Your marketing coordinator spent four hours yesterday trying to figure out Facebook ads that aren’t converting. Social media posts go out sporadically because someone is always in rehearsals or tech. Email campaigns get sent at the last minute because your team is stretched across ticketing, donor relations, and answering phones during box office hours.
For marketing directors at regional theaters and performing arts organizations, this is standard. You need strategic marketing support, but the budget for a full-time senior hire doesn’t exist. You have talented people on your team, but they’re drowning in execution and lack the experience to lead strategic planning. Or maybe you’re an executive director who inherited marketing responsibilities you never wanted.
The question goes beyond if you need help. The question is what kind of help makes sense for your organization, your budget, and your season.
Before we go further, let me be clear about something. Arts organizations should create jobs. Good jobs with fair pay and health insurance. If you can afford to build a well-compensated in-house team, that’s always the better choice. This article isn’t about replacing people or cutting corners on labor. It’s about the reality many theaters face: you can’t afford a full team, but you still need the work done. The goal here is to maximize limited resources so the people you do have aren’t drowning, not to eliminate positions that should exist.
Why Theater Marketing Staffing Decisions Matter in 2026
The staffing landscape for arts organizations has shifted (yet again) in 2025. Nearly two-thirds of nonprofits reported difficulty filling vacancies in 2025, and performing arts organizations felt this acutely. At the same time, audience development has become more complex. Digital advertising requires technical expertise. Social media moves faster than most small teams can keep up. Email marketing needs automation and segmentation that goes beyond “send to all.”
Theater marketing involves building sustainable relationships with your community, diversifying your audience base, and proving ROI to your board. That’s a lot to ask of one overwhelmed coordinator or a marketing director who’s also managing the website, writing grants, and covering front-of-house shifts.
This decision is about building capacity that actually works for your organization’s size, budget, and goals.
Cost Comparison: Full-Time Theater Marketing Staff vs. Outsourced Marketing Support
Let’s talk numbers, because this decision often comes down to budget reality.
Full-time marketing staff at regional theaters and performing arts organizations typically earn:
- Marketing Coordinator: $40,000-$50,000
- Marketing Manager: $48,000-$53,000
- Marketing Director: $104,000-$174,000 (national range for nonprofit marketing directors)
Add benefits (health insurance, retirement, payroll taxes) and you’re looking at an additional 25-30% on top of salary. A $50,000 marketing manager actually costs your organization $62,500-$65,000 annually. Then factor in recruitment costs, onboarding time, and the reality that you might not find someone with all the skills you need in your market at your budget.
Fractional and outsourced marketing support operates differently:
- Monthly retainers for fractional leadership: $4,000-$15,000 depending on scope
- Hourly rates for strategic consulting: $200-$400
- Project-based campaign work: varies by season length and channels
Here’s the quick math. A fractional marketing director at $6,000/month for six months (your season) costs $36,000. A full-time marketing director costs $130,000+ with benefits. Even a marketing coordinator costs more annually than seasonal fractional support.
But cost isn’t the only factor. You also need to consider what you’re actually getting for that investment.
How to Decide If Your Theater Should Outsource Marketing
Before you post a job listing or start searching for consultants, ask yourself these questions:
Do you need strategy, execution, or both? If your team can execute but lacks strategic direction, you don’t need another set of hands. You need leadership. If you have no marketing capacity at all, you need someone who can both plan and do the work.
Is this a temporary gap or a long-term need? Seasonal support for a six-show season looks different than year-round capacity building. Be honest about whether you’re solving for right now or building infrastructure.
Do you have internal capacity to manage a consultant or agency? Outsourcing doesn’t mean you disappear. Someone on your team needs to provide context, approve content, and manage the relationship. If you don’t have bandwidth for that, reconsider.
What marketing functions are you currently neglecting? Make a list. Social media posts that don’t go out. Email campaigns sent late. Paid ads you’re not running because no one knows how. Analytics you’re not tracking. This list tells you what to prioritize.
Four Common Theater Marketing Scenarios and Solutions
Scenario A: You have a team that needs direction. Your marketing coordinator is capable but green. They’re executing tasks but not thinking strategically about campaigns. They don’t know how to set benchmarks or read analytics in a way that informs decisions. Fractional leadership makes sense here. You’re not replacing your team. You’re giving them a leader who can coach them, set direction, and elevate their work.
Scenario B: You have no dedicated marketing capacity. Your ED is writing social posts between board meetings. Your development director is trying to run email campaigns. No one is managing paid advertising. You need full strategy and execution support. Trying to hire one person to do all of this will either break your budget or result in mediocre work across every channel.
Scenario C: You have one overwhelmed person doing everything. Your marketing manager is talented, but they’re handling social media, email, graphic design, paid ads, PR, the website, and donor communications. They need help, but you can’t afford to hire a second full-time person. A hybrid model works here. Keep strategy and community relationship-building in-house. Outsource specialized execution like paid advertising, graphic design, or email automation setup.
Scenario D: You need campaign support for a specific production or season. Maybe you’re launching a new series, doing a major production, or piloting a community engagement initiative. You don’t need year-round support, but you need expertise for this specific moment. Project-based consulting gives you focused help without long-term commitment.
Which Theater Marketing Functions to Outsource vs. Keep In-House
Not all marketing functions should be treated the same. Some benefit from institutional knowledge and daily presence. Others require specialized skills your team may not have. Here’s how to think through each area:
Social Media Marketing for Theaters Outsource when you lack consistent capacity, need platform-specific expertise (especially paid social), or want strategic content planning. Keep in-house when authentic voice and real-time community interaction are critical, or when your audience expects to see familiar faces and behind-the-scenes content from staff they know.
Email Marketing for Performing Arts Organizations Technical setup, automation workflows, and segmentation strategy are worth outsourcing if your team doesn’t have experience with platforms like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or more advanced CRM systems. Content creation can stay in-house if you have a strong writer who knows your voice. Many organizations find a hybrid approach works best: consultant sets up systems and provides templates, staff executes ongoing campaigns.
Paid Advertising for Theater Ticket Sales This is almost always worth outsourcing unless you have someone with specific training. Facebook ads, Google ads, and programmatic display require technical knowledge, ongoing optimization, and budget management skills. A poorly run ad campaign wastes money fast. Someone who knows what they’re doing will get better results with less spend.
Graphic Design for Theater Marketing Materials Freelance designers are cost-effective for most performing arts organizations. You pay for what you need when you need it. In-house design makes sense only if you have consistent, high-volume needs (multiple productions per month, extensive print materials, frequent social content). Otherwise, project-based design relationships work better than salaried positions.
PR and Media Relations for Arts Organizations Local media relationships matter, and those are often best maintained by someone embedded in your community. However, press release writing, media list management, and pitch strategy can be supported by an outside consultant who brings fresh perspective and broader connections. Consider a hybrid model: in-house person maintains relationships, consultant provides strategic guidance and high-level outreach.
Marketing Strategy and Campaign Planning If your marketing team isn’t ready to lead strategic planning yet, fractional leadership fills that gap. Monthly planning sessions, campaign roadmaps, performance benchmarks, and team coaching don’t require someone in your office every day. They require senior-level thinking that you bring in strategically. I’ve worked with organizations where a fractional leader came in seasonally to provide structure and systems. The existing team didn’t get replaced. They got better at their jobs because they finally had clear direction.
Marketing Analytics and Performance Tracking Tracking performance, setting up dashboards, and interpreting data require technical skills. If your team is looking at numbers but not sure what they mean or what to do next, outsourcing analytics support helps you make smarter decisions. Many consultants offer this as part of broader engagements rather than standalone services.
What Is Fractional Marketing Leadership for Theaters?
Fractional marketing leadership deserves specific attention because it solves a problem many theaters and performing arts organizations face: you have people, but you don’t have leadership.
Here’s what fractional leadership typically includes:
- Monthly strategic planning sessions (in-person or virtual)
- Campaign roadmap development and oversight
- Team coaching and professional development
- Performance metrics tracking and reporting
- Access for quick consultations when issues arise
- Guidance on budget allocation and vendor management
The value isn’t just in the work product. Your marketing coordinator starts thinking more strategically because someone is teaching them how. Your social media posts improve because someone is giving feedback and setting standards. Your campaigns perform better because someone with experience is reviewing plans before launch.
I’ve seen organizations bring in fractional support for a single season and come out the other side with a stronger, more confident team. The outside perspective combined with hands-on coaching builds internal capacity in a way that hiring another junior person never would.
Fractional leadership works best when you already have executional capacity but lack senior-level guidance. If your team can write emails, post on social media, and coordinate campaigns, but they’re not sure if they’re doing it well or how to improve, fractional leadership bridges that gap.
When NOT to Outsource Theater Marketing
Here’s where I’m going to be honest, even though I provide these services: outsourcing isn’t always the right answer.
Don’t outsource if you can actually afford to hire someone full-time with benefits. Outsourcing should fill gaps, not replace jobs that your budget can genuinely support. If you have the resources to hire someone at a living wage with health insurance, do that first. Ask yourself honestly: are we outsourcing because we truly can’t afford a hire, or because we’re trying to save money at the expense of creating sustainable employment?
Don’t outsource when you need daily, on-the-ground presence for community relationships. If your marketing effectiveness depends on showing up at local events, knowing your subscribers by name, and being embedded in your neighborhood, that’s hard to replicate with outside support. Consultants can support this work, but they can’t replace the institutional knowledge and personal relationships your staff build over time.
Don’t outsource when you haven’t clarified what you actually need. Bringing in a consultant or agency without clear goals is a waste of money. If you’re not sure what your problems are or what success looks like, you need to do internal assessment first. Otherwise you’ll spend months managing a relationship that isn’t solving the right problems.
Don’t outsource if your budget is so limited that you can’t sustain even basic execution. There’s a threshold below which outsourcing doesn’t work. If you can’t afford consistent support (whether that’s retainer-based or project-based), you’re better off investing in training your existing staff or finding volunteer support until your budget allows for professional help.
Don’t outsource if you don’t have capacity to manage the relationship. Outside support requires management. Someone needs to provide context, answer questions, review work, and keep communication flowing. If your team is so underwater that no one can manage a consultant, adding one more thing won’t help.
Hybrid Marketing Models That Work for Regional Theaters
Most successful outsourcing isn’t all-or-nothing. Strategic decisions about what stays internal and what gets external support work best.
Model 1: Internal execution, external strategy. Keep social media posting, email sends, and day-to-day content creation in-house. Bring in fractional leadership for monthly planning, campaign strategy, and team development. Your staff does the work, but they’re working from a better plan.
Model 2: Internal relationships, external campaigns. Your team maintains donor relationships, subscriber communication, and community partnerships. Outside support runs seasonal ticket campaigns, paid advertising, and promotional pushes. This keeps your organization’s authentic voice front and center while bringing in expertise for sales-focused work.
Model 3: Internal generalists, external specialists. Your marketing coordinator handles routine posts, updates, and coordination. Specialists handle paid ads, graphic design, video production, or website development on a project basis. This maximizes the value of your full-time hire while plugging skill gaps with experts.
Model 4: Seasonal support for peak marketing periods. Some organizations bring in external help only during high-intensity campaign periods. Fall season launch, holiday show marketing, or summer programming might warrant temporary support. The rest of the year, your lean team handles maintenance-level marketing.
The key to any hybrid model is clarity about who owns what. Overlapping responsibilities without clear ownership creates confusion. Defined lanes with strong communication creates efficiency.
Steps to Decide on Theater Marketing Staffing
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably trying to figure out what makes sense for your organization. Here’s how to move forward:
- Audit your current capacity and gaps. Write down every marketing function you should be doing. Note which ones are happening consistently, which are happening inconsistently, and which aren’t happening at all. Be specific. “Social media” isn’t specific. “Instagram posts 3x per week” is specific.
- Clarify immediate vs. long-term needs. Are you trying to solve for this season or build infrastructure for the next five years? Your answer changes whether you hire, contract, or do both in sequence.
- Calculate the true cost of each option. Don’t just compare salaries to consultant fees. Factor in benefits, recruitment time, management overhead, and opportunity cost. What is it costing you right now to have marketing functions not happening or happening poorly?
- Consider your organizational readiness to manage outside support. Who would be the point person? Do they have time? Do they have enough marketing literacy to evaluate quality? If those answers are shaky, you might need to start with training before bringing in external support.
- Start small if you’re uncertain. Project-based work is lower risk than a long-term retainer. Try a single campaign with a consultant before committing to fractional leadership. Test the relationship and see if the working dynamic fits your organization’s culture.
Next Steps for Theater Marketing Support
There’s no universal right answer to the outsourcing question. A 250-seat regional theater with one staff member needs something different than a performing arts center with a small marketing team. Your budget, your season structure, your community, and your team’s skill levels all factor into what makes sense.
What matters most is making an intentional decision rather than defaulting to “we’ll figure it out” or “we can’t afford help.” Both of those mindsets keep you stuck. The first leads to burnout. The second leaves opportunity on the table.
If you’re in the process of weighing these options for your theater or performing arts organization, I’d be happy to talk through your specific situation. I offer a free 30-minute call. No sales pitch, just honest conversation about what might work for your context. Sometimes the best outcome is clarity about your next step, whether that involves working together or not.
You can schedule time directly on Calendly or visit my Services page.
Your marketing doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be sustainable. Let’s figure out what that looks like for you.
