Title	UNSHARED
Brand	FOLKOPERAN
Product/Service	OPERA
Category	C02. USE OF SOCIAL IN A PR CAMPAIGN
PR Agency	PRIME Stockholm, SWEDEN
Entrant Company	PRIME Stockholm, SWEDEN

Name	Position
Shirin Hirmand/Account Director/Prime
Olle Thunberg/Digital Creative/Prime
Ingrid Sydow/Creative/Prime
Julia Sebesteny/Creative/Prime
Viktor Waldås/Graphic Designer
Pär Thunberg/Web Developer/Bärnt/Ärnst

The Campaign

The brief was to create awareness about Folkoperan within a younger audience by promoting the play the St Matthew Passion. In Folkoperan’s version of the play Jesus suffering has been replaced life stories of real people. So we took the main theme of the play and set it in a modern context that would be more relatable to a younger audience. Through the digital hub “Unshared” we encouraged people to post their own anonymous secrets in 140 characters. At the theatre the audience could write down their unshared secrets on a note and leave it in a box. After every show the box of secrets was posted on the hub, as well as on Folkoperan’s Twitter. To put the theme of the play in an even larger context we surveyed 1,000 people on what topics that are too taboo to share publicly. The results were presented to journalists and published on our website for those who wanted to learn more. Over 500 people shared their innermost secrets on the website, everything from shoplifting as an adult to accidentally falling asleep on a their parrot and killing it. Folkoperan’s fan base grew by 20% on both Facebook and Twitter. Total media reach was 5,8 million (on a 9 million market). But more importantly the number of sold seats grew from 37 to 90 percent from previous year, making the St Matthew Passion Folkoperan’s most successful spring launch ever.

The Brief

The overall objective was to increase awareness about Folkoperan within a younger target audience as well as increase ticket sales for the St Matthew Passion compared to the play the previous year.

Results

Over 500 people shared their innermost secrets on the website, everything from shoplifting as an adult to accidentally falling asleep on a their parrot and killing it. Folkoperan’s fan base grew by 20% on both Facebook and Twitter. Total media reach was 5,8 million (on a 9 million market). But more importantly the number of sold seats grew from 37 to 90 percent from previous year, making the St Matthew Passion the most successful spring launch in the history of Folkoperan.

Execution

Through the digital hub ”Unshared” we encouraged the target audience to submit their own secret stories in 140 characters, completely anonymously. At the theatre the audience could write down their unshared secrets on a note and leave it in a box in the lobby. After every show the box of secrets was posted on the hub, as well as on Folkoperan’s Twitter. By posting the secrets to Twitter we created buzz about the play and helped drive traffic back to the hub where you could buy tickets to the play. To put the theme of the play in an even larger context we surveyed 1,000 people about what topics are too taboo to share publicly. The results were presented to journalists and published on our website for those who wanted to delve deeper into the secrets of the Swedish population.

The Situation

Dwindling ticket sales and an aging audience have has become a serious problem for Folkoperan. The brief was to create awareness about Folkoperan within a younger audience by promoting the play the St Matthew Passion. In Folkoperan’s version of the play Jesus suffering has been replaced the real life stories of guilt, shame, sacrifice and joy. For the first time the cast spoke openly about their innermost secrets.

The Strategy

Today we share more of our lives than ever through social media. But we only share the happy and curated bits. Failed relationships, family problems or feelings of inadequacy we keep to ourselves. At the same time there is an unmet need in secularized Swedes for confession – a place where you can share your innermost secrets anonymously. So our plan was to let the audience experience and explore the same openness and honesty that the cast does in the play. We took the main theme of secret real life stories and set it in a modern context that would be more relatable to a younger audience.