Luminato [1], Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity taking place this year June 10-19, is running an integrated interactive marketing campaign to build awareness of the Luminato brand, provide a year-round voice for the 10-day Festival, deliver innovative, real-time content, and broaden subscriber and social networking databases.
Luminato is an annual multi-disciplinary celebration of theatre, dance, music, literature, food, visual arts, fashion, film, and more. For 10 days in June, Toronto’s stages, streets, and public spaces are illuminated with arts and creativity.
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“Luminato’s 2011 marketing campaign integrates print, outdoor, broadcast, cinematic, online, and direct mail communications, while building awareness and understanding of the Festival in local, national and international markets, and encouraging attendance at the Festival’s over 150 free and ticketed events,” says Mike Forrester, vice-president, consumer and corporate relations.
Luminato’s interactive marketing campaign supports the Festival’s traditional marketing strategy, and encompasses the Festival website, mobile, social media, QR codes, online, print and broadcast advertising, as well as e-mail and direct mail marketing.
Toronto advertising agency Bensimon Byrne [3] is agency of record, with responsibility for rebranding the Festival and developing a new integrated marketing strategy for Luminato 2011, and beyond. Bensimon Byrne, along with its subsidiaries Mighty Digital [4] and Narrative Advocacy Media [5], is overseeing localized and international marketing creative for the Festival, as well as promotional initiatives.
Among new elements of this year’s campaign, Luminato is using QR codes to drive audiences to luminato.com, to Luminato’s Facebook page, and to download mobile apps. QR codes will be placed in print and outdoor marketing materials including posters, banners, and transit advertisements. ScanLife [6] is Luminato’s exclusive mobile barcode provider for the 2011 Festival.
“Scanbuy is proud to bring QR Codes to Luminato for the first time ever,” says Michael Wehrs, CEO and President of Scanbuy. “The ScanLife app gives visitors immediate access to information and content to really enhance the event experience on their mobile device.”
Luminato’s 2011 website partner is Toronto-based Mouth Media Inc. [7] A dynamic, branded homepage invites visitors to engage with Festival content, view Festival events, and interact with social media – particularly Facebook – with the ability to ‘like’ and share event information.
Also new to luminato.com this year is an integrated ticket purchasing platform (Archtics), an interactive Festival brochure, event guide, and family guide, Arabic translations on website pages, and navigation sorted by event type, date, price and location.
For the 2010 Festival, Luminato launched an Apple iPhone App to great success. This year, for the 2011 Festival, Luminato is introducing an enhanced content delivery and sharing tool usable on BlackBerrys, Androids, iPhones, and iPads. The Luminato application is powered by a mobile website and is intuitively simple, reflecting the interactive elements of luminato.com.
The Luminato mobile platform tool offers a balance between event listings and live experience content, allowing content-sharing to social media accounts; highlights event check-ins; and offers user incentives. Aside from allowing users to browse events by location, time, or a personalized My Luminato schedule, users share the experience of being at a Luminato event by submitting geo-tagged photos and text in real-time from the event location. Photos are instantly featured within the Luminato mobile app and on Luminato’s Facebook page. Additionally, Luminato events will appear on Pulse The World, a mobile application that lets users tag and discover Festival events happening nearby.
Luminato’s 2011 mobile apps are powered by Xomo Digital [8] and are presented by TELUS. [9]
Luminato’s 2011 interactive marketing campaign supports social media conversations between the Festival and its network, including messaging focused on growing digital relationships, awareness, and viral word-of-mouth. Through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs, friends and followers are encouraged to capture photos and videos of Festival events and to share them with their networks.