Theatre and event marketing have a lot in common: both tell stories in order to engage audiences and communicate a message. However, this also means they face a lot of the same challenges.
In many ways, any marketing event or experiential campaign is a theatrical experience.
Theatre just needs space and an audience. And that space doesn’t have to be an auditorium with seats and a stage. It can be a street corner, a store, a house, or anywhere else you can fit people and something for those people to watch.
Where should event marketers be looking for innovative ideas in the theatre world?
2amtheatre is a website and corresponding hashtag (#2amt) for conversations that push the envelope of what is possible in contemporary theatre. Their mantra of Never Be Dark encourages constant attention to creating new ideas and engaging actively with audiences. The site has a great tag called Steal This Idea for inspiring innovations in producing, creating, and promoting theatre.
In marketing we so often hold our ideas near and dear, protecting them like we would our own children. 2amTheatre teaches us let go. To trade ideas like a social currency, or give them away in good will, and then simply watch the buzz build!
American Theatre publishes a monthly column on theatre innovations, where you can find ideas such as Clubbed Thumb theatre company’s “social captain” model for getting enthusiastic audiences into the seats.
What Weekly’s Conversations on Theater features interviews with artists doing groundbreaking theatre work. Here, you can see a little bit of what makes successful theatre tick.
Many other theatrical techniques and terms for engaging audiences are relevant to events, such as lobby displays, talkbacks, and immersive theatre.
These are just some starting points for exploring contemporary theatre and its relevance to anyone looking to reach an audience.
There’s a whole world of potential out there and knowing popular trends in theatre is invaluable for keeping experiential marketing fresh and new. Immersive theatre companies are creating art that’s reaching young people today, so how might a marketer adapt the techniques they use to tell a brand story in event context?
More innovation happens when storytellers of all kinds are in dialogue with each other. From theatre to marketing, creative people are coming up with new concepts for reaching audiences every day. It pays to have an ear to the ground and listen to the beat coming out of places you may not expect!