Case Studies
Ad Agency for Event Ticket Sales: Theatre and Touring
The best ad agency for event ticket sales plans around the on-sale window. It targets buyers near each venue, stages bidding as data builds, refines keywords on real conversions and scales only on proof. That method took a global live entertainment event to 41.20 ROAS on Google Search, and it applies to theatre runs and tours.
Why are theatre and touring on-sales hard to advertise?
Every show and tour stop has a deadline. The selling window opens at the on-sale, peaks around announcements, and closes when the curtain goes up. Budget spent too early, or on people who will never travel to the venue, can't be spent in the window that matters.
Touring adds a twist: each stop is its own small campaign, with its own venue, radius and calendar. An agency has to run many short windows at once, not one long campaign.
A note on our numbers: we haven't published a theatre or touring case study yet. The figures below come from a global live entertainment event, a multi-day fan event with a short pre-event window. The method is what carries over.
What should an agency do in the on-sale window?
These are the steps we used for a global live entertainment event, all from the case study.
Target where buyers are, and tighten as the date nears
We used dynamic radius targeting, narrowing the area around the venue as the event got closer and ending at 25 miles. Early on, a wider radius lets fans who will travel find the show. Close to the date, the people still searching are mostly local and ready to buy. For a tour, we'd set and adjust this for each stop.
Stage bidding as data builds
We moved from Manual CPC, to keep costs in check while data built up, to Enhanced CPC (at the time), and then to Maximize Conversion Value with a target ROAS once there was enough data to bid on value. Switching to value-based bidding too early hands the system a guess.
Give the ads plenty to work with
We used 10 headlines, 4 descriptions, 2 sitelinks and 3 callouts, so Google had many combinations to test.
Refine keywords on real conversions
We started with a mixed list of 54 exact, 71 phrase and 54 broad match keywords. As conversion data came in, we refined it to 79 broad match keywords and trimmed negatives from 77 to 69.
Scale on proof, and spend less when that's enough
Daily spend grew in steps, only after the previous level proved profitable. We also trimmed the overall budget when returns didn't need it. Spending less when it's enough is part of running for performance.
What results did that method deliver?
For a global live entertainment event on Google Search:
ROAS: 41.20 (4,120.95%), peaking at 9,112.01% on a single day
Conversions: 1,681.22
CPA: fell about 77% from its starting level at its lowest point
CPC: fell about 71%
Reach: 40,776 impressions, with a peak of 1,625 clicks in a day
The core buyers were aged 35–44, and 80.62% of conversion value came from male users. Insights like these shape the audience and creative for the next on-sale.
How should you judge an agency for event ticket sales?
Ask any agency, including us, five questions:
Do you plan around the on-sale window, with a plan for announcement and final-week peaks?
Do you target by venue, and adjust the radius per show or tour stop?
Do you bid on value, and know when to switch?
Do you scale on proof, and will you spend less when it's enough?
Do you measure against a baseline, using conversion value rather than clicks?
Channel choice should follow the goal. Search usually leads for ticket buyers, and Meta, YouTube, ChatGPT Ads and other channels can earn a place around it. We review performance regularly against a verified baseline.
Read the full case study, see our live events work, and how we use Google AI Max.
Got an on-sale or a tour coming up? Let's map your on-sale window together. Book a call
Related: dynamic radius targeting
Frequently asked questions
What makes an ad agency good at event ticket sales? It plans around the on-sale window, targets buyers near each venue, stages bidding as data builds and scales only on proof. That method took a global live entertainment event to 41.20 ROAS on Google Search.
Does this work for theatre runs and tours? The method carries over, with radius and pacing set per venue or tour stop. We haven't published a theatre or touring case study yet, so we don't quote theatre results.
Why change bidding strategy during an on-sale? Manual bidding controls costs while data builds up. Value-based bidding scales once there's enough conversion data to use.
What radius should a ticket campaign use? It depends on the show, but tighten it as the date approaches. For a global live entertainment event, we ended at 25 miles around the venue.