The client.
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra was founded in 1993 and made its first public debut in 1996, fulfilling the dreams of both conductor Carl Topilow and CEO Shirley Morgenstern, to bring the best of symphonic pops music to Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. The 65-piece orchestra is one of the few independent symphonic pops orchestras in the nation.
The opportunity.
Thanks to the referral of a current client of MJ2 Marketing, The Cleveland Pops Orchestra leadership team and Board reached out when they decided it was time for a refreshed brand and a “butts-in-seats” campaign for ticket sales.
Like all arts programming, the Cleveland Pops was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, they found subscriptions and performance attendance lacking with an inability to reach a younger audience with their somewhat stale branding and messaging.
The outcome.
The MJ2 team engaged key stakeholders of the Cleveland Pops in a speed branding initiative, using the findings to develop a new, updated creative feel for the brand that would resonate with existing and new patrons.
Simultaneously, the DigitalMaxx team created optimized landing pages for each upcoming show and an aggressive paid ad strategy to generate ticket sales. As a result, the first show of the 2023-24 season, A Night in Hollywood, saw a 20% increase in ticket sales. The initiative was so successful that the Pops retained the MJ2 team to continue the acquisition campaign through the end of the season.