Performance Media

What Performance Media does

Performance Media, operating under the legal entity PMGMA, Inc., is a privately held graphic design, printing, and digital marketing company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. Founded in 1991, the firm produces custom publications, visitor guides, and event programs for cultural institutions, performing arts organizations, festivals, and event producers. Its active portfolio spans roughly 18 publications for clients including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ravinia Festival, Forest Preserves of Cook County, One of a Kind Show Chicago, Ensemble Español, and See Chicago Dance, with a historical roster that includes the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Botanic Garden, The Field Museum, and The Dallas Opera.

The company's core offering is a publishing and print production platform tailored to cultural-institution programs and visitor guides, producing printed deliverables such as opera season programs, festival magazines, family fun guides, concert programs, and museum visitor guides. Performance Media also operates an embedded advertising sales capability, selling ad space inside the publications it produces for clients and offering digital ad submission infrastructure alongside print specifications.

Performance Media's business model combines professional services revenue (publication production billed on a quote basis under multi-year contracts) with advertising sales revenue generated within each publication. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; each project is custom-quoted. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting cultural institutions, arts organizations, and event venues, with the website serving as a mid-funnel showcase for prospective clients. Customer concentration is in the nonprofit arts vertical (museums, theaters, opera companies, dance companies, music festivals), supplemented by select government (Forest Preserves of Cook County) and enterprise (event producers) accounts. The geographic footprint is primarily the Chicago metropolitan area, with limited expansion into Dallas via The Dallas Opera.

Name

Performance Media

Legal name

PMGMA, Inc.

Website

https://performancemedia.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Publication Production Services

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional & Custom Publishing (Coursepacks, Campus/Corporate Training) (MPAJABAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Large-Format & Specialty Printing (Signage, Posters, Displays) (MPAJALAD)

Keywords

• Cultural publication services
• Visitor guide production
• Event program publishing
• Arts organization marketing
• Advertising sales publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Northbrook

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Publication Production Services: Producing custom programs, visitor guides, and event publications for cultural institutions including museums, theaters, opera companies, and festivals
2. Advertising Sales: Selling advertising space within publications produced for cultural clients. The website includes an Advertising Info section with specifications for digital ad submissions

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Performance Media (PMGMA, Inc.) designs, produces, and distributes custom print publications — including visitor guides, event programs, concert and opera programs, festival magazines, and family guides — for cultural institutions and arts organizations. The company also sells advertising space within those publications, providing clients with both production services and embedded advertising revenue capabilities.

Product overview

PMGMA, Inc. (Performance Media) is a publishing company that produces programs and visitor guide books for cultural institutions and events. The company operates as a single product line of publishing services, creating printed publications for various museums, performing arts venues, festivals, and cultural organizations in the Chicago area and beyond. The portfolio includes publications for The Art Institute of Chicago, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ravinia Festival, Auditorium Theatre, Chicago Botanic Garden, and numerous other cultural institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cultural Institution Publication Programs End-to-end design, production, and distribution of custom print publications including visitor guides, season programs, concert and opera programs, and museum guides for cultural institutions and performing arts organizations. Current active clients include Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ravinia Festival, Forest Preserves of Cook County, Ensemble Español, and See Chicago Dance.
• Event and Festival Guide Publications Custom printed event guides and promotional publications for commercial events, festivals, and shows. Clients include One of a Kind Show Chicago and Randolph Street Market Festival.
• Advertising Sales Services Selling advertising space within publications produced for cultural clients, with a dedicated Advertising Info section including digital ad submission specifications and advertising terms and conditions.
• Ravinia Festival Magazine Magazine publication produced for the Ravinia Festival music venue.
• Ravinia Festival Family Fun Guide Family-oriented visitor guide publication for the Ravinia Festival.
• The Art Institute of Chicago Publication Visitor guide books and programs for the Art Institute of Chicago museum (historical/COVID-impacted publication).
• Auditorium Theatre Publication Programs and visitor guides for the Auditorium Theatre performing arts venue (historical/COVID-impacted publication).
• Chicago Botanic Garden Publication Visitor guide books for the Chicago Botanic Garden (historical/COVID-impacted publication).
• Chicago Philharmonic Publication Programs and visitor guides for the Chicago Philharmonic orchestra (historical/COVID-impacted publication).
• Chicago Wedding & Party Resource Resource guide for Chicago-area wedding and party planning (historical/COVID-impacted publication).
• Citadel Theatre Publication Programs for the Citadel Theatre performing arts venue (historical/COVID-impacted publication).
• The Dallas Opera Publication Programs and visitor guides for The Dallas Opera (historical/COVID-impacted publication).
• Forest Preserves of Cook County Publication Visitor guide books for the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
• Lyric Opera of Chicago Publication Programs and visitor guides for the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Named customers15 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Hearst Communications: Hearst is one of the largest diversified media conglomerates, publishing magazines, newspapers, and operating television assets. Comparable as a broad incumbent publisher with capabilities and advertiser relationships that overlap PMGMA's cultural publication niche.
• Bonnier Corporation: Bonnier Corporation is a major consumer and enthusiast magazine publisher with titles spanning lifestyle, sports, and outdoor categories. It is comparable as a large-scale custom magazine publisher operating across multiple vertical audiences.
• Crain Communications: Crain Communications is a major privately held business and trade publisher headquartered in Chicago, publishing Crain's Chicago Business, Ad Age, and other titles. It is comparable as a Chicago-based publishing incumbent with overlapping B2B advertising sales capabilities.
• Condé Nast: Condé Nast is a global multimedia publisher producing premium cultural and lifestyle titles such as Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Vogue. It is comparable as a high-end cultural publisher with deep advertising sales relationships that compete for the same cultural-institution advertising budgets PMGMA serves.
• Tribune Publishing: Tribune Publishing operates a portfolio of regional newspapers including the Chicago Tribune. As a Chicago-based legacy publisher with advertising sales infrastructure, it serves overlapping advertiser audiences and competes for similar institutional print budgets.
• Active Interest Media: Active Interest Media is a special interest magazine and media company publishing enthusiast and lifestyle titles. It is comparable as a broader custom and special interest publisher with multi-title portfolio management capabilities.

Others

• TRG Arts: TRG Arts is a consulting firm that advises cultural and arts organizations on revenue, fundraising, and audience strategy. It is comparable as a service provider deeply embedded with the same nonprofit cultural institution customer base PMGMA serves.

Direct peers

• Time Out Group: Time Out publishes city-based cultural guides, event listings, and visitor-oriented publications globally. It is comparable to PMGMA as a publisher of cultural venue guides, though Time Out operates at much larger scale across multiple international cities.
• Hour Media: Hour Media is a regional magazine publisher producing titles such as Hour Detroit, Detroit Home, and dbusiness. It is comparable to PMGMA as a niche custom and regional magazine publisher serving specialized audiences with high-design editorial products.
• Encore Media Group: Encore Media Group produces custom publications — including season programs, festival magazines, and visitor guides — for performing arts venues and cultural organizations. It is the closest direct competitor to PMGMA's institutional and custom publishing model for arts clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Performance Media