| RESOURCES PORTAL
Selling Your Series
Use this page as a reference guide as you plan promotions for your Nat Geo Live series. The strategies and tips provided here have been compiled from information provided by various venues across North America.
Of course, what works in one market may not in another, and you know your market best. Feel free to adapt the strategies here to your particular market and situation.
Finally, do not feel like you need to limit yourself to the suggestions outlined below—get creative! We'd love to hear about what works for you. If you try a novel or particularly successful tactic, please share it with us.
| GENERAL MARKETING INFORMATION
Below you can access promotional assets and helpful information for the speakers you have booked for your Nat Geo Live season. (Looking for virtual event assets? View here.) We aim to provide the following assets for each speaker, but please be aware that some speakers may not have all assets available (particularly video):
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Speaker headshots
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Show topic images
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Marketing copy (copy provided has been reviewed and approved by the speaker and should not be altered)
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Speaker bio
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Speaker intro remarks
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B-roll video files
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30-second promotional video spot
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Social media event grah
These assets are to be used strictly for marketing and promotional purposes for each speaker's event.
IMPORTANT: Before you are able to access assets from the links below, you must first have received and clicked through the direct folder sharing email from Microsoft. You’ll need to click through each email to access it, and the system will send a code to your email for added security (if the email with the code doesn’t show up immediately, please check your spam folder).
Once you’ve gone through that process, you should be able to access the assets through the links here going forward. Contact NGP.natgeolivemarketing@natgeo.com if you experience any issues.
The National Geographic Live Speaker Series brings premium storytelling and visually stunning imagery to the stage with first-hand accounts of science, adventure, and exploration told by our world-class explorers who inspire change in the world.
TARGET AUDIENCE
National Geographic has identified a number of different target segments. Of these, the Contemporary Intellectual and Enlightened Wanderer segments are most relevant to Nat Geo Live. Learn more about these two segments.
PRICING
Single Tickets
Single ticket prices tend to range from $25-$55, and some venues offer a discounted student ticket price. Some venues in newer markets start with more affordable ticket prices—as low as $20—and have successfully been able to slowly raise prices over time.
Subscription Packages
Create a series package with all of your Nat Geo Live events so customers can purchase the full set of events together. Many venues incentivize series package purchases by pricing them at a discount of 10-25% off of single ticket prices.
Dynamic Pricing
Dynamic pricing structures are also an option. If you’re not sure whether or not you’ll implement dynamic pricing but want to have the option available during the season, be sure that all of your materials reflect that “prices start at” each amount, so you’re not locked into fixed prices.
Example dynamic pricing strategy: One venue begins dynamically pricing at 80% to target, increasing $5 every 5% until they reach target.
ON-SALE STRATEGY
Inaugural Season
Some venues offer a special pre-sale for members or VIPs to generate buzz before the public on-sale.
You can also create a joint press release to announce that your venue is bringing Nat Geo Live to your city. If you decide to issue a joint press release, include the Nat Geo Live logo and PR contact and send to NGP.natgeolivemarketing@natgeo.com for approval. Please allow 5 business days for us to route the release through our communications department. Once the release is final, send it to Nat Geo as well so we can submit it for posting in our press room. See our Press page for a sample quote and boilerplate language for Nat Geo Live and National Geographic Partners, LLC.
Subsequent Seasons
Many venues go on sale with series subscriptions several months before putting single tickets on sale. One effective way to launch season is to leverage the excitement for your current Nat Geo Live season by announcing the events for your upcoming season—and putting subscriptions on sale—at your final event.
Here's what that process looks like for a venue that does this to great success:
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As attendees of the final event enter the theater, ushers hand them a rack card for the upcoming series promoting subscriptions.
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The new season is announced from stage prior to the final event
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The box office stays open after the show for people who want to renew or purchase a new subscription.
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The Nat Geo Live web page and online series ticket purchase option is activated the night of the final Nat Geo Live event.
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Venue members get first opportunity to purchase single tickets to Nat Geo Live shows at the venue's Season Preview Night several months later.
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Single tickets go on sale to everyone at least one week later.
Venues that have a special membership program may also consider creating a special priority period so that members can purchase their subscriptions before the general public.
As demand for the series grows over time, you may need to put a cap on the number of series subscriptions you offer so as to ensure that you'll have inventory left for single tickets.
Incentives
Consider creating a special bundled package to incentivize patrons to buy tickets to your full Nat Geo Live series. A book from a speaker in your upcoming series can also work well as part of this strategy.
ADD-ONS
Have an existing series with patrons who are likely to enjoy your Nat Geo Live series as well? Consider offering an event—or the series—as an add-on to deepen their engagement with your center.
ESSENTIAL MARKETING TIPS
Familiarize yourself with our Quick Start Style Guide to minimize revisions needed to your materials. These are some of our most common revisions:
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Ensure the Nat Geo Live logo has a sufficient area of isolation.
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All photos must include photo credits
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Using "National Geographic Live" in text
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Spell out "National Geographic Live" in full on first mention, and shorten to "Nat Geo Live" in subsequent mentions.
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Always write the word "Live" in title case (not "LIVE").
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Never use an exclamation point after "Live" unless at the end of a sentence that would otherwise require one.
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NOTE: As of January 2021, "Nat Geo Live" should no longer be italicized in text.
Leverage the power of the National Geographic brand. Use the Nat Geo Live logo prominently—it's a required element on promotions for the events, but it's also to your advantage to lead with it!
Identify the events as "talks" or "speaker series." Avoid describing them as "lectures." Emphasize that they are live, on stage (as opposed to films).
Although our speakers have amazing stories to tell, most of them are not household names. Make the event title prominent, as audiences tend to be drawn to the topic first and foremost. Speaker name and title should be included in your marketing materials as a secondary element.
Make full use of the incredible imagery from the speakers you're presenting. Select a lead image that speaks to your specific market. When possible, include a portrait of the speaker to convey that he or she will be there in person. Showing the explorer in the field is an impactful way to make the connection that these speakers are bringing audiences behind-the-scenes stories fresh from the front lines of exploration.
Once you've presented your first event, leverage guest quotes and testimonials to further drive attendance.
| CHANNEL-SPECIFIC TIPS
WEBSITE
Nat Geo Live will include a listing for each of your events on our own site, natgeolive.com (nationalgeographic.com/events). The "Buy Tickets" buttons on the event listings accessible via the home page will direct to your event pages on your website.
Your web presence for your Nat Geo Live events on your own venue's site should include the following:
Pages for each of your individual events
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Include promos for your other Nat Geo Live events on each individual event page.
A dedicated landing page that showcases the series as a whole
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Include on this page links to each of the individual event pages.
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If there is any benefit—financial or otherwise—to subscribing to the series, be sure to call attention to that on the series page.
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Avoid using the series purchase page (in your ticketing system site) as your primary series page. Often pages in ticketing systems don't allow for the robust explanation and imagery that you'll want to include.
Additional recommendations
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If your website template does not include a space where you can prominently display the Nat Geo Live logo, add the logo to a corner of the largest image you are featuring (keeping in mind the required area of isolation).
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You may want to include a separate sub-category in your website navigation for "National Geographic Live Speaker Series" to call attention to it, especially if it does not clearly fit under any existing categories already included in your nav.
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As each event gets closer, consider adding a promo for it to your venue's homepage.
Below are some types of emails you may find helpful as you plan emails to promote the series to your own database:
Season Announcement
Subscription Acquisition
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General season announce email to your full email list (especially promoting a subscription discount over single tickets, if applicable)
Subscription Renewal
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Targeted season announce email to previous subscribers encouraging them to renew
Single Tickets
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Single ticket on-sale announcement
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Single event emails promoting each event closer to the event date, as needed
Customer Relationship
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Pre-event "plan your visit" emails communicating logistical details
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Post-event follow-up emails to drive home a speaker's call to action and/or solicit feedback via our survey
In addition to emailing your own list, email trades with related external organizations can be helpful in promoting your series.
DIRECT MAIL
Consider some of the following print options for your Nat Geo Live series:
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Newspaper ads
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Program ads
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Paid ads in other local theater programs
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Rack cards that can be handed out in person
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Will call envelopes and walk-up sales ticket envelopes
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Inserts
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Internal magazines
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Flyers
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Front cover stickers
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Large scale window displays
TELEVISION
Depending on your local market, you may have success placing TV spots. The ROI you see on cable TV spots may not prove sufficient, but some venues place spots on their local networks or PBS for greater cost efficiency.
Speaker Promo Videos
We have created 30-second promotional videos for many Nat Geo Live speakers that you are welcome to use as TV spots. Each spot ends with a card featuring the Nat Geo Live logo, which you can customize by adding your venue logo, show dates, and website below. See an example of this customization at right or in greater detail here.
You can find a speaker's promo video in the asset folder accessible via his or her speaker page. Use the password given to you at the beginning of the season to access the folder, then navigate to Video -> TV Spot to find the video.
RADIO
Consider partnering with your local NPR or other radio station. You can run schedules for shows that need them, advertise directly on the station, or purchase ads in their station emails to their members/listeners.
OUT-OF-HOME ADVERTISING
Out-of-home advertising is a great way to showcase the incredible photography that Nat Geo Live speakers are known for.
One presenter covers the local public trains with Nat Geo Live wraps each season, while another dedicates an on-campus kiosk to the series. Another presenter has a season deal with Lamar for four outdoor billboards strategically positioned on nearby freeways. Each show is allocated two weeks of ad space leading up to their show.
Other outdoor efforts could include public transportation advertising, street teams, street signs, movie theater advertising (use your speakers' TV spots!), and postering.
DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital marketing efforts can be an effective way to promote your series, and some venues are now putting more resources to these efforts. Consider one or more of the following:
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Banner ads on your site or in your emails
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Google AdWords
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Paid Google display ads
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Facebook advertising
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Retargeting
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SEO/SEM
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Please note: As a reminder, in adherence with our contracts, clients agree to not purchase, bid on, or create landing pages for keywords that contain the word "National Geographic" (including abbreviates, variations, misspellings, or other derivations). Clients are permitted to use the phrase "National Geographic Live" or "Nat Geo Live" in SEO and SEM activities.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
There are many ways to take advantage of social media in promoting your Nat Geo Live series—get creative!
General Tips
When engaging on social, consider the image selections for each speaker. If a speaker has a particularly stunning adventure photo or an adorable wildlife photo, leverage that to drive engagement. You can also use your speakers' 30-second promotional videos on social media—don't feel like you have to limit their use to just TV spots.
Consider placing paid still and video ads on Facebook and Instagram rather than relying on organic posts. Depending on need, you may want to run paid ads for 2-4 weeks leading up to the show.
You can also engage in partnerships with other organizations' pages
for cross promotion or participate or advertise in local podcast series.
As each event gets closer, you can use your social platforms to generate
excitement by hosting contests or ticket giveaways if inventory permits.
Create Facebook events for each of the events in your series and add the
National Geographic Live Facebook account as a co-host of the event.
When posting on Facebook, be sure that the National Geographic
account you mention and tag is the National Geographic Live account,
rather than the general National Geographic account.
On-site Activation
Take advantage of patrons' excitement at the event itself. Create on-site activations by encouraging attendees to share the pictures they take with the speaker or give your patrons a compelling photo op with large cut-out images from your event, National Geographic's iconic yellow border, or a branded step-and-repeat. You can even provide event-related props for patrons to pose with to create a photo booth experience.
Encourage patrons to post their photos on social media, tag your venue and National Geographic Live, and include relevant hashtags (#NatGeoLive).
Speaker Promotion
Nat Geo Live encourages our speakers to post about their upcoming events on their social channels, but these efforts are at the speaker's discretion and not guaranteed.
AFFINITY GROUPS
Consider establishing partnerships with local organizations that have ties to science, adventure, wildlife, photography, or any of the topics that the speakers will be covering in your season. You can approach these types of organizations to let them know about the series and create a mutually beneficial partnership.
As an example, one venue works with local businesses and non-profits that are involved with the environment and sustainability. In exchange for promotional support for the series, the groups are invited to table at an environmental fair at each event. During the 2018-19 season the venue successfully worked with 14 of these types of groups.
If your venue allows, offer to trade email blasts or create other promotional opportunities like restaurant pre-show packages. Examples of organizations that typically work well for these purposes include REI, Patagonia, local zoos or aquariums, hotels/concierges, local restaurants, universities, relevant community list-serves or meet-up groups, and relevant local museums.
WORD OF MOUTH
Previous Nat Geo Live attendees are often your biggest advocates. Find ways to incentivize patrons to tell their family and friends about the series, like a "bring a friend" discount or a sweepstakes to win series tickets by sharing on social.
This can be especially critical in your first season when you are working to build awareness in your market. Often, people don't really understand what a Nat Geo Live event entails until they attend one—but once they do, they're hooked. Leverage your first event attendees to get the word out to more people about the rest of the shows in your series.
DISCOUNT OUTLETS
Discount outlets—including Groupon, LivingSocial, Goldstar, family/kids outlets, and papering lists—are an option, though they tend to be less popular with Nat Geo Live presenters.
Some venues report that offers they have tried did not perform particularly well, while others indicate that demand is strong enough (or tickets are cheap enough) that discounting is not warranted.
PRESS
Sending out a press release at the beginning of your season is a great way to announce your lineup and alert the media to the upcoming events. In your inaugural season, you can use this type of release to draw attention to the fact that your venue is bringing the excitement and wonder of National Geographic Live to your city. If you create any press releases, please see the Press page of the marketing portal for boilerplate language and a sample quote you can use to announce your inaugural season.
Many of our speakers have press release templates in their asset folders. These template releases have been created by our communications department, and you are welcome to customize them with your event details.
Typically, venues submit their events to local calendar and event listings and offer phoners to local media before the events. Even if the interviews don't make it into print, they can be posted online. Similarly, if your venue has a blog, leverage that channel to post an interview or story about the upcoming speaker.
In-person press depends on both media interest and speaker availability when they are in town for the event, but when possible, local, live morning television appearances are a great way to help sell last-minute tickets.