I’m a bit of an internet addict, and I’m a big fan of Facebook and Twitter in my personal life. But I’ve yet to be convinced that social media is effective as a marketing tool, since your audience there is self-selected: you’re not reaching anyone who doesn’t already know you. I also enjoy my time in the theatre as a time to turn off my addictive devices. So I’m fascinated by the SF Playhouse Pluggers program. The Playhouse invites select patrons to tweet during the show. They sit in the back row so as not to disturb others, and the Playhouse doesn’t censor them in any way. So the theatre gets the word out to everyone who follows their “pluggers,” inviting new people into the shared experience happening in the room. They also get some “cred” for not being afraid of criticism. You follow someone on Twitter because you’re interested in what he has to say, so if he’s writing about a show, his interest might get you to check it out yourself…offline.
We’d love to hear from members who have had success with innovative campaigns like this. Or let us know if you try this idea out!