​

1. Say yes! The point of this program is to drive our loyal, theatre-loving members to your business. 

2. Pick a perk that will lure people in (but not shave your margins uncomfortably close). Your business could offer BOGO of a particular item, a dollar amount or percentage discount, or a specific freebie add-on with purchase...

3. Email your perk to info@atxtheatre.org. Sharron will send you a proof prior to publishing/promoting it to be sure it’s exactly as you wish. You can change your perk once a month or never — just email the revision.

4. Please send us a crisp image of your logo to use in promoting your perk to our members and promoting your business on social media. Your linked logo will also be placed in the footer of our website for the duration of our partnership. We request a reciprocal footer placement on your website and will provide an image. 

5. Enjoy a new stream of customers who show you their ATX Theatre Loyal Local keyrings to redeem their perks!

​

To get going on this, contact Sharron Anderson at info@atxtheatre.org.

​

FAQs

​

Why a keyring?

The ATX Theatre Loyal Local keyring represents an "upgraded" ATX Theatre membership level — it's a sturdy version of a membership card.  Anyone can join ATX Theatre through our website and get the weekly theatre guide for FREE. But the upgraded Loyal Local membership level comes with perks from partnering businesses who believe the arts and local artists are an important part of Austin's cultural fabric. We made it a keyring because buying local is key to a happy city, and live theatre is key to inspiring weekends. 

 

What are the goals of the Loyal Local keyring program?

1) Drive theatre-goer dollars to locally owned businesses whose owners care about the arts (Partners). 

2) Forge genuine relationships with Partners so we can maximize helping each other while eliminating/minimizing costs. (Yay for co-marketing, trading ads, and the power of talking positively about a place/experience -- whether through personal conversations or online shout-outs -- It costs nothin' to be nice, and works better than a billboard.) 

3) Keep local business owners in the know about theatrical happenings. If you join ATXtheatre.org (totally FREE), you'll receive our weekly theatre guide! That way, you'll know if a theatre near your business has a show running. We encourage direct collaboration between Partners and our 80 affiliate theatre companies. We want you to know and help each other. Collaboration is the whole point of our organization.

4) Get our visual identity in front of more eyeballs via stickers, linked footer images, and 500 ATX Theatre keyrings out there jangling to raise awareness about Austin's radical cornucopia of live theatre happening every weekend. 

 

How much are members paying and does it renew each year? Are you making millions off of this? 

This is a public awareness loyalty program, not a big money-maker for us. The Loyal Local membership level fee is currently just $25 (as of February 1, 2023). The price will increase as the number of perks increases to cover administrative costs. The keyring represents a lifetime membership card. There is no yearly renewal. 

 

Are you tracking member purchasing behavior? 

ATX Theatre will not track anyone's keyring perk usage. But each business can track usage as they wish -- with the intent to maximize effectiveness through discussion and growing this program with purpose. If you see trends in keyring use, we can discuss and help maximize them through social media and email mentions. Or, for example, if a Partner restaurant develops a slump night that needs support, we can swap out the perk and encourage gatherings on that night in a targeted way. We want to ensure this program works FOR YOU as well as for our members. 

 

What if people abuse the keyring perks?

If there is ever a concern that a keyring is being used improperly, just check the identity of the user against this page. (This page is only visible to Partners and Members). Your perk wording can include something like, "one perk per visit for Loyal Local member only -- ID may be requested to confirm membership" to clarify your perk policy if you wish. We are stressing to Loyal Local members that keyrings are NOT to be shared to maintain the integrity of the program.

 

How many businesses will participate as Partners? Will my business be lost in a sea of crowded discount ads? That's why I loathed Passbook.

We intend to cap participating business Partners at 24 (excluding theatre companies -- we hope every theatre will offer a perk). That way, we can cycle through promoting each business by posting about Partner perks each week (w/ logo) and featuring it in our weekly theatre guide email (w/ linked logo). We hope to establish Partners in all quadrants of the city. Your logo WILL appear not in a sea, but in a beautiful stream of logos of the 24 partners in the footer of our website — a badge of honor to be among businesses that have hyper-local heart!

 

Will people crowd through my door for discounts the minute I say yes to this?

No. We purchased 500 keyrings, and started offering upgraded memberships in January 2023. So your exposure for discounts/deals is modest at present, and will be capped at 500 long-term -- and those 500 will be spread across the city. Should demand exceed 500, and we need to re-order keyrings, we will alert Partners in advance. Because the program is new, it may take a few months to find traction — Thank you for being patient with us.

 

How do I show customers that I honor the keyring with a perk?

We provide stickers for your front window and cash wrap. They look like this: