Getting the Herd In! Your Guide to Selling Your Edinburgh Fringe Show!
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AT THE EDINBURGH FRINGE GETTING THE HERD IN! YOUR GUIDE TO SELLING YOUR EDINBURGH FRINGE SHOW! underbellyedinburgh.co.uk @underbellyedinburgh @followthecow 1 IF YOU ONLY READ 4 BULLETS POINTS, INTRODUCTION READ THESE… The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world, and Underbelly is one of its biggest operators. In 2018, we programmed over 200 shows across 22 venues at four central Edinburgh sites – Underbelly George Square, Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, Underbelly Cowgate and Underbelly Bristo Square. This document is filled with information, advice and top tips to help you All shows performing at Underbelly must include the Underbelly logo market and sell tickets to your show at the Fringe. You should find everything strip on all advertising (see page 8), and all your advertising needs to you need to help you have a successful show, as well as information about be signed off by the Underbelly marketing team – email it to the services Underbelly offers. And we’re always here to help- during the [email protected] Fringe you’ll find the Marketing & Press Office in McEwan Hall, Bristo Square - pop in for a cuppa and a chat about your show anytime or just to say hi! Marketing and Media surgeries will take place in June at Underbelly Festival Southbank in London, dates and details will be sent to you so We love Edinburgh – there’s simply no better place to be in August! We can’t you can make an appointment wait for you to join us for 2019 and experience the best Fringe in the world with Underbelly! Send your final press release to [email protected] by Friday 3rd May to be included in our media pack at launch Get tagging - @underbellyedinburgh @followthecow #followthecow 2 underbellyedinburgh.couk @underbellyedinburgh @followthecow 3 CONTENTS WHAT TO DO AND WHEN Page 5 & 6 What To Do and When Page 7 Our Top Tips Page 8 Underbelly Logos and Rules Page 9 Design Page 10 & 11 Flyer and Poster Examples APRIL Page 12 & 13 Printing - Flyers and Posters Get your artwork and print - flyers and posters - ready. Remember, your artwork Page 14 Flyering should give any potential ticket buyer a sense of your show, and consistency is Page 15 & 16 Advertising important so your posters and flyers should use consistent images and fonts and Page 17 Social Media should reflect what you’ve already submitted to the Fringe programme, Page 18 Underbelly Marketing & Press Office edfringe.com and the Underbelly brochure. REMEMBER Page 18 Dedicated PR Fringe Programme final deadline Page 19 Press Releases Edfest Joint Venue Brochure final deadline Page 19 Drop in Sessions Page 20 & 21 Ticket Promotions Page 22 Box Office Information Page 22 Sales Reports Page 23 & 24 Company Comps Page 24 Fringe Arts Industry Comps Page 24 Press Tickets MAY Page 25 Merchandise If you have budget, hire a publicist (PR) but, remember, it’s not essential to have Page 25 Sold Out Board one - lots of shows do their own PR. Write your media release and don’t forget Page 26 Helpful Information the basics - what the show is - comedy, theatre, music etc; a brief synopsis; why would someone want to see it; where it’s on (the fringe and the venue); and what time! Contact the Fringe Society Media Office - [email protected] - to ask for the Media Contacts List. Research your selected journalists, don’t just blanket email, send personalised emails and send your media release in the body of the email, don’t attach large attachments. Start booking any advertising (print, online, outdoor) and getting print costs for flyers and posters REMEMBER Send us your content - show images, short films, posters Book your outdoor advertising with Out of Hand 4 underbellyedinburgh.couk @underbellyedinburgh @followthecow 5 OUR TOP TIPS JUNE Attend one of our Marketing and Media surgeries at Underbelly Festival BE ORGANISED Southbank, London where you can speak to one of the team about your market- It may feel that there is so much to do for August but the earlier you plan and ing and media campaign. Engage on social and put out regular content. Use #followthecow and #edfringe prepare your marketing and media campaign the easier it will be. tag @underbellyedinburgh (Facebook and Instagram) @followthecow (Twitter). The official Fringe programme launches in early June so the public, media and industry will start to look to see what’s on. WORDING & IMAGERY If your show is suitable, register for promotion slots on one of the stages on the Getting the description and image right for your show listing in the Fringe Royal Mile. https://www.edfringe.com/take-part/fringe-street-events programme is really important - it should reflect what the show is about and REMEMBER help the public, media and industry decide they want to see it. You don’t The official Fringe Programme is published on 5 June want to give away the plot, but you also don’t want to be so vague no one Send us your content - show images, short films, posters has a clue what it’s about! CONSISTENCY Keep your marketing consistent. All your other advertising should use images JULY and language consistent with your show listing to make up a rounded Follow up with media you’ve sent your press release to but don’t stalk them. marketing campaign. Think about any relevant photo calls or stunts you could do to attract media at- tention. Check the Fringe Society Media Clash Diary to make sure any plans you PROMOTIONS have don’t clash with other major events and add your photo call or stunt to the diary. Papering and early ticket promotions can often be an effective way to get REMEMBER audiences in and start the word of mouth effect. The first Monday and Tues- Send us your content - show images, short films, posters day of the Fringe are the official 2for1 days and the Half Price Hut is available Get your flyers and posters printed and send us our allocation by 26 July to help increase your audience right across the month. You can also speak to your box office at your venue about other ticket offers. ARE YOU READY? Make sure that by the time the Fringe programme is released you have press AUGUST materials ready and you’ve sent them to us as this is when media can start Pop in and say hi at the Marketing & Press Office in McEwan Hall, Bristo Square. asking for information on your show. Buddy-up, exit flyer shows that have a similar audience to yours (always as per- mission from the show) and let them exit flyer yours. Don’t panic! We’re always here to help and advise, and to come up with ideas Get out and about - speak to the public and tell them about your show - often the to suit your show. personal touch is best. Get down to the Royal Mile and around Underbelly sites and flyer. Stay enthusiastic - don’t give up! Tell us about your successes, email us updated photos and content, tell us about unusual happenings, funny occurrences, surprise guests - we’re speaking to the media all the time and can pass this info on. 6 underbellyedinburgh.couk @underbellyedinburgh @followthecow 7 UNDERBELLY LOGOS AND RULES DESIGN All shows performing at Underbelly must include the Underbelly logo strip on Your copy, imagery and print are important marketing tools. It’s essential that all advertisements, flyers and posters - examples below. your design reflects your show and appeals to your audience. Remember to keep details clear and easy to read, and use eye-catching visuals. It’s best to make your poster design and the front of your flyer the same or (11PM) 10PM very similar, and use the back of the flyer to provide more information about 00-00 MONTH 2019 the show. The most popular size for flyers is either A5 (210mm x 148.5mm) or DL (99mm x 210mm) and do print on a good paper weight (170gsm). A3 size is the most effective and commonly used poster size for around venues and A4 10PM (11PM) size for shops and cafés. 00 - 00 AUGUST 2019 You can download all venue logo strips and guidelines from here. Brand guidelines, logos and fonts are also downloadable from here with advice on how to correctly use the strips, date formats, fonts etc. There is a choice of five venue strips - Udderbelly, Underbelly Bristo Square, Underbelly George Square, Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows and Underbelly Cowgate - select the strip for the venue you’re in. If you are unsure about what venue you’re in, just ask. We have formats for A3 and A2 posters, and A5 and DL flyers - if you’re producing something in a different size, please use the A5 format strip and shrink/enlarge proportionately. All artwork must be approved by the Underbelly Marketing Team before being sent to print. We will not stock or display posters or flyers that have not been signed off by us. Please send your artwork to [email protected] for approval - we’ll try and reply swiftly, but please allow 48 hours for sign off. 8 underbellyedinburgh.couk @underbellyedinburgh @followthecow 9 FLYER AND POSTER EXAMPLES 10 underbellyedinburgh.couk @underbellyedinburgh @followthecow 11 PRINTING COMPANIES PRINTING - FLYERS & POSTERS If you have not decided on a print supplier for the Fringe we recommend the PRINTING following companies: We recommend printing 5,000 – 10,000 flyers for a full-run show and 100 - Out of Hand 250 posters but it does depend on what flyering activity you plan to do Offers a full range of printing options in all sizes and weights of paper.