EXCITING
CLASSICS.
Client: The Royal Swedish Opera | Category: Awareness campaigns
The Royal Swedish Opera is a well-known institution since 1773 – but hardly trendy. Their obligation is to stage only classic operas and ballets, rather than modern crowd pullers.
With a loyal audience who was slowly dying (!) and few new visitors, the opera needed greater efforts to renew its image and communication towards making new audiences feel included, without losing their faithful circle.
KEY EMOTIONAL DRIVER
Many people perceive opera and ballet as elitist and old-fashioned, and “it’s just not for me”. But despite the fact that the classics may appear old, their grand emotions and themes are timeless. And particularly relevant for young people. We communicated just that through unconventional media, disruptive creative, and activation stunts.
IMPACT
The Royal Swedish Opera got massive media attention – for example, a two-minute feature in one of Sweden’s most viewed TV comedy shows, Parlamentet – and attracted the most first-time visitors in its history. Even the most obscure productions sold out. Brand awareness steadily increased (and kept rising for three consecutive years), making the Royal Swedish Opera the most liked theatre in Stockholm.
CAMPAIGN
THE QUEEN
OF SPADES.
An opera with an edge: Tchaikovsky’s classic. In a simple and fast way, we highlighted the essence of the performance: gambling and addiction.
CAMPAIGN
SUBSCRIBE
TO A SEAT.
A cultural institution for almost 250 years, the Royal Swedish Opera has seen its fair share of royalty, politicians and influential figures enjoy performances. We offered audiences the chance to sit in the same seat as their celebrity of choice for a year – and be part of the opera’s rich history. 85% of the subscriptions sold out in just six weeks.
CAMPAIGN
THE
UNDERWORLD,
UNDERGROUND.
One way is to use sleep to fortify yourself with extra reserves of calmness and energy. The more well-rested we are, so improves our ability to take on whatever twists and turns life has in store.
CAMPAIGN
BALLET,
DECONSTRUCTED.
Ballet was being deemed irrelevant for image-conscious Swedes. But in reality, ballet is a mash-up of what excites modern Swedes most: fashion, art, sports, music and fitness. We dramatised these relevant interests together with well-known brands – for example by staging ballet shows in one of fashion’s most sought after venues: the department store NK’s windows.
SIMSON & DELILA
– IN THE CENTRE
OF THE CONFLICT
.
CAMPAIGN
Simson & Delila is a biblical story, but this version was set in today’s conflict-affected Israel. The Royal Swedish Opera risked political consequences. To show they didn’t take sides, we created a campaign focused on the centre of the conflict – just like the opera itself. We spray-painted the opera’s visual on destroyed houses in the Gaza Strip, and the photo documentation became the billboards. An idea beyond conventional advertising, with high PR value.
CAMPAIGN
MACBETH
– 403 YEARS
OF BAD LUCK.
Shakespeare’s popular play Macbeth has been struck by accidents since its premiere in the 1600s – so bizarre that people claim there’s a Macbeth Curse. A perfect starting point of our campaign in print, OOH, and digital. Invitations to reviewers were sent in the form of first aid kits. Those who thought that the bad luck was only superstition could go to the website and read about all the strange drama that affected Macbeth’s performances.
