Summary: As Director of Sales and Marketing for the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra, Gregory L. Wellman grew ticket revenue 45%, expanded the donor base 22%, and increased sponsorship revenue 35.6% by adding digital channels and data-driven audience strategies, while cutting department costs 15%.

At a glance

  • Organization: Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Sector: Nonprofit performing arts
  • Role: Director of Sales and Marketing (2008 to 2011)
  • Results: +45% ticket revenue, +22% donors, +35.6% sponsorship revenue, 15% lower costs

The challenge

Performing arts nonprofits depend on ticket sales, donors, and sponsors at the same time, often with tight budgets and small teams. The orchestra needed to grow earned and contributed revenue without growing costs.

What I did

  • Launched new digital marketing channels and data-driven audience strategies to grow ticket sales.
  • Built corporate, community, and civic partnerships and event-driven engagement programs to grow sponsorship.
  • Restructured sales and marketing operations to raise productivity and cut campaign delivery time 25%.
  • Managed the department budget and reallocated resources to cut costs 15% while maintaining performance.

Results

  • Ticket revenue grew 45%.
  • The donor base grew 22%.
  • Sponsorship revenue grew 35.6%.
  • Department costs fell 15% and campaign delivery time fell 25%.

Work with Greg

Gregory L. Wellman is a Sacramento-based fractional CMO and COO and the principal of Daedalus Strategies. He embeds with public-sector, education, nonprofit, and mission-driven organizations to lead marketing, operations, and technology. To talk about your organization, email greg@daedalusstrtg.com or connect on LinkedIn.

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