Fringe Marketing Wrap Up

Some final thoughts about Fringe marketing from a full-time professional magician.

First, for those who are in the dark, the Boulder International Fringe Festival is a 12-day festival of live theater, circus art, performance art, spoken word, puppetry, music, dance, multi-media, film, visual art, storytelling, and yes…sometimes magic. Performers pay a fee to participate, and receive in return: a venue, support staff, and some marketing. After that, 100% of the ticket sales goes to the performer, so the onus is on the artist to sell tickets.

A brief story. Years ago, I was active in a Boulder, Colorado, community theater group. The group would produce 3 or 4 plays each year and I acted in some of the productions, stage managed others, and even sat behind the ticket counter at times. At show time, despite the consist high quality of our productions, the auditorium (more often then not) was mostly empty. And the House Manager and the Stage Manager would confer in the lobby, gazing out into the parking lot to see if any stragglers were forthcoming. And during the Winter months the following conversation would ensue:

SM: So…do you think we’ll get anymore people tonight?

HM: Well, it’s been snowing all evening, and no one wants to go out when the weather is bad.

SM: Yeah this bad weather has really kept people away from the theater. I guess everyone is staying at home tonight.

HM: It’s a pity, the show is quite good.

Of course if it were Spring or Summer, the conversation would go like this:

SM: So…do you think we’ll get anymore people tonight?

HM: Well, the weather’s so nice this evening, and no one wants be sitting in a dark theater when the weather is so nice.

SM: Yeah this good weather has really kept people away from the theater. I guess everyone is enjoying the pleasant weather tonight.

HM: It’s a pity, the show is quite good.

The point is this. There will ALWAYS be obstacles that will deter people from coming to your show. Your job as a salesperson is to make your show so compelling that it overcomes obstacles. Imagine your friend is be driving home from a hard day at the office, when he remembers that your performance is tonight. Will he (or she) say, “I’ve had a hard day at the office. I think I’ll just go home and relax and skip the performance.”? Or will he (or she) say, “I’ve had a hard day at the office. I think I’ll go the the Fringe Festival and relax and have some fun.”?

The difference will depend on your ability to sell your show.

Earlier I mentioned that you should premier your show before the Fringe so that you’re confident in your ability to deliver the goods. Your confidence will help convince your friends that they should see your show.

So you’ve spoken with everyone you know about the show. You’ve asked them to come, though few people have actually committed.

About 5 weeks prior to the show, I began my letter writing campaign. Just a brief note to remind people that the big day is approaching, and that I’d be very happy if they could attend. I include a postcard with the dates and times. (It’s likely that I already gave them a postcard in person, but I send them another one, just in case they’ve misplaced it.)

By the way, if anyone asks, “What night is the best night to attend?” I tell them to come opening night, but to be sure to reserve their tickets in advance. (I’ll explain why in a bit…)

Also, I didn’t give out very many comps. The oft cited theory is that if you give away free tickets, it will generate word-of-mouth buzz which will translate into greater attendance. In my experience, people are grateful for the free tickets, but it does little to boost future ticket sales. True, if you’ve only sold 10 tickets, you can then fill the house with comps and thus create the illusion of a sold-out performance, but I had set my sights higher — I wanted every show to genuinely sell-out.

About 3 weeks out, I wrote a press release and got my name in the paper. Don’t worry if you’re not picked up by any of the major papers, even a small town paper will give you a little visibility. And you’re going to leverage this moment of fame. When I got a newspaper to pick up my story, I began emailing all my friends with a link to the on-line edition and the article generated even more interest in my show.

About 1 week out, I sent out another email with a Mapquest link since many of my friends were coming up from Denver and would not be familiar with my Boulder venue. Also, I gave them tips on where they could find parking, and advised them again to reserve their tickets in advance.

Remember how I told everyone to come on opening night if they could? Well my opening night performance played to a Standing Room Only crowd. And the sell-out crowd gave me one more opportunity to remind people about the show. So I sent out an email that night to all my friends warning them that the show was a big hit, and that people were turned away at the door. I advised everyone to reserve their tickets now, or risk being denied the opportunity to attend.

And with that, I ceased marketing and turned my focus to giving great performances.

Well, it was hard work, but all my efforts paid off. Of my six performances at the Fringe Festival, four of them sold out, and I earned the 2007 Encore! Performance Award for highest attendance at my venue. Was able to turn a handsome profit too. I know there was a good deal of buzz throughout the Fringe community with people wondering how I got so many people to come to my show.

Well that’s how I did it.

[Update: June 27, 2008. I forgot to mention when writing my friends I would use phrases like, "It's a show your whole family will enjoy." Or, "Enjoy a night out with your friends or co-workers." I've had too many experiences of having a friend show up, by themselves, on closing night, and tell me after the performance, "I really enjoyed that. I'll have to tell my co-workers about the show." But, of course it's too late.

For some reason, when I invited them to come to the show, it never occurred that they might also bring their friends, co-workers, and/or family. So I decided that I would help plant the idea. Just a reminder that it's more fun to Fringe with a friend.]