Since 1994, Disney has brought the world's most beloved films to life on Broadway. From THE LION KING, to MARY POPPINS and most recently ALADDIN, Disney Theatrical Group (DTG), out of New York, has produced over a dozen productions that now play around the world. Behind the scenes, award-winning teams work to breathe new life into these classic stories and transition them from screen to stage. However that is only half the battle. While actors entertain audiences, the marketing group works to fill theatres eight times a week, 52 weeks a year. Thoughtful planning is put into the paid, earned and owned media strategies to market each show and YouTube has become fully integrated into this plan, bringing completely original content to theatre lovers on a regular basis.
The Disney On Broadway YouTube channel launched in 2007 giving viewers the chance to experience the magic of Broadway at their fingertips, earning over 60 million views, 98,000+ subscribers and establishing itself as the industry leader. The channel sees over 250,000 views a week on its 300+ videos and is filled with original content programming, instead of repurposed assets, which deepens the users relationship with each production. By asking the right questions of "what story is being told?" and "who is telling that story?" the channel combines the needs of the business with the wants of the viewer, creating an environment for users to discover, watch, engage... and watch again.
2014 was the most successful year for the Disney On Broadway YouTube channel with over 33.5 million views and over 55,000 new subscribers added, up 406% and 292% from prior year respectively. A total of 61 videos were added throughout the year, showing a strong commitment to fans and subscribers of the channel. The questions of what STORIES to tell and the STORYTELLERS who tell them has remained the guiding principle and set the high standard of authenticity and originality.
The STORIES of Disney Theatrical Group
One of the challenges faced by DTG is creating new content, or finding the "what," for productions that tell the same story night after night on Broadway. THE LION KING, in its 18th year on Broadway, continues to play to sold-out audiences and online video has played a major role in telling THE LION KING story in interesting ways. Our video authenticity have struck a cord with viewers, proven by the channel's average retention rating of 65%. On April 4, the Internet was overrun by a video uploaded featuring the Australian Cast of THE LION KING singing "The Circle of Life" on an airplane. The video earned 4.8 million views in its first 24 hours and crossed 20 million views by the start of 2015. Other stories like celebrated milestones and behind-the-scenes antics have all given a unique look into life on Broadway.
As DTG prepares for new productions that are headed to Broadway, YouTube is used to build excitement with fans. When ALADDIN readied to take the stage in March of 2014, a series of videos released to tell the story of the production's journey to Broadway. A thirteen part video series introduced fans to the actors and creative team who would bring the show to life. The series earned 319,000 views from November 2013 to March 2014, all before the show even officially opened. ALADDIN went on to become the most highly attended new show of the 2014 season in part to our fans that were a part of the journey from the very beginning.
The STORYTELLERS of Disney Theatrical Group
While plenty of focus goes into what DTG creates for YouTube, just as much goes into who creates it and 2014 set a new bar for collaborations. Numerous partnerships leveraged top YouTube talent and synergies within The Walt Disney Company to create compelling content for viewers.
DTG partnered heavily with the Disney Blog network to create a unique series of videos using the beloved music library of Disney On Broadway. The team worked with Oh My Disney to create an ALADDIN on Broadway medley with YouTube star Nick Pitera. The "youtuber" sang all voice parts in a 7-minute medley, which has earned 985,000 views and drove over 6K new subscribers to the channel. A collaboration with Disney Playlist took the cast of THE LION KING into an intimate cabaret theatre to sing specially arranged songs including an unexpected mash-up of "Hakuna Matata" and "Best Day of My Life." Finally, a cappella group and stars of THE SING OFF, Voiceplay, took a new twist on some Disney classics to create 'aca-Disney'. The video earned 70,000 views in less than one month and sees no signs of losing speed. These successes of 2014 have driven the content marketing strategy for 2015.
This year, DTG also celebrated 20 years of Disney On Broadway. The celebration culminated with an hour-long TV special that aired on ABC. The special included interviews with the creative minds that brought THE LION KING and ALADDIN to the stage and featured special performances from Sir Elton John, Darren Criss and more. Unique YouTube content was prioritized at the start of planning with ABC in an effort to keep audiences engaged throughout the broadcast. On air shout outs drove to YouTube.com/DisneyOnBroadway with extended performances and interviews as extensions of the show, not a duplication. Over the course of the hour, seven videos were released, and have received 231,000 views to date. The channel saw views increase 71% and a 570% increase of new subscribers from the previous Sunday.
This channel is built into the core-marketing plan of each production and is used to keep shows present and relevant through storytelling. By utilizing YouTube as a key component of the larger business objectives of Disney Theatrical Group, the team has prioritized the creation of compelling content that viewers will want to watch, share and watch again.
