Broadway partnerships have become a wide and evolving aspect of the business. When thinking about who you want to partner with, there is much to consider. Do you choose a prominent, national and try to find a way to fit your show into their strategy? Or, do you work with brands who are better aligned with your show but may have smaller followings?
There are three key questions you can ask yourself to help guide you in the right direction.
1.Who does your brand speak to?
When agencies talk about demographics and target audiences, we usually focus on who is most likely to buy a ticket to your show the quickest. For a moment, throw that lens out the window.
When thinking about partnerships, I challenge you to think about who is most likely to engage with the subject matter of your show. Don’t think about who is throwing down their Amex for the Broadway version of this story, but who would engage with this story if it were a book, movie or Netflix series.
Do you have an idea in your head? That is the person who you should model your partnerships around. Your advertising needs to focus on those who are most likely to buy a ticket (and those people tend to be pretty similar across many Broadway shows), but partnerships should be focused on who connects to your piece. Broadway multi-ticket buyers will love and take advantage of the partnerships you build anyway, but focusing your partnerships around audience development and cultivation will create social buzz, contribute to building a strong online community and, ultimately, lead to future ticket sales.
