Here at Feast we specialise in design for clients in the Arts and Theatre sector and we’ve certainly created a few production posters over the years! But we are also avid theatregoers and love being enticed by production artwork created by other studios in the industry. It’s great to see such a variety of images being created and we get just as excited for a production announcement whether we’ve been involved in the process or not. So when Broadway’s King Kong Musical announced that they had decided to market using three images we were excited to hear how this came about.
Theatre campaigns typically use a single image to market a production which, more often than not, develops during the run. This is usually required when the production has been cast and their photos need to feature, or following press night and review quotes need to be included. The key artwork remains relatively the same to keep brand consistency with any artwork being produced, which helps to avoid confusion. It’s a bold choice deciding to use three images, particularly with different title treatments: will it weaken or strengthen the campaign?
Despite the three title treatments, there has been consideration in making sure the images are unified by using the same muted colour palette for all, the icon of Kong at the bottom of each poster and the subjects always being Ann and Kong. However, we wonder whether this is enough for the public to gather that the images are marketing the same production?
It’s an unusual approach and we’re interested to see how the campaign develops during the course of the run. Also, whether one of the three images emerge as the stronger, more successful marketing device in enticing an audience or whether using all three in tandem helps target and introduce a wider diversity of audience members.
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