Omaha Symphony 2009/10 Season Brochure

Organization Name:
Omaha Symphony
City & State:
Describe your creative piece – what is it and what has it been used for, and why is it innovative?
This is the most important piece the Omaha Symphony produces each year. It announces our concerts and serves as a buying guide for patrons. It is critical that it is clear, informative, and user-friendly. It’s also necessary that it draw in new concertgoers. There is a huge amount of information to be included, so it takes serious creativity to make even the tedious details look inviting. Our use of vibrant color and large images makes us stand out from the more conservative collateral of other orchestras. We blended many elements to give the reader a feeling of music, motion and excitement for each concert series. We emphasized our friendly pricing with well-placed sales messages and new packages. The colors, descriptions, and even fonts are extremely vivid and compelling. The vibe is warm, young, and colorful—opposite of stuffy, old, or intimidating (a common misconception with classical music). The result is a piece that advances the brand image of our 90-year old organization.
What issue or problem were you working to address with this piece?
One of the constant marketing struggles of a modern-day orchestra is developing new, younger audiences. Many people incorrectly hold onto two stereotypes: 1) that orchestras only play classical music and 2) that our concerts are extremely expensive. However, as a quick flip through the Omaha Symphony’s 2009/10 brochure proves, we play everything from Motown to movie favorites, classic rock to kid-friendly tunes! This brochure’s design shows that we’re a fun and accessible form of entertainment with a tremendous variety of programming for all ages! In a recession, people are obviously very choosy about where they spend their entertainment dollars, and this piece came out in the middle of a tough economic climate. We couldn’t afford to let the “symphony=luxury” stereotype linger. With that in mind, we knew this piece had to be extremely inviting and very explicit about our reasonable ticket prices.
How has your submission successfully impacted your organization’s ability to solve this issue/problem?
We first knew the 2009/10 Brochure was a hit by the positive feedback we received from our patrons. They commented on its fun design and thorough content. This piece was instrumental in increasing our new subscription sales by 21%! That number is especially significant, as many symphonies and arts organizations collapsed in the 09/10 season. Currently, our 09/10 total ticket sales are up 10% from last season. Perhaps most exciting (as we seek to attract new, younger audiences), we have seen our Symphony Rocks subscriptions skyrocket! This series—aimed at a younger demographic—sold 62% more in subscriptions than in the previous year. That is a dramatic shift that has led us to add concerts to this cool series in the upcoming 10/11 season. Our marketing team credits this season brochure for setting a fresh tone for 09/10—a highly positive and profitable one! It was a turning point in our graphic design, as we learned our constituents really respond to a bolder, more youthful approach.
Creative Submission - Files