FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE

TitleFIRST COME, FIRST SERVE
BrandFOLKOPERAN
Product/ServiceOPERA
Category A08. Leisure
Entrant INGO Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation INGO Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production INGO Stockholm, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Björn Ståhl INGO Sthlm ECD
Josefine Richards INGO Sthlm CD
Max Hultberg INGO Sthlm Art Director
Kerstin Engberg INGO Sthlm Head of Art
Stina Jansdotter Öberg INGO Sthlm Account Director
Stefan Kindgren INGO Sthlm Digital Creative Developer
Henrik Österman INGO Sthlm Digital Account Director
Mia Melani INGO Sthlm Account Manager
Maria Dubeck INGO Sthlm Final Art
Susanne Reuszner Folkoperan Head of Communication
Frida Edoff Folkoperan Communication Manager

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

Opera isn’t for everyone, or at least that’s what many people think. But by putting focus on a more common and broad topic we found a direct way of engaging a new crowd to become part of the experience that they later would see.

Background

Folkoperan is a small opera house in Stockholm, that makes opera for the people. But opera is difficult, many believe it’s not for them. When they put up the opera Turandot by Puccini they wanted to celebrate the power of lust and desire. The demand for tickets was big among opera lovers but Folkoperan needed to find a way to make the theme and opera relatable for everyone and make people feel like they were part of it.

Describe the creative idea

We decided to put up an extra show where you could transform your own climax to a free ticket – aligned with the theme of the show. All you had to do was send your audio file via messenger. To make sure you weren't faking it the sound was analyzed using an algorithm. If approved, you received your audio wave as a barcode on a free ticket. The main reason for this was to create buzz and let everyone participate in the show, not just the elite. In the opera Turandot they found something that everyone could relate to.

Describe the strategy

A lot of people find opera too difficult and esoteric. The opera house Folkoperan wants to challenge the conventional art form of opera and attract a new crowd.

Describe the execution

It was simple. Two weeks before the extra show a post was seeded through social media. By using a messenger app you could transform your own climax to a free ticket - if you weren't faking it. First you recorded your climax, then it was analyzed by an algorithm that read your level of arousal, valence, temper and mood. If your audio wave was approved you got it back as a unique barcode on a ticket. The ticket could then be scanned in the door at the extra show with 589 limited seats - first come, first serve!

List the results

The 589 seats were immediately taken. A lot of people were first comers and felt that it was liberating to experience opera in a more fun way and that the activity got them closer to understanding what the theme was all about. The word about the opera of orgasms went all around the world and gained over 100 M impressions. With Turandot the small Swedish opera house Folkoperan had proved that opera is for the people and about things that everyone can relate to.