08/13/2007
The annual worldwide Tessitura Network, Inc. User Conference was held in Tucson last week with record attendance of more than 800 users from over 180 small, medium and large arts organizations which have licensed Tessitura Software® from Impresario, L.L.C. The attendees represented licensees in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and the United States and included theatres, museums, performing arts centers, ballet and dance companies, festivals, opera organizations, symphony orchestras and consortiums sharing a system among multiple users.
While at the conference attendees could choose from 106 sessions presented by over 200 session leaders. The conference agenda and session choices covered the gamut with seven tracks for multiple functional areas plus a number of topic and genre-focused roundtable gatherings. The Tessitura Network Community consists of over 200 organizations worldwide that use the software within the structure of a member-owned nonprofit cooperative company. Jack Rubin, President, commented in the opening session that “This Tessitura Network conference, like all the others since 2001, is not about hype, it is about our community and what we can share and learn without the distraction of vendor trade shows and other sales activities that pervade the industry.”
Kelly Tweeddale, Executive Director of the Seattle Opera and current Chair of the Tessitura Network, spoke to the conference attendees about the “benefits of a culture of collaboration” that the Tessitura Network offers for arts organizations. She noted that the Network’s business model and innovation clearly shows that the “question about what can be accomplished is not why? but why not?” She continued by saying that “the arts organizations and people involved have been able to create a self-sustaining, highly innovative business model that has encouraged both new technology offerings and a culture of knowledge sharing within the community.” Interestingly enough, the Seattle Opera previewed the launch at the conference of ExpressTix Mobile, an innovative real-time ticketing platform that allows users of Apple’s iPhone® to buy Seattle Opera tickets from their iPhone. The technology ties to the Tessitura Software web interface that allows arts organizations to totally personalize their web experiences.
A major theme of the 2007 Conference was the power and spirit of collaboration that Tessitura Software provides due to its seamless integration of all major business functions via a single database. Tessitura Software enables all information to be shared seamlessly across the organization and creates an opportunity to break down organizational barriers. Topics that highlighted this focus included:
- “No More Silos” presented by National Theatre in the UK
- “Integrating Tessitura Across the Organization-and Keeping it That Way” by the Stratford Festival of Canada and Lyric Opera in Chicago
Attendee comments regarding the value of the conference include:
- “No other conference brings together all the arts disciplines - there is much to be gained by an opera company hearing about successful efforts by symphony counterparts, etc.”
- “Gets people out of their silos.”
- “I got the chance to not only talk about how to use the Tessitura software to better manage what I do, but also find out the varieties of ways everyone does e-marketing, group sales, segmentation, etc. Comparing practices was EXTREMELY useful.”
- “I find it incredibly helpful to meet other arts administration/ education professionals. I am able to feed off of their ideas and will take that back to and implement as much as I possibly can. I thought all of the sessions I attended had at least one mind blowing aspect. Very exciting!”
- “I learned things that will influence my planning for the coming season.”
- “I found new ways that I could utilize the software and was able to discuss best practices with colleagues.”
- “The development sessions were wonderful. I came away with so many ideas and was really taken with how engaged everyone was…..”
- “We are a new user organization, and I benefited from the broad overview during the prelude, followed by the development track sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
- “It was the most effective to see first hand how other companies were individually putting Tessitura to work for their Business model.”
General sessions announced the launch and expansion of a number of initiatives. A few are listed below:
- A series of “T-Classes” which are e-learning programs on many functional areas of Tessitura.
- The ever-popular “Tessitura Magic” sessions highlighted special uses and customizations that a number of organizations had completed and in the spirit of collaboration of the Network they shared their tips and tricks with their fellow community members.
Breakout sessions covered numerous relevant topics including:
- Primer for Executive Management
- Do’s and Don’ts – Selling Subscriptions on the Web
- Moving’ on Up: Intermediate and Advanced Ways to Manage Moves
- Members Only: Membership Trends, Analysis and Prospecting
- Price Optimization: Revenue Management with Tessitura
- Effective, Efficient and Effortless Sales and Response Tracking
- Where’s the Party? Events and Other Fund Raising Activities
- Cheaper by the Dozen: Group Sales in Tessitura
- Spam-a-lot? E-Marketing Best Practices
- Would You Like Shakespeare with That? Up Selling and Cross Selling
- Moving to the Head of the Class: Education Best Practices
Besides the many conference tracks and sessions there was also an optional Prelude day for over two dozen beginner and advanced intensive sessions on topics ranging from Access Control and Kiosks to Ticketing 101 to Data Analytics. The Prelude Day was so popular that over 500 attendees arrived a day early to learn and network.
A major focal point of the conference was usage of the web by arts organizations for ever expanding functionality which the Tessitura web API allows in a totally personalized manner. A session on the “Wild Wild Web” focused on usage examples and successes of multiple organizations, and other sessions focused on web subscriptions, select-your-own seat online, customer self-service via the web and much more. A number of Tessitura Network, Inc. members are now deriving 50% or more of their total revenue via the web and there is a growing use for online fundraising and memberships.
The Tessitura Network, Inc. structure allows the licensees of the software to vote on priorities for the future development of the software. The users reviewed their voting results on development priorities for future versions at the meeting. A preview of the highlights of the next release was outlined.
Starting in 2002, Tessitura licensees have been provided with a web interface that covers online ticketing, contributions, subscriptions, customer self-service and many other functions. No fees are due for any transactions to Impresario, L.L.C. or the Tessitura Network, Inc. and thus arts organizations are able to maximize the revenue and contributions they generate. Infinite site personalization capabilities exist with the Tessitura Software web API so the “look and feel” and flexibility is unlimited.
The nonprofit Tessitura Network organization is governed by a Board of senior arts administrators whose interests are aligned with the needs of the users since their organizations also utilize Tessitura for ticketing, fundraising and advanced customer relationship management. The Board fielded questions from members in a panel session and several Board members were also presenters. The Board highlighted the fact that annual membership dues for support and upgrades have stayed flat or come down every year since inception at the same time that the staff and number of services of the Tessitura Network have increased dramatically.
Jack Rubin, President of the Tessitura Network, Inc, commented, “This year’s conference built on the success of past meetings in Toronto, Boston, Seattle, San Diego, Chicago and Santa Fe and attendance has grown dramatically each year. Tessitura users realize the value of the knowledge sharing, conference content and Tessitura Community networking. The conference agenda was guided by a 63 person committee representing a cross section of Tessitura users and reflected the needs of the licensees. Unlike other companies who turn their user conferences into trade exhibits and profit centers and just offer a small “arts track,” the Tessitura Network, Inc. Conference is ALL about the arts and focuses on the issues, best practices and priorities for knowledge sharing as directed by its members.”
The Tessitura Network conference is private. In conjunction with the topical sessions, this year’s conference included a Clambake in the Desert, a private night under the wings of historic aircraft at the Pima Air Museum as well as a number of receptions and networking events. The collaborative nature of the Tessitura Network user community is very gratifying for the worldwide 35+ person Tessitura Network staff, whose role is to enhance, improve and support the software in a manner that meets the mission of the Tessitura Network. A highlight celebrating the success of the conference, the software and the nonprofit Network concept was the all-volunteer Tessitura Network Chorus which presented a musical version of the Tessitura Network mission statement and the Tessiturians rock band performing classic tunes with creative original Tessitura-related lyrics.
The conference concluded with the announcement that the 2008 Conference will be held in Nashville, Tennessee.
About Tessitura Software® and the Tessitura Network, Inc.
Tessitura Software® is an enterprise software application that enables an integrated approach to “constituent management” for arts organizations. Using a single database of information, the system empowers the user organization to record, track and manage all contacts with its constituents, conduct highly targeted and cost-efficient marketing, membership and fund raising appeals, handle all ticketing, subscription and membership transactions both online and inhouse, and provide detailed and flexible performance and analysis reports. Besides seamlessly providing efficient business functionality and ticketing, marketing and development department operations, a key benefit of the system is its ability for relationship managers to have a full view of each constituent – their history, preferences and all contacts with the organization. Tessitura Software® is owned by Impresario, L.L.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Metropolitan Opera.
The Tessitura Network, Inc. is a nonprofit company established to further enhance Tessitura Software® over time and to provide ongoing support and consulting services for Tessitura licensees. Licensees become “members” of the Tessitura Network once they start using Tessitura to process transactions for their organization. A worldwide Tessitura Network, Inc. team provides these services.
Contact: Jack Rubin www.tessiturasoftware.com
Phone: 214.265.1908 jrubin@tessituranetwork.com