INTell: Marketing A Troupe

Laughing All the Way to the Bank

Every improv group is attempting to market the same thing - a laugh. The road is not easy, but success is attainable.  Everyday, NYC troupes are getting noticed. Here are some marketing tips and tricks, in no particular order, that many successful groups employ:   

1. Take it to the streets, with post cards and flyers.
2. Create a website.
3. Post pages on social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace.
4. Find a training school that will help you achieve your performance goals, even if you have to go through the program.
5. Word of mouth.
6. Pranks, gimmicks and videotape  

TAKING IT TO THE STREETS

The method most troupes seem to be using (whether they are aware of it or not) is guerilla marketing.  Guerilla marketing is a term (loosely based on the idea of guerilla warfare) that means taking your advertising to the streets and taking an in-your-face approach to notoriety.  Handing out fliers, doing random street corner shows, and giving your audience no option but to see what you are performing are some popular guerilla strategies.  

Tim Eberle of  The Magnet’s staple troupe, Lead McEnroe, is all too familiar with Guerilla tactics. 

IN: IS HANDING OUT POSTCARDS ON THE STREET REALLY EFFECTIVE ?           

TE:  We stand in front of schools or heavy traffic areas and hand out postcards to the latest show. We perform at the Magnet Theatre, which is down the street from F.I.T., so we go down by the school and hand postcards out to everyone because they are tangible and physical. People like that.  Postcards, albeit a good way to get your name seen, can be a tough sell without the proper approach because postcards will usually be thrown away or forgotten, but a website sticks.  We put our website on our postcards so that people have another way of knowing about us.

WEBSITES

IN: DOES YOUR WEBSITE GET YOUR NAME RECOGNIZED? 

TE: Our website is the strongest tool Lead McEnroe has, and other groups will be behind the curve if they do not have one.  It’s a one stop shop.  The Lead McEnroe website, www.leadmcenroe.com, offers fans everything they could possibly need.  The website offers directions and a link to The Magnet Theatre, a link to our Facebook page and e-mail, and information on our schedule and latest cover story.  The most important thing about a website is it’s professional look.  The better it looks, the more hits it will get and Lead’s site gets thousands of hits.

 

FACEBOOK, MYSPACE, TWITTER, ETC.

IN: HAVE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES HELPED YOU GET ATTENTION?

TE: Our Facebook page has also been one of our greatest assets.  Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace all help to boost a group’s following and facilitate marketing. Facebook is great because everyone has it. We can send e-mail blasts through it and really get our name out there. 

GET WITH THE PROGRAM

The Upright Citizen's Brigade in New York City showcases long form and short form improv at its theatre all the time; the catch, as with most training theaters, is that you must be a student. Melinda Coyne, a student at the school, says that the theatre does a great job at marketing their acts.

IN: WHAT EXACTLY DOES A THEATRE DO TO HELP MARKET A GROUP?

MC: You can make postcards and leave them in the theatre lobby, and your group is advertised on the theatre website.  Also, a sense of camaraderie is established within the theatre among the students and the house fills.

Tim Eberle also says the same of The Magnet, echoing Melinda’s sentiments about partnering with the right training school.

IN: DOES THE MAGNET HELP YOU WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR MARKETING? 

TE: We got our start as students at The Magnet.  We all performed on different house teams and eventually teamed up with each other and that’s how Lead McEnroe began.  While performing at the theatre, we begged friends and family to come to our shows, we handed out fliers, and started up our website.  When the Theatre saw that a great draw was being produced from the group we made our way to a split bill with another team. While continuing to pack the house after a one-month trial, Lead McEnroe landed a permanent spot at The Magnet, every Friday night at 8:30. 

WORD OF MOUTH

Even though it’s old fashioned, ye ole word of mouth technique still works incredibly well.

Tragic Improv's, "Epione," is an up and coming improv group that relies heavily on this age old maketing strategy. Their best “buzz generator” is their Secret Subway Show.  The group will spend one month on a particular character and then perform that character on a random NYC subway train. Unsuspecting riders as well as a few captivated “audience members” along for the ride, seem to be telling everyone about this innovative show. The word of mouth approach leads curious others to Epione’s website, which leads those same others to their shows and their classes. 

The Secret Subway Show is a fantastic gimmick that helps get people talking.  But exactly how far can a gimmick take you?  There’s one group out there that has gained major attention for their pranks, and they take their marketing seriously by documenting their stunts and placing them on their website.  Ever heard of  Improv Everywhere?

PRANKS, GIMMICKS, AND VIDEOTAPE

Improv Everywhere has been highlighted in the news for their April Fool’s prank.  The CB11 News in New York covered the group’s “Best Funeral Ever” prank on the channel’s April 1, evening newscast. The channel called the prank “sick” and said the joke had “gone too far.”  The premise of the joke was to “crash” an unsuspecting funeral and make it the best one ever.  The prank; however, was not on the family in mourning, but on the media.  The mourning family was also fake and part of the prank.  Once this information was learned, the video was pulled from CW’s website, and the story dropped.  The troupe epitomize proper guerilla marketing, and they use it to their advantage. 

Improv Everywhere, also known for their “Subway Art Gallery” prank and their “No Pants 2K9” subway ride have one of the most comprehensive websites.  At www.improveverywhere.com, the troupe, that records every prank, has links to their Facebook page (with an impressive 52,703 fans and growing), links to YouTube videos of their stunts, stunt outtakes and information on the troupe’s DVD, and the group’s first book that is being published.  What the group is doing is utilizing every possible Internet forum to have their work viewed.  They are using YouTube for videos, sites like Facebook for networking, and their own website for information and upcoming events

Getting noticed takes lots of time and lots of hard work, but everyone will tell you that adding fun into the recipe is essential.  UCB student Melinda Coyne advises, “Keep it fun. Make fliers, create Internet events, and put yourself out there as much as possible. The Internet makes it possible to reach millions of people with a minimal amount of work. So, film some sketches and create a website. But remember: you're marketing improv comedy, not taping the weather. Be creative, and never stop having fun with it; cut or edit accordingly.”  Putting all of these items together could lead any group to success and get the satisfaction that every group is searching for: the laugh.

Written By: Bobby Brower