The Official Adam Pascal Love Thread, Part 12 — Page 109

Not enough advertising. I would certainly think it would be sold out if it were being really promoted!

Unfortunately, I don't think that's really the case. I don't really have an opinion one way or the other about the advertising they've done, other than to say that more advertisements can practically never hurt, but a huge majority of the general public have no idea who Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal are, and subtitling the advertisement with "original Rent stars" isn't going to have too much of an impact on those who didn't know who they were in the first place. Of course, I think it's a good idea to advertise that they're returning in order to incite a response from those who do have a general idea who they are and/or those who are, at this point in their lives, casual Rent fans, but they could stick an "Adam and Anthony are returning!" billboard in the middle of Times Square and (I think) the impact would still be limited.

I bought tickets immediately after the announcement because I wanted the best possible seats, not because I think that it's going to be a complete sell-out crowd every single night (of course, they're welcome to prove me wrong!) a la Wicked. I actually think promoting Tamyra Gray and her connection to American Idol more heavily than Adam and Anthony's return is probably a good marketing strategy, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's the route they take.

Updated On: 6/23/07 at 03:18 PM

I think advertisting them as original cast members can probably have a lot of pull. I feel like people kind of... put originals casts, just in general, on a pedestal, in that "oh, wow they must be good" kind of way. I'd go so far as to say that Lea Salonga is more famous than Adam and Anthony, but she's by no means a household name, and I definitely remember hearing ads to the effect of "original star Lea Salonga returns" when she came back to Miss Saigon. I guess that to me, saying "original cast members" may be more important than saying their NAMES for general public advertisting purposes. Like, right now, on the posters, their names are in bigger letters than that they're OBC members. Flip it, and the impact might change.

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I figured the good orch seats would sell out for at least the weekend performances, I didn't have any worries about Mezz/rear orch as much. I have one set of def. tickets, and I will go a few more times, but I am not worried about securing tickets.

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Maybe I have too much faith, but I would hope that "original cast member" is a pretty self-explanatory phrase. And they SHOULD advertise that these two were in the film.

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And I would assume that... a lot of people just think that being in a movie makes you cool.

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Well, yes, I certainly think (and hope!) that anyone who is remotely familiar with Broadway would understand that phrase. I was referring more to people like my friend who has never seen a Broadway show before and wasn't even aware that things such as original and replacement casts exist. I don't think she's dumb enough to actually think that the same people play the same roles for 10 years, but she just hadn't given the whole idea any thought. Also, I'm not sure that the general public, even those not quite as clueless as my friend, has the same sense of respect and maybe even awe as those within the Broadway community when it comes to seeing an original cast member versus a replacement. Something like "stars of the film Rent" or advertising Gray's American Idol connection seems like it would have more of a pull to me. I'm certainly not advocating removing the attachment to the original cast from the show's advertising at all (why NOT make mention of it if you can?), but I feel like other taglines might be more effective. But again, I'm a college student, not an advertising executive, so I'm sure there's a lot going into all of the decisions of which I'm not aware - or at least I'd hope so (Company's advertising "campaign" makes me wonder sometimes!).

Speaking of Company, how many more times are you planning to go? I'd probably be camped out at the theatre by now.

Lexi - I have missed you around these parts!

Just a side note - I have never worked with Broadway advertising, but I did work in media/marketing/PR for a major company, and trust me sometimes the big guys have less of a clue than the average public, lol! There are core guidelines that will never go wrong in advertising, but to be as effective as possible, you really have to appeal to every sense of the potential customer, which in this case would be finding the right "words" to appeal to the public. I honestly have been very UN impressed with most of the broadway marketing campaigns I have seen lately.

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I should definitely mention that I completely agree with everyone who said that the movie connection could work simply because people think being in a movie is cool and most people usually attach some sort of clout to it. Anyone who saw the film and enjoyed it would probably be encouraged to see the show now (or again), and anyone who disliked the movie probably wouldn't want to see the show anyway, unfair of a judgment as that might be.

It kind of amazes me how companies can even get away with poor publicity on Broadway. As I understand it, there are only a few firms that specialize in Broadway-related publicity, so one would think that producers would stop hiring the companies who do less-than-stellar work. Then again, maybe everyone involved is delusional enough to believe that Company's publicity was actually somehow good enough, and I'm sure the publicity firm can only advertise within the producers' monetary limits. I think the same firm does the publicity for Legally Blonde, and I've seen posters placed around the sensors near the doors (I know this doesn't make sense - it's something you have to see) of Duane Reade stores. I have to guess that wasn't done for Company due to a lack of funds from the producers, as I hope that the publicity team wasn't just apathetic.

And this is the exact reason why I want to go into theatre PR. I've talked with several people from different firms in New York and been generally unimpressed. It makes me wonder why the same firm that's doing campaigns for Wicked and Legally Blonde could have done so little with Company. I understand that the budgets are much different, but come on. It's their job to make it work with what they have. More could have been done, but it doesn't matter now, so it's not worth arguing.

I did a phone interview with the person heading LB's campaign, and he stuttered to answer what I thought were simple questions, such as "what's the target audience?" I don't know. It kind of saddens me that this is what I have to look forward to getting into in the next few years, especially since there are so few options of firms to work in the industry.

Updated On: 6/23/07 at 03:57 PM

I know Em and I have spoken about this, but they are also just starting to touch on key CHEAP advertising mediums - the fans. Message boards, street teams, etc. I know we all hate Voices for Rent, but in all actuality it is kind of a REALLY good marketing tool (it just would have been more effective by starting a few years ago).

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Updated On: 6/23/07 at 04:00 PM

Hell, I actually applied to Disney's street team position lol. They pay pretty good $$, you get to see all disney shows for free at least once, and other benefits too. I don't think i would have ever actually taken the job, but I applied for fun.

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Very understandable, Lexi. yeah, he needs to blog or something to bait us along until he arrives. When do you think he will be back in NYC "rehearsing" for the show? He's been out for quite a while, I'm sure he needs a refresher course lol.

Advertising/PR is a very interesting field, but it can also be a very, hmmmm what is the right word lol, painstaking field. Similar to journalism I guess. You get to bring a project to life and sell it, but it also has very big downsides. I would definitely suggest at least trying it out once, because it really gives you another look that opens your eyes to a lot of things.

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I don't think they should have FOCUSED on this generation, but I also think they missed an enormous opportunity to capitalize on it, because this production has SO MUCH potential to speak to the college/twenty-something set. But, I don't think that would have saved the show, as much as it was a missed opportunity, because we are a a great way to generate word of mouth. I think the bigger problem was that the ad campaign just seemed to "be there" without having a target. It seemed like it was just floating around, aimed nowhere, rather than having much of a purpose or a set goal. It was very passive. I don't know how, exactly, but I do think there's enough in the show for people to latch onto that they COULD have advertised it better. It's such an easy show to connect with, and I have to believe there was a way to get more people interested. You have a classic score, an innovative director, and a pretty sexy cast. They just didn't make use of the tools.

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