Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Evolving the iconic brands of a renowned cultural institution
Over our 20-plus-year relationship with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (including Tanglewood and the Boston Pops) we’ve helped to better define each brand, build connections among them, and ensure that their communications initiatives project each entity’s unique brand attributes and promises. The systems we developed continue to provide the shared thinking and tools that help staff better connect with new audiences and deepen relationships—across marketing, development, education, special events, and corporate support.
While the BSO certainly enjoyed a stellar reputation, how the organization expressed itself visually and verbally had never, when we were first engaged, been defined or articulated—and most communications were under-presenting the value of the organization.
Surprisingly, initial research showed that current and would-be attendees of the BSO’s three major performing brands had no idea that the Boston Symphony Orchestra was connected to either Tanglewood or the Boston Pops; the former was thought to be associated with New York City, and the latter was thought to be an independent band.
Adding to this fragmentation was their history of essentially re-inventing each organization’s look and messaging every year. In an attempt to “look fresh on the kitchen table,” seasonal marketing materials presented disconnected, disparate images; the organization was not building recognition and brand equity over time—and every communication dollar they spent was under-delivering.
Materials for fundraising, education, and corporate sponsorship were similarly one-off efforts. The result: the entirety of the BSO organization was not known, the parts didn’t add up to a larger whole, and the institution didn’t “get credit” for all its hard work.
We developed a strong, flexible, and durable verbal and visual brand—as well as core communications—that endured and helped the orchestra increase ticket sales, lower median subscriber age, and thrive through changing times.
Objectives
- Support audience acquisition and retention across BSO, Tanglewood, and Boston Pops performances
- Increase contributed income by deepening relationships with existing donors and connecting to new ones
- Build understanding of the whole of the BSO enterprise
- Introduce and co-steward the then-strange idea of brand-building for cultural institutions
- Craft a visual system to bring forward the defining attributes of each brand, while also connecting them
- Ensure that all BSO communications present the organization at a level commensurate with its world-renowned performances, conductors, guest artists, musicians, and venues
- Transfer knowledge and share the system so that all who communicate on the BSO’s behalf can be creative, effective—and collaborate to build the brand
Collaboration
- Conducted qualitative research with representatives of the three performing brands—as well as cross-functional disciplines: development, PR, education, special events
- Evolved guiding brand attributes and a suite of brand identifiers (logos)
- Designed a comprehensive visual brand system based on defined “approaches,” not “rules”—ensuring that the brand could evolve
- Built in needed flexibility—so that the system could be “tilted” for different constituents and opportunities
- Planned, wrote, designed, and produced communications to support marketing, fundraising, education, and special events— including a commemorative book to celebrate the centennial of Symphony Hall
- Documented the brand system in detail and trained in-house design staff
- Delivered an asset that continues to serve the organization well as consumer expectations, communication channels, technology—and the BSO itself, evolve
Scope
- Extensive qualitative research
- Internal and competitive communications audits
- Brand strategy / architecture
- Defining attributes / storylines
- Multi-brand visual system
- Communications planning, writing, design
- System documentation
- Creation of assets to inform communications across print / digital / social channels
Building equity in a family of brands
We collaborated to evolve distinct—but connected—brands for the BSO, Tanglewood, Pops, and Symphony Hall. For each, we developed a logo, guiding messaging attributes, color palettes, and design gestures that brought each brand to life. A shared sensibility across the logos—combined with typography and compositional structures in common—provided needed glue. The presentation of the four brands together in annual reports, corporate fundraising, and on the web further connected the related entities.
BSO
The BSO is all about the music—and performance to the absolute highest standards. An attribute cluster guides writing and design.
BSO’s palette of jewel tones evokes the rich, vibrant, classic experience of a BSO performance. Paired bright tones inject light and energy. Neutral tones provide a base for both, especially charcoal.
Two related type families provide a wide range of typographic expression across all four brands, allowing the BSO to “tune” communications by brand, audience, and opportunity, while simultaneously providing connection across efforts.
Seasonal brochures each featured an imagery theme, and brought both subscribers and those new to the BSO closer to the musicians—and to the experience of enjoying live music in Symphony Hall. The last example (below), was created by BSO in-house staff, fifteen years after earlier efforts by us. The series demonstrates how the visual system we developed provides brand-building consistency—and the flexibility to always look fresh.
The BSO’s 20-plus-year partnership with Sametz delivered exceptional value for the organization, defining our four iconic brands, and articulating them compellingly across marketing, fundraising, education, and events. The thinking and tools they developed were teachable and tuneable, enabling our in-house staff to be creative, with the assurance that all efforts would reinforce each other to build meaning and recognition.”
Kim Noltemy
Chief Communications and Operating Officer, Boston Symphony Orchestra (former)
Wrapped trolleys, three-sheet posters mounted on Symphony Hall, and light pole banners provided a consistent, vibrant series of audience touchpoints.
Tanglewood
Tanglewood’s brand is all about the intersection of music and nature—each enhancing the other to create unique and memorable experiences.
Tanglewood’s primary palette takes its inspiration from summer: new grass, clear skies, flowers. The four accent colors (to the right) add energy and depth.
Tanglewood communications celebrate music and nature. All communications include the BSO wordmark to firmly position Tanglewood as the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Tanglewood communications across two decades show the strength of the system: their visual toolbox provides the flexibility to create materials that look fresh each season—while always building brand meaning and recognition.
Boston Pops
Since its inception in 1936, the Boston Pops has brought lighter orchestral fare to diverse, enthusiastic audiences. On stage, on air, on tour, and via recordings, the Pops has found a special place in the hearts of many.
Boston Pops’ “flag” palette is augmented with additional colors of the same value.
The brand system we developed with Sametz Blackstone is strong enough, and flexible enough, that we’ve been able to “tilt” it for different audiences and initiatives—and to manage it forward across two decades as technologies, audiences, and expectations have changed.”
Kim Noltemy
Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall, built in 1900, was designed by McKim, Mead & White, assisted by Wallace Clement, a young assistant professor of physics at Harvard. It was the first auditorium designed based on acoustical principles and is regarded as one of the top concert halls in the world.
Symphony Hall’s palette is comprised of the jewel tones from the larger BSO palette.
To celebrate the centennial of the Hall, we planned, co-wrote, designed, and produced a commemorative book. It combines architectural history and imagery, gosh-I-didn’t-know-that fun facts, and quotes from famous people who treasure the Hall. It was both sold and given to current and prospective donors.
Fundraising
Over two decades we strategized, wrote, and designed a range of materials to connect with donors and prospects at different levels—with different interests. Materials focused on both individuals and businesses—across the BSO brands. All expressed the BSO brand system.
Higher-level corporate giving materials cohesively project the essences of BSO’s two major brands.
In both Greater Boston and the Berkshires, there are active Business Partner groups.
BSO’s brand system is comprehensively documented: this “bible” has enabled in-house staff to develop communications that are both tactically effective and always brand-building—providing the framework for creative exploration while always increasing meaning and recognition.
Our collaboration with Sametz Blackstone—and the brand definition, messaging, and visual system they put in place—has delivered, and continues to deliver a valuable, long-lived institutional asset, and has enabled us to connect deeply with the hearts and minds of so many people.”
Mark Volpe
President and CEO, Boston Symphony Orchestra (former)