Theater District Open House

Theater District Houston promotes Houston’s premier cultural and entertainment center, the Theater District, by supporting the performing arts venues and resident companies in the cultural district. Theater District Houston is the main organizer of Theater District Open House, a free annual event in late August that kicks off the performing arts season. In 2015, the event was rebranded from an opportunity for art aficionados to secure subscriptions at a discount to an afternoon festival offering free performances, behind-the-scenes access, street activations and immersive cultural and educational experiences. The rebrand brought more diverse audiences, creating an opportunity for a more targeted marketing approach.

The Challenge

The 25th anniversary of the annual Theater District Open House in Houston was a perfect milestone to rethink strategy and refocus energies with relevant, timely messages and visuals, particularly as the 2017 event was canceled due to Hurricane Harvey. In addition, the same creative strategy—which was conceived to drive brand awareness—had been used for the previous three years. The community event needed fresh creative that would work in concert with audience segmentation opportunities as identified in CKP’s plan.

CAMPAIGN GOALS

Increase traffic to Theater District Open House website to drive event awareness, particularly in outlying zip codes
Increase Theater District Open House event attendance with qualified leads for participating nonprofit performing arts organizations

The CKP Approach

We identified audience personas to optimize engagement and diversify reach. Using attendance surveys, Google Analytics and social metrics, CKP created three consumer groups–arts lovers, experience seekers and families looking for free activities–and positioned brand to maximize connection. To emphasize the experiential nature of the event, CKP used a fresh concept to speak to attendees’ sensibilities alongside a strong call to action, “One free day. Find your seat.”

Integrated Marketing Strategy

Marketing and media audit, analysis and recommendations

Creative Services

Creative services including graphic design, copywriting, original photography and video

Advertising

Digital marketing and media buying services

Public Relations

Media relations communications, pitching and story placement

Meaningful Results

The social media strategy had overwhelmingly positive results not only within the platforms but in effective lead generation. Messages received on social platforms increased by 122 percent, reflected in metrics that showed how effective LinkedIn and Twitter can be in B2B social media campaigns. But more importantly, there was a steep improvement in visits to the landing page for commercial inventory, as well as to a page featuring special commercial vehicle offers tied to a social responsibility program important to Houston.

Video Storytelling

Highlights and Objectives

Increase in Attendance

Increase in Web Traffic

Increase in Awareness in Suburbs

What Our Clients Say

It is a joy to work with CKP. The CKP team comes to the table listening to our goals and objectives and provides the best counsel and approach to help achieve those. Their creativity and openness to brainstorm new ideas have positively impacted us, and we are so grateful.

Dana Edwards

United Fitness Partners, Planet Fitness, Senior Corporate Communications & PR Manager

CKP provided invaluable counsel in support of CenterPoint Energy’s strategic communications efforts. The team produced insightful creative assets for key initiatives, enabling us to manage stakeholder communications effectively and deliver impactful messages with ease and accuracy. CKP’s expertise and innovative approach significantly enhanced our engagement efforts. The bespoke solutions they delivered not only met but surpassed our expectations.

Jason M. Ryan

CenterPoint Energy, Executive Vice President of Regulatory Services & Government Affairs

CKP have been incredible partners for the Houston Symphony, allowing us to grow our reach and deepen our impact. They’ve helped us build our brand through strategic marketing and communications initiatives. Their expertise has guided the organization through how to layer key messages that meet immediate needs and goals in with evergreen brand campaigns that reinforce long-term strategic priorities. The CKP team works seamlessly with our in-house marketing and communications staff here at the Symphony. They leverage what we do to elevate collaborative outcomes, and they are an integral part of our marketing and communications operation. Because of the background of their own team members, they offer a depth of industry understanding that enables real clarity around what is possible, what are opportunities, and where the limitations might be. They have amplified our work and helped enable us to achieve our earned revenue and brand-related goals.

John Mangum

Houston Symphony, Executive Director and CEO

CKP provides crucial support to Da Camera in the areas of media relations, content marketing, advertising and social media, allowing us to make dramatic forward strides in those areas. It’s invaluable to our organization to be able to draw on the deep expertise of the CKP team. CKP is always responsive and focused on our needs.