Tour Advertising Budget: Promoting Live Shows

Tour advertising budgets promote concert and live show attendance through targeted local campaigns. Budgets range from $200 per individual show to thousands for full tour marketing. Effective tour advertising requires geographic precision and clear ROI tracking.

What Tour Advertising Budgets Include

Tour advertising typically covers:

• Individual show promotion
• Tour announcement campaigns
• Ticket sale driving
• Market-specific targeting
• Retargeting for on-sale dates
• Local awareness building

Tour advertising differs from release promotion:

• Geographic targeting is critical
• Direct revenue tracking (ticket sales) is possible
• Time sensitivity is higher
• Local competition varies significantly

How to Budget for Tour Advertising

Per-show minimum budgets:

• Small venue (100-300 capacity): $50-150
• Medium venue (300-800 capacity): $150-400
• Large venue (800-2,000 capacity): $400-1,000
• Major venue (2,000+): $1,000-5,000+

Full tour budget calculation: Number of shows x Per-show budget = Total tour budget

Example tour budgets:

10-show club tour (small venues):

• Per show: $100
• Total: $1,000

15-show regional tour (medium venues):

• Per show: $250
• Total: $3,750

25-show national tour (mixed venues):

• Per show average: $350
• Total: $8,750

Key Considerations

• Geographic targeting precision is essential
• Start advertising 4-6 weeks before show
• Concentrate budget as show date approaches
• Track ticket sales against ad spend
• Coordinate with venue marketing efforts
• Consider market-specific competition

Common Questions

How should tour advertising budget be timed?

Tour advertising timeline by show:

4-6 weeks out (announcement):

• 10-15% of show budget
• Awareness building
• Early bird ticket sales

2-4 weeks out (building):

• 25-30% of show budget
• Ticket sale driving
• Interest targeting

1-2 weeks out (push):

• 35-40% of show budget
• Urgency messaging
• Retargeting engaged users

Final week:

• 20-25% of show budget
• Last chance messaging
• Day-of-week concentration

This timeline assumes adequate lead time. Shows announced with shorter notice should compress accordingly.

What ROAS should tour advertising achieve?

Tour advertising ROAS calculation: Ticket revenue from attributed sales / Advertising cost = ROAS

Target ROAS benchmarks:

Minimum viable: 2.0 ROAS

• $1 advertising generates $2 ticket revenue
• Covers advertising cost plus some margin

Good performance: 3.0-4.0 ROAS

• $1 advertising generates $3-4 ticket revenue
• Comfortable margin for venue and production costs

Excellent performance: 5.0+ ROAS

• $1 advertising generates $5+ ticket revenue
• Strong efficiency indicating good audience targeting

ROAS below 2.0 suggests targeting issues or insufficient demand in the market.

How does market size affect tour advertising?

Market size impacts both costs and requirements:

Major markets (NYC, LA, Chicago):

• Higher CPM (more competition)
• Larger audience pool
• More awareness building needed
• Budget: 1.5-2x average per show

Secondary markets (mid-size cities):

• Moderate CPM
• Balanced audience/competition
• Standard advertising approach
• Budget: Base amount

Tertiary markets (smaller cities):

• Lower CPM
• Smaller audience pool
• Less advertising needed
• Budget: 0.5-0.75x average per show

Adjust per-show budgets based on market characteristics rather than applying uniform amounts everywhere.

Display advertising on regional music websites through networks like LG Media provides geographic targeting at $2.50 CPM, reaching music fans in specific markets efficiently for tour promotion.

Summary

Tour advertising budgets range from $50-150 per small venue show to $1,000+ for major venues. Total tour budgets equal per-show amounts multiplied by number of dates. Time 35-40% of per-show budget in the 1-2 weeks before each show. Target minimum 2.0 ROAS with 3.0-4.0 indicating good performance. Adjust budgets based on market size.