The Client: The only indoor trapeze facility in Seattle, Emerald City Trapeze Arts teaches four trapeze classes per day year-round from its 11,500 sq. ft. studio in the Warehouse District. Since opening less than one year ago in October 2009, Emerald City Trapeze Arts has already gotten media attention from "The Seattlest", "New Day Northwest", "Seattle PI", and "Evening Magazine."

The Challenge: Before discovering Groupon, Emerald City's most effective marketing methods had been word-of-mouth marketing, as well as social media, online ads through Google, and email marketing. But these methods tended to bring in people who were already ingrained in the arts world. Emerald City realized that, in order to develop a customer base beyond the performing arts community, they would need a new way to tap into the consumer audience. Groupon's large subscriber base was exactly the target audience they were seeking, and by exposing their one-of-a-kind company to this subscriber base, Emerald City hoped to inspire new customers to try their first lesson--and in the process, get hooked on the fun of swinging from a trapeze.

The Deal: Groupon featured Emerald City Trapeze Arts twice--once in January 2010, and then once more in April. Both features offered a two-hour flying trapeze class valued at $70 for $30.

The Results: The first feature sold more than 1,600 Groupons and the second feature sold more than 2,400. A significant number of Groupon customers scheduled a class the day after its feature ran, and since the initial January offer, over half of the Groupons sold have been redeemed. Emerald City has found that their Groupon buyers match their target customer--young city-dwelling females who are fun to work with and receptive to trying new things. Emerald City is especially grateful for how many of these customers (more than 100) are now regulars. The sheer number of new customers reached through Groupon made it far more efficient and effective than any other marketing strategy the trapeze studio had tried. Emerald City Trapeze Arts has also seen an increase in new customers, online exposure, and word-of mouth as a direct result of its two Groupon features.

The Proof:

• Increased word-of-mouth and online exposure via generation of additional online reviews
• Featured on several media outlets because of Groupon
• More than 100 new customers are now regulars