The campaign I developed for Philadelphia School of Circus Arts (PSCA) was honored with a first place "Pepperpot" award from the Public Relations Society of America, Philly Chapter. The event-led public relations campaign was developed for PSCA to promote circus arts activities during the Philadelphia area during the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts. The award was presented during a ceremony at the Franklin Institute in front of more than 100 public relations and business professionals.
Acceptance Video:
Acknowledgements:
Thank you to the PSCA staff, contractors, performers, volunteers and all partnering groups and consultants that helped execute the campaign. A special thanks goes out to Fly School Circus Arts and Executive Director Mary Kelly Rayel, Nina Zucker Public Relations, The Kimmel Center, Ticket Philadelphia, Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation, PIFA staff, Ed Salvato, and Sarah Fergus.
Situation Analysis/Intro Summary from Award Application:
Philadelphia School of Circus Arts transformed itself into the Philadelphia region’s center of circus arts through an event-led campaign during the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA). PSCA grew from being a one-year old,Germantown-based school to become the high-flying star of a month-long international festival celebrating Paris 1911-1920.PSCA brought the circus from Germantown to the region – and the world – through two high-profile events. “The GreenFairy Cabaret” and “Fly City” were created to develop new audiences, increase interest and awareness in circus arts, buildname recognition and generate revenue. PSCA also achieved these goals by providing performers and resources for othercircus-inspired festival events. PSCA utilized primary and secondary research to develop the events and the campaign topromote them, which included partnerships, media relations and social media. As a result, PSCA achieved all objectives,including selling 1,043 tickets for “Green Fairy” and 641 tickets for “Fly City” lessons, exposing 11,634 people first-handto circus arts, generating millions of media impressions as a result of 10 newspaper articles and image features, 4 televisionstories, 2 radio stories, 48 blog posts and 53 online calendar listings. PSCA increased mailing lists by 546 individuals,attracted 612 new Facebook followers and increased website visitors by 42%. PSCA’s campaign generated at least 120stories and listings for PIFA itself.
Evaluation Summary from Award Application:
PSCA successfully launched and met all objectives of the event-led public relations campaign. PSCA sponsored two mainevents and participated in four additional events. “Green Fairy” sold out all six performances to 1,043 people, includingextra seating added by the venue. The show generated XX over goal. Despite a rainy month producing cancelledclasses, “Fly City” attracted 641 students and generated XX net profit. In total, PSCA exposed 11,634 people to circusarts, including more than 2,700 traditional arts patrons. Additionally, PSCA developed first-time relations with at least threearts organizations, and received mentions in 16 stories with prominent arts organizations. PSCA increased brand awarenessand positioned itself as the region’s center for circus arts through event coverage in 15 major media outlets (10 newspaper,5 television and 1 radio). Additionally, PSCA secured coverage in 48 blog posts and 53 online calendars. PSCA createdfestival buzz by securing 120 media mentions. PSCA’s social media growth included a 612 person increase on Facebook.PSCA increased website traffic by 42%. PSCA, and partner FSCA, received many benefits from an increased interest incircus arts. PSCA attracted 55 new students, up from 11 in 2010. Demand for classes grew, as 35 new classes were added.PSCA generated 427 ticket sales from post-PIFA performances (Fringe and Circus Soiree), with three shows in the future.FSCA attracted 20 new students that took their first lesson at PIFA. Additionally, 39 fall sessions have been sold to studentsfrom PIFA, and 12 students from PIFA purchased new six-session class cards.
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