Inspired by the results of the campaign, we sat down with Client Strategy Manager Tim Hansen to understand what the secret sauce of success was.

Why did they want to run a campaign? 

The NZ Art Show team wanted to run a campaign to increase brand awareness and boost ticket sales, particularly pre-sales, in the four months leading up to the event. They aimed to connect with occasional attendees and people who were not yet aware of the event.

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What was the client’s problem or challenge? 

The NZ Art Show faced a trend of declining event attendance across the country, a new competitor show, and the impact of the cost of living crisis, which reduced disposable income for potential attendees.

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Why did they choose Aro Digital?

Aro Digital was recommended by one of the NZ Art Show’s key sponsors and was known for its successful campaigns for other high-profile events in the Arts/Events space, such as WOW and CubaDupa.

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Had they run digital campaigns before? 

This was NZ Art Show’s first digital campaign: before 2024, they had only run organic social media campaigns and plenty of ATL (Above The Line) marketing.

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What channels did we use & why? 

We created a multi-channel campaign that included Meta static and animated ads, press ads, Google Ads, digital and print billboards, and bus backs. These channels were chosen to maximise reach and engagement across different stages of the decision-making process.

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Were there any unique approaches from a technical or creative perspective? 

We used a cheeky unifying message, “Get lost at New Zealand’s largest art show,” to integrate the digital and OOH marketing, which significantly increased engagement and click-through rates. This creative strategy helped capture attention and introduce the NZ Art Show to a broader audience.

After three weeks of capturing data, we realised that 84% of ticket buyers were women over the age of 35. Purchasers also used a mobile device for 89% of purchases. These insights were used to refine the creative executions and really dial in the placements for Phases two and three of the campaign.

What do you think made the campaign successful? 

The campaign’s success can be attributed to the strategic placement and timing of ads, the use of engaging and creative messaging, and the multi-channel approach that ensured broad reach and engagement.

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What was the success measure? 

We defined success as total impressions, ticket sales & attendance, and engagement metrics such as clicks to the website and event responses.‍

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Will they run digital again? 

Yes, given the record-breaking attendance and significant engagement, the NZ Art Show team is planning to run another digital campaign for the 2025 show!

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Any other significant metrics to mention?

• More than 11,500 people attended the show, the largest attendance record in the history of the event.
• Record number of ticket pre-sales every month leading up to the event.
• 11,441 new Newsletter Subscribers.
• The Facebook event had 6.8k people interested, the highest figure in the history of the show.
• 1,583 total artworks sold.
• $1.3m in total art sales.

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