BBC Proms 2011

Founded in 1895 by Henry Wood, The Proms is the biggest music festival of its kind, welcoming international performers alongside the cream of the British music scene. The scope of the BBC Proms has increased enormously over the years but the aims remain unchanged: to present a diverse range of music, performed to the highest standards, to the widest possible audience.

BBC Proms 2011 brochure

In marketing terms this campaign presents us with some exciting challenges, as The BBC Proms seeks to attract the wider general public, who wouldn’t normally think of themselves as classical music fans, as well dedicated classical aficionados.

One of the ways the Proms aims to achieve this is through events such as Out and About at Westfield – a full-scale prom, in the shopping centre, offering a sneak preview of the 2012 season. Impact’s campaign for this event included Promotions Team activity to distribute leaflets at tube stations close to Westfield; door-to-door distribution, mapped using Experian’s MOSAIC classification system to pinpoint key demographics within one mile of Westfield and the Royal Albert Hall as well as a targeted poster campaign.

Another strand of the festival which provided excellent outreach opportunities was Families Events & Proms Plus. The programme included family-friendly insights, introductions to the music, exploration of key works and even the chance to sing alongside professionals. Impact devised a campaign specifically targeting families and young people which included our new Families Plus network (which focuses on affluent families across the capital) and offered our perennially popular InfoBags allowing print to be distributed at key events and locations during the summer holidays.

In addition to this we also distributed over 50,000 Proms Mini-Guides featuring full listings for the Festival and 55,000 leaflets for Proms in the Park which culminates in a BBC Big Screen link-up to the Royal Albert Hall and a spectacular firework finale. For these events Impact combined a range of services including Print Display across Kent and Sussex, ‘Word of Mouth’ (ambassador services), poster distribution and street team activity.

The campaign was a great success and we received excellent feedback from the BBC Proms for our efforts. Most importantly, initial figures suggest this was one of the best Proms ever in terms of ticket sales and that despite the inclement weather, Proms in the Park exceeded all expectations and smashed its box-office target!

For more information on our range of marketing services please email tom@impactideas.co.uk or call 020 7729 5978 today!