A: So I read the other day that the average audience attendance at a performance at Edinburgh Fringe was 4… Great for the audience member who likes to put their bag on the chair and maybe take their shoes off to spread out but not so good for the Producer sat on the backrow crying into their notepad!
As a Producer you need to know what activity your marketing agency is creating and checking they are doing it. This can be difficult if you’re a London based producer and your show is touring Scotland. The general rule is “if your marketing spend is getting a return with ticket sales, keep investing in it”. On West End shows you should be able to find extra money in your contingency (remember the Q&A on contingency?) to cover these unforeseen costs.
If you don’t have much to spend on marketing you should be thinking of creative ways to get more people in. On The Royal Mile for instance you might want to practice your USP into 12seconds, getting the face to face contact with someone to convince them to see your show will be a million times better than just handing them a flyer. If you can perform a snippet of the show or get your band to play some music from the show – do it! Keep it targeted by exit flying another show which people have enjoyed or might be similar to your show. None of this throwing leaflets out like you’re standing on the top of the Hollywood sign making it rain with business cards “Call Me, Call Me, Call Me!”. Social media is also your best free friend to use (but not abuse) when you have no more money left to spend promoting your show #MustSee #HotTicket #Theatre #Fringe etc. Competitions, stories in the press (try to keep them clean!), inviting bloggers in return for a review are all useful ways of getting the word out there. It’s just another example as your role of the producer never ends – Good Luck!
If you think Producing might be an option for you in the future why not book onto our 1 day Introduction to Producing on Tuesday 14th November at Birmingham Hippodrome? Click HERE to book.