To handle the marketing efforts for its upcoming season the National Ballet of Canada has chosen not one, not two, but six creative partners. As part of an initiative to entice first-time attendees to the ballet, five agencies and one advertising student group will create pro bono campaigns for the National Ballet.
GJP, Leo Burnett, Smith Roberts,John St., The George Partnership and a group of students from the faculty of advertising at OCAD have all signed on to create campaigns. Next month each agency will be assigned one of the season’s six ballets for which they’ll create a campaign. The National Ballet plans to release the first campaign in October, to promote the November premiere of In The Upper Room, the first production of the season.
The idea to have different agencies create a campaign for each show came from David Saffer, a member on the board of the National Ballet who also runs the Saffer Group, a strategy and marketing firm. Saffer and the rest of the National Ballet’s marketing committee used their contacts in the marketing industry to seek agencies for the project.
Kevin Garland, executive director of the National Ballet of Canada, said the agencies will help it target young urban professionals who may not have considered going to the ballet. She said many consumers think the ballet is “stuffy, highbrow entertainment,” and that hopefully the campaigns will help break that stigma.
An in-house marketing campaign for the full season started in February. Regular mail, web and print promotions for the National Ballet will continue throughout the year in addition to the six agency campaigns.
