April 26, 2006

Altarholics Spread the Word About Altar Boyz

Altar Boyz, the Off-Broadway musical comedy that spoofs boy bands along the lines of "Spinal Tap," launched what I think is a fascinating community website for its intensely loyal fans - the "Altarholics." (Read New York Times article to learn more about show's passionate fans.)

The Altarholics site, designed by word of mouth marketing company Affinitive, is by far the most engaging community-focused promotional platform I've ever come across in the performing arts world. I strongly encourage you to sign-up for free access so that you can explore the sites many interactive capabilities.

At heart, the Altarholics site is about encouraging fans to become active participants of the Altar Boyz community so that they will share their enthusiasm with their friends. If you write a testimonial, you earn "Communion Wafers" that let you win prizes - often involving interaction with cast members. Users are encouraged to email and IM (instant message) their friends as well as add banners to websites and post promotional copy to message boards - in all cases graphic banners, icons and complete code are provided to simplify this process. And the site has so far featured 23 different competitions that engage fans in countless ways - from designing an Altar Boyz decal for T-shirts worn by Altarholics at an upcoming AIDS Walk to encouraging fans who attended an Altarholics appreciation party to write reviews of the event in their own blogs.

There is also a message board and chat room so that fans can interact. And you can view a list of top members based upon the number of "Wafers" that they've earned.

There's a lot of good food for thought here and I'm sure a lot of these ideas can be transferred to promoting dance performances.

Technorati Tags: broadway, marketing, theater, word of mouth

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