Next to Normal and the marketing of other shows

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 10:07am

I've seen the logo. And the theater facade with the terribly unflattering, Chuck Close-esque photos. And the mailer with the same photos.

And now I've seen the commercials. With them pulling glass from in front of their faces. Like the Kodak (?) commercials where the people pull the photo paper from their faces.

I'm a fan of the show, so this isn't random b*tching.

The marketing for NEXT TO NORMAL, I feel, is almost as bad as reasons to be pretty.

This is the best they can do? I get the symbolism of the pulling the glass off, but those unfamiliar with the show will have no idea. And I can't imagine people passing by the Booth will be turned on by high-def photos of every line in Alice Ripley's face and Bobby Spencer's five o'clock shadow.

Just like how I wouldn't buy tickets to a show where the advertisment is somebody's fat-roll.

Now DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS - THERE is an enthralling tv spot (even if the logo sucks). You get hot just watching it. 9-TO-5, as well. Good looking women, one of whom has poofy blonde hair and a big rack. It'll sell based on that alone. GOD OF CARNAGE: 4 celebrities. Goes the SPEED-THE-PLOW route; their faces and the reviews. Perfect ad.

Your thoughts?

[singtopher]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 10:17am

I like the marketing for Reasons to be Pretty, but it seems like its misleading. Now I haven't seen the show, but from what I've read I just don't get why. I thought it would be about feeling comfortable in one's skin.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 10:21am

I could be argued it's about feeling comfortable in one's skin.

As for Next to Normal - I feel like the whole tag line and logo are misleading. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but it makes it seem like the show is about some musical family like the Sound of Music. It's not. It's about a women with a mental illness. But I guess that's a tough sell. I saw the high-def photos yesterday when I was walking by to go see the Toxic Avenger, and I'm not sure how I think. Like it's "cool," but it doesn't do much to sell the show. They should have put little tag lines below each picture like "the superboy" or "the invisible girl" or something to tie it back into the show instead of just putting up some unflattering headshots.

[TheBoyDownstairs]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 10:39am

The only thing I hate about the Next To Normal marketing is the awful tagline. HATE IT.

But I just dont know how you can market this show effectively, they are certainly trying.

The commercials with them having photos over their faces and removing them (I'm not sure why you think its glass over their faces) are visually interesting and they make sense knowing what the show is about, but I dont know how effective they will be.

I dont think they are doing a bad job per se, its just not an easy show to market. Word of mouth and reviews are going to have to be the main seller.

[Craww]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 10:46am

I hate the marquee/playbill art. Love the style of the promo pictures and videos. The starkness and unsettling manic cheer and unease.

I understand how that's a tough sell to some people, but I don't think they're doing an overall poor job with a show this tough to market. Then again, I don't think they struck upon the perfect combination of idea and execution. It's possible that by not hitting it out of the park, that's as good as failure.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 10:47am

I agree 110%. NEXT TO NORMAL's marketing campaign is not intense enough (the show needs to be on billboards in Times Square, etc) and it's pretty terribly designed.

I mean, I loved the commercials and like the poster but that's because I have seen the show and have been following it for years. But Jane and Joe from West Virginia need to turn the TV on in their hotel rooms in the city during their trip, see the commercial, and want to buy a ticket.

That's just not going to happen with the commercials and posters for the show. The marketing campaign needs to be totally retooled, but the show itself is a hard sell. The marketing team has an extreme uphill climb ahead of them still.

SPRING AWAKENING also had a rough time with the marketing campaign at the beginning as well but then got it just right. Posters of Wendla and Melchior on top of each other with his hand on the side of her leg? Moritz with a microphone stand rocking out? Highlighting the youth and sex and rock music of the show? Perfect.

NEXT TO NORMAL's marketing campaign needs to be totally retooled. It's a risky campaign but during this recession, risk is riskier than ever. And I really don't think it'll pay off. No one's going to be turned on by the outside of the theater, the poster, or the commercial. It's just the truth.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 10:52am

My friend saw the commercial and said it looks like an ad for a new TV show...

I'm glad that the producers of NEXT TO NORMAL are at least trying to do some marketing (STORY OF MY LIFE and 13 did practically none), but the ads need to be effective!

[TheBoyDownstairs]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 10:55am

I definitely wish they were more effective, but how do you get the subject matter of the show across in an appealing way that makes people want to see it? I've yet to be able to think of a way or read an idea that really did it for me.

I still think word of mouth and reviews will be the best advertising the show will be able to get.

[yay_gerb]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 10:59am

i actually think the close ups of their faces on the exit doors of the theater are really good. huge faces in complete detail? everyone walking past the theater will definitely be curious and that creates a buzz. from there hopefully people try to find out who those people are and what the show's about. i do think the marquee is a little dull tho. i like it, but it's not going to grab too much of your attention. they definitely should step it up. and i agree about reasons' marketing. i think they're trying too hard to grab the public's attention therefore turning them off to the advertisements. marketing can make or break you sometimes. a cool billboard in times square can sell tickets if it's done properly.

[Craww]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 11:00am

...I still can't help but think that hiring a talented graphic designer for the show's main art would have been a good start. But Broadway has problems with that nearly as bad as direct to DVD movies, so I guess I shouldn't harp.

[jake6970]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 11:45am

I like it too. It's pretty hard to walk by 6 huge people staring right at you without looking, so that at least creates buzz for people walking on the street.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 11:47am

The commercials are on TV A LOT. Sometimes 2 times per commercial break.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 11:52am

Really? I haven't seen them yet on T.V.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 11:53am

I've seen them like everyday this week, lol. On ABC and FOX.

[TheBoyDownstairs]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 11:54am

I've seen them quite a bit on NY1, which I only watch for about 10 mins in the morning, but I've seen probably at least 2 of them in that 10 minute span.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 12:01pm

I know they've been airing at least a couple of times during Dr. Phil. (Don't judge...) I put The Doctors back on the DVR to forward through the show and see the commercials. That's CBS. Seems NBC is the only broadcast station I haven't heard that people have seen them on. A friend of a friend saw them on Comedy Central the other night.

[bwaygal1]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 12:22pm

I did see it on NBC during the Today Show-at least twice during the 30 minutes I was watching.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 12:27pm

^ Cool! I only saw God of Carnage a couple of times EVERY break.

[legally_popular]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 12:56pm

I haven't seen any commercials for Next to Normal yet. To be honest, I really dislike the promos, the big faces in front of the theater, and the mailer they sent a few weeks ago. Luckily, I'm already a fan of the show from 2nd Stage so I already know what it's about and am planning on seeing it on Broadway anyway. If I didn't already know about the show, I think I would be put off by the ads. I emailed the promos (youtube videos) to a bunch of family and friends that I want to go to the show with, and they all had like "WTF?" reactions and didn't like them.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/5/09 at 12:05am

I just saw two commercials in a row on NBC...one with "I'm Alive" in the background, and the other with "It's Just Another Day."

Both commercials were absolutely horrendous, have nothing to do with the show, and will probably not sell a single ticket.

I wish the producers of N2N would at least try to do a better job of marketing their show, but as of right now, they are failing miserably.

[GIZMO2]

Posted: 4/5/09 at 12:09am

What stations in the New York area play the most commercials for Broadway? NY1?

And what time do you see them the most?

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 4/5/09 at 12:15am

They were giving post cards out to it at TKTS today (it was also up there for 50% for the matinee). They're trying, but they really need a good synopsis. My dad asked me what it was about and I couldn't really tell him.

Also, the person giving the cards out needs to say something better than "An original musical, not with the songs of ABBA, it's original." That made me laugh, and isn't going to get tourists to see it. I sold it better to my dad then the guy with the post cards did, and I know just about nothing about the show.

Updated On: 4/5/09 at 12:15 AM

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/5/09 at 12:19am

Gizmo, I saw two commercials for N2N and a commercial for DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS on NBC tonight during Saturday Night Live. I don't normally watch commercials though since I DVR everything, but I don't know if these commercials would be playing on NY1. Can anyone else comment on this?

WishingOnlyWounds2, well at least they are giving out postcards...that's a start...and I agree that they need a good synopsis. The "this family is about to face the music" tagline really needs to go. Too bad it is already prominently displayed at the top of the window card...

[scott68]

Posted: 4/5/09 at 12:32am

I've been seeing the commercials (paired, as WithoutaTrace mentioned) all the time on the local stations, and I have to say, I think they're terrible. I haven't seen the show, and don't know anything about it except having a theoretical copy of Feeling Electric that totally doesn't exist, of course, but the moving panes over the faces don't appeal to me at all, and while the music seems fine to me, it doesn't make me want to see the show.

The theater doors, however, I actually really like. I think the faces are striking, especially in how the giant versions of them expose all the little flaws, down to the hair follicles.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 4/5/09 at 12:40am

The (terrible) spots were just on during SNL.