Communications Compendium Considered campaigns that hit the headlines press@birminghamhippodrome.com / 0121 689 3065
Introducing Birmingham Hippodrome’s award-winning Communications Team, here to support your production or event in reaching the biggest audiences in a colourful, creative and highly managed way. This guide will familiarise you with some of the possibilities for your communications campaign during your visit to our theatre.
HITTING THE HEADLINES: ambitious moments that grab attention (Page 2)
LAUNCH EVENTS: creating conversations and making a splash (Page 3)
BIRMINGHAM BUZZ: the importance of making it local (Page 4)
PRESS NIGHT WITH PIZAZZ: creating an impact with stylish, shareable opening nights (Page 6)
MAKING OUR OWN HEADLINES: in-house publications speaking directly with our audiences (Page 7)
MEDIA VISITS: building stories ahead of the production visit (Page 8)
PREMIUM VIDEO: bringing stories to life with specially designed video (Page 9)
SOCIAL KNOW-HOW: award-winning viral campaigns and broadcasting live (Page 10)
Recent Awards: CIPR Midland Pride Award winners: Outstanding In-House Public Relations Team (silver) Birmingham Awards winners: Best Use of Social Media or Marketing Campaign
HITTING THE HEADLINES: ambitious moments that grab attention
The sky is the limit, sometimes quite literally, when staging PR moments to engage audiences and create all important coverage and social interaction. We have brought the shop windows of Birmingham Bullring to life with the cast of Kinky Boots, had Eva Peron sing ‘Don’t Cry for me Argentina’ from the balcony of Birmingham’s famous Council House, made Peter Pan fly without pixie dust in an indoor skydiving dome and featured a cast of 20 Bollywood dancers for Taj Express in New Street Station. Our Communications Team benefit from connections throughout the city and beyond to make ambitious plans come to life and create a splash, the bigger, the better!
Reach for the sky! The Miss Saigon photocall with a veteran ‘Huey’ helicopter was featured across all major local media outlets including BBC, Birmingham Mail and Express and Star. The stunt was then duplicated for other venues on the tour. The four-legged star of War Horse, Joey, visited the historical Birmingham Roundhouse for a meet and greet with local school children learning about the history of WWI. Months out from the production’s opening date in Birmingham, the event was once again featured across all major local media outlets including BBC, Birmingham Mail and Express and Star. 2
LAUNCH EVENTS: creating conversations and making a splash
A launch event is the ideal driver to raise awareness of your production and increase early ticket sales. It also provides the opportunity for our in-house content creation team and external media sources to gather interviews and gain insight into the show. Whether it’s a launch for your own individual production, or being part of a wider Hippodrome event, a launch is a major platform for reaching audiences. Working alongside our specialist technical and catering teams, these events are the ideal opportunity to speak directly with Birmingham Hippodrome’s 1500+ members of our Friends scheme as well as high level donors, supporters and media. The Patrick Studio, located within Birmingham Hippodrome and seating 200, is the perfect venue to host your launch. As part of the event, the Communications Team will capture in-house video and social media content as well as organise extensive media opportunities.
Matilda The Musical launch < <
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Over 200 attending guests Coverage in all major local media including in Birmingham Mail, Express and Star, BBC Midlands Today, Free Radio & BBC Radio WM Over 70,000 impressions on Twitter
BIRMINGHAM BUZZ: the importance of making it local
Some of the top-performing, furthest reaching media calls for the theatre are those that make the most of the cityscapes and beloved local landmarks around us. By placing cast members or recognisable motifs from your production in iconic Birmingham locations, you can capture the attention of local media, local social influencers and Brummies themselves face to face!
Take That Brum! Made in-house, our sing-a-long video featuring Brummies from across the city to promote Take That musical, The Band has now been viewed over 70,000 times. The video went on to win Best Use of Social Media at the 2018 Birmingham Awards. 4
This theatre has been the best we’ve visited… and our press night party has been THE BEST yet too” Joel Harper-Jackson, Charlie Price in Kinky Boots
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PRESS NIGHT WITH PIZAZZ: creating an impact with stylish, shareable opening nights
We strive to make a media night at Birmingham Hippodrome like no other. Designed to make the most of our extensive list of attending media, influencers and VIPs, these events are created to be a memorable experience that guests share with their networks. Special features include bespoke dressing themed around the production, stylish catering such as themed cupcakes and drinks, high-spec technical support with specialised lighting and sound, and key moments that encourage conversation and engagement on social media. The effect of major press nights have seen the related hashtag trending as number one in Birmingham on Twitter and celebrity attendees walking the red carpet such as Alison Hammond, Joe Lycett and Adil Ray. From a full size boxing ring for Billy Elliot, a drag queen extravaganza at Kinky Boots through to Dreamland Bar at the opening of Miss Saigon - press nights are the perfect occasion to go big and create a buzz.
Peter Pan press night overview < < <
120 VIPs, media and influencers Estimated reach of over 7 million via print and online in a 24 hour period Reach of 49.8k on Twitter - #1 trending in Birmingham 6
MAKING OUR OWN HEADLINES: in-house publications speaking directly with our audiences
With every new brochure, we also produce our stages magazine - distributed in print free of charge to 6,500 subscribers and over 100,000 via email as well as being featured across our foyers and other local outlets. Stages provides readers with a closer look at upcoming productions with a range of interviews, backstage features and competitions. The team can produce and write interviews as well as take syndicated features. Every month we also send out our e-stages newsletter via email, reaching over 120,000 people. A short, condensed update on all things happening at Birmingham Hippodrome with impressive open rates.
Engaged readers and high open rates Recent unique opens of e-stages exceeded 23,000 readers per issue Over 1,500 people entered a recent competition in Stages Magazine. 7
MEDIA VISITS: building stories ahead of the production visit
Ahead of a production’s visit to Birmingham, the Communications Team can organise a media visit to nearby venues to gather content and interviews. We can also bring local media and influencers along to spread the word. Backstage tours and cast access make for attractive media propositions, as well as capturing our own in-house videos and content. A recent backstage video taken with a cast member on a Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake media visit to Sadler’s Wells was seen by over 40,000 people on Facebook in just two days. Matinée days are the ideal time for a media visit as this allows media to visit the show and return during regular hours.
Benefits of a media visit A media visit to another venue allows for collecting coverage in one swoop. Members of the media can gather interviews, rather than arranging several separate opportunities, social influencers can gather content and our Communications Team can film several pieces of video - all in one afternoon. 8
PREMIUM VIDEO: bringing stories to life with specially designed video
Our Communications Team work with the highest possible quality of video content producers in the region. With a strong focus on premium video content, we see a solid return on investment from employing external filmmakers to aid us in telling stories. From a sparkling opening night showcase video to a backstage look at how the magic comes to life - these high quality videos gain a large number of views on the web and social. A premium video moment can also be seeded out to our list of various online outlets for maximum impact.
Viral videos During the recent run of Peter Pan, three specially commissioned professional videos gained over 43,000 views and a reach of over 60,000 on Facebook alone. 9
SOCIAL KNOW-HOW: award-winning viral campaigns and broadcasting live
Birmingham Hippodromeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rapidly growing social media platforms are now followed by a combined total of over 120,000 people. The Communications Team execute successful social media campaigns using a range of materials produced internally whilst making the most of your own assets. Facebook Live is an ever popular feature of our campaigns with a high reach broadcasts include face-to-face interviews and backstage tours. Presented in high quality with specially prepared settings and themes, Facebook Live is a fun way of presenting cast and creatives to an online audience and telling a different side of the story. Facebookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current algorithms currently favour live video, therefore broadcasts reach more viewers than standard video uploads. Instagram Takeovers are also the perfect opportunity to show a unique backstage perspective to audiences and give a glimpse behind the scenes.
Backstage pass A backstage Facebook Live broadcast with the Stage Manager of Matilda The Musical has now been viewed over 23,000 times and an interview with the cast of War Horse has been viewed 12,000 times. 10
Get in touchâ&#x20AC;Ś press@birminghamhippodrome.com / 0121 689 3065