Stellar Network » marketing

How do you put on a show about love at “London’s home of fearless new writing” ?

sam — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:17:16 +0000

A Valentine’s special from new Stellar member Tom Powis

Think politics, disorder, issues with a capital I. In fact, capitalize the whole bloody word. 503 seems synonymous with topical debate, 2009’s This Much Is True, for example. But can the fearless 503 show its lighter side?

Their new show Peter & Vandy, on which I have just been appointed Assistant Producer, certainly leans to the happier side of the human condition. About as close as 503 will ever come to RomCom, Jay DiPietro’s play is receiving its British premiere after huge success in New York.

It might seem like a safe bet, nice and comfortable and easy. But it goes against that age old axiom (which I may have just made up) that topical issues sell. This certainly seems to work best at 503 and with social/political/cultural “problems” come a whole host of potential marketing strategies. But how do you market a play where two people fall in love, then fall out of love and back in love and then back out of love, etc? This isn’t a deadly shooting on the underground or the conflicts in a gritty south London prison. This is worse. In Britain, Love and Happiness doesn’t sell.

But it’s my job to make it sell. This is going to be tough. I’ll hopefully be back with positive progress soon. Check it out at www.theatre503.com. Maybe I’ll just ask the writer to have a little rewrite. Perhaps Vandy is driven to psychosis after discovering Peter, now a premiership footballer, has been cheating and her brand new Toyota has been recalled?

Back of the net.

Skillset Business Skills Seminars

admin — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:53:51 +0000

Today marked the final installment of our Business Skills Seminars for Film Professionals, delivered with the kind and invaluable support of Skillset, and in association with the Film Business Academy at Cass Business School.

A huge thank you to Skillset, and all our speakers and attendees both.

And in case you couldn’t make it, all the presentations delivered, which looked at Legal, Financial, Marketing and Strategy Issues respectively are now available for Stellar members to view in the Community portion of the site, under Discussions, then Resources.

Trendwatching: Consumer Trends for 2009

admin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:51:17 +0000

The creative industries could be accused of not paying much (enough?) attention to the broader trends that inspire and motivate big business. That said, those of you who attended the Skillset supported Marketing Seminar – and likely most of you that didn’t – will understand the importance of knowing how consumers are behaving.

Trendwatching is an amazing resource for tapping into the ongoing research being done in this area. Though much of their content is premium and costs the big £££, they’ve just announced their annual prediction of top consumer trends for next year.

They include: 1) Nichetributes 2) Luxyoury 3) Feedback 3.0 4) ECOngierge 5) Mapmania AND 6) Happy Ending

Relevant food for thought for thouse of you launching new creative projects, products or businesses next year.

For full information see: trendwatching.com