New Article: Selling Bartok's Blackbeard's Castle

We’ve published another article — about an amazing marketing success with a program that should have been hard to sell. Now, of course, our own Robert Levine, with Ilana Setapen, was featured on the first half playing the Mozart Symphonie Concertante, so that must have done it right there!
But seriously (no offense meant, Robert…), Bluebeard’s Castle is truly a hard sell.
Christopher Stager, of CRStager marketing & audience development, was amazed to learn that the Milwaukee Symphony’s two October performances of Bartok’s opera Bluebeard’s Castle were sold out events. He had thought that they would sell moderately, at best. (Chris is a consultant for the MSO Marketing Department.) But he was shocked at how well they did.
Granted, they had stunning set designs by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly, but it was a special grant from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism that helped them turn the concerts into an event, and sell out the houses.
Chris sat down with Susan Loris, VP Marketing & Communications, and Sarah Hogan, Associate Director of Marketing, to explore their marketing plan and see exactly how they engineered such a successful outcome.
Take a look and see how they did it.
Selling Bluebeard’s Castle