In order to kick off the Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of Sunday in the Park with George, actors put on a surprise live performance at the Art Institute in Chicago. The play took place in front of a life-sized reimagining of George Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, from which was absent certain key elements from the original work of art
Call to Action
After the show, the cast and crew invited the audience to opt into a mobile campaign to
discover the secrets of the missing characters
Those customers who texted in received an MMS video message explaining how the missing characters had come to life in a play, as well as where to buy tickets to see the new show at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Measurement of Success
Eight million impressions in 24 hours
Broke an all-time record with the highest number of first-time guests in the history of theater
Show extended for an extra week due to the high demand for tickets
14% who opted in shared content on Facebook
17% who opted in chose to receive future messages from the Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Key Takeaways
This well-crafted campaign shows how to use MMS to create an exciting, active conversation that conveys a compelling message to customers
Particular kudos go to the use of timing and relevancy, as the Chicago Shakespeare Theater quickly reached millions of viewers and built a sizable database of opted-in customers from scratch
