The role of digital in the cultural community is blossoming and arts organisations are adopting innovative technology to reach out to new audiences, from simple social media initiatives to vibrant digital applications. Here are four of Cat Leaver’s favourite arts marketing campaigns
1. #OrpheusBAC
Little Bulb Theatre maximised on Twitter to engage audiences with its production of Orpheus, which ran at Battersea Arts Centre last year. The organisation ran a social media campaign on the first night of the 1930s themed show, which gave audiences the opportunity to win tickets to a pre-drinks event via Twitter and then encouraged them to share photos of the event using the hashtag #OrpheusBAC.
The campaign created considerable online word-of-mouth and ultimately supported fantastic ticket sales – including a sell-out first week.
2. The Scottsboro Boys trailer
Following in Hollywood’s footsteps, arts organisations are beginning to recognise the potential to engage audiences pre-visit with trailers. Everyone from the British Museum, with its 2013 trailer for the Pompeii exhibition, to the Young Vic, with its The Scottsboro Boys trailer posted on YouTube last October, are getting involved. Trailers offer an unrivalled opportunity to capture interest and break down barriers to entry for shows, festivals and exhibitions.
3. MoMA logo
Digital technology facilitates storytelling, bringing arts organisations closer to their consumers. Take MoMA, for example, which commissioned artist Christoph Niemann to rework its logo in order to communicate the organisation’s brand identity and core values. Turning the logo into the MoMA building (pictured above) – complete with exhibitions and performances from its programme – the artist visualised key marketing mess- ages and the vibrancy of the museum.
The artwork was digitised, creating a hugely successful interactive and informative digital asset for MoMA’s website.
4. Art Maps
Launched just last month, the Tate’s Art Maps is exemplary of making the most of online crowdsourcing and cross-discipline collaboration to create innovative digital campaigns that involve your audiences. Art Maps aims to put the Tate’s 70,000+ collection of artwork on the world map with the help of its users.
The app has been developed for use on smart-phones and desktop and the Tate will be running ‘challenges’ to encourage its audiences to place artwork accurately around the globe. Created in conjunction with the Universities of Nottingham and Exeter and maximising on stakeholder workshops, the full research process was documented encouraging buy-in from audiences and building anticipation in the early stages.
Cat Leaver is marketing manager at Alienation Digital.