Local Theatre Needs Promotional Help for Digital Production
Amphibian Stage is a non-profit theatre company located in Fort Worth, Texas. In its 22-year history, Amphibian has strived to produce innovative and engaging theater. For the summer of 2020, the local theatre was set to open a production of The True History of the Tragic Life and Triumphant Death of Julia Pastrana. With ongoing national and global conversations about race, discrimination, isolation and helplessness, they were poised to add this timely story to public discourse.
The Amphibian had devised a new pandemic plan for presenting the play: a listening experience offered on a digital platform utilizing Dolby Atoms to provide listeners an exceptional surround-sound experience when using headphones. Originally staged in total darkness, this listening experience could be done in the dark of one’s own home, ultimately offering a similar experience while also providing the necessary safety of COVID-19 social distancing. Now faced with the challenge of promoting the production, Amphibian Stage turned to The Cause Agency (TCA) to promote the play and highlight the production’s unique qualities.
How to Promote Local Organization to National Audience
TCA identified 238 news outlets with focuses in theatre, sound recording technology, human rights and the arts. Next TCA drafted a strategic plan of emails to contact the outlets. An initial press release introducing the unique production and viewing experience was sent to the entire media list. A follow-up email with additional info was sent to outlets that opened that press release several days later. To outlets that didn’t open the original press release, a reminder email was sent two weeks later. Then when the production’s dates were extended, one more email was sent to all outlets. In addition, TCA posted the event to an international hub of info for immersive and interactive theatre and art, the Everything Immersive website.
The Results of a Strategic Promotional Plan
The strategic promotional plan brought great success and widespread attention to Amphibian Stage’s production. Amphibian Stage drew audiences far beyond their local community, added to cultural conversations, and reemployed creative partners and actors the pandemic had put out of work. In total, 34 pieces of coverage were produced with an estimated 533 thousand views, including pieces by The New York Times, The Arts Fuse (Boston), and many local publications and websites. The estimated online reach of these features was 1.24 billion.
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