3 Tips for Promoting Your Edinburgh Fringe Show During the Countdown

It’s very nearly Fringe season, and if you’re a performer or a freelancer working with one, chances are ‘promotion’ is pretty high on your agenda right now.

But what should you have wrapped up and sorted before you move into August and the feet-slapping groundwork begins?

We’ve created a handy list to help get you started.

1. Create some quirky social media chatter around your show

July is a great time for some publicity stunts, guerilla marketing, and the like. The Fringe is close enough for people to have it in mind, and this is when the media starts to really ramp up their coverage. So why not create some quirky social media chatter around your show?

No, we’re not saying send out the time-old “Make sure you get your tickets to @myshow in time for the Fringe”

We’re thinking:

• Jump on trending hashtags with something hilarious (just make sure it’s not a hashtag for something deadly serious where a joke will go down like a lead balloon)
• Tweet some big names to see if you can get a response
• Start a funny (but related) competition
• Start a Twitter treasure hunt
• Preview some jokes (or some jokes that didn’t make the cut in order to save the spoilers) in a conversation between you and your other cast members tagging random followers

Temple Newsam House in Leeds, UK brings its characters to life in a staged Twitter show

2. Get your printed ducks in order

Flyers are vital for the Fringe, as well as the lovely friends/boyfriends/girlfriends/distant third cousins once removed who will be helping to hand them out. Make sure you have the following ticked off your list as sorted this month:

• Flyers (A5 normally, or DL size)
• Posters (A3 is more common, but some A2 might be good as well.)

Think about how long your show run is and how many people will be touting for you when you’re considering quantity. If you run out, you can always order more, so make sure you use a local printer (and check the price of reprints).

3. Make sure you have all your press shortcuts sorted

When your show takes off as “the next big thing” people are going to want to know who you are, what you’re doing and why it’s so awesome.

So here’s what you need to prepare in advance:

• A short bio of your troupe (& individual cast members if it’s a trio or smaller group)
• A short press release that’s catchy, with high-quality images to run alongside it
• A blurb of your show that’s short and tailored for the general public. Basically: why your show is unique, why people should care about it and where they can go see it.

If you have this all prepped in advance it means you can respond quickly and in a timely fashion when people need it, which is a BIG priority for journalists.

For your full guide, hit up the Edinburgh Fringe promo pack here.

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Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact us any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to our website: www.penguinintheroom.com

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Penguin chats with … the Bristles team

Penguin in the Room spoke to the team behind new comedy film Bristles about their story and fundraising for film.

Bristles in 25 words or less – go.
Quirky comedy about the perils of honeymooning in the 1930s. Lilly is adventure-loving and modern, Lisle is a straight-laced prude. It’s all about to go wrong.

A lot of people are using crowdfunding these days. Why should people support Bristles?
Well, we’re running a sort of interactive crowdfunding experience. By pledging, you become part of this couple’s reality. As the film is about their honeymoon, we’re having a wedding reception for them. On Kickstarter you choose which wedding guest you are – so you might be the work colleague, or the best man, or the fourth cousin once removed, depending on what pledge you make – and that is your character at the wedding. There are also rewards like naming a character in the film, or actually being in the film, which means that Lilly and Lisle will meet you on their honeymoon. The way you pledge might change the film completely.

You both started out as actors, but you are doing more than acting this time aren’t you …
For me (Noor) acting and producing go hand in hand. They employ a very similar skill set and require copious amounts of energy! It’s really important to know which role you are doing at which time and keep clear boundaries. I love having a relationship with the whole crew as well as my fellow cast, and often produce films that I can act in which helps further both careers of mine!

Is this a full time job for you?
God yes! But then there are all the other full time jobs we have to do on top! Multi-tasking and delegation are extremely important in pre-production. We’re very lucky to have a dedicated team working around the clock on this campaign.

So are you getting paid?
God no! This is a passion project for us, but one of the reasons we’re working so hard is to make sure we can pay our cast and crew. Our mission statement is to “invest in people before things” and Danielle’s article, recently featured in Creative Digest, talks about a new way of making indie films. We have a fantastic crew on board who are all committed to pooling resources to make an awesome high-production value, highly collaborative film.

What advice would you give someone starting out on their first production?
Be humble and value the people around you. Film can often feel like an isolated medium to work in because there will be a lot on your plate, but actually there is a beautiful community of collaborators happy to get involved. Everyone is full of great ideas and many have built up a solid list of resources over time.

How have you incorporated social media into your campaign?
We have had an overwhelming response to our Facebook page and Twitter account as soon as we launched them. We make sure we share varied content and we are really looking to engage with our audience, share stories of interest, consistently shoot new footage and photos to keep everyone updated and we have been interacting with all the businesses who have shown their support.

Twitter: @LillyandLisle

Facebook: bristlesfilm

Back the project via Kickstarter here: “Bristles”

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is some penguins with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact us any time for penguin chats via email: info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to the website: www.penguinintheroom.com