THE ROYAL BALLET – BALLETFESTIVAL

TitleTHE ROYAL BALLET – BALLETFESTIVAL
BrandTHE ROYAL DANISH THEATRE
Product/ServiceBALLETFESTIVAL
Entrant HAVE COMMUNICATIONS Copenhagen, DENMARK
Idea Creation HAVE COMMUNICATIONS Copenhagen, DENMARK
Idea Creation 2 THE ROYAL DANISH THEATRE Copenhagen K, DENMARK
Media Placement HAVE COMMUNICATIONS Copenhagen, DENMARK
PR HAVE COMMUNICATIONS Copenhagen, DENMARK
Production HAVE COMMUNICATIONS Copenhagen, DENMARK
Production 2 THE ROYAL DANISH THEATRE Copenhagen K, DENMARK
Credits
Name Company Position
Rasmus Navntoft Have Communications Head of the strategy department
Christian Have Have Communications Creative director
Mikkel Elbech Have Communications Senior copywriter
Caroline Engell Have Communications Content producer
Troels Kranker Have Communications Social media manager
Nikolaj Hübbe The Royal Danish Theatre Artistic director of The Royal Ballet
Mette Bødtcher The Royal Danish Theatre Outreach coordinator

Why is this work relevant for Integrated?

In order to change the Danes' perception of the Royal Ballet, they had to be reached on many different platforms. As such, this campaign made use of: · Three largest national newspapers · Prime-time television talk shows · Social media (including videos that taught the Danes three ballet steps) · Commuter train screens · Face-to-face interaction with the Artistic Director · A large-scale festival (featuring a big communal dance consisting of the aforementioned three steps) This integrated effort ensured that the reach of the campaign was no less than 11 million – in a country of 5.7 million people.

Background

Ballet has long suffered from an elitist image. As if it was reserved for the upper classes. As if it was somehow excluding the common man and woman from enjoying it. In late 2017, the Royal Ballet, which is part of the Royal Danish Theatre, decided to combat the elitist image of ballet once and for all.

Describe the creative idea

To combat the elitist image of ballet, a three-month campaign was conceptualized and implemented. It resulted in a large-scale ballet festival in Copenhagen from June 1st to 9th 2018. The name of the campaign: "Dance along" The goal of the campaign: To show the entire country that ballet is for everyone.

Describe the strategy

A prominent person was chosen as the face and center of the campaign: Nikolaj Hübbe, the artistic director of the Royal Ballet and a former solo dancer – for 15 years – at the New York City Ballet. Normally, a person of this stature does not leave the safe world of the fine arts. But Hübbe, a former judge on the Danish version of Dancing With The Stars, gladly did.

Describe the execution

Artistic director Nikolaj Hübbe set out on a mission to talk to the Danes about ballet – and to invite them to dance along. In shopping centers, on the commuter train, and at workplaces all over the country. Hübbe also visited one of Denmark’s top soccer teams, Brøndby, and taught the players how to dance the ballet at the Royal Theatre. Thereby, two worlds of elite performers merged, strategically mirroring the world of ballet with the mainstream appeal of soccer. Through videos posted on social media, the Danes were taught three steps by Hübbe. On June 2nd, people gathered in downtown Copenhagen and danced a big communal dance under the guidance of the artistic director. The festival itself combined classic ballets with brand new performances, combined urban festival parties with intellectual talks on the role of ballet in Danish society, featuring prominent opinion-makers, including the Minister of Culture, Mette Bock.

List the results

• 6-page interview in Politiken (biggest national daily) • Full spreads in 2nd and 3rd-biggest national newspapers • Two of the most popular primetime talkshows • 149 press clippings • PR value: 900,000 US$ • Estimated total PR reach: 7.5 million • % of Danes that considered The Royal Theatre valuable to society as a whole went up from 48% before the festival to 55% after the festival • % of Danes that considered The Royal Theatre important in terms of preserving the cultural inheritance of Denmark went up from 61% to 69% 25 videos were produced and seen 3.7 million times. One video, which featured Hübbe on the commuter train, was seen 2.3 million times on the train screens over 10 days. For free. The Danish Minister of Culture said the following at the end of the campaign: "Every cultural institution in Denmark should be inspired by this campaign."