ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING CAMPAIGN

CATS:The JellicleBall

Repositioning a Broadway classic through audience insight, cultural relevance, and integrated campaign strategy.

THE PROJECT

Independent academic campaign proposal.

ROLE: Audience Strategy | Positioning | Campaign Planning
OBJECTIVE: Shift audience perception from a traditional Broadway revival to a culturally relevant theatrical experience.
APPROACH: Insight Segmentation Positioning Activation Measurement

THE CHALLENGE

CATS had strong recognition, but familiarity did not equal cultural relevance among new theatre audiences.

AUDIENCE STRATEGY

Three audiences.Three reasons to care.

The strategy began with the community closest to Ballroom culture, then expanded outward to broader theatre audiences.

Primary
Ballroom & drag community
Closest to the cultural community that shaped the production's foundation.
Secondary · Discovery
Gen Z & millennial
theatre fans
A new entry point for audiences who know Broadway but do not see classic CATS as relevant.
Secondary · Reconsideration
Legacy CATS fans
A familiar title reframed through a contemporary cultural lens.

Cast ensemble in Cats: The Jellicle Ball ballroom finale — Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Ballroom is the
cultural bridge,
not a costume.

Ballroom brings together identity, performance, and belonging, themes already present within CATS through its exploration of redemption, forgiveness, and transformation. The strategy was not to place Ballroom on top of a familiar story, but to use it as the cultural lens that helps new audiences see the meaning already within it.

Recognition without belonging stays nostalgia.

Belonging gives recognition a reason to matter.

POSITIONING

Broadway Meets Ballroom

A familiar Broadway story reintroduced through the culture, energy, and participation of Ballroom.

Broadway in the score. Ballroom at the core.

Positioning admission ticket: Broadway Meets Ballroom — Admit One for Broadway, Ballroom, and Runway

CAMPAIGN IDEA

A repositioning strategy designed to present CATS as an experience audiences can enter, express, and share.

CAMPAIGN IN ACTION

Turning strategy into audience participation.

Five ways the positioning moves into culture, content, and live experience.

Launch
AUTHENTICITY
Introduce the Ball asculture, not costume.
Build awareness and establish credibility.
Channels
DISCOVERY
Right platform.Right message.Right moment.
Reach audiences where they already engage.
Content Engine
PARTICIPATION
One idea becomesrepeatable content.
Give audiences ways to respond, remix, and share.
Live Experience
IMMERSION
The campaign comes to lifebeyond the screen.
Create a path from digital discovery to the theatre.
Partners
CREDIBILITY
Cultural creators bringcontext and reach.
Partner with Ballroom, drag, theatre, and fashion voices.