How Theatre Producers Can Use Alternative Marketing Activations to Build Brand Awareness
Natalie Rine
Even as people worldwide try to grapple with understanding the human costs as the pandemic continues to spread, live or event-based businesses like Broadway or the theatre industry at large are also struggling to understand the impact on their bottom line, supply chains, consumers and how to react.
Producers and marketers—most working remotely from home—are faced with an entirely new situation: How should we be talking to our consumers? Where should we be spending marketing dollars and where shouldn’t we? How are we going to stay in business? And all this on top of how can we support our family, friends, communities, and planet?
Alongside the almost universal shut-down of large scale in-person gatherings (and with them, virtually all marketing and advertising spend for your stopped-running show), one thing became starkly clear: theatrical producers, in general, view shows as an exclusive product; you’re either in your seat alongside a bunch of other people to experience a live event together for two-and-a-half hours, or you’re not.
There’s a myriad of reasons this way of thinking is problematic (lending itself to classism and ableism among other reasons), but as a brand licensor by day, I want to focus on how expanding our understanding of shows as not one-off events but as brands, and engaging in marketing practices accordingly, can lead to natural-fit alternative revenue streams feeding into—and not detracting from—the Main Show.
You’re asking the wrong question if you’re trying to replicate the “live theatre experience” over digital spaces (not to mention most often letting the technology lead instead of the storytelling i.e. “oh we have to use Zoom now to put on a play I guess” instead of “I have this story idea and the best platform to tell it is Zoom because of abc,” but I digress).
Instead, ask how does my audience engage with my show’s brand outside of the two hours they’re in the theater (if they ever even see it in person)? How can I extend my show’s brand to different formats I haven’t yet considered or explored?
First, let’s look at how shows (in ways other than the actual performance) reach consumers currently.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
As consumer optimism varies and spend patterns are cautious, we are seeing growth in at-home media consumption, with live news and movies or shows topping the list—but it’s also safe to assume a rise in YouTube searches for Broadway and theatre clips, along with an increase in unquantifiable bootleg trades and consumption, and time spent with cast recordings. As some have even pointed out, the current reality of isolation lends itself to more time for contemplation and self-reflection, including more time to revisit properties through video and cast recordings and discover or rediscover moments of joy in these solo audio/visual experiences.
But the increase in time spent on online media is then not necessarily driving higher ROI for producers or digital media spend. Charging for access to your archival recording “livestream” or new Zoom play, sounds less appealing to me and my millennial peers by the day, so I won’t go there.
But to address two common ancillary revenue streams for theatre pre-COVID: 1) there’s no easy way to assess rises in music streaming for shows during this time (long gone are high returns for physical cast album sales), and 2) certainly show merch isn’t flying off the metaphorical shelves as unemployment and paychecks for the average consumer plummet to focus on essential goods and survival. And as there are no live theatre performances happening, virtually all advertising spend to get the word out about shows is halted. Despite our increase in online media consumption, digital media spend in general is on the decline, with Google and Facebook seeing negative changes to their ad business already. Shows have just accepted they’re dark indefinitely, providing virtually no revenue or audience reach during this unsettling time.
Therefore it’s obvious to me (as someone who grew up far away from the tri-state area and lived on cast recordings and merchandise for shows I’d never see) that there is a need to pivot and expand alternative revenue streams, not just for the short-term but for the long-term, as live theatre’s profit margins have always been, and will now only continue to be, frighteningly unsustainable.
WHAT ARE BRAND ACTIVATIONS?
For the sake of this article, the “formats” and ways of reaching your consumers I suggest are through brand/experiential marketing activations to increase awareness, interactivity, and long-lasting positive impressions surrounding a show’s brand. A company’s playbook will vary depending on its demand situation and size, but a successful activation looks like the following:
Use your brand activation to boost sales by linking the even directly to a new release or featured item (easier to surround an opening, but can also function to promote changes/innovations/anniversaries, etc.).
Build long-term support for your brand by connecting with your customers on a deeper level than you would be able to in a traditional setting.
Invoke an emotional response with your campaign to ensure that people walk away having felt something.
Enact your brand activation in a setting that makes sense for the product you’re trying to promote.
Use what you already have to your advantage -- if you already have a popular slogan, try twisting it into something new and experiential; if you have existing competitors, try using your rivalry to gain some positive coverage.
Leverage different types of media to reach unique audiences and tell your brand story from a variety of angles.
Bring your brand up to speed by aligning your campaign with current consumer interests.
The below few examples for argument’s sake assume a larger product like a Broadway show will be trying these activations, but the core ideas can be adapted for smaller companies and markets as well. Given the high degree of uncertainty for the foreseeable future, the success of producers will depend on how effectively they can test, learn, and adapt to this twenty-first century model of thinking.
MARKETING ACTIVATIONS TO EXPAND YOUR SHOW’S BRAND
· Drive-in Experiences
Take a page from Toronto’s Gogh By Car, and build experiences around what you already have (say, a cast album) that already has a fanbase. For their drive-in immersive projection show based on Van Gogh’s artwork, the venue can accommodate 14 vehicles per time slot for example, where participants must park and turn off their engines to enjoy the 35-minute show from inside their cars.
A drive-in cast album/visual experience could be a lucrative new touring revenue, and while it requires more upfront investment (capital plus property plus sponsorship opportunities for new partnerships), this location-based entertainment (LBE) can exist and thrive regardless of social distancing rules.
Masterclasses/Meet & Greets/Hosted Events by key players of your production or property
It is no secret that some students pay out the wazoo for college and audition prep (and these programs, online or in-person, disproportionately favor the already privileged), but a rise in online hosted panels and Q&As during COVID means there is now and will continue to be opportunities to market and host exclusive in-person and web content for those who want a “front row seat” to behind-the-scenes. Adjusting your marketing mix to where the consumer is now is key, and marketers will need to aggressively adjust marketing spend to be both committed and creative about how to use digital channels.
Students and colleges are prime targets as eager, existing fans hungry for your content. Can they read through your play/music? Can you offer them a unique point of view (what makes your show different)? Is your company diverse in hometowns and how can you give back?
Cafes and Pop-Ups
Another popular form of LBE is themed cafes such as Snoopy Café, Hello Kitty Café, Alice in Fantasy Book Restaurant, just to name a few. They don’t have to be permanent fixtures (God knows not in the NYC rent landscape) but could be a pop-up activation for a limited time immersed in the world of the show (a Greek God theme? A mean high school cafeteria theme?). This requires producers to partner with a café/restaurant licensee to manage the actual operation.
The revenue structure could consist of entrance fees, the cafe, gaming areas, souvenirs and other related purchases. The café could also host children’s and family celebrations as well as B2B events. Or perhaps partnering with existing restaurants to collaborate on a temporary theme, food/drink item, or event is more manageable to draw temporary press. It all depends how much you invest in building your property outwards, which determines how effective you are at immersing the consumer in your brand. You don’t have to be handing out square milkshakes designed for Instagram to make an impact, but as a food lover, I’d love to see more creative ties between the culinary and theatrical event worlds.
I’ve already written about copying Korean marketing I hope to see Broadway adapt upon reopening, targeting new groups and discount formats to encourage a local market return first. So in addition to the above touring or location-based activation ideas, I do also encourage producers to think of creative carbon-footprint-friendly stances of how to serve your local audience first, exploring ethically and eco-friendly alternatives through digital or local marketing activations that can best serve your community.
These are all large, pie-in-the-sky hopes for where I want to see theatrical shows’ impact and reach expand out of an exclusive “two-and-a-half-hours/in NYC only” mindset.
Capitalizing on existing features of what makes your product unique is not just key but essential, and taking a more active role in how the cast albums, characters, and creators of your show mold an overall life-long love for your property is key to longevity of your show’s brand awareness and revenue, opening up the world to be your oyster.