Shubert’s marketing team has been quietly working behind the scenes to keep customers informed and engaged during the pandemic. We decided early on that while we can’t actively promote sales during the shutdown, it was our responsibility to use our reach to amplify messaging from the Broadway community and keep ticket buyers “warmed up” and ready to come back.
With limited staff and no performances in sight, the first job was to communicate with customers. Shubert Marketing is just a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to informing customers about suspended, canceled, and shifted performances, but we work with the Shubert Ticketing, Telecharge, and Broadway Inbound teams to ensure that everyone is getting accurate info about their tickets.
Then we needed to restructure our email marketing program. Paid email advertising from shows went away immediately, so we needed to rethink our newsletters. According to Todd Rappaport, Director of Marketing, “We threw out every rule about promoting shows we sell and moved to include fun, engaging content that would keep people talking about Broadway. After the murder of George Floyd, we also wanted to make sure that our messaging was socially responsible and supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Social media followed the same new guidelines, which was a freeing experience. Taking content from shows, the Broadway League, NYC & Company, and partner sites like Playbill.com, we were able to have fun and share much more than before.
For Telecharge and Broadway Inbound, we had been producing our own content for a while, so we scrambled and started the “Upstairs at Sardi’s (at Home)” video series, where we interview Broadway performers from home—not revolutionary, but the videos are fun to watch.
Although we can’t share exact numbers, our email open rates and social media likes have remained exceptionally high. People are engaging with the content, specifically because they feel like they’re not being marketed to. It keeps them connected to Broadway at a time when they’re desperate to get back and see a show.
We know it’s going to be a while longer before we’re back to selling tickets in a large-scale way. In the meantime, Shubert Marketing is working hard to keep potential ticket buyers at the ready—informed, entertained, and connected.
Follow @Telecharge, @BroadwayInbound, and @ShubertOrg to see what we’re sharing and be part of the conversation.