Spreading the news: How we do what we do best
With a 64 year history, Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) is one of Vancouver’s most iconic institutions. Since the 1940s, it has offered a wide variety of amazing shows ranging from classics such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream to contemporary favourites like this year’s features, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Singin’ in the Rain.
When we learned TUTS was looking for some assistance in spreading the news out about its upcoming season, we were excited at the opportunity to help. Our first PR challenge came last week: while we had some great visuals to pitch to TV media and a worthy story, we were missing a news hook. We needed something current and timely that would make the story relevant to television audiences. After advising the client that any new development could potentially be used as a hook, we learned TUTS had just had its lease renewed – not only for the whole year, but for the next decade. We saw an opportunity knocking. After an afternoon of solid pitching, we had generated interest among local print media and had several leads.
The next day, we moved quickly to get the word out to TV stations. We were convinced we had a solid story, and by offering stations the opportunity to film actors in rehearsal, we were able to provide strong visuals. That weekend, I was heading to Tofino when I received calls from two television outlets expressing interest. Co-ordinating the media opportunities from the hotel, we managed to nail down interviews with both stations. As there were two outlets covering the story, we wanted to ensure we offered each a unique story angle. We provided different spokespeople to the two stations, which resulted in two distinct stories.
As a result of our efforts, we generated an impressive amount of media coverage. We secured stories in the Vancouver Sun, Metro Vancouver, the Vancouver Courier, the Globe and Mail online and broadcast hits on CTV, CBC TV and News 1130. With a small PR investment, TUTS was able to reach tens of thousands of people multiple times over the course of a few days.
