THE LOWRY
A venue with unlimited possibilities that delivers on AUDIENCES MARKETING & PR FACILITIES & ACCESS LOCATION DIGITAL REPUTATION The most visited cultural destination in the North West and the most visited attraction in Greater Manchester. A contemporary waterfront venue with three theatres, galleries and a brand new restaurant and bar located on Salford Quays. The Lowry is surrounded by iconic attractions such as IWM North and Manchester United and set in the heart of MediaCityUK, only five minutes from the motorway and less than four miles from Manchester City centre.
DELIVERING ON AUDIENCES
OUR LARGEST THEATRE, THE LYRIC, HAS
1,697 seats
£2.5 m tickets sold IN THE LAST
5
YEARS. MANY PRODUCTIONS INCLUDING
Wicked AND The Girls HAVE
WE HAVE WELCOMED NEARLY
1.5m
visitors INTO OUR BUILDING IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS.
WHAT DO WE KNOW
ABOUT OUR AUDIENCES? OUR
audience will travel TO SEE A PRODUCTION AT THE LOWRY.
SALFORD POPULATION
24,000
MANCHESTER POPULATION
520,000
GREATER MANCHESTER POPULATION
2,735,000
We don’t just offer an auditorium, we offer the full package for our customers and our partners. Marketing campaigns are devised around each visiting production and tailored to their audience.
We know what our audience read, listen to, watch and follow and this knowledge helped to sell 450,000 tickets last year.
Having surveyed our audiences for several years we know how they spend their leisure time and we can segment them into categories of populist, classical and contemporary work. This ensures we maximise attendance and our marketing ROI. This insider knowledge means that we know not only how to reach our existing audiences but other potential audiences like them across the North West.
32%
travel between 4 to 10 miles
26%
travel between 11 to 20 miles
20%
The Lowry hosts numerous red carpet press nights in our fabulous Pier Eight Restaurant and Bars which are attended by celebrities from stage and screen.
travel more than 30 miles
14%
travel between 20 to 30 miles
This helps us develop valuable and long-lasting relationships with other organisations including Manchester City FC, Chester Racecourse, intu Trafford Centre, Southport Flower Show and many more.
We have access to a vast network of North West theatre reviewers and critics. Our marketing team have organised hundreds of launch events and promotional appearances at dozens of locations including trams, race courses, flower shows and stately homes.
PLAYED TO
sell out PERFORMANCES. 2
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8%
travel within 3 miles THE LOWRY
3
WHAT COULD WE DO FOR YOUR PRODUCTION?
DELIVERING ON MARKETING AND PR Not only can our dedicated marketing and communications team find new audiences for new productions such as War Horse and The Girls, but we also achieve incredible results when shows return to the region (examples being sell‑out shows such as Wicked and Shrek).
We generated £1m worth of media coverage for the world premiere of The Girls.
We actively look for new and exciting promotional and press opportunities for your production whether it is the very first time it has been seen or is part of a national tour. Groups business represents a significant proportion of our overall audiences and we regularly achieve up to 20% Groups sales for a show. We attract and maintain excellent group relationships through attendance at fairs and trade shows and through the staging of groups events and showcases. Our dedicated Groups Co-ordinator keeps in touch with key contacts and monitors sales on a daily basis.
Located in the heart of MediaCityUK, our neighbours include BBC Breakfast, BBC NorthWest Tonight, ITV Granada Reports and BBC Radio 5 Live. The Lowry team are constantly seeking out and finding through new audiences through exhibiting at popular consumer events such as the Ideal Home Show, 50+ and Lifestyle Shows, Manchester Mela, Southport Flower Show and Chester Races.
Because of our excellent relationships with external organisations, we turned MediaCityUK green when Wicked visited in 2015, commissioned a Shrek Swamp Garden at Southport Flower Show, took War Horse Joey to Chester Races and turned Manchester Central Library into a Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Treasure Trail.
The Lowry is the perfect setting for any press or groups event with dedicated technical staff, AV and staging facilities, on-site catering and stunning meeting rooms for up to 160 people. We produce post-show publicity and marketing reports for every show highlighting the successful elements of the campaign and the value of your production to the local economy. 4
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DELIVERING ON FACILITIES
DELIVERING ON ACCESS
1,697
We are Attitude is Everything Silver Award Holders
Modern, air-conditioned 1,697 capacity auditorium with plenty of leg room and not a bad seat in the house.
Spacious, contemporary FOH spaces including bars, coffee shop and brand new Pier Eight Restaurant and Bar.
14m
Flat stage – one of the largest in England outside London with a 14m pros opening and 16m stage depth. Sprung floor suitable for dance with load capacity of 7.5N/sq.m plus point loads of 10kN @1.5m centres over 300mm x 300mm square area.
Excellent car parking facilities. Full height flying with 79 bars. Level get in. Access for up to three trailers at once. Scene dock area 14m x 14m. 10.5m high fitted with a sprung floor which can be used as a rehearsal space or technical storage and preparation area.
146
Comfortable dressing room accommodation for up to 146 people with backstage catering.
100
We are an accessible venue with audio description, BSL, stage text and relaxed performances all part of our regular programme.
Our dressing room and general building access is DDA compliant.
Three adjustable pit sizes holding up to 100 musicians. Studio spaces available for rehearsals.
Large scale outdoor events are staged regularly by partners such as Quays Culture to animate the Quays and create a real sense of occasion around the whole area. Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester United FC, IWM North and The University of Salford are just some of our famous neighbours.
Our stalls are wheelchair accessible as are our rear circle boxes.
We have a dedicated rigging and cable position for Stage Text System and in-house DVD recording for archive; audio description & signer advanced planning. Iconic waterfront location in the heart of MediaCityUK home to the BBC and ITV.
Up to date lighting and sound equipment.
DELIVERING ON LOCATION & TRANSPORT
‘Salford, it has been reported, is the fastest growing population and economy outside London, with growth of 8pc over the next five to ten years…That is China levels of growth. It’s staggering in the context of a UK economy’ – Mayor of Salford, 2015. Salford, and the Quays, are part of the Northern Powerhouse, an integral player in Greater Manchester’s ambitious growth and devolution agenda.
3.49 m
Visitor numbers to The Quays in 2014. 6
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DELIVERING ON DIGITAL
We have more twitter followers than any of our competitors with content that is exciting and highly engaging.
WHO ARE OUR AUDIENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
between 25-34 and 35-44
this gap has narrowed significantly since the start of the strategy.
26% Male
60,000+
more than 1000 new followers join us every month.
73% Female
42% Male 58% Female
We encourage our producers to provide as much content as possible for their campaign such as interesting facts, figures, videos, images and we also offer the opportunity to ‘takeover’ our Instagram account to share background/ backstage insights to the performers placing them in a ‘real world’ context.
30,000+
more than 1000 new followers every month. 5,000+
followed by 300 new followers every month.
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DELIVERING ON REPUTATION
SUMMARY
Don’t just take our word for it - 90% of our audiences say they will return to the venue. Our average customer rating is 4.3 out of five stars.
The Lowry offers a better experience - our customer care and levels of comfort rate much higher than our competitor venues. We value your production and we offer a first class service delivered by an experienced team with talented personnel skilled in marketing, communications, technical, box office and service delivery. Our FOH facilities are second to none in the local area with spacious and modern restaurant, bar and foyer spaces ensuring that ticketholders benefit from the best possible overall experience.
million
WICKED Wicked was seen by an audience of 100,000 during a seven week run in 2015 with experts calculating its impact on the Greater Manchester economy at £5.8m.
“After almost two years of touring this spectacular production of Wicked across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, we are delighted to end where it all began, in Greater Manchester. Local audiences have been extraordinarily appreciative and we thank them, and the staff at The Lowry, for their generosity and passion for the show.” Wicked Executive Producer, Michael McCabe
million
WAR HORSE The National Theatre’s record-breaking run of War Horse at The Lowry was seen by more than 200k theatregoers over two runs in a twelve week period. Economists value the impact of the show on the Greater Manchester economy at £15.5m.
We are your best choice for Sales Audiences, Facilities Performer comfort Customer enjoyment Location.
Choose us. We will deliver.
“The Lowry and our amazing audiences in the North West are special to the National Theatre, and we have been overwhelmed by the positive response to War Horse. As the show moves on at the end of this week, I know that the company will take with them treasured memories of their time in Salford.” Managing Director of National Theatre Productions, Chris Harper
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WHAT NOW?
CONTACT
Talk to us - we would love to tell you more about our brilliant venue. Call us to ask for more information or to arrange a visit - we would love to give you a tour and discuss your next production.
Rachel Miller, Marketing Director 0161 876 2094 rachel.miller@thelowry.com
Steve Cowton, Head of Programming 0161 876 2034 steve.cowton@thelowry.com
thelowry.com @the_lowry TheLowrySalford Pier 8, Salford Quays, M50 3AZ