Louisville Ballet, the fifth oldest ballet company in the country, is a staple in the Louisville Arts community. The year after their 70th Anniversary, we were tasked with bringing The Season of Transcendence to life. A Season focused on transcending beyond the 70th Anniversary and the restrictions of Covid, we were able to explore themes of magic and fantasy in new ways.
The Challenge
More than 2 years post-Covid, the world was still reeling and performing arts across the country were trying to find their bearings. Audiences were ready to return to their “normal” lives, however they were becoming more choosy with how and where they spent their time and money–and Ballet companies everywhere were seeing sharp declines in their membership packages.
The Approach
Researching what other companies were seeing, as well as broad performing arts trends, we uncovered themes that hadn’t been explored before. Previous seasons had focused on selling season subscriptions, driving each person to multiple shows within the year. In this upcoming season, we knew a shift was needed and efforts must be focused on driving new people to Louisville Ballet and pushing individual performances depending on the audience it would appeal to most.
The visual identity for the Season of Transcendence is based on custom, whimsical illustrations that represent the themes of each performance. The icons come together in a lockup to create the visual anchor of the season on a dark black background. The creative for each show inverts the season colors using large fields of their unique bright color, the show icon, and photography to get a sense of what the show is about. Contrasting from previous seasons, this season focused on a cohesive look and feel for every show included in it. This provided a stronger connection between the shows and the overarching theme.
The Results
The season media plan delivered significant impressions throughout the life of the campaign. The expansion into new mediums grabbed the attention of fresh audiences and there was a significant lift in organic traffic to the website as well as online transactions. Additionally, the company experienced one of their strongest Nutcracker performances in its history.
