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Wicked: the Musical’s Continued InternationalSuccess

Liesl ChapinPR and Civic Responsibility

In today’s television and movie driven society, many overlookeverything the theatre has to ofer. However, some live shows stillcaptre the hearts o! their adiences and critics and eventally reachinternational !ame. Critics have highly acclaimed the poplar "roadwaymsical Wicked since #$$%. &arketers !or the show created ni'epromotional techni'es to reach ot to the (rst adiences, and over )$years later, they contine to attract viewers to the show singnparalleled methods. *he show has now gone beyond "roadway andtravels nationally and internationally reaching even larger adiences.However, the show contines to sccess!lly attract these adiences

despite the challenges o! promoting otside o! +ew ork dring arecession.

Attracting Audiences: The Challenge *he goal !or any show is to sell ot and become a hit- Wicked’s goal isto remain a hit. "t in or society, people o!ten !orgo msicals andother theatrical per!ormances. *icket sales !or msicals decreased percent between #$$/ and #$)#.) *he Recession hit some people hardand prevented them !rom coming to the theater. Wicked had to andcontinally needs to prove to people that the show is worth theirmoney dring these times o! economic instability.

In addition, as with any traveling show, the marketers reali0ed thateach city has a ni'e adience and there are right ways and wrongways !or reaching ot to the cities’ adiences. 1or e2ample, one citymight have a very poplar mall while another city might not have avery big mall scene. 3sing in!ormation sch as this, the show createdmarketing techni'es to reach ot to its distinctive adiences.

4ith these two challenges in mind, Wicked’s marketers createdattention5grabbing promotional methods to attract each ni'eadience dring a time o! (nancial crisis.

Distinctive Promotions: How Wicked Continues toGain Audiences

) 6+ational 7ndowment !or the 8rts Presents Highlights !rom the #$)# 9rvey o!Pblic Participation in the 8rts,: National Endowment for the Arts.gov, 9ept. #;, #$)%,http<==arts.gov= >8pr. #, #$)?@.

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The Poster +o matter the location o! the show, Wickedannonced its arrival throghot the city throghits iconic poster. Residents saw the posters on the

theater where they can see the show, on bildings,and even on billboards. In !act, the show’s logocame !rom the poster. In the past and present,posters prove to be an efective marketingtechni'e o! many shows, inclding Wicked,becase they demonstrate key aspects o! theirrespective shows.# Wicked’s !amos poster depictsa green5colored witch and a witch dressed in white.7ven i! a potential adience member is naware o! what the show isabot, he or she relates the green witch back to

the classic book and

movie, The Wizard of Oz, and researches the show. &any, thogh,recogni0e the poster and rsh to prchasetickets or (nd ot when they can bytickets. Wicked’s recogni0able posterattracted and contines to spark !treadience members’ attentions regardless o! the town the show is traveling to.

Mall DisplaysIn towns containing poplar malls, the marketing team partners with

the shopping centers to create mall displays and promotions to treatshoppers to an 6A05some: e2perience. 1rom 1ebrary #/, #$)? throgh&arch #%, #$)?, shoppers at *he &all at Breen Hills in +ashville, *enn.e2perienced the world o! A0 throgh msem5like displays, and manyreceived special giveaways and ofers !rom retailers who partook inthis opportnity to help the show gain potential adiences throghotthe area be!ore the show opened in +ashville on 8pril ?.% &anyshoppers and !ans participated in the mall’s events and commentedwith pictres o! their e2periences on a post regarding the displays onWicked’s 1acebook page.? 

Hot Air Balloon

# 6&arketing or Play,: Theatrefolk, 9ept. #$)$, https<==www.theatre!olk.com >8pr.#, #$)?@.

% 6*he &all at Breen Hills Presents 4IC7D Promotions,: The Mall at Green illswe!site, 1eb. #$, #$)?, http<==www.shopgreenhills.com >8pr. #, #$)?@.

? *imeline Photos, 4IC7D the &sical’s 1acebook page, 1eb. #/, #$)?,http<==www.!acebook.com >8pr. #, #$)?@.

Wicked’s iconic posterhttp<==www.playbillstore.com=winocrbrwipo.html

Wicked’s Hot 8ir "alloon http<==www.broadway.com=b00=)E$E/?=go5over5the5rainbow5!or5charity5with5wickeds5hot5air5balloon=

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8s one o! Wicked’s most creative techni'es, its very own hot airballoon allowed passengers to 6De!y Bravity: in select cities in #$)%."y making a ta25dedctible donation o! F#G$ to "roadway Cares=7'ity1ights 8ID9 throgh Wicked, passengers cold y throgh the air in thehot air balloon with the show’s logo on it.G *he show spports its

commnity by accepting donations !or "roadway Cares to raise money!or 8ID9 research. *hose who knew that the show is the pre'el to TheWizard of Oz recogni0e the importance o! the hot air balloon in bothstories. Hot air balloons are essential to !ew, i! any, other msicals- it issomething that is ni'e to Wicked. *here!ore, it made sense to se ahot air balloon. &any shared photos and posts o! their ama0inge2periences o! 6De!ying Bravity: 61or Bood: on Wicked’s 1acebookpage.; 

Social Media8s mentioned earlier, Wicked has many social media otlets that

marketers se to reach ot and interact with adiences. It has a verystrong presence on 1acebook. *he page is (lled with statses andpictres o! diferent per!ormances and promotions throghot theworld, and many o! the ),))$,G;# people who have liked the pagecomment and post abot the show.E *he show also tili0es *witter byannoncing ticket sales and promotions to its !ollowers, and it sharesphotos so people can catch glimpses o! the per!ormances onInstagram./ 4ith the more recent otlet o! ine, si2 seconds is enoghtime to captre a portion o! a song, set, and costmes, bt it doesn’tgo against copyright laws or give away mch o! the plot. 9ocial mediahas become a hge way to reach adiences in today’s society.)$ 

 *hrogh the se o! social media, Wicked promoted and contines topromote itsel! by giving 6likers: and !ollowers in!ormation abot newsregarding the show and ticket sales and allowing !ans to give their!eedback.

The FansWicked wold never have been able to gain adiences throghot theworld i! it were not !or its loyal !ans. It is impossible to overlook whatword5o!5moth has done !or the show. 4hen !ans directly told their

G 6JDe!y Bravity’ 4hile Doing 9omething J1or Bood,’: W"#$E% the M&sical we!site,

n.d., http<==www.wickedthemsical.com >8pr. # #$)?@.; Photos o! 4IC7D the &sical, 4IC7D *he &sical’s 1acebook page, Act. )#,#$)%, http<==www.!acebook.com >8pr. #, #$)?@.

E 4IC7D the &sical’s 1acebook page, http<==www.!acebook.com >8pr. #, #$)?@.

/ 4IC7D the &sical’s *witter, http<==www.twitter.com >8pr. #, #$)?@.

 6; 9econds on "roadway< How ine Cold Revoltioni0e *heatre Promotion,:'().com, 8pr. )), #$)%, http<==www.pbs.org >8pr. #, #$)?@.

)$ 6)G 9ocial &edia *actics to Promote or 3pcoming *heatrical 9how,:'ro!logservice.com, 8g. %$, #$)), http<==problogservice.com >8pr. #, #$)?@.

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!riends or wore their Wicked merchandise, they reached ot to othersand tremendosly helped the show achieve the acclaim and !ans it hastoday.)) 8diences contine to !all in love with and spread the word o!the award5winning show to this day, and they will contine to in the!tre. *he !ans’ eforts immensely helped the show gain its

international sccess.

The Continued SuccessWicked contines to captivate adiences throghot the entire world.It remains one o! "roadway’s highest grossing shows and has anaverage adience capacity o! /.? percent.)# 7ven with the recenteconomic distrbance, many still attend the show believing that thegot their moneys’ worth. *hrogh its iconic poster, mall partnerships,hot air balloon, and social media presence, the show gained theattention o! many, and i! these creative techni'es contine, it willgain the attention o! many more. 8ll o! this work combined with the

immense help o! the !ans has made the show what it is today and willndobtedly lead the show to a continally prosperos !tre.

)) 6How J4icked’ Cast Its 9pell,: Wall )treet *o&rnal we!site, Act. ##, #$$G,http<==online.wsK.com >8pr. #, #$)?@.

)# 64icked on "roadway,: 'la+!ill a&lt, 8pr. #E, #$)?, http<==www.playbillvalt.com >8pr. #, #$)?@. 

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4orks Cited

"arnes, "rooks. How M4ickedM Cast Its 9pell. The Wall )treet *o&rnal. Dow

 Nones O Company, ## Act. #$$G. 4eb. # 8pr. #$)?.

http<==online.wsK.com=news=articles=9"))#?$%/?;)/E;?)%Q.

"ohan, 8manda, and Daniel ahab. ; 9econds on "roadway< How ine Cold

Revoltioni0e *heater Promotion. '().org. P"9, )) 8pr. #$)%. 4eb. $/

&ar. #$)?. http<==www.pbs.org=mediashi!t=#$)%=$?=;5seconds5on5

broadway5how5vine5cold5revoltioni0e5theater5promotion)$)=Q.

Deckers, 7rik. )G 9ocial &edia *actics to Promote or 3pcoming *heatrical

9how. 4eb log post. 'ro(log)ervice.com. Pro!essional "log 9ervice,

LLC, %$ 8g. #$)). 4eb. / &ar. #$)?.

http<==problogservice.com=#$))=$/=%$=)G5social5media5tactics5to5

promote5yor5pcoming5theatrical5show=Q.

 *he &all at Breen Hills. The Mall at Green ills 'resents W"#$E%

'romotions. )ho-Greenills.com. *he &all at Breen Hills, #$ 1eb. #$)?.

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4eb. E &ar. #$)?. http<==www.shopgreenhills.com=news=#$)?5$#5

#$=themallatgreenhills presentswickedpromotionsQ.

+ational 7ndowment !or the 8rts Presents Highlights !rom the #$)# 9rvey

o! Pblic Participation in the 8rts. National Endowment for the

 Arts.gov . +ational 7ndowment !or the 8rts, #; 9ept. #$)%. 4eb. # 8pr.

#$)?. http<==arts.gov=news=#$)%=national5endowment5arts5presents5

highlights5#$)#5srvey5pblic5participation5artsQ.

Price, Lindsay. &arketing or Play. Theatreolk.com. *heatre!olk, 9ept.

#$)$. 4eb. $ &ar. #$)?.

https<==www.theatre!olk.com=spotlights=marketing5yor5playQ.

4IC7D Hot 8ir "alloon. 8dvertisement. WickedtheM&sical.com. 4IC7D *he

&sical, #$)%. 4eb. E &ar. #$)?.

http<==www.wickedthemsical.com=wicked5balloonQ.

4icked on "roadway. 'la+!ill a&lt . Playbill, #E 8pr. #$)?. 4eb. # 8pr.

#$)?. http<==www.playbillvalt.com=9how=Detail=))$#$=4ickedQ.

64IC7D the &sical.: ace!ook. 4eb. # 8pr. #$)?.

https<==www.!acebook.com= 4ickedthemsicalQ.

64IC7D the &sical.: Twitter. 4eb. # 8pr. #$)?. http<==www.twitter.com=

4IC7D&sicalQ.