Many businesses in the entertainment industry faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. With lockdowns hindering in-person events, live theatre productions found it difficult to fill seats, and faced issues with declining revenue.
Nonetheless, theatrical production company Global Creatures found a way to overcome these difficulties. This case study details how Global Creatures rose above the challenges brought by the pandemic, reviving revenue by promoting its landmark ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ production through its collaboration with Quantcast and ACMN.
The Challenge
Like all businesses in the theatre industry, Global Creatures suffered a blow during the COVID-19 pandemic. With government-mandated lockdowns and health measures in place, attendance in theatres decreased, subsequently reducing revenue from ticket and merchandise sales.
Relaxed regulations in 2022 saw more people being comfortable going to theatres, prompting Global Creatures to promote ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’, but the company also faced increasing competition from other theatre and events businesses in doing so.
The Objectives
Global Creatures aimed to target new audiences for the musical, going beyond reaching its existing fans. While reaching as many viewers as possible, the goal was to drive more conversions through ticket sales. Global Creatures also sought to improve cost-per-acquisition (CPA) and return-on-ad-spend (ROAS) for advertising efficiency.
The Solutions
To meet these objectives, Global Creatures worked with ACMN, its appointed media agency, and Quantcast, its adtech partner.
Its first step revolved around identifying the right audiences. Using Quantcast’s repository of live first-party audience dataset, Global Creatures and ACMN found differences in the behaviours of musical fans before and after the pandemic. These insights helped in the targeting strategy, directing ads and the right messaging to fans more likely to purchase tickets.
To provide the right messaging and ad creatives for audiences, Global Creatures harnessed pixel technology and AI. Quantcast implemented pixels on Global Creatures’ website, developing a stream of data that recognised its target audiences’ digital behavioural patterns in real-time. Quantcast then used AI to create brand-specific predictive models for each campaign. Through this strategy, Quantcast was able to determine the right audience to serve the ad, depending on their score and level of intent, providing efficiency.
Using conversion insights, Global Creatures optimised the campaign targeting in real-time, reaching both new prospects and site visitors who have dropped off to encourage more ticket bookings. It also delivered relevant ads to high-value customers to encourage more spend.
The Results
The strategy allowed Global Creatures to successfully reach new audiences for ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical,’ encouraging them to return to the theatres. Global Creatures was able to drive ticket sales with 55% more efficient CPA, exceeding its initial goal. Additionally, the company reached 348 times more return on ad spend, 71% better than its aim.
