Integrated marketing campaign to boost ticket sales
Integrated marketing campaign to boost ticket sales
By
Laraine Penson
Discover how Northern Ballet improved their national profile, engaged new and existing audiences and boosted ticket sales with an integrated communications campaign.
Background
Northern Ballet is a powerhouse of inventive dance. We are renowned for creating inventive narrative ballets and for touring these throughout the UK and overseas reaching audiences who might otherwise not have access to world class dance.
In September 2010 Northern Ballet launched a new brand and in February 2011 premiered a new full-length ballet Cleopatra.
Cleopatra was the only ballet we toured throughout the spring/summer 2011 season, as opposed to the 2-3 ballets we would normally tour in a season, making it possible to try a new 'national' approach to our communications campaign.
Through funding from Sustain, the ACE programme, we were able to try new and different approaches to our communications campaign focusing on building audiences and growing box office income. One of our business objectives was to create more online material and grow subscribers to our e-newsletter and social media platforms so we could engage directly with our audiences regularly and develop a relationship which would extend beyond our annual visit to their theatre.
Objectives
- To sell £832,000 of tickets (gross)
- To create an integrated communications campaign with an emphasis on new and different activity
- To take a national approach to the campaign
- To increase traffic to Northern Ballet website
- To increase numbers of subscribers to Northern Ballet's e-newsletter and social media platforms
- To raise the profile of Northern Ballet, the new brand and Cleopatra
- To maintain current audiences and reach new audiences
Target audience
- Traditional ballet audiences
- Other arts attenders
- Arts Council segmentation: fun, fashion and friends and Dinner and a show
Process
We approached Cleopatra as a comprehensive integrated communications campaign featuring online, print and press advertising, outdoors advertising and media & PR which increased brand profile and allowed us to target a wide range of potential customers, attracting a new audience and offering value for money.
As well as traditional promotional activity we focused on three areas: partnerships, online activity and PR. We wanted to develop a campaign which appealed to peoples’ lifestyle. The campaign was split into two phases with two peaks: the world premiere in Leeds in February and performances at Sadler’s Wells in London in May.