Three Sisters
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
How do you sell a ★★★★ comedy hit at the Globe Theatre? That sounds like an easy question - let me rephrase that with two caveats: the show in question is returning from a majorly successful run last year to a theatre that is disproportionately popular for first time bookers.
And with that, I popped my thinking hat on and got to it. With a campaign like this, it’s all about cementing that success from last year and using that as your rocket, but reminding people that this show is still new and you will want to come back.
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The Comedy of Errors ran from 29 August – 27 October, 2024.
Campaign Strategy
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01
World Premiere
Use this show as an opportunity to offer a more 'accessible' Shakespeare play that caters to a wider range of audiences who may have traditionally struggled with Shakespeare in the past. Lean into this by selling the slapstick humour and front loading content early.
02
Relatable Story
Utilise the strong press reviews from last year to legitimise the exciting return of the show as well as cement the credibility for both new and returning audiences.
03
Content Opportunity
Springboard off of the Much Ado About Nothing success by highlighting Sean Holmes and Naeem Hayat as the ultimate directing duo to upsell the equally hilarious, The Comedy of Errors.
How did we do it?​
Digital: Meta & YouTube
The goal here was to translate the comedy of the show back from stage to page (or at least the digital page of Meta) vis-a-vis comedic copy and striking visuals. Sometimes all you want to see is the classic Shakespearean trope of crazy identity swapping wrapped up head to toe in Elizabethan dress – well here you have it.
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The right audience targeting is also crucial in any Meta campaign so we went with some safe bets including those comedy TV & film loving people, Shakespeare regulars and our retargeting CRM but wanted to use the versatility of the title to nurture audiences that may not always engage with the Globe. This included U35s and musical theatre fanatics, the latter of which ended up being our best performing!
CRM Targeting
A carefully thought through CRM strategy will go a long way. We harnessed several different audience groups for this including for example Globe regulars, Much Ado About Nothing bookers and families to re-pique the interest of those who have already engaged with us before and may be looking to return for something great.
Third Party
We all get by with a little help from our friends and the theatre industry is no different. All of our new content and reviews found their perfect holiday home amongst comedy outlets including British Comedy Guide and Chortle so we could share the love with audiences beyond our Wooden 'O' regulars.
Always On Outdoor
The underground is the sort of unspoken directory for what's on in London. Whenever you want to know what is on, your morning commute will actually be the best place to find out. So, here we are part of this conversation. This outdoor listing also works to compliment digital activity by reminding you of what's on, for how long and what the press said about it too. After all, people love credibility.
New Content
It's all good and well having all this media but without having anything to show for it, it all becomes entirely redundant. A large part of this campaign was creating new content that captured the essence of the show in different ways for different people. We ended up releasing six new video pieces, which was very exciting (and rewarding, given video outperformed all static creatives across Meta!). Very, very pleased.