Dance Off
Client: Ballet Idaho
Fueled by: Strategy, Media, Digital, PR, Ad Campaign
THE SETUP
Ballet Idaho recently put the well-loved (read: well-worn) costumes and set of the old production of The Nutcracker away for good. After a $1.1 million fundraising campaign, they had raised enough for a vivid new Victorian-inspired production complete with elaborate new costumes and evocative new sets. For the premiere slate of performances, Ballet Idaho was adding a new Thursday night opening and a Monday matinee. But could they realistically fill all 13,342 seats for nearly every show in the entire run?
THE FUEL
To add fuel to Ballet Idaho’s fire, CLM developed a comprehensive demand generation strategy for The New Nutcracker. We sifted through past performance attendance, season ticket holder information, and market conditions. We conducted a large strategic brainstorming session. Then CLM built two primary personas with detailed go-to-market plans including highly-targeted social and digital campaigns to drive awareness and ticket sales. From there, we kicked off creative concepting with a few limitations: we didn’t have any photos or video from the actual new production, but could use the new costumes. From 3 options in a laughter-filled campaign pitch, Ballet Idaho chose a concept built around teasing up the surprise and delight of The New Nutcracker. CLM developed all-new creative, media partnerships, digital media strategies, and PR plans to drive ticket sales.
SURPRISE, MEET DELIGHT
What if, in the middle of your ordinary life, you got a glimpse of something utterly magic? When The New Nutcracker comes to town, expect anything. With a limited budget, we drew on our own office environment and some of our (and Ballet Idaho’s, of course) talented staff to bring these spots to life. We even produced a few extra, humorous videos for more social media buzz.
#onfire
We sparked buzz and a buying streak that helped Ballet Idaho surge past its revenue goals by December 18—a day before the opening of the first performance. When the curtain went up, the sold-out after sold-out audiences were in awe for the next two hours of breathtaking beauty in motion. We know we’re not incredibly-trained dancers or fabulously skilled choreographers, but we loved playing our behind-the-scenes part in making magic happen.
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