Detroit Institute of Arts
Appeal Type: Upgrade Campaign
Date: FY2024–FY2025
Scope of Work
In FY 2024, the Detroit Institute of Arts launched a new upgrade initiative with Daniller + Company, to encourage members to elevate their membership level and enjoy expanded benefits, access, and experiences.
The campaign series—mailed three times a year—targeted members at certain levels whose memberships were approaching expiration. Each mailing featured limited-time upgrade offers, providing an enticing incentive to respond right away and advance to a higher membership level.
FY 2024 Results
The inaugural upgrade campaigns generated fantastic results, boosting revenue, increasing engagement, and successfully moving members into higher levels of giving.
- The campaign yielded a combined 2.82% response rate and a strong ROI of $2.16.
- Average gift was over $300, with the campaign successfully moving members into the mid-level membership program
- 73% of responses were members upgrading their membership
- 21% of responses were members renewing their membership early at the same level
- This was an exceptional performance for the upgrade campaign’s first year, meeting benchmarks for response rate and exceeding expectations for the number of true upgrades.
UPDATE – FY2025 Results
Building on the strong foundation of FY2024, the FY2025 campaign continued to perform—maintaining consistent response rates and average gift values while expanding engagement among mid-level members.
Conclusion
The Detroit Institute of Arts Upgrade Campaign has proven to be a powerful driver of revenue, retention, and deeper engagement, transforming a standard renewal process into a meaningful opportunity for members to deepen their commitment.
By combining strategic segmentation, timely incentives, and personalized messaging, the DIA successfully inspired hundreds of members to advance their support—many for the first time.
