online referrals.

Affiliate Marketing Trends According to marketing firm Custora: Affiliate marketing now drives as many e-commerce orders in the US as email, with each channel accounting for 16% of US e-commerce orders. Approximately 15% of the digital media industry's revenue now comes from affiliate marketing. WBUR : Podcast Donations

Affiliate Marketing Trends “In an effort to balance editorial integrity and revenue needs, publishers are taking a more native approach to affiliate marketing by embedding product links within organic content and it seems to be working.” https://www.businessinsider.com/ WBUR : Podcast Donations

Initial Exploration – Book Links Books mentioned on air which end up in an article generate revenue for WBUR through affiliate links. Book linking led to approximately $10,000 in annual revenue FY19 . These results spurred continued experimentation with affiliate marketing.

Project Timeline Iterate approach based on insights from tracking and Content creation analytics and testing Website development to support our experimentation April May June July

Project Results 39,000 Readers $200 in Affiliate Commissions 111 Products Sold

Awareness 850,000 users reached through Guides promotions 4.6% Interest 39,000 users visited WBUR Guides 13% Consideration 5070 users did not bounce from Guides Evaluation 37% 1872 users clicked from Guides to retailer Purchase 6% 111 users purchased, earning WBUR $200

Preserving Journalistic Integrity

guides.WBUR.org

What topics perform best? Product Category Top-Banner Clicks Product Clicks Eco Straws 3.12% 8.73% Womens Shoes 2.92% 9.32% Outdoor Gear 2.83% 6.14% Home Decor 2.73% 3.64% Eco-Friendly Goods 2.65% 2.80% Mens Shoes 2.60% 6.67% Travel Tech 2.31% 6.45%

Would the audience prefer explanatory style guides or a blogger style guides?

Would the audience prefer explanatory style guides or a blogger style guides? Users on Product Product Page Clicks Click Rate Journalism 399 24 6.02% Tone Blogger 366 29 7.92% Tone

Would WBUR.org in-article links and banner ads drive significant traffic?

Would WBUR.org in-article links and banner ads drive significant traffic? Channel Traffic Ad Clicks Ad Click Rate Facebook Ads - 17,652 1470 8.33% Most Successful Ad WBUR.org - 22,383 1486 6.64% Header Banners Facebook Ads - 171,405 5543 3.23% Overall Ads WBUR.org - 6713 106 1.58% Mid-page Banners WBUR.org - 3758 20 0.53% In-article Mentions Twitter - 2929 3 0.10% WBUR Extra

Would WBUR.org in-article links and banner ads drive significant traffic? Product Click Channel Traffic Ad Click Rate Rate Facebook Ads - 17,652 8.33% 0.27% Most Successful Ad WBUR.org - 22,383 6.64% 0.19% Header Banners Facebook Ads - 171,405 3.23% 0.13% Overall Ads WBUR.org - 6713 1.58% 0.36% Mid-page Banners WBUR.org - 3758 0.53% 0.03% In-article Mentions Twitter - 2929 0.10% 0.00% WBUR Extra

Project Results 39,000 Readers $200 in Affiliate Commissions 111 Products Sold

Summer Reading List 27,000 Readers $1950 in Affiliate Commissions 1400 Products Sold

Affiliate Marketing Trends “In an effort to balance editorial integrity and revenue needs, publishers are taking a more native approach to affiliate marketing by embedding product links within organic content and it seems to be working.” https://www.businessinsider.com/ WBUR : Podcast Donations

Thank You! Questions?