STEP 3: Production and dissemination of communication material
Once you have chosen your target audience and the promotion channels you could use, it will be important to make sure to have a clear idea on what is the activity you want to promote and the promotion strategy you will use in order to attract participants and reflect the innovative and unique aspects of your work.
Creating an elevator pitch for the activity or performance
In this sense, we propose to start with an exercise such as:
It will depend on the number of participants in the process, but it can ideally combine all members of the Direction, Production and Communication teams.
- To promote the digital performance
- To have a clear common idea on what the added value of this performance/digitally-native creation is
Around 60 minutes
Ideally a clear space where people can move
Ask participants to set up the space, not necessarily a large space, but a clear space. If possible ask them to leave cameras and microphones active (unless some people refuse or are unable to)
Explain what an elevator pitch is: it is a promotional speech of about 30 seconds (the time it takes to talk to someone in an elevator) to “sell” your workshop. It should have the following structure:
- What do you do?
- Why do you do it?
- What are the benefits of participating in this performance?
- What makes it different from other productions?
- Call to act: what do you want the other person to do and how can they do it?
(For example: call me on this number, contact me via Facebook, etc. and provide contact details, sign up via email and provide email)
- Divide participants in pairs to practice their elevator pitch with their partner. Ask each one to try it once depending on the important aspects the person sees in the activity. Then ask them to work together through each question thoughtfully and create a common script.
- Ask participants to present what they have done and have the rest of the group behave as if they were the target group, making questions and then giving constructive feedback. Each group should present and receive observations, suggestions and ideas to improve the pitch.
- Once they have accomplished this step, ask them to work in a group and create a common script taking into consideration the fundamental elements they have detected in the previous step.
Ask all participants to go back to the circle and to reflect on the activity: what has happened, how they felt, what they have learnt, if they feel something has changed in their perception, how they feel this activity might give them insight
into promoting their performance or activities. Provide at least 5 minutes for this final part so the group can collectivise the experiences.
Ask participants to already start thinking about the pitch in a digital format helping them with these questions:
- How am I going to adapt the pitch into the specific digital platform?
- What kind of digitally-native codes should I use (emojis, gifs, photos,etc.)?
- What is the most appropriate time to disseminate according to the platform and the target groups?
Make sure that participants dedicate time to think about this adaptation process of content into a concrete digital platform.
Best timing to post on Social Media according to researches:
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/
On how to create an elevator pitch for any idea or project:
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/elevator-pitch.htm
In this step, you should also select and elaborate the graphic pieces that are necessary for the dissemination, some options are:
Creating and designing a promotion flyer
In order to create an appealing communication material to attract the audience, you can lead this activity:
It will depend on the number of participants in the process, but it can ideally combine all members of the Direction and Production teams as well as actors and Communication Team if there is applicable.
- To promote the digital performance.
- To have a clear common idea on what the added value of this performance/digitally-native creation is.
- To create a visual material and identity of the project that can be easily disseminated using digital channels.
60 minutes
- Computer
- Available platforms previously studied in depth
- Stable Internet connection
Ask participants to set up the space, not necessarily a large space, but a clear space. If possible ask them to leave cameras and microphones active (unless some people refuse or are unable to).
- Give a short intro about how to use the selected online platform to design creative materials or an overview of possible platforms that can help participants to design the flyer (10 min).
- Divide the group in pairs and ask them to think on a specific part of the information that has to go on the flyer (target audience, practical information, appealing information that “calls” the participants (10 min).
- Once their are ready with this, reunite everyone in a group and ask them to review and agree together on the name of the performance, where it will take place,on which days and which time, who is the target group (5 to 10 minutes).
- Ask them to collectively produce (a sketch or a final) a flyer containing all this information (30 minutes).
You can debrief together with the following questions:
Are you satisfied with the result?
Was it easy/difficult to put the idea in an image?
Tip 1: You can add two additional steps in this activity : one before the design of the flyer (brainstorming) and one after its design (test with audience).
For the brainstorming, you can use a shared visual platform such as Jamboard, Miro or such to put together everyone’s ideas on:
- What does this project/activity represent to me?
- Do you think that there is a colour, a word or a concept that visually represents the idea/the project?
- What are the main strengths and values of this project?
- What kind of effect do you want to generate with the visual identity – surprise, mystery, immediate comprehension, innovation?
For the test with the audience, you can ask participants to share the flyer with at least 1 or 2 people from their close circle and get their feedback as if they were the target group. Then all feedback can be shared in a following session to adjust the flyer based on the inputs received.
Tip 2: In case you work with a group where each person will create/organise individual performance or in small groups, you can ask people to work individually, in pairs or in small groups and after each flyer is presented the rest of participants can do the role of target groups and add comments and suggestions.
Useful platforms to create visual content for brainstorming:
https://jamboard.google.com/
https://miro.com/
Useful platforms to create visual content for a flyer:
https://www.visme.co/flyer-maker/
https://www.canva.com/
For any of these graphic pieces the following basic information about the content should be taken into account:
For this step, the competences to be included are:
Image / Aesthetics
Colour palette
Typography
References
For the design, you can use software or digital tools such as: Paint, Adobe Photoshop, Krita, SAI, among others. Alternatively and depending on the budget, you can use some web platforms that have free design templates, such as: Canva, Befunky, Piktochart, etc.
In the same way, some free editing programmes can be used for the realisation of audiovisual material, such as: Avidemux, iMovie, FilmoraGo, Blender, etc.
Considering the design and execution of all the above steps, it is important to take into account the time required for their development, so it is necessary to work in line with the project schedule, which is under the responsibility of the Production team. If this is not available, it is suggested to create a timetable, as detailed below.
In the same way, some free editing programmes can be used for the realisation of audiovisual material, such as: Avidemux, iMovie, FilmoraGo, Blender, etc.
