Increasing Visibility and Thriving During Uncertain Times
When the Oregon Symphony originally engaged Grady Britton as a strategic partner to help position the Grammy award-winning institution as a leading arts organization regionally and nationally, none of us knew that a pandemic was about to throw unprecedented challenges our way. Those challenges pushed the Oregon Symphony to identify new ways of keeping its large and loyal patron base engaged. An entirely new and relevant digital initiative was created featuring Symphony musicians and included programming such as the Symphony Storytime series, which provided educational and entertaining content for teachers and parents who were managing children at home. Grady Britton supported the Symphony through the pandemic, while preparing for the 2021/22 season opening when music-loving audiences returned to live performances.
Our work with the Oregon Symphony is based in strategic storytelling through regional and national media relations, as well as thought leadership, positioning the Oregon Symphony and its leadership as a leading voice within the Portland community and national arts and culture scene.
PR Plan in Action
Our PR efforts during the 2020/21 season centered on building awareness of Oregon Symphony’s new digital initiative to keep its large and loyal audience engaged during the pandemic. This included communications around the Symphony’s Grammy nomination, and an entirely new range of digital content, such as “Essential Sounds,” dedicated to essential workers, and the youth-oriented “Symphony Storytime,” earning them 100M impressions.
The 2021/22 season marked the Symphony’s 125th, during which they welcomed a new music director — the first in 18 years. Our PR goals were to place Oregon Symphony in the regional and national spotlight as a world-class orchestra highlighting the 125th Season, the artistic leadership of new Music Director David Danzmayr, the newly formed Creative Alliance of cultural thought-leaders and musical innovators, recent capital investments to improve the concert-going experience and a myriad of special concerts and programming. We welcomed back live audiences during the 2021/22 season, driving ticket sales, and announced the 2022/23 season.
