The Influence of Friends

So... I went to see the new movie Rock of Ages tonight. As much as I love theatre and particularly musical theatre, I really had no intention of seeing this film. Perhaps I'll discuss my issues with "jukebox musicals" and "moviecals" in a future post. For tonight, I'd like to briefly talk about why I did go see it after all.

Like many of you, I have been over-exposed to ads and other marketing, which have been endlessly plugging this film for weeks. I've tuned it all out, for the most part. I still had no intention of seeing the film even after endless TV commercials and interviews. However, a friend of mine is writing his dissertation on "jukebox musicals," and quietly invited a few friends to see Rock of Ages with him via a private message on Facebook. This one personal and highly influential move made me decide to see this (raucously funny) movie after all.



I realized, perhaps the value of the private message sent from an individual within the organization to an individual outside  of it would translate to drumming up a bit of publicity for a not-for-profit theatre. Yes, theatres e-mail out notices, create large social media event pages, and often still engage in direct mail marketing, but a simple message from a friend or loved one, something more personalized, could make all the difference.

I think putting a personal touch instead of a media blitz on appealing to your patrons and potential patrons matters. A private message sent through a social media source like Facebook or Twitter, to even just a few people who regularly attend your productions or people who have never attended a production, but you would like to personally invite, could potentially create a kind of quite PR movement for you. Your organization is now the organization with a name and face, as is your patron to you. Also, one can always "reply" to a message, creating an instant dialogue.

I think it is one way of creating a personal face for your organization. A message is sent from an individual to an individual, not from a faceless organization to a faceless group of people. At its best, such a small, personalized PR campaign could grow your audience. At its worst, people who attend a single production might not like it and not return in the future. Since the campaign was done on such a small scale, you can decide if its use would be beneficial or damaging, but perhaps it is worth a trial.

We use such methods in fundraising and in courting donors, why not have person to person contact with those you do this theatre thing for, your audience???

Until next time...
Ro Huizinga