Pavilion view at Ravinia Festival. Photo Credit: Ravinia.org

Last semester, I had had the privilege of taking Revenue Generation Strategies.  The class is lead by the Arts, Entertainment & Media Management Chairperson, Philippe Ravanas.  The class is about investigating new and creative ways to maximize box office operations and revenue.  The course has gone over the essentials of box office operations and Guest Services, the applications of new technologies and systems to better sell tickets, and the principles of pricing and revenue management.

Ravanas has a breadth of experience.  He served as the Vice President of Corporate Communications for Euro Disney in Paris where he handled their marketing strategies.  He has a lot of experience in pricing strategy.  He also worked for Christie’s Auction House in London and New York where he controlled the client relationship management strategies, processes, and database.

Philippe Ravanas. Photo credit: Columbia College Chicago.

Ravanas is able to share a lot valuable information from his past experiences.  Every week, we are required to read and critically analyze different topics within revenue generation strategies.  Some topics have included eMarketing, eSocializing, forecasting, dynamic pricing, etc.  During each class session, Ravanas opens the floor and every student participates in an open discussion about that week’s given topic.  We discuss how these theories and trends relate to our different areas of interest.

Our final project is a group assignment in which we will analyze the box office operations of an arts organization.  My group decided to examine the Ravinia Festival.  Ravinia is a seasonal music venue located just north of Chicago in Highland Park that primarily runs during the months of March through September.  Ravinia’s campus is home to several venues but most people are drawn to the beautiful lawn and pavilion space, which has the capacity to house around 17,000 people.

As a group, we will make strategic recommendations concerning current activities and future goals.  As part of our assignment, we are to contact the box office manager and conduct an interview.  The report itself is to be written as a memorandum from us to the CEO of the organization.  We were able to get in touch with Jennifer Butler, Box Office and Phone Sales Manager.

Study supplies don't just include pens, notebooks, and class materials.

As a team, we developed about 20 questions for Jennifer about Ravinia.  We asked about their current situation, marketing strategies, technology infrastructure, customer service, donors, ticket sales, pricing strategies, etc.  During our 45 minute conversation, we felt that Jennifer was very open, responded to every question, and offered some great insight.

I enjoyed this assignment because it really pulled together what we have learned as a class and connected that knowledge to a real world experience.  Winter may have just arrived, but I am really looking forward to Ravinia’s upcoming season.  Make sure to check out Ravinia’s blog!