San Diego Opera Rebranding Success Story

DESCRIPTION

Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast.

When

January 2017

Who

Jason Davis, John Anderson, Mirco Cattabriga, Aaron Jones, Amanda Johnson, Steve McQueen

Back in March 2022, I took on a role that didn’t exactly match my background: Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for San Diego Opera. Let’s be honest: I’m a big white guy from a small town in Indiana who’s always been more into theatre. Opera? While I’ve been attending since my 20s and have enjoyed it, it’s never been my biggest passion. But I liked the vision of the company’s leadership, and I was curious.

Added to that, The Opera had an upcoming world premiere about two legendary Mexican artists, El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Great, right? Except the brand I walked into didn’t reflect the dynamic, multicultural city we serve. The marketing materials were old and tired, and worse yet, they leaned into the stereotype of opera as elitist, boring, and inaccessible.

For a show about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, two icons who defied norms and stood for so much more than that? I knew a little about Frida from a podcast biography, but I didn’t feel connected to her art, and I knew nothing about Diego other than how he mistreated Frida. Once I dove into this project, though, it became clear how present her influence was—like when you buy a car, and suddenly you see that model everywhere. Frida’s face is everywhere, especially in San Diego. So again, I wasn’t sure how this would work.

San Diego Opera Case Study Video

A Fresh Start, Based on Data

I’m a guy who values data over assumptions. So we dug into years of research with Q2 Analytics and used an innovative AI-driven focus group to confirm my suspicions: opera is seen as boring, expensive, inaccessible, and Caucasian. We also found that those who love opera LOVE opera, but we needed to draw in new people. In partnership with Q2, we worked with GroupSolver to do an innovative AI focus group, something never done in the industry to my knowledge.

When I arrived, the logo was block gold letters—it felt dated, elitist, and had no personality. It reflected the company as it was, not the vibrant organization it wanted to become. So we partnered with Esser Design, an award-winning firm out of Phoenix, Arizona, and started a rebrand that reflected the warmth, diversity, and the inclusivity of the city in which we reside.

There was also the cultural gap between myself and the material. So we engaged Fred Sotelo, a local leader in the Latino community and the organizer of the Latino Business Professionals group. Having lived amongst the Latino community for decades, my understanding was surface-level. I needed to dig deeper, immersing myself in the music, the art, the culture. Art connects to the soul of a community, and I wanted to learn what I could about that soul. Stereotypes are the worst type of assumption, so I sought data through human connection.

Through a meticulous process, we changed the logo with bright, vibrant colors and introduced the tagline “Every Voice Tells a Story.” This message communicated that San Diego Opera is for everyone. To engage San Diego’s large Hispanic community, we produced all marketing materials in both English and Spanish. We focused on making the opera feel approachable to younger audiences and the Latino community. We weren’t just marketing a show; we were building something that invited people in, regardless of their background.

San Diego Opera presents Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, March 25-April 2 at the San Diego Civic Theatre.

Creating an Experience

To truly engage, we made sure the experience didn’t start when the curtain rose. We wanted people to feel the experience the moment they arrived at the venue. We had a large concourse in front of the theatre, and we took advantage of it. As patrons arrived for El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, we played Mariachi music, the smell of carnitas from a local taqueria filled the air, and colorful papel picados hung over the concourse to celebrate Día de Muertos. We also had an Ofrenda, where the audience could leave a photo of a loved one, connecting to the tradition where the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest.

The audience responded enthusiastically—people danced on the concourse, enjoyed themed cocktails, dressed up, ate tacos, and had fun. Surveys showed people loved the experience, though the biggest complaint was a lack of seating to enjoy the food and entertainment comfortably.

It worked. The show sold well, and people showed up in full Frida regalia. We even had to ask some guests to remove their giant headdresses so they wouldn’t block the view for people behind them. We captured photos and video, including a drone fly over, to show what the experience at San Diego Opera was becoming—fun, youthful, and accessible. We also lowered our entry price to $25, making it affordable for more people. Most importantly, the audience truly reflected the diversity of our binational city.

The Impact

The numbers spoke for themselves. Audiences under 25 doubled, and Latino attendance skyrocketed from 13% to over 34%. We added 1,100 new households (for reference, this is on par with what a well-known opera like Carmen would attract), and we reached 80% of our pre-pandemic attendance—at a time when industry averages were well below 50% as audiences were still hesitant to return.

Coming out of the pandemic, San Diego Opera had lost 50% of its subscriber base as audience behaviors changed. We needed to grow our audience, and this gave us a great foundation to build on.

The best part? The rebrand wasn’t just about a single show. It laid the foundation for us to authentically engage with our community for years to come. We didn’t just tell our story—we invited people to see themselves in it. We found success, and it showed. It showed in the palpable joy of the audiences, in the survey results, in the sales, and in the expansion of our audience, aligning perfectly with our goals.

Audience Feedback and Final Thoughts

Post-performance surveys included feedback like: “That was the most fun I have ever had at San Diego Opera!” and “I loved the music and food before the show; it made it a full night of joy.” As for maintaining opera traditions, the work on stage was maintained with innovation, but kept in line with the traditions that opera lovers expect and enjoy. The traditionalists will come when they see the names of the operas—that’s what they care about.