Case Study: Lyric Opera of Chicago finds high-value ticket buyers with Civis Analytics

Making Overtures to Exactly the Right Ears

Lyric Opera of Chicago partnered with Civis Analytics to solve a familiar arts nonprofit challenge: how to better understand its current ticket buyers and find new patrons in an increasingly competitive, digitally driven market. As part of its effort to expand its audience, the opera wanted to identify the demographics and behavioral characteristics of people most likely to purchase tickets.

Civis Analytics used proprietary matching algorithms and look-alike modeling to score Chicago residents based on their likelihood to buy tickets, helping Lyric Opera target the most promising prospects. The approach delivered strong results: prospects identified by Civis converted to ticket buyers at 3.7 times the rate of traditionally sourced prospects, and the analysis also helped map where likely buyers live to support future out-of-home advertising decisions.

Lyric Opera of Chicago

Lisa Middleton

Director of Marketing