Why "Unlearning" and Instinct Are Your Secret Weapons in Theatre Marketing

The work coming out of our UK office continues to inspire me. One area that’s particularly interesting right now is the growth of digital platforms throughout the ecosystem. To learn more, I had the privilege of sitting down with Jack Langan, Media Planner at Situation UK, to get his take on the market.

Damian Bazadona: Let’s talk about media planning for live theatrical productions in the UK. I’d love to start with some differences in the media strategies we deploy. Let’s talk about long-running shows versus shorter runs from a media perspective. How do you approach each differently?

Jack Langan: One of the biggest benefits of a long-running show is the ability to foster a community. You build a base of fans who do the work for you—creating user-generated content, sharing, and promoting. You also get the advantage of learning from purchase data over time, feeding that back into the campaign to optimise it. With a short run, you don’t have that luxury. You’re going out with a bang, and you can’t build that same level of engagement or leverage reviews and testimonials in the same way.

Damian Bazadona: Interesting! Timing is clearly everything. Okay, let’s shift gears—how do you approach marketing for new intellectual property (IP) versus established brands?

Jack Langan: For new IP, the focus has to be on introducing the concept to the audience. You need creative content that explains what the show is about, its unique selling points (USPs), before diving into the details. For established IP, you can skip the introductions and focus on specifics like ticket prices, cast, and venue. But there’s often an assumption that having a big brand guarantees success, which isn’t always the case. Sometimes there’s “unlearning” involved—audiences may have preconceived notions based on the brand that need to be addressed, or they may have assumptions about what the staged version of IP might look like.

Damian Bazadona: Love that concept of “unlearning”—I think it’s significantly underestimated. What are some of the biggest misconceptions clients have about digital media?

Jack Langan: One common misconception is focusing too heavily on conversions and the bottom line. If you’re only focused on the bottom of the funnel, you’re not feeding the machine with new audiences. You need to invest in the top of the funnel, building awareness, or you’ll limit your future potential. Another misconception is the over-reliance on data and insights. While data is crucial, we shouldn’t ignore human instinct. It’s important to think about how real people engage with content—whether they’ll scroll past or actually interact with an advert.

Damian Bazadona: Given that clients have plenty of options for where to place their media pounds, as a digital media specialist, what is your opinion on what digital media does better than traditional channels?

Jack Langan: Digital’s strength is hyper-targeting. It allows us to find the right people based on their behaviours and interests in a granular way. Traditional media like print and outdoor is great for high impact and creating awareness, but if you want to target specific individuals at the right time, digital is the way to go.

Damian Bazadona: Talk to me about what has changed since you’ve been in the media business. You’ve seen a lot—what’s different?

Jack Langan: Google and Meta have become even more dominant. While they make things easier in some ways, this dominance has stunted innovation. Smaller businesses can’t compete, and we’re left with fewer options. There’s also a growing reliance on AI, which can sometimes be problematic. For example, Meta introduced an auto-add music feature that added random classical music to a client’s advert, which was clearly a mismatch.

Damian Bazadona: So, that’s a bit of what’s different—tell me what’s on the horizon that excites you about the future of digital media?

Jack Langan: I’m excited about the potential of shoppable formats and live stream integration, especially on TikTok. TikTok has been a big disruptor, pushing platforms like YouTube to innovate with Shorts. While TikTok adverts are mostly used for awareness now, I think shoppable content will become a bigger player down the line, moving into the consideration and purchase stages of campaigns.

Damian Bazadona: For someone reading this who’s interested in the career path you’ve chosen, what would you say is the best part of media planning? What’s the attraction to the profession?

Jack Langan: It’s like solving a puzzle. Every campaign is different, and you can’t just apply a cookie-cutter approach. You have to figure out the right mix of strategies and tools to create a plan that works for each client. That variety keeps things exciting.

Damian Bazadona: And finally, now that you’ve spent a lot of time “inside” the inner workings of the theatre business, creating thoughtful marketing and advertising plans, what’s the biggest misconception you think people from the “outside” world have about the theatre business?

Jack Langan: People tend to think theatre is niche, and they have a narrow view of who theatregoers are. But there’s a show for everyone, and many of our campaigns have broad audience segments. Theatre isn’t an exclusive, gated community—there’s something for everyone, and we shouldn’t limit our thinking about who will enjoy a particular show.

Damian Bazadona: Thank you, Jack, I truly appreciate the time.