While “30 Under 30” discount programs are now common in the arts, Roundabout Theatre Company launched the first of its kind with “Hiptix” in 2000. The program offers heavily discounted tickets to young theatre patrons, making a traditionally inaccessible art form available to more audiences.
I oversaw the Hiptix program from 2017-2020, during a period of immense growth—nearly 20,000 new patrons enrolled. At the time, all members 35 and under could access $25 tickets to Roundabout shows.
To allow these patrons to engage even further, I planned exclusive events for Hiptix members to network, meet artists and enjoy membership perks.
Although Hiptix has a small, highly engaged core member base, the biggest challenge facing Hiptix was clear. After members “aged out” at the age of 36, they completely stopped purchasing tickets.
I dug into buyer data to learn as much as I could about Hiptix members’ behavior. I pulled stats on Hiptix buyers over a 5-year period and calculated the average revenue that members of each age were generating in a year.
Once the $25 discounted ticket was no longer available, a small handful of members graduated to higher priced tickets —but even with average ticket price doubling, total revenue plummeted.
It was clear that adults ages 36-40 needed a financial incentive to continue coming to the theatre. In New York City in 2019, we could not cut off “young professionals” at age 36. We needed more time to build loyalty amongst 36-40 year olds, before graduating them to a slightly higher priced offering.
To ensure we wouldn’t risk lost revenue by raising the age limit, I calculated several projections based on low, moderate, and high numbers of “aged out” Hiptix members returning to the theatre. I also tested a $5 price increase, making all Hiptix tickets $30.
In every scenario that offered patrons up to age 40 a $30 ticket, total revenue increased.
We officially raised the Hiptix age limit to 40 just before the beginning of the 2019-2020 season. Initial results were promising, with a large percentage of aged-out members engaging with the program before tickets event went on sale.
While the season was postponed before the large Broadway musical, which traditionally brings in the most Hiptix members, I am hopeful that Hiptix will continue to bring in young audiences in the future—especially now, as the future of Broadway is more dependent on them than ever.
Madeline Hurley 