999 works with BBC Philharmonic on children's promotion
A new collaboration between the BBC Philharmonic and design agency 999 is looking to promote classical music to children in Manchester.
The project ‘Journey Through Music’ is a new initiative aimed at providing easier access to the Orchestra’s 2008/09 concert season for young people aged eight to 14.
With a view to broadening the scope of its target audience, the BBC Philharmonic has singled out the concerts in its main season at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, which it feels will most appeal to a younger audience.
The Manchester office of 999 which has recently moved to Salford was tasked with creating informative and eye-catching marketing collateral to support the programme, which launched with the first concert last week.
The agency commissioned an illustrator to design two colourful, musical characters based on a young boy, Benny Bass, and young girl, Tallulah Treble. Both feature across the material designed by 999 aimed at communicating the experience of live, classic orchestral music in a fun and educational way.
As part of the initiative, parents can take advantage of discounted ticket prices and the choice of attending either just the first or second half of the concert to allow for families with busy lifestyles or those with younger children who might find a full-length concert too long.
Managing director of 999’s Manchester office, Andy Helme, said: “Journey Through Music has been designed to inject inspiration into the orchestra’s communications with a younger audience and really connect with children on a level that will appeal to them.
“It was important to achieve this balance while producing a look and feel that’s both educational and exciting. We’ve put the fictional characters of Benny and Tallulah at the heart of the project to create a unified and distinctive set of marcomms materials.”
999, which has been working with BBC Philharmonic for more than two years, has also developed an inventive way of highlighting the orchestra’s new ‘Meet the Phil’ season that allows visitors to watch the orchestra rehearse, meet and talk with players, conductors, composers and sound engineers.
The free sessions are open to schools, colleges and universities as well as the general public, and 999 has produced an A2-size poster which reveals an orchestral layout, but can also be folded into an A5 booklet that highlights seasonal concert information on the reverse.