Letter from New York: what brands can learn from Broadway

When asked to provide a “Letter from a New York Marketer”, I didn’t have to look far afield from personal experience. My daughter, Emily Skeggs, is appearing currently in the ensemble cast of the 2015 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Fun Home at Circle in the Square Theater. Out of 12 nominations, it captured five top awards: in addition to Best Musical, it won Best Direction, Best Actor, Best Book, Best Score (Music and Lyrics), and it has had a miracle journey from a hit run at the Public Theater off Broadway, to a beat-the-odds, sell-out success on the Great White Way! 

 

I thought that it would be great to share a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to successfully market a Broadway show. Sure, you have to start with a potential hit! But even the best shows need laser sharp 5-Star marketing to make them successful. 

 

So Fun Home is a musical based on the award-winning graphic novel memoir by lesbian cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Three actresses play Alison at different stages of her life (Emily Skeggs portraying the 19-year persona of Alison). The “Alisons” literally collide, looking back and at the same time experiencing the character’s complicated childhood in a dysfunctional family, her sexual coming of age and the subsequent suicide of her dad, who is revealed early in this memory play to have been closeted and gay. Hauntingly beautiful, at once achingly sad and often hilariously funny, this adaptation was incubated for seven years by the (now multiple Tony Award winning) composer/lyricist duo, Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron. 

 

Astronomically expensive to mount, the track record for Broadway shows failing far exceeds the success ratios. So there was a lot at stake in this “product launch.” And Fun Home is not your standard musical theater fare. 

 

If getting Fun Home to Broadway was “basecamp”, to the credit of the very dedicated and arguably brave producer team of Fox Theatricals (Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson) and Barbara Whitman, “reaching the summit” took the marketing efforts of entertainment PR consultancy, O&M, and their integrated marketing partner, SpotCo. This team has collaborated, promoted and marketed a number of Broadway shows that have (against the odds) won major awards, achieved major box office traction and returned on investment for their producer partners. 

 

O&M’s roster of clients includes some of Broadway’s most noteworthy shows: the Tony Award-winning Best Musicals Kinky Boots and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder; Terrence McNally's starry hit It's Only A Play; Beautiful – The Carole King Musical; Kander and Ebb’s haunting The Visit; Punchdrunk’s spellbinding long-running hit, Sleep No More at the McKittrick Hotel; and Fun Home. 

 

SpotCo is a worldwide leader in arts and entertainment advertising and marketing, who take an integrated approach to strategic and creative services. They share a number of clients with O&M and additionally represent some of the hottest tickets slated to open this season including the hip-hop musical Hamilton (already sold out in its Broadway transfer) and the upcoming musical adaptation of the Jack Black movie: School of Rock. 

 

The popular wisdom suggested that Fun Home might not transfer well to a Broadway audience, habituated to a more mainstream story, especially delivered in the musical genre. It soon became clear, however, that audiences were resonating with the more universal themes of finding one’s true self, and the complex nature of love, acceptance and familial understanding that are equally part of the story. But tickets are not cheap, and the metrics for profit in the smaller, more intimate Circle in the Square Theatre meant that the show really had to connect with prospective audiences emotionally to fill the house every night. 

 

The competition was also stiff for the coveted and elusive Tony Award for “Best Musical” (which can make or break ticket sales). The promotion/marketing team had many consumers and influencers to reach and engage. 

 

It is a truly NY tale in many ways. But as I watched this process, (obviously with a personal stake), I really got the sense that there are broader lessons that any company can take away from this Broadway Cinderella story in their own journeys to make their own unique brands famous.

 

So here is what O&M and SpotCo did to create a 5-Star marketing campaign to make Fun Home famous: 

I truly hope that at some point anyone reading this post will get to see Fun Home. (Obviously I am prejudiced, but fingers crossed for you for a visit to NYC, tours or maybe even a West End Transfer !)

 

But next time you see any successful show, whether it is on Drury Lane or 42nd Street, recognize that behind every great performance there needs to be successful, fame-building marketing. 

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Susan Griffin is CMO of BrainJuicer, a global brand strategy and marketing consultancy. She is  based  New York, and leads international marketing for the firm.  You can reach her at [email protected]  

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