December 20, 2012

Case Study: Vancouver Bach Choir presents El Niño

The Client

For the 2012 holiday season, the Vancouver Bach Choir made a bold decision to forgo the regular Christmas program of Handel's Messiah and instead programmed one of the most ambitious programs in the 72 year history.

John Adams' El Niño is, as the Vancouver Sun described it, “a brave, even risky endeavour… tricky to sing, demanding to play, and expensive to mount.”
The distinctly contemporary work retold the story Christ’s birth using text from pre-Christian prophets, canonical and Gnostic gospels, and mid-20th century Hispanic poetry. Its performance saw the Bach Choir joined on stage by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Bach Children's Chorus, and no fewer than six international soloists.

The Campaign

Laura Murray Public Relations were hired to provide a full service marketing campaign for the concert, including graphic design, advertising buy, promotions, and media relations.

The Results

The concert played to an audience beyond expectation, with critics hailing the work 'an enormous achievement' (The Straight) and stating it 'resoundingly affirm[ed the Bach Choir's] leadership role in the Vancouver musical environment.' (The Vancouver Sun)

The marketing campaign saw the show creative reach potential audiences members through an enormous variety of traditional, online, and unexpected channels. The media relations campaign saw coverage in The Globe and Mail (nationally), The Vancouver Sun, The Georgia Straight, North Shore News, Metro News, WE Vancouver, Radio-Canada Telejournal, CTV News, Global News, and CBC Radio Canada, among many others.