Marketing global events to audiences in the Middle East

Global live entertainment was no longer testing the waters in the Middle East. With major international live events coming to markets like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, regional audiences are showing up and selling out arenas and stadiums across the Middle East.

This month, Proactive Entertainment has brought the internationally renowned musical Mamma Mia! to Abu Dhabi in the UAE. Taking over Etihad Arena on Yas Island from June 11 to 22, the event has hosted thousands of theatre fans.

Jose Cuervo, Middle East Regional Director at Proactive Entertainment speaks to Campaign Middle East on how it shaped its marketing strategies to draw in audiences to the show.

“We run campaigns in parallel,” he explains, stating that strategies differ on the optimal target audience for each live event.

“For Mamma Mia!, our key target audiences are women in their late 20s to, high 40s. We have understood that for this demographic in particular, the best way to actually convert is digitally through Meta, Google and through out-of-home (OOH),” he says.

“We have a very strong outdoor strategy which goes not only through Abu Dhabi but also in Dubai,” he continues, “from branding on taxis, billboards on streets, and screens in different places around the country.”

“That has allowed us to have a very omnipresent campaign throughout the show’s run,” he adds.

But demographics alone don’t sell tickets. Consumer insight is the compass. “We’re constantly surveying audiences, not just in the UAE, but across the Middle East,” Cuervo says. Even though he admits that shows like Hamilton may take years to migrate from New York to Yas Island, “when they do, the demand is rarely in question,” he says. He further explains that Proactiv also keeps a close watch on repeat viewership and bases its strategy on how soon a show can return to a market and still sell out.

In terms of converting awareness into ROI in ticket sales, Cuervo says “YouTube ads has been very big for us,” as they “allow for the show to be present at all times, even when you’re far from the season itself.” He also says that “Instagram and search are always at the top,” of the event company’s conversion rate.

Finally, securing the right partners adds to the strength of marketing global events to audiences in the Middle East.

“Platinumlist has been in the region for years and they’ve grown a very strong database which allows us to speak directly not only to their entire database but segments that are more relevant to us when it comes to musicals,” Cuervo says.

“Our government partners, Miral and DCT Abu Dhabi have also been instrumental in driving this theatre strategy and turning Abu Dhabi into the theatre capital of the Middle East,” he adds. “That’s why we have been so successful – because it’s the collective effort of several stakeholders,” he concludes.