Puffs the Play
The Show
Broadway Crew was hired by the producers of Puffs in the summer of 2018 to take over the street team duties for Puffs’s off-Broadway production. The show had been running for a few years and had built up a solid fanbase, partially thanks to a professionally shot full-recording of the show that was available online.
The Challenge
Puffs was a show that was inspired by the popular Harry Potter series, acting as an alternate story to what was happening during the mainline books. Because of this, however, one of the big challenges of selling Puffs was avoiding any of the copyrighted verbiage. The goal was to make it clear to audience members that the show was connected to a beloved piece of intellectual property without infringing on that intellectual property
The Solution
After we were hired on to be the street team for Puffs, we created a unique sales strategy tailored to Puffs’s needs to promote the show, both at TKTS and elsewhere. In our analysis of the shows strengths and comparison to its competitors, we determined three key target-audiences:
Families
Puffs was the perfect show for families. It was a laugh-a-minute comedy that appealed to both boys and girls as well as adults. In addition, because Puffs performed some performances every week with a specifically ‘family friendly’ version of the show, it was very easy to sell to families on those days. Puffs also typically had very good availability at TKTS which meant that families could find a block of tickets together and, because it was an Off-Broadway show, it had a price point that was very appealing for families!
Teens and Young Adults
Many teenagers and young adults come to TKTS looking for a show to see but have a pretty tight budget for how much they can spend. Puffs was typically one of the most affordable shows for sale which made pitching to teens and young adults fairly simple. Add on to that the fact that Puffs was one of the only comedies available that appealed to a younger generation and Puffs was consistently a winner among this demographic!
Fans of the Source Material
Fans of Potter were almost universally huge fans of Puffs. We would pitch the show and highlight the connection to the popular series. As soon as they realized what the show was, the faces of Potter fans would light up and they would grab the flyer. As we explained the premise of the show, fans would immediately start laughing and insist to their families and friends that they go and check out Puffs.
We also utilized several sales tactics that were effective at selling Puffs:
Finding Potter related words that weren’t copyrighted
Our greatest challenge was finding ways to connect Puffs to Potter without violating copyright laws. What we found, however, is that we could find words that were related to Potter but were not copyrighted. For example, Harry Potter is copyrighted, but Potter is not. So we would say “any Potter fans?” which would immediately connect us with the fans of the series but without violating anyone’s intellectual property. Finding these work arounds were a vital part of our strategy to sell Puffs.
Selling the funny
Puffs was, first and foremost, a comedy and we found that pushing that was an incredibly effective sales strategy. Many people come to TKTS looking for a show that can help them escape the, at times, chaotic state of the ‘real world.’ Because of this, comedies are always very appealing to patrons. By pitching Puffs as the premiere Off-Broadway comedy, we were able to make Puffs very appealing to a broad sector of patrons.
A team sales strategy
For all of our shows, we use a team sales strategy to maximize effectiveness and affordability for clients. We had a dedicated promoter on the line for Puffs, but we also briefed the entire team about the show details, sales tactics, and target audiences. This meant that every Crew Member was able to sell the show if they encountered a patron who was in the target demographic or was interested in the show and could reinforce other Crew Members’ sales pitches. This kind of team reinforcement is an incredibly effective method for completing sales.
Special event flyering
We also did special event flyering for Puffs at NYC Comic Con, a Harry Potter exhibit, and other events that appealed to the target demographics of Puffs. What these events provided was a concentrated group of patrons who were likely fans of the . By getting flyers in their hands, we were able to build buzz for the show, try out different sales strategies, and sell tickets.
The Results
Through our work, Puffs was able to have a very strong performance in the same-day ticket market for its run Off-Broadway.
