Case Study
Anastasia the Musical: Journey to YouTube
Teasing our audience with a preview of a new Broadway musical…and a nostalgic sound of their childhood.
Objective:
Build excitement for a new Broadway musical, Anastasia.
Strategy:
This new Broadway musical is partially based on the beloved 1997 animated film. The film is well known among multiple generations, and the music is recognized globally. When the show was first announced, we released a video teaser featuring the set of the show that was utilized in an out-of-town tryout of the production. Seeing the initial organic response to the video, we decided to proceed with a YouTube Reserve Buy in January 2017, two months before the show started performances on Broadway. We don’t generally invest in YouTube this far out from performances, so it was a unique execution. We were looking for engagement to illustrate a desire to learn more and ad recall to confirm that our spot was resonating with our target audiences. We used the affinity segments of Art & Theater Aficionados and News Junkies (Entertainment & Celebrity News Junkies).
Results:
CTR for the video was 0.79%, significantly higher than what we normally see. In addition, a YouTube Brand Lift Report identified that ad recall had a 28.1% lift after one impression, a 30.1% lift after two impressions, and a 53.0% lift after three impressions. The campaign was repeated in March just before performances began.