According to census data, the percentage of the American population with college degrees keeps rising, with 28% of all workers over the age of 25 reporting having completed their undergraduate education.

According to Broadway League statistics, 76% of our audience has completed college.

Here’s my bullish thought of the day:

If college degrees are rising, and people with college degrees go see theater more than others, isn’t there a tremendous opportunity for the expansion of our audience instead of the decline?

And if there is such a overwhelming correlation between higher education and attendance at the theater, perhaps our audience developmental programs should focus on colleges and universities around the country.

Here’s what I do for the next survey.  I’d find out if there are certain schools sending more people to Broadway shows than others.  If we found a few, I’d develop partnerships with those institutions to continue to expand on what we know is working already.

I call this sort of technique fan-the-flame marketing.  You find out where the spark of your audience is.  Then you go blow on it, until it turns into a roaring fire.