Taking immersive theatre to the next level with Arcadia

LEAD OFFICE

Bristol

The Challenge

How to bring the magic and mayhem of Glastonbury to London?

The Arcadia ‘Spider’ is a 50-tonne, flame-shooting recycled structure that is a centrepiece of the famous Glastonbury music festival, attracting tens of thousands of people each night for its acclaimed ‘Metamorphosis’ show – an immersive, 360-degree performance. The ‘Spider’ plays host to some of the world’s best-known DJs during the festival.

With no Glastonbury in 2018, Arcadia was to hold its biggest stand-alone show to date in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park– marking its London debut.

Arcadia enlisted Grayling’s support to position Arcadia London as a must-visit new stand-alone festival in 2018, but importantly make it stand toe-to-toe with the rest of the London arts scene, and sell enough tickets to guarantee the success of the business…no small ask…

The Solution

A flawless press office and some killer creativity…

The communications strategy was twofold – maximising opportunities for media coverage and engagement across music-focused and events media to drive sales, and within mainstream London-based and national news media telling the ‘Spider Story’ to bring to life Arcadia’s unique position as a fully immersive music and culture experience like no other.

Our focus with Glastonbury having a fallow year was to drive the ‘alternative to Glastonbury’ features, giving punters the ability to experience a real part of the festival in the capital.

Supplementing the ongoing press office was a development of features highlighting Arcadia’s deep roots in global cultural phenomenon, and the unique and immersive experiences coming to the London festival, including a one month to go stunt where key performers from the show abseiled down the iconic ArcelorMittal Orbit to mark the countdown. We also highlighted the founders relationship with an indigenous Aboriginal Tribe who were coming to London for the event, securing an exclusive broadcast with Sky News for the Tribal leader and Arcadia, exploring the cultural connections between each group.