Times
About Tom
Session 1 - Saturday 11 October 9am-11.45am Session 4 - Sunday 12 October 9am-11am
Session 4: Getting the Word Out: Smart, Strategic Theatre Marketing You’ve got a great campaign—now how do you make sure people see it? This workshop explores how to reach your audience using a smart mix of digital and traditional marketing tools. Learn when to boost a post, where to print a poster, and how to build a strategy that works for your show and your community.
Tom Hart is an award-winning marketing and design specialist with extensive experience in the performing arts sector. As the Marketing and Communications Manager for Showbiz Christchurch, Tom leads the strategic delivery of campaigns across digital, print, and social platforms – creating all visual content in-house, from social reels to billboards and show programmes. His design work was recognised with the Diamond Award for Best Programme (2025) and First Place in the MTNZ Poster Awards (2024). Tom’s work extends beyond musical theatre, collaborating with local artist Ghostcat on the innovative Ghosts on Every Corner project and supporting the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Project, applying his marketing skills to initiatives that honour both contemporary creativity and historical restoration. With a background spanning over 25 years on stage and in the director’s chair, Tom brings a unique blend of theatrical insight and marketing expertise to his work. His campaigns are known for their creativity, impact and ability to connect meaningfully with audiences. He has also presented marketing workshops and managed CRM systems, ticketing platforms and end-to-end campaign planning for large-scale musical theatre productions.
Session 1: More Than a Poster: Designing a Killer Campaign Marketing is more than printing posters. In this workshop, we’ll unpack how to build a full show campaign that’s consistent, compelling, and creative—without blowing the budget. Discover how to shape your show’s visual and verbal identity, plan content that works, and use storytelling to hook your audience from casting call to curtain close.
Marketing
Tom Hart
Workshop 1
Workshop 2 4
Workshop 1: More Than a Poster: Designing a Killer Campaign Build a show campaign with voice, heart, and impact. Focus: Campaign concepting, visual storytelling, messaging, and creative content planning Includes: Elements of short-form content (like reels/TikToks), but framed as part of a wider campaign What you’ll learn: How to define your campaign’s tone and hook How to unify your visual and written voice How to map out an engaging, layered campaign—from casting to closing night How to make the most of what you have (cast, crew, venue, volunteers, and budget) Examples of creative theatre campaigns that worked in NZ settings Content brainstorms: what can you create and when? Interactive activity: In groups, participants develop a campaign concept and rollout plan for a popular musical Includes choosing a theme, visual style, and five key content ideas Outcome: Participants leave with a campaign toolkit and a better sense of how to tell a consistent, compelling story across all platforms. Workshop 2: Getting the Word Out: Smart, Strategic Theatre Marketing From socials to street posters—where, when, and how to reach your audience. Focus: Media channels, budgets, target audiences, social vs print, digital strategy Covers: Understanding your audience: who are you talking to and where do they spend their time? The right media mix: digital (socials, eDMs, YouTube, Google) vs analogue (posters, flyers, newspapers, radio) Paid vs organic: where to spend and where to save Selling more than just tickets: selling experience, emotion, urgency Working with media outlets: press releases, interviews, listings How to time your message—when is too early, too late, or just right? Interactive activity: Case study breakdowns: match a show to a target market and develop a media strategy Bonus mini activity: “You have $500—where would you spend it?” Outcome: Participants will feel more confident creating a channel plan that’s realistic, effective, and tailored to their show and audience.
Workshop details