SMC X Quick As A Wink

Overview

Quick As A Wink (QAAW) Theatre Company is a non-profit, charitable community theatre group dedicated to bringing inclusive and representative theatre to the West Hants and greater Windsor area in Nova Scotia. Not only do they provide live theatre performances, but they also host community events and educational programming such as summer camps for kids and theatre workshops. I, Lisa Qiu, and my team of 4 consultants, Emily Gwin, Kelly Xu, Robbie Lim, and Alyssa Lee had the pleasure to work with the QAAW team for the summer of 2021.

The Problem

The ask that was given to our team was to help create a more cohesive and consistent brand to better communicate the true identity of Quick As A Wink. Due to the varying nature of theatre performances and its marketing material, along with the ever-changing employees in charge of creating social media graphics, it was very difficult for QAAW to create a strong and consistent brand image. This could lead to lower brand recognition in the digital space. As well, QAAW tasked us to create tailored Instagram and Facebook strategies to ensure an engaging and modern online environment. While Quick As A Wink already has established social media platforms, more platform features could be leveraged to better engage their audience and improve awareness of their services.

The Solution

In producing the aforementioned deliverables, our team first took some time to better familiarize ourselves with the company and what they stand for. This ensured that we had a level of foundational knowledge and were on the same page in terms of the overall messaging that was required. We first began to tackle the brand guide, where we stepped into the shoes of a marketing professional at QAAW to visualize what assets and guides were needed. For the guide, we began with a comprehensive introduction that provided the reader with enough detail about the company to understand the company’s operations. We then wanted to make sure the reader was aligned in terms of messaging, whether it be the overarching mission and vision, or the tone and voice required for any future copy. For design specifics, we brainstormed typography, imagery and design elements, a colour palette, and logo variations that fit with the digital impression Quick As A Wink wanted to show. For ease of understanding, we also included an application section to easily visualize what these graphics would look like.

We also proceeded with the social media guide in a similar manner. After dividing the team up into each of the buckets we wanted to target, we dove right into an analysis of the current QAAW social media pages, created best practices and guidelines for future posts, researched how to best leverage special social media functions to be more engaging, provided three marketing campaign ideas, and created three sample graphics.

Highlights and Key Takeaways

My team and I are incredibly grateful to have gotten the opportunity to work on this project for Quick As A Wink Theatre Company. Through our work, we learned a lot and were able to gain a new perspective of the industry. Because the company had such a local lens, it was definitely very interesting for our team to learn how to engage with an audience that had such strong local ties. The company has already set an incredible foundation and is a good example of how the theatre community is adapting to changes and leveraging technology for reach and engagement.

With our analysis, we were able to understand the importance of consistency, be it from the tone of marketing copy or the font of QAAW’s posts. Without having standardized best practice, it becomes infinitely harder for audiences to create a connection with the brand and engage with the company, especially in an online setting. This project was a great opportunity to dive into the world of social media. From designing graphics from scratch, understanding how to best leverage features like stories or polls, and creating engaging campaign ideas, our team was able to build a great toolkit of essential marketing skills.