Advertising and Publicity Guide
Publicity is one of the most crucial aspects of producing - after all, if no one knows about your play, no one's going to see it. Publicity is somewhat less tangible than other elements such as props, costumes, technical aspects, but it will most certainly be noticeable if no one comes to see the production. Be careful not to leave publicity until it's too late. Delegation is vital. Getting a publicist and designer on board will really help. You will also need to delegate certain jobs (such as fliering and postering) to the members of the cast and production team.
One of the first jobs is to assign a publicity budget. There's no point having amazing publicity ideas if your budget won't stretch that far! £150-£250 is standard.
Contractual Obligations
The Contract that exists between the visiting company (you) and the Pembroke Players contains certain publicity obligations. These are to ensure that your play receives the coverage it deserves, and to ensure that every effort is made to cover Pembroke Players' expenses.
Contractual obligations include:
- Posters and fliers prominently display Pembroke Players logo
- All publicity material is checked by our publicist before being sent to print
- Publicity must be sent to print two weeks before your opening night
- Programmes prominently display the Pembroke Players blurb
- Posters and fliers have been well distributed at least 5 days before your opening night
- Copies of all publicity material and programmes have been given to the Pembroke Players secretary
- Copies of any reviews you received have been given to the Pembroke Players Secretary
Contents:
Fliers and Posters
Design
You will probably work closely with the director on this in order to achieve a design that suits the production aesthetic and target audience. Many productions have a separate designer - particularly if the producer or publicist is not familiar with graphic design programmes such as Adobe Photoshop, Quark, Illustrator (although these are easily learnt).
All poster and Flier designs should include:
- Pembroke Players logo displayed prominently
- Title of play
- Author of play
- Venue
- Dates of performances
- Times of performances
- Pembroke Players website
- Details of how to purchase tickets (i.e.: on website, on door)
- Any other details required in your Performance Rights contract
Ensure that you use a font that is easy to read from a distance, especially for the title, venue and dates of the production.
In terms of colours, it is often cheaper to print in black and white (providing this suits the production). In printers' lingo, this is called 'one colour' instead of 'full colour'. You can, however, normally find some very good deals for full colour Fliers, so it is worth checking before you decide on a design.
The standard size for Fliers is A6, and for Posters A3, although this need not restrict you.
Quantity
As a rough guide, 75-150 posters, and 2500-5000 Fliers. It depends on you publicity strategy, but you should not need more than the upper bounds stated above. Posters and Fliers are usually laid out on the same plate, so you may have to order more posters to get enough Fliers. Different printers offer different deals, so check with them what will work out cheapest.
Printing
It is best to allow a week for printing. Some printers may be able to manage a much quicker turn over - RCS and Face Media offer a 2 or 3-day express service at a higher cost - but delays can occur unexpectedly.
The big rule is to get several quotations - they can vary a lot! When you approach a printer you will need to tell them:
- What is you want printing (i.e.: Fliers, posters) and what size
- Quantities
- Number of colours (i.e.: 'one colour' for black and white, or 'full colour')
- Type of card (the lower the gsm, the thinner the card. 300gsm is standard for Fliers)
You will need to ask what format they require the artwork (your design) in. Some will accept email attachments; other will prefer it on disk. Check whether they accept artwork saved as a JPEG, Photoshop Document, TIF, etc.
Some printers you may use are:
| Blueprint | 01223 472400 | Cambridge-based |
| Fieldfare | 01223 311334 | |
| Piggott Printers | 01223 404800 | |
| Red Flag | 01223 235700 | |
| Urban Design | 01702 601927 | |
| Big on print | 01382 204060 | |
| Century-23 | 08717 000080 | Based in Edinburgh, but good prices. Pembroke Players have an account with them. |
| RCS | www.rcs.plc.uk | Good for cheap Fliers |
| Face Media Group | www.facemediagroup.co.uk |
Distribution
It is best to poster 7-10 days before the production begins.
Think carefully about who your target audience are, and how you can attract their attention. The Pembroke Players Publicist can provide you with a list of Colleges, Libraries, Faculties and locations in town that have accepted posters in the past.
Fliering is best done on the days of the actual production, especially after a good review! Prioritize the colleges to which cast members belong (people support their friends) and Pembroke.
You will need to split these tasks between your cast and production team. Ensure that everybody does their bit in time. Being left with stacks of unused publicity is a waste of both money and rainforests.
Press
The Pembroke Players Committee will ensure that your production is included in the Varsity and TCS listings, and that, if possible, your show is reviewed. They might also arrange a photographer to come along, or ask you to provide a picture from the production to accompany publicity/reviews. You might also be asked to provide a blurb for the show.
It won't do any harm to check that the Committee are up to date on this!
Email and Facebook
These are the quickest and cheapest media for getting the word out. Potential resources to exploit include:
- The Pembroke Players list (ask the Pembroke Players Communications Contact)
- The Pembroke JP list (check who the current IT rep is on the JP website)
- Subject lists (but only if it is relevant. The English Faculty and Drama/English parts of the Education Faculty (at Homerton) are your best bets)
- Society lists (again, if relevant. Check the Societies Directory on the CUSU website)
Otherwise, ensure that your cast send press releases to all of their friends and acquaintances. Friends will often come along to support a fellow-actor, so make sure that the cast exploit this. Guilt tripping is vital! Offer to book tickets for groups of friends, etc etc.
Set up events and groups on Facebook, and upload pictures of the cast in rehearsals, etc. You can also buy advertising space on Facebook for around £20.
Word of Mouth
Don't under-estimate this. It's pretty self-explanatory.
Publicity Stunts
This is really up to you. Fliering and outdoor performances in costume are the classic stunts, but there are all sorts of possibilities. Go along to related events as a cast and draw attention to yourselves. Spread rumours about nudity onstage. Brainstorm different ideas! Create a buzz!
In Conclusion
Publicity is vital. It needs to be done thoroughly and systematically, with attention to time-scales. It can never hurt to have the publicity designed at a very early stage, as long as you don't distribute it too early (or too late!). The Cambridge drama scene is hideously competitive, so ensure that you production is noticed. Finally, ensure that everyone in the cast and production team do their bit. This done, achieving a good coverage should not be too difficult.