How do you engage Hispanic audiences with live theater that takes place before, during, and long after Hispanic Heritage Month? Effectv and Broadway Across America have done just that in Boston. And the effort is expanding to other markets as well. Stacy Griffin, Effectv’s Northeast Sales Manager, shares the campaign details and the results so far.
What is Broadway Across America (BAA), and what is its objective?
It’s an organization that represents different theater and theater productions around the country. Specifically, I work with Broadway in Boston. We have other Effectv markets that work with other BAA venues and teams as well. Their focus is on diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and reaching multicultural audiences.
How did this relationship come about?
I’ve worked with them in Boston for about 20 years. The media landscape has changed quite significantly. They were heavy into broadcast and then, all of a sudden, it was Effectv, with our access to insights from Comcast aggregated data. Broadway has its own first-party data used to provide a detailed layer of information for campaigns, but they also have access to data through vendors like Ticketmaster. We started having conversations around data and focusing on specific audiences outside of age and gender.
What’s the focus of this campaign?
Reaching Hispanic theatergoers in the Boston market. In Boston, our capabilities allowed us to identify geographic areas where we can reach these diverse audiences with advertising. In Boston, we can look at the North Andover zone, the Lynn zone—areas with concentrated communities of Hispanic consumers.
What campaign elements did you recommend?
Theater is for everyone. That was the overall sentiment during our multiple meetings with BAA. Everyone is invited. Your race or ethnicity doesn’t matter. Because of that, we worked internally to help create a TV spot for them that highlights different ethnic groups, different ages, different abilities within the spot.
Tell us about the 30-second spot.
The first 20 seconds highlight the different audiences BAA encourages to attend the theater. The last 10 seconds is tagged with whatever show is in town. For example, we have Tina: The Tina Turner Musical in town currently. The next show after that will be Hairspray. The idea is that we have consistent messaging across all Effectv markets that talks about diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility with Broadway theater.
How long are the individual campaigns for shows?
Our campaigns run eight weeks at a time, depending on the show. Some may run six weeks. We’re making a concentrated effort to have BAA brand awareness on air pretty much 52 weeks a year.
What are the results in Boston?
Our efforts are ongoing, but when we looked at the Ticketmaster data provided by BAA we learned that, prior to the start of the pandemic in 2020, about 2% of their audience were Hispanic theatergoers. Now, we’ve grown Hispanic theatergoers by about 3%, so Hispanic audiences are closer to 5% of the theatergoers.
Will this spot play beyond Boston?
We just released the spot to Seattle and Houston, Albuquerque, and Salt Lake City. They are running the spot now.
Are you getting additional business from individual Boston-area theaters or productions?
Yes. Also, I have multiple markets around the country, some in areas not served by Effectv, that are reaching out to me. Some markets not served by BAA are reaching out to me as well. This initiative goes beyond BAA. This initiative is about becoming more representative of the cities Broadway shows are playing in.
In the future, will this campaign expand to the 30-second spots?
The sky is the limit and we are working beyond the commercial. We have access to Comcast’s Xfinity X1 platform, where we’re able to house content and encourage audiences to explore more of what makes Broadway so great. Next up, we’re working to invite non-profit institutions and the audiences they serve into the theater.
This content has been modified from the original article published here on MediaVillage.com.
