Case Study
ARENA STAGE
American Prophet
ARENA STAGE
ABOUT THE CLIENT
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for America Theater is a flagship American theater located near The Wharf in Washington, D.C. As the largest company in the U.S. solely committed to American playwrights and plays, it is considered a national center dedicated to American voices and some of the best artists around the country. Arena Stage was the first professional regional theatre in the nation’s capital to welcome a racially integrated audience. It is also known for producing plays that explore themes of America’s history, challenges, diversity, and identity.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Marketing Strategy
Brand Strategy
Digital Marketing
Media Buying
CLIENT INDUSTRY
Entertainment
CHALLENGE
Arena Stage approached Gigawatt Group to help concept, launch, and manage an omnichannel campaign to drive ticket sales for the World Premiere of “American Prophet: Frederick Douglass in His Own Words”—a critically acclaimed musical by Charles Randolph Wright starring Cornelius Smith Jr.
SOLUTION
“The Best Nights in DC include Arena Stage”
Our awareness campaign set out to position Arena Stage an experience that begins hours before the start of the show, tapping into the burgeoning night scene at the nearby Wharf along DC’s Southwest Waterfront.
We proposed and executed a multi-channel campaign that amplified earned media opportunities and exposed new audiences to Arena Stage through regional content creators, paid media and organic social media.
We aligned the campaign kickoff with media night at the theater to capitalize on the opening night buzz, including broadcast, cable, radio, and paid digital media.
RESULTS
Word-of-mouth is now digital-first and attributable.
We were able to work hand-in-hand with regional influencers to deliver impressions that supported both brand awareness as well as ticket sales, achieving the show’s ambitious sales goal.
In collaboration with the Arena Stage in-house marketing team, we were able to deliver a campaign that made paid digital media feel organic, without excluding broadcast TV and radio.
“Gigawatt didn’t just identify and onboard multiple influencers whose content creation aligned with our content goals, but were a great fit for, and with, our target audience.”
