Folger Theatre - Promotional Season Artwork and Marketing Services

A Steady Hand To Increase Sales Through Plot Twists

At a Glance

Client: A Washington, DC performing arts venue housed at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Engagement: A multi-season partnership

Services:

Branding for the theater’s season theme and individual shows
Digital advertising & promotional design
Marketing strategy consultation
Print promotional collateral

The Challenge

Folger Theatre needed to increase season subscriptions, deepen audience connection, and grow overall ticket sales, all of which require a consistent creative presence across many different productions over time. Beyond a single striking poster for a show, they needed a cohesive visual narrative over multiple seasons which requires an ongoing and thoughtful partner who understands the theater’s brand as a whole and is curious about visual storytelling.

Midsummer Night's Dream theme illustration/artwork. — Midsummer within the Building Museum

Photograph of Puck the donkey performing in Midsummer Night's Dream.

Sketches created by ob9 for Midsummer Night's Dream theme artwork. — Earlier directions focused on the building and the “Big Top”

Midsummer Night's Dream post production design for A-Frame sign.

Our Approach

Our creative process approached each production as its own storytelling opportunity: research, sketch, discuss, repeat, in pursuit of the specific tone and theme to make a centuries-old play speak to a modern audience. That process has to work at two levels simultaneously — finding the right creative angle for each individual show, while contributing to a “collective season-wide look” that reads as recognizably Folger across brochures, postcards, signage, and ads.

Testing and iteration were built into the process. When marketing data suggested a stronger angle for Henry IV — shifting focus to the actor playing Falstaff — the campaign was adjusted mid-run, and sales improved as a result. That same willingness to adapt carried the theater through the COVID-19 pandemic and a touring season, when openbox9 developed the “Seek Me in Another Place” season brand around Puck, a familiar and trusted character, to reassure subscribers navigating an unfamiliar situation.

A Midsummer Night's Dream ad design, both preproduction and post production — Over 100 ads of various messages created

Artwork concept for Indulge Out Loud not selected by the client.

Indulge Out Loud theme illustration/artwork applied to pull up banner. — Season promotional mailer

Deliverables

A cohesive, illustrated season look that accompanied one of Folger Theatre’s most financially successful years
Individual show artwork
100+ ads produced per show run across print and digital formats
Monitored marketing campaigns that led to mid-run revisions that increased ticket sales
Season brand that sustained subscriber connection through the COVID-19 pandemic and a multi-venue touring season