The agency was briefed by Northern Ballet to generate a buzz around its forthcoming dance adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which comes to Mayflower Theatre on May 28.
Proving once again that creativity is at the heart of all its campaigns, CG came up with the idea of holding a media event in the centre of Southampton to coincide with Shakespeare’s birthday. The media event would see ballet dancers, in full costume, pop up in the centre of the city and perform lifts and moments from the forthcoming show, giving the press and public a flavor of Shakespeare on the anniversary of both his birth and death.
CG’s award-winning PR team worked hard to entice local media to the event, which gave people a preview of the costumes from the show and took place in front of the backdrop of the historic Bargate monument.
The stunt surprised passers-by, who were treated to a spot of culture during their shopping trips. It also caught the attention of the media, with widespread coverage across the region.
Coverage included:
Lauren Godfrey, Communications Manager at Northern Ballet, said: “Working with Carswell Gould allowed us to benefit from their local expertise and relationships with the key press contacts in the region and we were delighted with the response on the day. Our diary was jam-packed full of interviews, photo shoots and TV filming and we still had requests coming in during the day. If the people of Southampton hadn’t heard of Northern Ballet before, they certainly have now!”
Laura Downton, Associate Partner at Carswell Gould, said: “Arts and culture is one of our passions as an agency so we loved sinking our teeth into this campaign.
“Having worked with some of the biggest theatres and production companies in the country, we know that a month before the curtain lifts on a production is one of the key purchasing times for tickets, which is why we planned our campaign around this date. How perfect that it tied in with Shakespeare’s birthday, giving us a brilliant news hook for our creative idea to bring the bard to the people.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs at Mayflower Theatre from May 28 to 31. Visit the website to book tickets.
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