The Play is the Thing

As we enter our second year in business, we’re very pleased to have a chance to tackle interesting new projects.  We’re keen to take on any challenge that fits with our overall business strategy and mission: “to help companies and professionals in the knowledge industries to understand and leverage the power of social technologies and methods in order to achieve meaningful business results.“

Our original plan was to focus our marketing efforts on professional service firms, since there are so many law firms, consultants and accountants here in the New York market.  And while that continues to be a major area of focus for us, we are also finding some other great new opportunities to apply our social media expertise.  One of the most interesting new clients is a theatrical production that is opening in Times Square next month.

Back in November we were hired by the producer Joe Corcoran to develop the social media strategy for a revival of the show Tony and Tina’s Wedding.   For those of you not familiar with the show, Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding is a very unique entertainment.  The show is a family wedding.  It is only loosely scripted and relies heavily on the actors’ improvisational skills.  By it’s very nature the show is highly interactive, as the audience doesn’t just watch the performance but is invited to participate directly in the festivities from the first toast to the last slice of cake.

In recent years social media has become a critical part of the marketing strategy for many entertainment products – movies, plays and books.  But when Joe approached us, he was looking for something more than a marketing boost through Facebook and Twitter.  He asked us to help him add a new dimension to the show itself.  In addition to using social media for marketing and promotional purposes, he wanted to figure out a way to build social media into the very fabric of the audience experience.   He wanted to integrate social media directly into the show, using it to drive more interaction between the cast and the audience.

We were immediately intrigued by the idea.   It struck us as precisely the sort of approach that will enable any product or company to realize the full potential of social media.  From the outset of consulting practice our mantra to our clients has been not just to treat social media as another marketing channel but to understand how these tools and technologies can be incorporated into their daily working lives.  And here was a client who was asking us to do exactly that – bring Facebook and Twitter right into the limelight and on center stage, as it were, of an off-Broadway production.

We don’t want to give away too many of the details now except to say that this production is going to really raise the bar for how social media can be integrated into live entertainment.  The basic idea is pretty simple.  The typical Broadway show starts with an announcement that asks the audience to kindly turn off and put away their cell phones.  Joe Corcoran’s vision for the revival of Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding is exactly the opposite.  Take out your cell phones and have a blast!

The show begins previews in a few weeks and the will formally open at the end of March.  Until then you can begin to get an idea of what’s in the works by visiting the show’s official website.  Tickets are already on sale.  If you want to enjoy a fun night at theater and see the future of where live entertainment is heading we hope you come check it out.

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