Can group coupons deliver what cultural groups want most: Repeat customers and revenue?
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Mt. Lebanon High School graduate Andrew Mason founded Groupon.
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Groupon's deal-a-day juggernaut has built its multibillion-dollar enterprise by leveraging group discounts for the likes of massages, restaurants and golf outings as well as impulse buys and bargains.
But opera, dance or theater?
While not as well known as its cuisine deals, Groupon offers gift certificates for cultural and performing arts, and Pittsburgh groups are taking notice. In the past year, a number of local nonprofit arts organizations have used it to get the word out about shows and concerts and to bring in new and lapsed audience members. Although the deals have brought in new patrons to many groups, reviews overall have been mixed.
"Groupon has helped us get a larger audience for the first week of shows," says Cindy Opatick, Pittsburgh CLO associate producer.
The local Broadway musical producer uses the service for its cabaret shows, not its main stage series. "The cabaret shows run for a long time and the theater only seats 250, so you don't get word of mouth. Groupon gives people a sense of urgency. It gives a better word of mouth."
Launched in 2008, Groupon chooses its daily deals from a wide selection of eager contenders across all sectors of the business community in each of the cities in which it operates. So it's no small decision that Groupon decided to include ticket discounts for nonprofits to its portfolio.
"We are at the point that a lot of people want to make deals through us, and the burden is on us to put the best deal out there for places that people will go back to for full prices," says Chad Nason, a Groupon spokesman.
Other deal-a-day incentive programs have emerged that also offer gift certificates for arts groups, including Living Social and PG Deals promoted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
First Published June 5, 2011 12:00 am
