It's Contagious
How do you reposition a historical theatre as fun and accessible in the eleventh hour—without performance footage?
You don't show the stage. You show the audience.
Pool-Outs
My Role
As a copywriting and video production intern at Lyric Opera of Chicago, I facilitated brainstorming sessions with artistic and business departments to identify innovative ways to effectively target young, diverse audiences. I wrote, pitched to management, and executed ad spots (from casting through post-production) and edited brand collateral for use across platforms.
The Challenge
Lyric Opera of Chicago has been one of the leading opera companies since 1960, dazzling enthusiasts with the second-largest stage in North America after the Met in New York City. Lyric's annual operating budget could reach $45M across a dozen full-scale operas performed.
When I joined the team, Lyric was struggling to connect with young audiences. While youth programs had seen success, performance tickets (where Lyric generated most revenue) still were purchased almost exclusively by increasingly older subscribers.
With an upcoming revival of Bernstein's West Side Story on deck (a musical to break up the operas), we had one month to strategize and execute an ad campaign that would galvanize a new wave of ticketholders—and there was no footage of the production yet.
The upcoming season was ripe to pivot Lyric's brand image, and it needed to bridge youthfulness with its established prestige.
Discovery
As I investigated video ads Lyric had released in the previous three years, I noticed two patterns:
Many callbacks to previous productions.
That appealed to regular operagoers but alienated new audiences. Opera had enough of a "private club" stigma already.
A consistently classical, staid style.
To my eyes, this felt dusty, outdated, and perfectly suited for the audience it was resonating with—not the target.
Making our ads too playful would discourage older attendees, while sticking to the classic script would generate no movement. I engaged community members in constructive dialogue to learn what perceptions discouraged them from visiting the opera house.
e.g., opera is only for:
the elderly
the well-educated
gay people
white people
people who don't work
people who work
people who don't work
people who don't have kids
So what's universally relatable? Catchiness.
West Side Story was a timeless show, whose music was familiar to all ages even if its plot wasn't. And even the occasional listener who didn't even know "I Feel Pretty" or "(I Want To Be In) America" could relate to the lovable irksomeness of having a favorite song stuck in their head. It transcended age and united on feeling.
Execution
By my internship start date, most West Side Story media was already live. Resolute that we supplement it, I wrote and pitched a screenplay for a mockumentary-style commercial campaign that centered on Lyric's "contagiously" catchy production of West Side Story, featuring audiences across ages and backgrounds.
Senior management were skeptical about this new direction (humor was sparse in Lyric archives).
So I offered to cast, direct, and shoot the whole ad on spec in a weekend—if the marketing team would loan me the equipment. I'm forever grateful they trusted this 18-year-old kid to take home $5K worth of lenses and mics.
But it worked.
Building on the conversations I'd had, I strove to include "interview footage" with "audience members" of various ages and backgrounds—from high-schoolers to grandparents, business executives to landscapers, retirees to full-time moms, and of course the mention of a son desperate to sing to his girlfriend, just to drive home that musical theatre can be just as romantic for straight couples as for gay ones.
Results
viral reach within 48 hours
thousands of new names on tickets, including hundreds under age 30
statistical support for comedic advertising for Lyric
What I learned
I sharpened my ability to operate on quick turnarounds within large, multi-tiered organizations. While I remain comfortable with the run-and-gun approach to execute independently, I'm now better equipped to manage a larger production team, which would have improved control of lighting and sound.
Our casting pool also was limited by budget and availability, which led me to overlook racial diversity more than I now would (especially with a show infamous for casting Caucasian actors in Puerto Rican roles).
Not to forget the one we never saw coming... our spin of the opera as a pandemic aged pretty poorly.