SOR 021: Marketing Observations At Fringe

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A Fringe festival is an interesting microcosm of the theatre world. Everything happens on a compressed timeline in a restricted geographic area, and you can gain some interesting insights by observing how people behave. I’m recording and publishing this episode smack in the middle of the 2013 IndyFringe Festival, and this is what I’ve observed.

Good marketing requires knowing what your audience is looking for and creating an offer that caters to that need. A Fringe audience wants to see something they couldn’t see elsewhere. Assuming you deliver that on stage, how do you convey what is completely original about your show?

In this episode:

• people are more open to marketing – since so many people don’t know what shows they are going to see during certain spots, they are interested in learning more about them
• busking is difficult – although there does appear to be a science if you have the disposition for it
• word of mouth happens faster – more conversations happen as people bounce from show-to-show trying to learn more about what other people have seen
• audiences are more and less forgiving – they are more forgiving of shows that look rough and less forgiving of shows that don’t do something unique
• getting your fans to see other shows is critical – word of mouth spreads by asking people what other shows they’ve seen, and you need your fans circulating

Items mentioned:

• The Open Book Project – a new project where you look over my shoulder as I promote a theatre production in real time
• SOR 007: Marketing at a Fringe Festival (Part 1 of 2) – a previous podcast episode taken from a workshop I gave on specific marketing tactics and approaches for a fringe festival

Have a question?

Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear my thoughts on? Leave me a voicemail.

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