The Elora Festival
and The Elora Singers
Summary
For the past 4 seasons, we have been the marketing “department” for The Elora Singers and The Elora Festival. We provide full-stack services – traditional and digital media marketing, email marketing, social media content, database and box office support, as well as creating all concert collateral.
Background
The Elora Singers and Elora Festival recently presented their 44th annual Festival in Elora, Ontario, 90 minutes west of Toronto. Each year The Singers present an annual concert season from September to April and are the ensemble-in-residence for the Festival, taking place each July. Their team consists of an Artistic Director and currently a Festival Manager, working with contractors and seasonal part-time help. The team needed marketing support, so their then Executive Director reached out to us for help.
Challenge
Initially, we were brought on to market and co-produce a series of online concerts at the start of the pandemic. As restrictions lifted, we were then tasked with marketing their return to live performance and the launch of their newest Christmas CD, Radiant Dawn, in 2021.
There had not been consistent, branded communication with their audience in many years and their ticket system was becoming unmanageable. They had social media accounts but few followers and very little interaction. The Executive Director was looking to make some big changes to refresh the overall brands for the Festival and The Elora Singers, grow their audience, and revamp their CMS and ticketing systems.
Solution and Implementation
Marketing Strategy
First, we built a year-round marketing strategy to identify key events and themes. The plan included an integrated approach to email, social media, PR, advertising, donor relations, and community engagement.
Creative
We then developed creative to establish the look and feel for each season. These designs were then rolled out across all media platforms and outlets, and incorporated into their website, box office, and donation systems.
Key Metrics
Good marketing and strategy is a combination of inspiration and data-informed decisions. We determined key metrics and stats to track, implemented tracking on digital campaigns, and are now able to see the effects of each of our marketing channels on ticket sales and audience
Festival, The Elora Singers Season, and Special Project Support
Working with the Artistic Director and Manager, Blue Elephant provides:
Marketing strategy and execution
Social Media marketing services across 6 accounts
(3 Festival and 3 Singers)
Design and printing of all marketing materials – posters, flyers, brochures, concert programs, signage etc.
Box office setup and reporting
Ongoing database uploads and segmenting for targeted messages
And anything else that pops up!
Media planning – traditional and digital media
Writing and deploying email campaigns, newsletters, and customer surveys
Digital event production coordination and some onsite support
Website maintenance and updating
Reporting on analytics and metrics
The End Result
The Blue Elephant team has helped The Elora Singers and the Elora Festival expand their audience reach and demographics, update their website, explore new media opportunities, and modernize their marketing approach.
One of the things we love the most about working with the Elora team is the variety of work we get to do and our true enjoyment of their music, programs, and people. This list below is just some of what we’ve been able to do – and we’re excited what the upcoming season will bring!
Social
Media
+20%
Increased social media following by more than 20% (Singers)
+27%
Increased social media following by more than 27% (Festival)
5.3M
Use of paid ads got concert promotion out to over 5.3M people
Database/
CMS
Established consistent visual branding
Moved marketing database from MailChimp to integrated marketing functions in new donor CMS
Marketing Strategy & Execution
Established tagging in database for easier segmentation of audiences
Created and executed yearly marketing strategies – media buy, communication plan, social strategy, and donor services support
Expanded online marketing to across Canada and into the US for digital concerts
Deployed a focused local marketing campaign with new media outlets and partnerships
70+
Produced 70+ concert programs (they’re a busy group of artists!)
Box Office/
Ticketing Support
Worked with the Elora team through several box office iterations for their first digital broadcast concerts through to ticketing for their live concerts
Built box office functions for each season
