‘We’ve learnt to roll with the punches’: Adrian Pang on marketing Pangdemonium

Undeterred, theatre company Pangdemonium is launching its production The Glass Menagerie tonight at full capacity at the Victoria Theatre until 27 March 2022. At its full glory, Victoria Theatre seats approximately 640 audience members. For the show, Pangdemonium is working with DBS, US Embassy, Storhub and Alfatech. In the past, the company has also seen support from brands such as StarHub and Courts. 

Ahead of the show, in a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, celebrity, co-founder and co-artistic director, of Pangdemonium Adrian Pang said that finding sponsorship for theatre companies is always a challenge - and this was of course, made worse amidst the pandemic with the "tightening of belts". "The arts are always a tough sell, as compared to charities that serve groups that the general public much more readily recognises as being in need," he explained. But having brand sponsors is crucial for trust in the arts. For one it adds trust and endorsement of the work the company stands for. "If a brand name [the audience] knows and trust is, in turn, trusting us enough to form a partnership with us, then consumers can trust in the quality of our work," he explained.

Over the course of the two years, Pangdemonium has of course, not had the easiest time. It had to rely on its creative prowess for its survival. While the COVID-19 financial packages played a significant role in the survival of the business, Pang and his team knew that simply relying on government aid wasn’t enough. Rolling up their sleeves, the team conducted donation drives and fundraisers to stay afloat which resulted in fundraisers such as Pangs-a lot in 2020, followed by a silent auction the year after.

Making its foray into the digital arts realm, Pangdemonium also partnered with fellow theatre companies such as SRT and Wild Rice, and the trio unveiled a digital theatre show “The Pitch” in 2020. The show's premise was not just to entertain theatre lovers, but also to inform them of the challenges theatre companies face. “The Pitch proved to not only be a form of digital theatre, but also a very valuable marketing tool because of the message it sent out, making people understand the dire situation that the arts was and is in because of the pandemic,” said Pang.

He added that the collaboration was significant and an anchor point for 2020, as it helped the companies involved tide through a particularly tough period. “It was our way of supporting each other in the industry,” shared Pang. Last but not least, contributions also poured in from generous supporters.

Embracing digital marketing amidst the pandemic

Marketing manager Kristal Zhou said that over the course of the two years, the company has had to shift its focus to embrace more digital marketing, but staying afloat and optimistic hasn’t been easy. While traditionally outdoor media spend was used to reach patrons and theatre enthusiasts, the team knew it had to pivot. However, with measures now slowly easing, OOH marketing buys are back on the table. 

In order to stay relevant and top-of-mind during the circuit breaker, like many companies and individual artists, Pangdemonium also took to the virtual world of streaming. It streamed archived shows from previous years to engage loyal patrons. Video updates were announced several times in a year to share plans for the company with patrons to remain top of mind. Zhou and Pang added that with careful and prudent planning, Pangdemonium paced its frequency and scope of productions and remained strategic with its marketing and publicity spend.

On a personal skills level, as an actor trained in television and theatre, Pang shared that navigating the digital realm is very different from what is conducted in a live stage arena. “That was something we needed to figure out at the start of COVID-19 and decide if that is something we want to do. We had to learn how to make the content generated meaningful, and break through the noise and stand out when everyone is streaming digitally,” said Pang.

Planning amidst uncertainty

With the rules still in a state of change, Pang says that Pangdemonium is in constant dialogue with National Arts Council and has had to build up mental resistance and preparedness for the future. One such recent incident was when the government announced the postponement of easing safe distancing measurements.

On 16 February, the government announced that, with effect from 4 March, live performances with less than 1,000 audience members will no longer be subjected to seating capacity restrictions. Hearing the announcements, Pangdemonium went full steam ahead with the marketing of The Glass Menagerie. For a whole week, the team saw a surge in ticket sales, with patrons evidently willing and happy about the easing of safe distancing measures. However, just a week later on 24 February, the rules were reversed due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in Singapore – leaving the team in a limbo.

Working quickly on an appeal, fortunately for the team at Pangdemonium, it was allowed to go ahead with its show at full capacity and received the green light within three days. However, valuable time was lost due to the halting of ticket sales and marketing while the appeal was being considered, said Pang and Zhou. He added that the evolving rules have also had an impact on the lowering of “risk appetite” to return to semi-pre-pandemic activities - and for theatre companies this might just mean a further dent in ticket sales.

 “We have learned to take it show by show, month by month, even week by week. We are already preparing the marketing for our June production. It is in our hope that next year we can restart our Season Ticket programme which has been on hiatus since 2020 due to the pandemic. We are doing our best in the circumstances," he said, adding:

The past two years have conditioned us to roll with the punches, and respond as quickly and efficiently as possible, and our marketing has been swift to make sure our consumers know 'Hey! We’re back!' and will be here while the sun shines.