Events · Cleveland Auto Show · Auto show · Cleveland, OH

$225K in ads. $554K in online tickets. Before anyone walks up to the door.

$554KOnline ticket sales, 2026Online sales only, door sales not counted

Ongoing since 2016Timeframe

38,618Tickets sold online2026 show, each tracked to the ad

$225KAd spend, every channel2026 show: online, TV, radio, billboards

28K to 45KOnline tickets per showEvery show since 2016

Challenge

The Auto Show is a big regional event with a hard date, one venue, and a sell-out goal every February. Ticket sales have to start early and finish strong. The ad budget covers everything from online ads to TV to billboards.

The show needed one team to own the whole budget and to answer for the online ticket number at the end.

Approach

Since 2016 we have run the entire media plan: online, TV, radio, and billboards. Most of the working budget goes to Facebook and Instagram.

We build audiences from people who bought last year. Campaigns run in three waves: pre-sale, early bird, and general sale. We report progress against the sell-out goal every day.

Online sales are tracked to the ticket. Door sales driven by the same ads are real, but we cannot tie them to an ad, so we do not count them here.

Outcome

The 2026 show sold 38,618 tickets online, for $554,000 in online ticket sales. Total ad spend across every channel was $225,000. That is online sales against the whole ad budget, not a return on search ads alone, and it leaves out everything sold at the door.

That is one year of ten. Every show since 2016 has sold between about 28,000 and 45,000 tickets online through this program. Same team. Same reporting.