Marketing Overview of Company and Marketing Objective – First Stop
The Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra (JCSO) reflects the sounds of life in the community of Johns Creek, GA. As a strong cultural arts community north of Atlanta, the city of Johns Creek has championed the JCSO as a powerful proponent of the performing arts as they unite city locals at their outstanding concerts.
As with many performing arts organizations, the JCSO was hit hard by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, leading them to reevaluate how they promote their concerts, charitable efforts, and educational programs. In 2022, the JCSO came to EWISE Marketing & Communications to design and implement an effective marketing strategy that would engage the local community and speak to the resilience of the orchestra.
Now, let’s dive into this marketing tour, where we talk about the power of local marketing. Want even more insight? Check out our case study on the JCSO!
Creating a Brand Voice that Speaks to the Community – Second Stop
The JCSO has an incredible history. One of the most intriguing facts about the orchestra is that it was established the same day that Johns Creek officially became a city. Because of JCSO’s deep roots in the area, it was important for the orchestra to approach their new marketing strategy with a greater emphasis on their role in the community. This is where the EWISE team flexed their messaging muscles!
Using our brand development skills, we helped the JCSO rebrand to better reflect their elegance, artistry, and professionalism, and a huge part of our rebrand revolved around messaging. To kick off the orchestra’s 2022-2023 season, we needed to come up with a theme that said, “the JCSO is back and better than ever.” After many conversations about brand voice, messaging, and JCSO’s gratefulness for the community, we found our theme.
Inspired by the Johns Creek community’s immense support for the orchestra during the pandemic, the JCSO’s 2022-2023 season was named, “Resilient Spirit, Resounding Season.”
Leveraging Local Digital Marketing to Build a Johns Creek Community Presence – Third Stop
Because the JCSO exclusively performs in Johns Creek, GA, it was extremely important for them to tap into local digital marketing and advertising opportunities. When the JCSO came to us, they needed to revitalize their strategies in this aspect of marketing in a way that encouraged existing and new communities to attend a concert post-pandemic. The EWISE team immediately got to work and made sure we covered all our bases: billboards, print ads, social media ads, publication-specific ads, etc.
In all our local digital advertising efforts for JCSO, we have prioritized consistency with our messaging and brand image. This has helped us to create a clear, cohesive brand while increasing brand recognition and the orchestra’s community presence across the city. Our goal was to make sure that Johns Creek residents could glimpse at our ads (without reading the details) and immediately know that the JCSO was behind the ad, promoting an upcoming concert.
Creating Relationships with Local Media Outlets to Reach a Wider Audience – Fourth Stop
Media coverage is a huge milestone for any brand, and local media coverage is extremely important for hyper-local organizations like the JCSO. The advantage of local media coverage, as opposed to national media coverage, is that if a brand’s target audience is exclusive to a particular region, then the target audience is likely paying attention to local broadcast news programs as well as local papers (even if they’re reading the digital version). Because people like to know what’s going on in their community, hyper-local brands can reach a wide audience with the help of local media coverage.
With a refreshed brand and new energy, the JCSO has caught the attention of local media, from niche performing arts magazines to broader regional outlets like the Atlanta Journal Constitution. By creating relationships with journalists in the greater Atlanta area, the JCSO increased their visibility beyond Johns Creek.
Showing Off Through Social Media – Fifth Stop
In today’s digital age, social media profiles can speak volumes on a brand’s overall professionalism, presence, and engagement. Because the JCSO relies on the interest of music fans in the local community, it was extremely important for the orchestra to reevaluate how they represent themselves on social media. Even more so, the JCSO needed to “show off” on social media with professional videos that increased a viewer’s desire to go to an upcoming concert.
From an EWISE standpoint, we understood that the JCSO’s social media pages were not going to do them justice unless we created a “scrollable feed experience.” We might have just made that term up, but it’s true! Our goal was to make social media scrollers feel something with our posts and continue scrolling on the JCSO’s profile for endless, elegant content that invited them into the world of classical music.
Our hard work continues to pay off, with JCSO’s social media followers increasing month over month. Check out one of JCSO’s best Instagram reels.
Creating a Local Marketing Symphony – Sixth Stop
While the JCSO elegantly conducts each concert, the EWISE team expertly conducts the orchestra’s local marketing strategy. In our time working with the JCSO, we have had a ton of fun getting creative, exploring new ideas and opportunities, and increasing our local reach. Our work with the JCSO has proven that regional brands can maximize their marketing with unique, specific, and true-to-you marketing strategies.
We hope you enjoyed our marketing tour! Ready to get local in your community? Contact us!