facilitating change

The Washington Opera

Challenge
The opera's internal systems could not support the growing success of the product on stage. The annual fund was administered by a volunteer guild.

Solution
Paul served on the income management staff as Consultant/Ticket Service Administrator (1985–1988) and Marketing Manager (1988–1991). The income team merged fundraising, sales and public relations departments and created a unified brand strategy and design. Annual fund responsibilities were transferred to staff and new volunteer opportunities were added.

• Led search, implementation and training for new CRM system
• Set up customer service center to handle all ticketing and contribution transactions
• Restructured pricing and packaging, helping sell-out on subscription the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons before opening
• Subscriber audience grew from 7,200 to 13,800