Deep Dive: Aurora’s Community Engagement Case Study
The Customer
Aurora, IL, the state’s second-largest city, is a regional leader in cultural and economic development. Known for its historic downtown, thriving arts scene, and local businesses, Aurora sought an innovative way to increase resident engagement with a community event calendar that keeps entertainment spending local.
Spanning four counties and six school districts, Aurora is home to a vibrant ecosystem of small businesses, nonprofits, and arts organizations. However, without a centralized event platform, engagement suffered, and businesses lacked data-driven insights to measure the impact of local events.
Aurora 
State: Illinois
Population: 177,563
The Challenges
Choosing Aurora First
As a first-ring city to Chicago, the third-largest city in the U.S., Aurora struggled to retain local entertainment spending. Many residents traveled to Chicago for concerts, theater, and cultural events, leaving Aurora’s artists and businesses were underappreciated.
Aurora faced three key challenges:
✅ Retention of Local Engagement – Local artists and businesses struggled to attract their own community members.
✅ Event Promotion Silos – Information was scattered across social media, websites, and print materials, making it difficult to reach audiences.
✅ Lack of Centralized Access – Without a dedicated platform, residents had difficulty discovering local events, and businesses had no way to track engagement.
Beyond city-led initiatives, Aurora’s nonprofits and small businesses needed better visibility. Residents were missing opportunities to engage with cultural festivals, volunteer initiatives, and local business events.
“We would make events on Facebook or other social media channels, but then they would get lost in the shuffle.”
The Solution
A Data-Driven Community Platform
Aurora adopted ‘with’ as its centralized event hub, a decision approved by the Mayor’s Music, Entertainment, and Events Commission to spotlight local talent and businesses.
This strategic initiative helped Aurora:
✅ Centralize all local events into one trusted platform, reducing confusion and improving participation.
✅ Equip businesses & event organizers with real-time data, including engagement insights.
✅ Create a single hub where residents could easily discover performances, festivals, and activities unique to Aurora.
✅ Strengthen Aurora’s identity as a livable, thriving city by boosting local engagement and community pride.
"It’s about creating a platform that the community truly owns. When people feel like they have access and input, engagement happens naturally ."
“The great thing about selecting the 'with' platform was the metrics. Our commission can go to businesses with real data - how many clicks an event got, how many people attended - and use that to show why entertainment adds value.”
How Paramount Theatre Engages More Local Residents
The Paramount Theatre is a prime example of how ‘with’ supports local business engagement. While the Paramount boasts the nation’s largest subscriber base, 85% of visitors come from outside Aurora. The challenge was engaging local residents.
“They utilize the ‘with’ platform to help communicate to our community members,” Tony Martinez explained.
“To attract more local audiences, they introduced smaller events like $1 movie nights. With the platform, these events now reach more Aurora residents effectively.”
By using the platform, Paramount gained direct access to Aurora’s local audience, helping more events reach new community members – not just out-of-town visitors.
Conclusion
As Aurora integrates the ‘with’ platform into its city website, engagement is expected to grow even further. By centralizing event discovery and promotion, the city is building a stronger, more connected community where businesses, residents, and cultural organizations thrive together.
🚀 Want to drive stronger engagement in your city? See how a centralized event platform makes it easier to promote events, increase attendance, and support local businesses. Book a demo today and experience the impact firsthand.
