What’s the hardest thing in the world to market?
Exactly.
Opera.
It can be difficult, elitist, inaccessible, and as if this weren’t enough, it’s in a foreign language.
What do you do?
If you are the Opera Company of Philadelphia, about a month ago, this is what you do.
See the YouTube evidence here.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Craig Swanson for the head’s up.
Or you might also engage people to create an opera by themselves like Savonlinna Opera Festival has done (www.operabyyou.com).
Wow. As a PA resident, perhaps it feels a little more real to me than some other viewers. It’s not some faraway mysterious place. I can only imagine what it was like to be there and experience it in person. In particular, the way it unfolded with additional voices emerging all around, from out of the crowd. The camera operators did a good job of capturing some very authentic reactions from surprise, amusement, fun, wanting to participate, perhaps a little uncomfortable (note the older lady’s reaction as a female singer engages with the presumed husband). Whatever the personal reaction, absolutely memorable, I’m sure. Think how much more powerful one voice is over a recording, and how much more powerful a chorus of voices. Every marketer can learn something from this about how to leverage the voices of their “company” to create an experience. Brilliant.