- Type of work
- Strategy
- Identity
- Campaign
- Environmental
- Type of Client
- Arts & Culture
Founded in 1906, The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is Australia’s oldest orchestra, drawing the country’s most gifted musical talent into its company and earning high praise from local and international audiences. But despite the loyal following and widespread acclaim, MSO had to face up to the fact that its fan base was ageing and subscriber numbers were plateauing. It needed to start engaging a younger, more diverse audience.
To change the way Melbourne perceived the MSO and take the organisation beyond its traditional classical niche, we proposed a complete rethink of the way it presented itself to audiences, examining their audience segmentation, programming and communications.
Through a series of dinners and performances that explored the bonds between food and music, we dismantled perceptions of stuffiness and inaccessibility, introducing the orchestra to a receptive and culturally engaged new audience—in partnerships with the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and collaborations with chefs Dan Hunter and Andrew McConnell.