Poster and Promotions

One of the most effective forms of offline production promotion is printed promotional materials, such as posters and flyers. A well designed poster will attract the attention of prospective attendees for your theatre performance. A combination of quality materials, bold design and clever distribution will help you to make your event a sell-out.

1. Strong Visuals

The first step to creating a poster which will stand out from the crowd is to pick strong visuals for your design. Whether you’re hoping to use a photograph, a drawing or a graphic - you’re going to need something which is eye-catching.

According to Richard Foster, from Dunstable Rep Theatre Club:

“Images with stand-out graphics are faster to recognise than text and it makes a big difference. We used to promote purely text-based posters, but about three years ago a corporate communications manager started to volunteer and established the principle that every director needs to agree on an image for a production, which is then used in all marketing.”

Consider choosing a visual which represents the subject matter of your theatre performance. This is a great way to hook people in and give them a teaser of what could be in store should they book a ticket to your performance. Here, look towards your director's vision and the prominent themes and symbols in your piece for direction and to brainstorm what visual you might use.

2. Bright Colours

As well as striking visuals, a clear colour scheme and bold colour choices are a must for developing an eye-catching poster for your performance.

3. Short Copy

Having focused your efforts on choosing a unique visual and a unique colour scheme, you should keep the copy on your theatre poster as concise as possible.

Think of a one-sentence teaser sentence for your performance - without giving away any spoilers, of course. Something short and snappy that will generate intrigue.

Examples:

• ‘Who Killed Mrs Jones?’ is an exhilarating and slippery murder mystery that will keep you guessing right until the end!

• ‘Changing’. A beautiful story of resilience, growth and defiance which has captured the heart of audiences across the world

• What if everything that you think you know were a lie? What if everyone you knew was lying to you? ‘Betrayal’ follows a young man trying to find the truth in a world gone wrong

4. Key Information

While your poster needs to be concise, you need to ensure that your key information is there in order to convert passers-by into performance attendees.

Think about what it is that your prospective attendee might need to know. You should communicate:

• What the performance is called

• Where the performance will be held

• When the performance will be held (date and time)

• Who is performing (your company name or perhaps your lead role actors)

• How much tickets are

• And most importantly, where they can buy tickets (your website or the link to your event)

• It is also respectful to reference any sponsors of the event

Your poster will reflect your performance and will in many cases be the first impression a prospective attendee has of your company, which is why you want to put your best foot forward and opt for a high-quality promotional product