Theater helps with pimples
Cultural Marketing: Far from being the diva-like poster kids, these young actors are already giving Artistic Director Christoph Marthaler a reason to renew his contract with the Schauspielhaus.
Cultural marketing Anything but diva-like poster teenagers are already ensuring that director Christoph Marthaler has a reason to extend his contract with the Schauspielhaus, where an aircraft carrier is still waiting for its winner - the 200,000th theatergoer. Despite the unattained figure, the Publicis advertising campaign (WW 8/02) seems to have contributed to a change of heart among the public. At the end of March 2003, all three main stages reported a significant increase in occupancy rates: 59.1 (previous year: 46 %) in the Pfauen, 83.3 (73.2 %) in the Schiffbau-Halle and 65.2 percent (63.8 %) in the Box. Thanks to the witty subscription campaign, in which actors were transformed into discount products, the slump in subscriptions was partially offset.Audience cultivation fills the auditoriumsBarbara Higgs, Schauspielhaus spokeswoman, sees the reasons for the wave of popularity not only in the strong media partnerships with Tamedia, NZZ and others, but also in the direct communication with the audience, in the more intensive communication of the offers such as the new general subscription or in events such as that of the Swiss Workers' Relief Organization with Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey.
The most important thing, however, is the attractive program of the season, which has started with two new productions of classics that have been very well received by critics and audiences. Together with the Marthaler production "Groundings", which was also celebrated at the recently concluded Berlin Theatertreffen, "it was simply a good season", comments Higgs. This, in turn, may also have been responsible for the more heterogeneous and younger audience.
Just at the end of the season, the creative team led by CD duo Uwe Schlupp and Markus Gut placed a teen subscription on Zurich billboards and on local TV. "We investigated the question: How do you prepare young people on the threshold of adulthood for life?" says Gut, explaining the idea "with a lot of heart and irony". The answer in the campaign, which was conceived as a teaser: with a Schauspielhaus subscription. Where else are the big questions of life dealt with so vividly in such a small space? The unadorned aesthetics of the campaign and the sober expression of adolescent youths are intended to trigger emotions in all age groups. Just like the theatrical spot, in which a young, clumsy hot dog vendor, with subtle eroticism, can't get the sausage into the bun that the dolled-up customer is annoyedly waiting for.
Ready for life: Schauspielhaus campaign by Publicis. Fidgety sausage doesn't want to eat the hot dog: teenager in the TV commercial for the Schauspielhaus Zurich.
Luca Aloisi
The most important thing, however, is the attractive program of the season, which has started with two new productions of classics that have been very well received by critics and audiences. Together with the Marthaler production "Groundings", which was also celebrated at the recently concluded Berlin Theatertreffen, "it was simply a good season", comments Higgs. This, in turn, may also have been responsible for the more heterogeneous and younger audience.
Just at the end of the season, the creative team led by CD duo Uwe Schlupp and Markus Gut placed a teen subscription on Zurich billboards and on local TV. "We investigated the question: How do you prepare young people on the threshold of adulthood for life?" says Gut, explaining the idea "with a lot of heart and irony". The answer in the campaign, which was conceived as a teaser: with a Schauspielhaus subscription. Where else are the big questions of life dealt with so vividly in such a small space? The unadorned aesthetics of the campaign and the sober expression of adolescent youths are intended to trigger emotions in all age groups. Just like the theatrical spot, in which a young, clumsy hot dog vendor, with subtle eroticism, can't get the sausage into the bun that the dolled-up customer is annoyedly waiting for.
Ready for life: Schauspielhaus campaign by Publicis. Fidgety sausage doesn't want to eat the hot dog: teenager in the TV commercial for the Schauspielhaus Zurich.
Luca Aloisi
