Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Heitzman.
Hi Greg, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a 35-year veteran of the radio industry, retired in May 2024. Even prior to retirement (2016), my wife and I purchased a company called Performing Ads Company. Performing Ads produced all of the live theatre playbills for theatre organizations in Fort Worth (exception is Bass Performance Hall). In 2017, with frustration over finding “things to do in Fort Worth” with typical Google searches, we started a simple blog entitled What’s Up Fort Worth. The blog started with about 3,000 of our own contacts, and by the end of the year the database had grown to over 6,000. With that growth, we build the full-service website, www.whatsupfortworth.com in early 2018. On a trip to Nashville in 2018, we participated in Nashville Burger Week. We researched the event and decided to bring the event to Fort Worth. Fort Worth Burger Week benefits Tarrant Area Food Bank. We will produce the 8th Annual Fort Worth Burger Week in 2026. In addition, we will create Dallas Burger Week in 2026 which will benefit the North Texas Food Bank. We also launched www.whatsupdallas.co in early 2025.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Performing Ads struggle is simply growing the revenue while keeping expenses down. While print publications are seeing major declines across many industries, the performing arts playbills are still a viable option for reaching the affluent arts patrons. They actually prefer the printed program over digital options.
There is nothing like our entertainment platforms in either Dallas or Fort Worth. The struggle with What’s Up Fort Worth and What’s Up Dallas is expanding our followers with a limited budget and securing advertising dollars from advertisers for new platforms.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Performing Ads Company?
Performing Ads offers theatre programs for our theatre partners at No Cost to them. In turn, Performing Ads has the right to sell advertising into the programs. That is the primary business model.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I would love them to subscribe to either What’s Up Fort Worth or What’s Up Dallas. I would also like for any of your readers who are advertising decision makers to consider advertising in the theatre playbills.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.whatsupfortworth.com and www.whatsupdallas.co
- Instagram: @whatsupfw
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhatsUpFortWorth, https://www.facebook.com/WhatsUpDallas, and https://www.facebook.com/PerformingAdsCompany
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregheitzman/
Image Credits
photo credits to Devan Peplow
