Results
$393,805
In bids from collectors reactivated by Artbrain, representing ~8.7% of all bids in the first 120 days
~2x
YoY increase of bidders per item with Artbrain during 2021
$309,920
In winning bids from collectors reactivated by Artbrain, representing ~10.5% of all winning bids in the first 120 days
+20%
Increase of the start-to-sold price ratio with Artbrain during 2021
“After trading collectibles for over 40 years, Artbrain has completely opened our eyes to the value of predictive AI. The platform learns what each collector wants and invites them to bid on specific items. Impossible to do manually for the amount of active collectors we have. It’s like having a specialist with super-powers! And the results speak for themselves - over $300k in sales to previously dormant clients.”
Jeffrey S. Evans
President, Senior Auctioneer
Customer
JSE & Associates are Virginia’s leading auctioneers, renowned for their delicately curated and successful auctions. Led by experts, Jeff and Beverly Evans, the auction house specializes in Americana, glass, fine antiques, Southern decorative folk art, and collectibles ranging from silver, jewelry, and coins, to books and manuscripts.
Following decades in the family art trading business, JSE & Associates was launched as a separate enterprise in 2009. Based out of their state-of-the-art gallery in Mt. Crawford, VA, they have sold numerous landmark collections and pieces, including the record breaking Johannes Spitler hanging cupboard that auctioned for well over $960,000.
Every year, JSE serves thousands of collectors, both online and in-person, generating scores of potentially insightful business data.
Challenge
As the pandemic shifted the majority of their sales online, maintaining constant but unimposing communications with such a vast client base, while retaining their familial personal touch, was of key concern to the team at JSE.
Their invaluable database, containing decades worth of bid and purchase data, was largely untapped due to time and manpower constraints. They wished to leverage this data into a comprehensive, structured, and automated email marketing strategy.
Solution
JSE began using Artbrain to manage all their email marketing campaigns; both for general newsletters and updates, as well as for individually personalized offerings.
Artbrain’s machine learning engine analyzed JSE’s historic auction data and was able to define the interests of each individual collector. It then matched collectors to specific pieces from upcoming auctions. The process re-learns as clients interact with the auction house, continuously improving engagement.
A special effort was also made to generate consignors based on the fit between items they purchased in the past and upcoming auction themes.
With beautifully designed emails and a systematic marketing plan JSE experienced a notable growth in sales already within the first months of joining Artbrtain.
Impact
→ During the first 120 days of joining Artbrain, JSE received ~$400K worth of bids from previously inactive clients alone. These reactivated collectors accounted for ~8.5% of total bids placed during that period.
→ Collectors reactivated thanks to Artbrain purchased over $300K worth of artwork and antiques.
→ JSE also enjoyed a near doubling in the number of bidders per item (+95%) in their first year using Artbrain.
→ During this time, the auction house’s average start-to-sold price ratio increased by 20% YoY.