Final Master’s Project
Buffalo State College
State University of New York
Public Relations Master’s Project
The Classics Company
An Integrated Public Relations Campaign
By: Gaelynn Petry
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
for the Degree of Master of Science
May 2026
________________________ __________________________
Date of Approval Dr. Deborah A. Silverman, APR
Associate Professor & Chair,
Communication Department
Project Advisor
Table of Contents
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………….3
Phase 1: Research
Analysis of Situation…………………………………………………………4
Secondary Research………………………………………………………….5
Primary Research…………………………………………………………...12
Social Media Analysis……………………………………………………...13
Analysis of Organization…………………………………………………...15
Analysis of Publics…………………………………………………………17
Phase 2: Strategy
Positioning Statement………………………………………………………19
Goals & Objectives…………………………………………………………19
Proactive Strategies………………………………………………………...20
Reactive Strategies…………………………………………………………23
Message Strategy…………………………………………………………...24
Phase 3: Tactics
Communication Tactics…………………………………………………….26
Schedule & Budget…………………………………………………………30
Phase 4: Evaluation
Evaluation Methods………………………………………………………...33
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...37
Appendices
Appendix A: Survey Results………………………………………………..39
Executive Summary
The Classics Company is a nonprofit theater company located in Rochester, NY that opened in 2026. The theater company was founded by Mark Cuddy, the former Artistic Director at the Geva Theater in Rochester, as a retirement passion project. The goal of the theater company is to produce exclusively classic plays with each season focusing on a different playwright. For the inaugural season three works by the playwright Anton Chekov were chosen.
Through initial discussions with my client, they identified the want to expand the audience demographics by bringing in younger audience members in addition to the current demographics who trend older. They also expressed a desire to improve their social media and online presence. Naturally those two goals will work hand-in-hand, so this plan develops strategies and methods to reach their overall goal of broadening their audience demographic.
At the time this plan is being written the inaugural season is nearing it’s end. Due to this timing this plan will be implemented over the second season of the theater company between September 2026 – June 2027. This plan will layout suggestions on how to increase online engagement and ways to target the key public.
The plan will be evaluated using before and after metrics including social media analytics, ticket sales, as well as survey and focus group results.
Phase 1: Research
Step 1: Analysis of the Situation
Background:
The Classics Company is a brand-new local theater company in Rochester, NY under the direction of Mark Cuddy. Cuddy is the former Artistic Director for another local theater company, Geva Theater, and a founding partner for the Rochester Fringe Festival. The Classics Company is a passion project that Cuddy is embarking on to bring classic theater works to the stage that he has not had the opportunity to do so before now in his career. The plan is for each year to highlight a different playwright. For their inaugural season he has chosen three works by Anton Chekhov. They just finished their second play of the season and will soon begin rehearsals for the third and final play of the season.
There are several other theater companies in Rochester, NY that are long established, have solid reputations and local awareness. This presents a challenge for The Classics Company as the local market for theater is very busy and saturated. The Classics Company however offers a unique experience that most theater companies do not offer, their sole focus is to present the works of classic playwrights. This allows them to operate within a niche area of the local entertainment market.
The challenge with operating within a niche area is drawing in the audience. The Classics Company performs in a small theater with 80 seats, a very intimate setting. So far they have not had trouble filling those 80 seats, but the team would like to bring in more young audience members. The existing audience have been people who are familiar with Cuddy’s name in town, primarily older folks, those with a connection cast members and those who are very active within the local theater community. They would like to grow their audience and increase the visibility of their company in the community.
The team at The Classics Company want to find a solution to this challenge which will aid in solidifying its’ place within the Rochester community. Those involved want to be able to sustain the level of success they have already seen but also continue to see it grow. The more people that come out to support the shows in turn will help to ensure the theater company stays open for many years to come.
Step 2: Research Methods
Secondary Research results
Case Studies
The Opening of the Ordway Music Theater
Summary
St. Paul was opening a new multi-use performance hall in January 1985 and faced multiple hurdles to do so, including the slow winter season and local competition. They established a PR team to organize promotion for the grand opening. Some plans included starting promotion 8 months in advance, inviting critics and journalists from both local and national outlets, organizing an “Open House” for the public and a 10-day Gala Opening Festival. They stayed within budget and on schedule, they listened to public concerns (like parking accessibility) and adjusted messaging to address those concerns, and they successfully achieved their objectives.
Relevancy
My client has just opened a new local theater company and is trying to expand its audience. While the Ordway Theater was working on a much larger scale, some of the strategies may be strategies to try, particularly the idea of an open house. One aspect that this case study does not include is the use of social media – an element I know my client wants to utilize.
Nice Glass: Fairchild Tropical Garden Builds Membership Through Chihuly Glass Event
Summary
Fairchild Tropical Garden collaborated with artist Dale Chihuly to display his outdoor glass exhibit and generate fresh media coverage. The PR team came up with multiple new media angles to create widespread media coverage that hadn’t been done before, including reaching a previously untargeted audience: Hispanics. Miami has a large Hispanic population and previous marketing material had not been made with Hispanics accessibility in mind (producing content in Spanish in addition to England). The team successfully reached their objectives.
Relevancy
The PR team thought outside the box and was able to achieve sustained media coverage that brought in their desired audiences. Plenty of media coverage had already been done on the exhibit from previous installations, so they really had to think outside the box and get creative to get the level of media coverage they desired. My client has covered the basic traditional media coverage angles, in order to receive more media coverage new angles would need to be developed.
Fraternal Order of Eagles Increases Understanding and Awareness
Summary
The Fraternal Order of Eagles faced a plateau of their membership and strove to improve new membership rates and brand awareness. To do so they improved their tool kit for local recruitment efforts as well as provided PR training to its current membership. They also increased their local media relations and improved their owned media (magazine and website) based on membership feedback to better serve their members and potential members. They met their objectives and stayed on budget.
Relevancy
They took pre-existing methods and resources they already had and used feedback to improve those materials and raise their brand awareness. This is partly what my client hopes to do as well. They have existing promotional materials, but would like to improve the content within those to bring in a wider audience.
DinoMite Days
Summary
The Carnegie Museum of History in Pittsburgh planned and executed a promotion campaign for their citywide art exhibit of dinosaurs to promote and generate new interest in the museum. They utilized every avenue and opportunity they could: partnering with the city, local sports teams, local and national media. They created incentives to garner website visits and obtain “sponsaurs”. They far exceeded their objectives.
Relevancy
They took a wide promotional approach to reach as wide of an audience as it could. They were creative and fun with their promotional material. If social media had been more prevalent at the time (2003), this is the type of event that easily could have gone viral. My client wants to increase their audience reach and the strategies and tactics utilized here might be of interest to consider.
Fist Americans Museum Integrated Communications
Summary
The First Americans Museum (FAM) had its long awaited grand opening in 2021 and strove to make a large impact on the Native American communities both in Oklahoma and nationally. They studied existing cultural related museums marketing and advertising and developed a broad integrated campaign that covered any and all methods od communication possible. They reached and exceeded their goals for the opening.
Relevancy
When opening a new venture, you want to cover as many communication methods possible. For my client they have a decent hold on the traditional media but would like to incorporate digital and social media into their promotional materials as well.
Rotary Club of Little Rock “Power of Fun”
Summary
The Rotary Club of Little Rock (Club 99) sought to revamp their 2023-24 marketing in an effort to raise awareness and improve engagement w/in the existing club members and the community. They created more opportunities for members and non-members to engage with community events, they focused on a theme of “fun” and tied it to existing marketing for the city. They also engaged local leaders and media to reach and exceed their goals.
Relevancy
The club wanted to revamp their existing marketing to better retain their members and bring in new members. My client wants to do something similar to bring in people outside of their typical audience.
Flour Power: The mill City Museum Grand Opening
Summary
The Minnesota Historical Society created an integrated communication plan for the grand opening of The Mill City Museum which was designed to celebrate the city’s flour mill history. Their objectives include establishing the brand, generate awareness for the museum, bring in people for the opening day and provide a unique experience for locals in the Mississippi riverfront. They utilized a wide range of media sponsorships, advertising and special events. They successfully met and exceeded their objectives.
Relevancy
My client is a new theater company working to establish their place in the community. This case demonstrates the value of having a broad media reach to establish a new company.
Pianos About Town Program Highlights New and Diverse Artists
Summary
The Pianos About Town Program discovered a lack of diversity and new artists applying for the program. They created DEI volunteer committee to improve their messaging. They worked with other local organizations to expand their targeted messaging to underrepresented communities and improved access to application materials, like providing the application in Spanish as well as English. They successfully got a record number of new applicants and new awareness to the program.
Relevancy
My client wants to expand the types of audience members that come to see their shows. The strategies they use in this case study may be prevalent to use with my client.
A Place to Belong: Community Recreation Center for Park District of Oak Park, Illinois
Summary
The Parks Foundation of Oak Park, Illinois had a goal of building a new community recreation center without raising taxes. Their objectives included raising private funding and building community interest in the endeavor. The strategies included an integrated campaign and funding plan, creating engaging social media content and public events leading up to the opening. All objectives were met and exceeded, and the new recreation center opened in May 2023.
Relevancy
The Parks Foundation had to establish the need and interest in order to generate the necessary funding to achieve the goal of not raising taxes. This is a similar goal of my client involving the building of the brand, raising interest awareness for the new theater company and securing private funding.
Debuting a New Era of Local Good Center
Summary
The Chase Oaks Church wanted to build awareness and increase engagement ahead of its Local Good Center expansion opening. The campaign had goals of increasing social media followers, engage local media and have a successful opening. To do this they utilized existing social media platforms and media relations as well as existing connections with the local community. The successfully met their goals and stayed under budget.
Relevancy
My client is already known to certain sect of the local community but wants to expand their reach. Many of the strategies used in this case may also be used by my client.
Primary Research
Survey:
Survey Results
I conducted an in person survey at the Tuesday March 10, 2026 showing of The Cherry Orchard. Tuesdays offer $10 admission for all audience members. The purpose of the survey is to understand how people from our target age range heard about The Classics Company and what other sorts of theater they are interested in and drawn to. 13 people were surveyed.
The Classics Company offers $15 dollar tickets to people 25 and under for every performance except the Tuesday $10 performances. I decided to conduct the survey on a Tuesday because of the discount price because I hoped there would be a decent amount of younger audience members there.
The questions included how they heard about The Classics Company, what other local theaters they have attended in the past, what type of theater performance they like, and how often they go to live theater.
The results show that the majority of the responders heard about The Classics Company through word of mouth, many had friends or family members involved in the current show or the previous show, or the next show. Some mentioned they had heard about it through school and previously auditioned for the company. A few people mentioned social media as how they heard about it. The majority of those surveyed have attended several of the other local theater companies in town, with more than one mentioning they’ve attended shows at any or all of the local theater companies. They are also very frequent theater attenders, the majority attending more than twelve shows in a year. The responses also show that the interest of theater entertainment is any and all types, some preferring musical theater or plays, while others mentioned improv or experimental forms for theater.
The overall conclusion I can draw from this survey is they are a theater loving audience. They have a wide and deep interest in all forms of theater, the classic playwrights included, and they intentionally seek out local theater productions. While there is a lot of word of mouth, it often comes from people involved directly or adjacently with the company itself which is not uncommon with smaller theater companies. The full survey and results can be found in Appendix A.
Analysis of Social Media and Website
Social Media
Currently The Classics Company has a Facebook and an Instagram account. They also have a LinkedIn account, but for the purposes of this plan I have chosen to focus on the Facebook and Instagram accounts. It is worth noting that their Instagram account is only about six months old, and the Facebook page was created a little over one year prior to writing this campaign.
The Facebook page currently has 316 followers which is significantly more than the Instagram page. The page has a good variety of content including posters, announcement flyers, informational slides, as well as photos and videos from performances and rehearsals. They have also linked news articles or other media that mentions or talks about the company. On average there are three to four posts per week, with a higher frequency during a show run. The average number of likes or reactions on a post is approximately 16 per post, with the majority of posts having less than five comments and shares. Naturally there are a few posts that have metrics much higher than that, which tend to be big announcement posts.
The Instagram page currently has 141 followers with 71 posts. Once the Instagram page was created, about six months after the Facebook page, it appears that the content is the same on both pages, however there are slight differences between formatting or design on some posts to ensure it works specifically on Instagram. They appear to make good use of tagging the relevant accounts and people in their posts. One element that is not utilized is hashtags. These can be especially useful in making their content more searchable and help to increase the reach of the posts. Overall post engagement appears to be about the same on Instagram, with the average number of likes being approximately 14 likes per post. Similarly the posts that have much higher engagement are big announcements. The frequency of posts on Instagram is every one to two days, which is very good. The more active the page the better.
Some conclusions that can be drawn from this analysis is that the current key public of The Classics Company is drawn to and uses Facebook more so than Instagram. I think this is consistent with the audience demographics that are currently seen at the shows. As a platform Facebook is more popular with older generations of people such as older Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers. Instagram is more popular amongst younger generations such as younger Millennials, and Gen Z. Gen Alpha as well although they are engaged less with Instagram than other platforms. This is consistent with their desire to improve their social media presence and bring in a younger audience.
While their social media content is very informative and clear to absorb, in many ways it is somewhat stale and faceless. The benefit to using social media is it allows for a more personal touch and allows a company or in this case a theater production to give a back stage look into what is going on. Many other theater companies, both large and small will post backstage and rehearsal content, talking to cast and crew about the shows and show how things are made and put together. That is an opportunity that The Classics Company has not yet explored but that and other approaches to social media content will be discussed later in this plan.
Website
The current website for The Classics Company is basic but it gets the job done. It has a clean layout and easy to navigate. It features key information and links on the home page with easy to find buttons to other pages. The colors are bright and attention grabbing without being overwhelming or garish. This design is consistent and coherent with designs and colors used on The Classics Company social media which successfully creates one cohesive look for the brand.
Some may find the website design to be a bit basic, but it successfully provides the service it needs to which is give information about the theater company and provide key information about auditions, buying tickets and giving donations. There could potentially be other elements to include as time goes on to help increase engagement on the site. This will be discussed later on in the plan as well.
Step 3: Analysis of Organization
Internal
The Classics Company offers a unique experience for theater goers. It’s primary focus is to produce play works from classic playwrights which provides a niche product for the community. Currently there is only one other theater in the Rochester community that offers a similar experience and they perform works from multiple playwrights within a season.
They do currently have a public relations representative, who has been a resource throughout the development of this plan. She has offered unique perspectives and insight into what they have already done and what they would still like to accomplish and improve upon. Overall The Classics Company is very open to suggestions and ideas for ways to improve, what they have while maintaining what they already have going on.
Public Perception
The Classics Company is somewhat known within the Rochester community. Mark Cuddy is known to people in the area, particularly those who frequent the local theater scene. Prior to the opening show in January there were a few news stories on the new theater company on the local news channels, local print news as well as local radio. However, because it is a brand new theater company, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what the public perception is at this point in time. For those that know about it, the response has been overall positive, but people are still learning that The Classics Company exists. One purpose of this plan is to find ways to increase that visibility and bring more people in to see the shows.
External
There are several other theater companies in the Rochester area. These include the Rochester Broadway Theater League (RBTL) which brings the touring Broadway shows to town, Geva Theater, Blackfriar’s Theater, and Company Theater just to name a few. Additionally there is the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and other live music venues around town. There are also several museums and local movie theaters in town. All of these serve as competition for the Rochester community. There are many choices and options for people to chose from and they must chose where they will spend what little free time and surplus money they have.
Other factors that serve as external impediments are factors that communities all over the country are facing. The rapidly rising costs of gas, energy bills, and groceries which in turn causes prices of extracurricular activities to rise. This results in people going out less, spending less money on things that are not necessities and this means they are going to be pickier on the special activities they will spend their money on. This all means that The Classics Company needs to present itself as a standout destination that people will want to go to.
Rochester, NY prides itself on having a thriving and active arts environment, and it does but that means it is just that much harder for a new venture to find its’ place in and among the saturated market.
Step 4: Analysis of the Publics
The Classics Company has several major publics.
Customers
- Current and potential show attendees (of all ages)
- Current and potential member/subscription ticket holders
- Cast family & friends
Producers:
- Current and potential Donors
- Current and potential Sponsors
- The MuCC (The Multi-use Community Cultural Center) team
Enablers
- Local Rochester media
- Theater critics
- Volunteers
- The MuCC (The Multi-use Community Cultural Center) team
Limiters
- Negative media
- Other local theater companies
- Other local entertainment venues
Key Publics
The key public for this campaign is young adults between the ages of 18-35.. This is the one age demographic that The Classics Company would like to reach and bring in to their shows. This age demographic is also probably the hardest of the demographics to sway in their habits. They are more likely to have little to no disposable income and therefore need to develop a strong interest in supporting The Classics Company by attending a show. However, they are also the age demographic that will create a sustaining support for The Classics Company and other local organizations.
Currently they are most likely a latent public. Based on the survey results the younger age demographic that currently attend shows at The Classics Company have a direct connection to or are directly involved with the theater company. Unless they have that connection, they are most likely unaware that The Classics Company exists. The media stories that have been published have been through very traditional media, local TV news stories, local radio and print. The younger age demographic is least likely to see those news stories in their traditional formats as they primarily consume their news through digital means and social media. Part of this plan will address the need to increase their social media engagement and online presence.
Phase 2: Strategy
Step 5: Positioning, Goals & Objectives
Positioning Statement
The Classics Company strives to be a standout destination for local theater in the Rochester, NY community. It delivers classic stage works by playwrights whose works are often not done in modern theater programming due to higher production costs, larger casts, and the change in modern audience tastes.
Goals
Reputational management goal: Increase company visibility within the Rochester community
Objectives
- Awareness: To affect the awareness of the Rochester community, specifically to residents between the ages of 18-35; specifically to increase their awareness of the value The Classics Company offers the region. (60 percent of the Rochester community within six months).
- Acceptance: To affect the acceptance of the Rochester community, specifically residents between the ages of 18-35; specifically to increase the positive attitude towards The Classics Company. (30 percent of the Rochester community within six months).
- Action: To affect the action of the Rochester community, specifically residents between the ages of 18-35; specifically to increase the number who attend a show at The Classics Company. (10 percent of the Rochester community within six months).
Task management goal: Increase online engagement
Objectives
- Awareness: To affect the awareness of potential online followers of The Classics Company; specifically, to increase their engagement with The Classics Company website and social media pages. (60 percent of potential online followers within six months).
- Acceptance: To affect the acceptance of potential online followers of The Classics Company; specifically, to increase the positive attitudes towards their website and social media pages. (30 percent of potential online followers within six months).
- Action: To affect the action of potential online followers of The Classics Company; specifically, to increase engagement with their website and social media pages. (10 percent of potential online followers within six months).
Relationship Management: Bring in more younger audience members.
Objectives
- Awareness: To affect the awareness of potential audience members between the ages of 18-35 of The Classics Company; specifically to increase the number of people attending shows. (60 percent of potential audience members within six months).
- Acceptance: To affect the acceptance of potential audience members between the ages of 18-35 of The Classics Company; specifically to increase positive attitudes towards attending a show. (30 percent of potential audience members within six months).
- Action: To affect the action of potential audience members between the ages of 18-35 of The Classics Company; specifically to increase ticket sales and show attendance of young audience members. (10 percent of potential audience members within six months).
Step 6: Strategies
Proactive
Action
- Audience engagement
o Come up with different wants to engage with audience members and the community to generate interest in the company and bring in new people to the shows.
- Special events
o Make opening and closing nights of the shows into a special event. Possibly a post-show mixer, or red-carpet moment (step and repeats).
o The Classics Company has a membership option: create an exclusive membership event, could be an exclusive showing or separate event to thank them.
- Partnerships
o With the goal of bringing in more younger audience members, developing partnerships with school theater programs or other local community theaters around town could help with visibility and generating interest.
o Partner with local literature groups.
- Promotions
o There is a 25 & under reduced ticket pricing, but to better promote it do a student night for a showing to help generate interest and incentive to come to a show
o Promote a “bring a friend” night, a buy 1 ticket get one ½ off or free in an effort to bring more people to the show who otherwise may not have come.
o Do cast and crew spotlights on social media.
o Develop other creative and out of the box promotional ideas
- Fundraising
o Host a special donors-only event
Communication
- Newsworthy information/Publicity
o Develop creative and out of the box news story angles. The Classics Company has covered a decent amount of local news coverage, but it’s been primarily focused on the opening of the theater company and it’s inaugural season. They need to develop different stories for the 2027 season.
- Transparent communication
o The Classics Company already does a decent job of being clear with their communication and remaining transparent. Some ways this could continue to improve:
§ Utilizing social media to show a more personal look into the company. This could include more behind the curtain looks in the rehearsal and production stages for a show, as well as incorporating the cast into the social media more.
- Generating News
o This strategy involves thinking creatively to create news. The Classics Company could utilize this in a few different ways:
§ Holding some sort of a contest to win tickets
§ bring in a special guest or a special casting who will draw a crowd
§ remain aware of other local news stories happening and see if The Classics Company could connect that story to something they are doing as well.
Reactive
If and when a negative situation arises with the company, it’s important to be prepared on how to handle the situation. It is generally best to utilize a variety of reactive strategies including pre-emptive actions and defensive actions. It is also important to take accountability for the issue if necessary and be open and transparent with the public and the press. This is where strategies like apologies and vocal commiseration come into play as well as rectifying behaviors to ensure the issue will be fixed and measures will be put in place to prevent it from happening again.
Pre-emptive strategies mean that you are getting ahead of the problem before it occurs or before someone else has the chance to break the news. This can be important in a time of crisis. It is always best for a company to own up to their mistakes and admitting something has happened it is always better to own up to it publicly than to stay silent and potentially have it become and even worse issue by staying silent. Even if it is behind the scenes and no one would have known about it otherwise, there is always the risk that something will leak and then the company could be in hot water for not making it public before.
The most likely defensive actions to be used by The Classics Company would be denial and excuse. There is a time and a place to use these, but these are generally good to use when the company is certain it is not directly at fault. Denial means that the company refuses to accept the blame for the incident by claiming innocence. Excuse is when a company tries to minimize the responsibility it had in the incident; that it happened by accident or something happened out of it’s control. These methods should only be used if those are in fact the reason the incident occurred. If they’re used at other times there is the risk that they are exposed and criticized for not taking responsibility.
Vocal commiseration strategies are important in maintaining the company’s reputation and their ability to bounce back from a negative situation. Expressing concern or regret can go a long way when needing to own up to a mistake. Showing remorse allows the public to see that they are truly sorry for what happened and they will take their moment of shame and own up to their mistake. Issuing apologies is a very common way of taking responsibility and are often coupled with a promise to ensure the same mistake does not happen again in the future.
Any of these strategies will not go very far if the company does not follow through on the promises it makes to rectify the situation and ensure there is not a repeat of the incident. It is important that a company is transparent with the media and their publics during a time of crisis and that what they say is genuine and reflected in their actions. That is what will ensure the public’s belief in their statements and their trust in the company.
Step 7: Message Strategy
Message source
For messaging the primary source will be Mark Cuddy, the head of The Classics Company. He is familiar and comfortable being on camera, speaking with the press and giving interviews. He is engaging and speaks well and he is comfortable in front of an audience. Locally he is well known due his long tenure at Geva Theater and he is well respected in the community.
A secondary spokesperson would be the PR firm The Classics Company works with, Dresden Public Relations. Dresden Engle is the director and founder of the company and is the PR representative for The Classics Company. She is very charismatic and comfortable speaking with people. She also has a long relationship with Mark Cuddy, having worked with him at Geva Theater.
Message appeal
The key message this plan will strive to communicate is how unique an experience it will be to come see a performance at The Classics Company and that classic plays can still be relevant, performed and entertaining for a modern audience. In order to get this message to connect with their publics, this plan will use both rational and emotional appeal methods.
Rational appeal focuses on facts and statistics. There have been various studies done that showcase the scientific value of being exposed to and involved with the arts. Drawing on these facts will help to showcase the importance of keeping arts companies in business so they can thrive and continue to provide this service to their audiences.
Emotional appeal focuses on getting the public to feel an emotional connection to the message. This is when getting testimonials from previous audience members can come into play. They can share what they experienced when attending a show and what they felt experiencing a work that they most likely have never seen performed live before. This will show that there is value in performing these classic works that many people have never experienced before and that they can still be relevant to a modern audience.
Verbal & Nonverbal communication
Verbal communication
When communicating verbally it is important to use strong and clear language. As a spokesperson one should speak in the present tense and using action verbs will convey a sense of importance and urgency in the message.
Nonverbal communication
Nonverbal cues are just as important as verbal ones. A spokesperson should have a strong and open posture and make eye contact to who they are talking to. Other communication materials that are published should be consistent in their quality and production. Having consistent branding on published materials will be a strong visual communication to the public and create brand recognition which will serve a company well in the long-run.
Creating consistent visual branding can be done with ensuring everything has the company’s logo incorporated somewhere on the piece and it is easily recognizable. Using consistent fonts will also help achieve that brand recognition. Additionally choosing good quality photos and videos will help to curate a company image that is professional and polished. All of these will be visual communication to the public and help to draw interest and trust in a company.
Phase 3: Tactics Phase
Step 8: Communication Tactics
Owned
The Classics Company does have a website. It's not the most spectacular design but it gets the job done. This could be something that I would recommend revisiting in a year or two to make improvements. As mentioned earlier in this plan, the website is a bit basic and the layout could be modified as time goes on. There is also the potential to have other pages added to the website to aid in their online engagement.
One section that could be added is a cast highlight section that could be a place where cast bios are posted. This could include crew or other company members as well. The potential for a playwright section is also there since the model of the theater company is that each season focuses on a different playwright. Having a dedicated page for the playwrights would provide a means for people to learn more about that playwright. That page could also include short videos of Cuddy or the cast discussing the plays or the playwrights if the layout allows for it.
The company already utilizes email newsletters. These should include updates for shows, ticket sales information, donation encouragements as well as special announcements or fun highlights and stories that are relevant to the company.
Another area of owned media that can be utilized is special events. Holding in person events is a great way to build communication between the company and their publics. Also holding an exclusive event, for example a membership holder only event, it builds an incentive for people to sign up for the membership. This could also be done with donors as a thank you. Special events could also include special premiere night events like a red-carpet moment as people arrive, or a post-show mixer, something to create extra buzz around the opening of a new show.
Earned
So far The Classics Company has done a good job at getting local news stories focusing on the opening of the theater company. There have been multiple stories done through local television news channels in the build up to the first show opening. They’ve done an interview with the local PBS radio station. There have also been a couple of print ads in local newspapers. These stories have all served the purpose of announcing the start of the inaugural season for The Classics Company. However in order to continue getting stories with these local outlets there needs to be something worth reporting on, something different than simply announcing the next show. This is where some of the strategies mentioned above may be able to stir up enough buzz around the theater company to get some refreshed media coverage.
Shared
This will be the most heavily utilized tactic for this campaign. One goal they have is to increase their social media presence and better reach that younger audience they want to bring to their shows. They currently have a Facebook page, Instagram, and a LinkedIn. I will also note here that currently they do not have TikTok account, however the key public for this plan, adults age 18-35, are more engaged on that app. There could be a great benefit to create a TikTok account if the team feels there is the capacity and interest to do so. This plan would primarily focus on Instagram and Facebook to target their desired public and engage with their audience.
A couple of different methods include doing individual cast and possibly crew highlights for the shows. This can be a great way to create shareable content that the cast members can share to their networks to further help spread the word about the theater company. It also allows more of a personal view into the theater company and truly highlight the talent that is bringing the shows to the stage.
Behind the scenes content is another idea for social media content. People always like to get a “look behind the curtain” and sharing that content can bring something new to their social media pages. This type of content typically performs well and allows the audience to connect to the company more.
Another element that can help with their socials is posts having some sort of call to action within the posts. The most likely scenario would be including the link to purchase tickets to a show.
With social media it is important to consider the frequency and timing of when to post. The more frequent the posts the better, especially when trying to promote something. Currently The Classics Company does a good job at posting frequently; on average 3-4 posts per week with some weeks being every day, particularly leading up to a show. There is minimal repeat content, and each post is unique and has a focus. Currently the cast for each show gets announced a little over one month prior to the show, this is a good timeframe as it is typically just after the previous show finishes.
It is important to note that this is the first season of The Classics Company, and they have not yet experienced an “off season” yet. There was plenty of social media content in the 2-3 months prior to the inaugural show, but that is different from the in-between seasons time that will occur over the summer months. This does present a challenge and it’s important to maintain an active presence during those off-season months to maintain the momentum. A goal of posting once a week at least would be ideal. Drumming up excitement for the next season, promoting memberships, and donations will be key during the off-season. This could also be a time to create content surrounding the upcoming playwright. At the time of writing this plan they have just announced the second season playwright to be Molière. The off-season could be used to post information and fun facts about next year’s playwright.
Paid
For this plan, the focus is on utilizing social media to bring in the target audience adults aged 18-35. Their primary source of media is the internet, with social media being a large part of that. While social media is primarily a shared media tactic, one way to cross-utilize paid media with shared media would be paying for social media boosts and ads. Depending on what the budget allows for, the frequency and duration of these boosts and ads will vary. Regardless, boosting posts is a great way to increase the visibility of their content and their page and if successful increase engagement. This could be used to promote their membership ticket options as well as regular ticket sales in the lead up to individual shows.
While the focus is social media, it should not be the only paid advertising utilized. Using traditional TV and radio ads can still be very beneficial. This plan focuses on efforts to bring in a specific age group of audience, but there is still work to be done to bring in audience members of all ages and demographics, so it is important to still allocate funds towards that as well as social media ads.
Step 9: Implementation
Schedule
Taking into consideration the timing of when this plan is being created, this is written with the intention to be implemented for the next season of The Classics Company. This would make the timeline for this plan between September 2026 – June 2027. While typically a theater company’s season begins in September, The Classics Company only does three shows a year and they happen between January and May.
September & October 2026
This is the period of time that additional research should be done. This should include conducting one or two focus groups and potentially an additional survey to acquire a good baseline for information that will be followed up with focus groups and surveys at the end of the plan as well for evaluation (refer to the Evaluation section for further information about that).
This is also when social media content should be planned out and a detailed posting schedule created. The further in advance social media content is planned and created the smoother the process will go. Things to include when creating a social media schedule: filming schedule (what types of posts there will be, when will content be filmed/photographed, who will be capturing footage/content, an editing timeline, and who will give final approval of posts.
This is also a great time to begin to brainstorm for future news and media stories that would be desired for the upcoming season. Has anything unique or special been planned for the season that is significantly different from the previous season? If so, this should be pitched to the local media, as well as any other stories that could be a unique story to share. This time can also be used to prepare and send out press releases or media pitches.
November & December 2026
These two months is when promotion for the upcoming season should start if it hasn’t started already. Show dates and cast announcement should be posted during this time. Ticket sale information should be promoted heavily during this time. This is also when new releases or media pitches should be developed for the upcoming season if this has not been started already.
This is also the time when rehearsal will begin and there should be a plan to begin capturing rehearsal footage and content with the cast members when possible for social media. Capturing this footage should follow the plan developed in the prior months.
January 2027 – May 2027
The main focus should be maintaining the promotion of the shows. Following and sticking to the detailed posting schedule created in the Fall of 2026. Ideally content should be drafted and ready to post at least one week in advance. There are also social media scheduling software and apps that can aid with this as well.
May (post final show) & June 2027
During this month the ‘after’ survey and focus group should be conducted and the results of the before and after analyzed and evaluated.
This time would be a good time to hold a thank you event for members and/or donors. This could also happen.
Budget
Given that this is a non-profit organization, even though they do make money with ticket sales and limited merchandise sales, the majority of these costs go towards the running and production of the shows. The Classics Company relies heavily on donor support for what can’t be covered from ticket sales. Therefore for the purposes of this plan I have focused on what can be done for little to no cost.
Free items:
- TikTok (if added to their social media profiles)
Paid items:
- Instagram boosts/ads - $500
o This allows for 5 posts boosted at $10 per day for 10 days
- Facebook boosts/ads - $500
o This allows for 5 posts boosted at $10 per day for 10 days
Total: $1,000
For the social media boosts, this is a high estimate. The cost per day and length of the boost can be adjusted as desired or necessary.
Phase 4: Evaluation
Step 10: Evaluating the plan
Evaluating awareness objectives:
- To affect the awareness of the Rochester community, specifically to residents between the ages of 18-35; specifically to increase their awareness of the value The Classics Company offers the region. (60 percent of the Rochester community within six months).
o One way to evaluate this objective would be by tracking the media impressions on the theater company’s website, news coverage (if able to gain access to), as well as social media. This should be done prior to implanting this plan and then again afterwards, this will show if there has been the desired increase or not. Media impressions are not the only way to know if awareness has increased but if more people are seeing information and content about the theater company that is an indication that more people are aware the company exists.
o Another method would be through surveys and focus groups. These would need to survey people within he Rochester Community, both within and outside of the visible audience for the theater company. People who attend shows obviously are aware of the theater company but questions intended to learn when and how they learned of The Classics Company will help with understanding if the methods implemented from this plan were effective or not. This can also be true with surveying people around the community to ask whether they have heard of The Classics Company or not; just because they have not attended a show does not mean they have not heard about the company.
- To affect the awareness of potential online followers of The Classics Company; specifically, to increase their engagement with The Classics Company website and social media pages. (60 percent of potential online followers within six months).
o The best way to evaluate this objective would be to do a before and after comparison of a social media analysis. Doing this at the start of the campaign will give a baseline to the analytics of The Classics Company social media and website. This can then be compared to the data that is obtained by a post-plan social media analysis and hopefully there will be visible evidence that the desired increase was achieved.
- To affect the awareness of potential audience members between the ages of 18-35 of The Classics Company; specifically to increase the number of people attending shows. (60 percent of potential audience members within six months).
o A good way to measure this objective is to do a survey and/or focus group with people within the age range and pose questions to them pertaining to their awareness of The Classics Company.
Evaluating acceptance objectives:
- To affect the acceptance of the Rochester community, specifically residents between the ages of 18-35; specifically to increase the positive attitude towards The Classics Company. (30 percent of the Rochester community within six months).
o One way to measure the success of this objective conducting a survey that questions the Rochester Community about The Classics Company, specifically their thoughts on the theater company and what it has to offer to the community. This survey could be distributed at large to the community or to a more targeted pool of recipients.
- To affect the acceptance of potential online followers of The Classics Company; specifically, to increase the positive attitudes towards their website and social media pages. (30 percent of potential online followers within six months).
- To affect the acceptance of potential audience members between the ages of 18-35 of The Classics Company; specifically to increase positive attitudes towards attending a show. (30 percent of potential audience members within six months).
Evaluating action objectives:
- To affect the action of the Rochester community, specifically residents between the ages of 18-35; specifically to increase the number who attend a show at The Classics Company. (10 percent of the Rochester community within six months).
- To affect the action of potential online followers of The Classics Company; specifically, to increase engagement with their website and social media pages. (10 percent of potential online followers within six months).
- To affect the action of potential audience members between the ages of 18-35 of The Classics Company; specifically to increase ticket sales and show attendance of young audience members. (10 percent of potential audience members within six months).
Bibliography
(1985) The Opening of the Ordway Music Theater (6BW-8503D). Public Relations Society of America
(2004) DinoMite Days (6BE-0404D2). Public Relations Society of America
(2004) Flour Power: The Mill City Museum Grand Opening (6BE-0403D03) Publics Relations Society of America
(2007) Fraternal order of Eagles Increases Understanding and Awareness (6BE-0713c05). Public Relations Society of America
(2007) Nice Glass: Fairchild Tropical Garden Builds Membership through Chihuly Glass Exhibit (6BW-0704D14). Public Relations Society of America
(2022) Debuting the New Era of Local Good Center Public Relations Society of America
(2022) First Americans Museum Integrated Communications Public Relations Society of America
(2023) Pianos About Town Program Highlights New and Diverse Artists Public Relations Society of America
(2025) A Place to Belong: Community Recreation Center for Park District of Oak Park, Illinois Public Relations Society of America
(2025) Rotary Club of Little Rock “Power of Fun” Public Relations Society of America
Appendix A – Survey Results
Questionnaire
1. How did you learn about the Classics Company?
a. Local Tv News
b. Local Radio
c. Local Print News
d. Social Media
e. Word of Mouth
f. Other
2. What kind of theater entertainment do you prefer?
a. Musical Theater
b. Plays
c. Dance
d. Improv
e. Experimental
f. All of the above
3. What other Rochester Theater Companies have you attended in the past?
a. Geva Theater
b. RBTL
c. Blackfriars
d. OFC
e. Fringe Festival
f. CenterStage at JCC
g. Company Theater
h. Penfield Players
i. MuCC
4. How often do you go to a live theater performance
a. Rarely (1-2 per year)
b. Occasionally (3-6 per year)
c. Frequently (8-12 per year)
d. Very frequent (12+ per year)
5. Age range
a. <25
b. 26-35
c. 36-45
d. 46-55
e. 56-65
f. 66 and over
Results