Cal Performances
Cal Performances
Crafting an adventurous brand for a fearless university presenter
Cal Performances occupies a unique position in the Bay Area, and in the broader cultural landscape. They are home for the most exciting performing arts in the region—presenting the most talented and compelling artists in the world across a wide variety of offerings. Their connection to UC / Berkeley’s intellectual, forward-thinking environment underpins their adventurous programming and robust educational initiatives. They play an essential role in their community—both on campus and beyond.
But when we began our engagement, their brand was not effectively reflecting and promoting who Cal Performances is—and was becoming. They were less known than (or confused with) campus venues, and not fully understood for their breadth of programming. There was also a lack of clarity around what they curated and presented—versus rental programming.
We collaborated with the Cal Performances team to develop positioning, guiding brand attributes, and brand strategies to bring forward their differentiated value. We crafted a new tagline—”Extraordinary. Fearless. Live.”—which encapsulates the caliber and appeal of the artists and performances they present. We also created a new primary identifier system (symbol + wordmark) and a variant to bring forward their signature Illuminations initiative.
We developed a comprehensive messaging framework, including a high-level message, core storylines, and “tilted” messages tailored to nine distinct constituencies, including ticket buyers, subscribers, students, faculty, and donors—messages that meet people where they are.
To bring Cal Performances to life visually, we crafted a new visual system that embodies their boldness: a vivid magenta core color paired with typography with a strong personality. The new symbol speaks to the interaction between artist and audience—while also evoking a C and P in motion. Their wordmark is modular, shifting into varied configurations to meet both operational needs and further conveying Cal Performances’ dynamism.
To roll out the new brand, we developed communications across print, digital, and environmental channels, including a re-skin of their website.
Overall, Cal Performances’ new brand—across strategy, messaging, and verbal and visual expression—is designed to capture and promote the vibrancy and sense of adventure experienced on their stages; to match the quality, ambition, and relevance of their work; to reinforce their values; and to connect with a wide variety of constituents, on campus and beyond.
Objectives
- Increase awareness, stature, participation, and support for this 120-year-old presenter
- Evolve a differentiated brand position that communicates value on campus, in the Bay Area, and in the broader cultural landscape
- Speak to their “adventurous” audience
- Visually and verbally communicate key attributes such as innovation, artistic excellence, and range of programming
- Get credit for their offerings: clarify what Cal Performances does and does not present at university venues
- Drive UC / Berkeley student and faculty attendance and engagement
- Increase understanding of educational initiatives
- Resonate with diverse audiences—on campus and off, patron, donor, education program participants—and increase attendance
- Build a more widespread sense of community ownership
Collaboration
- Conducted a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative research phase with internal and external stakeholders, in partnership with a market research firm
- Evolved brand attributes to guide messaging and design
- Constructed a cohesive brand architecture that clarified sub-brands
- Elevated their curatorial role across venues
- Crafted clear, compelling tagline, high-level message, and positioning statements
- Tailored messaging for diverse stakeholder groups
- Designed a vibrant, inviting visual system
- Integrated new brand throughout website to engage visitors and encourage sales and donations
- Created environmental, digital, and physical materials in the new brand
- Developed rollout communications plans and trained staff and board
- Documented the new strategy, messaging, and visual system so that Cal Performances has a long-lasting asset
Scope
- Qualitative research
- Quantitative research in partnership with a market research firm
- Internal and landscape communication audits
- Brand strategy / architecture
- Attributes / storylines / messaging
- Symbol + wordmark
- Visual system
- Print / digital / environmental marketing communications
- Integration of design and messaging into website
- Rollout communications planning and training
- Deep board engagement
- Brand system documentation
Where the world’s greatest performing artists meet UC Berkeley’s culture of fearless ideas—bringing you uniquely powerful, inspiring, and entertaining experiences.
Brand positioning
Cal Performances’ brand positioning statement speaks to the organization’s distinctive value, both as a regional arts destination and in the broader cultural landscape.
Extraordinary.
Fearless.
Live.
Tagline
The tagline distills the Cal Performances experience:
- extraordinary artists and artistry;
- fearless, risk-taking work that reflects the intellectual and cultural spirit of UC Berkeley; and
- the unique and powerful experience of gathering together for shared, live performance
Cal Performances brings the most exciting artists and adventurous performances to the Bay Area, but our brand hasn't always communicated our vibrancy or innovation.
Sametz clarified our brand foundation, articulated the essence of who we are through our positioning and tagline, and crafted messaging and design that capture our strengths and personality, helping us to build our audience on campus and beyond."
Jeremy Geffen
Executive and Artistic Director
Floor 1:
big picture
Cal Performances brings the world’s most exciting artists to the Bay Area. We share live art at its most powerful, visionary, and entertaining—set in a culture of fearless thinking.
Floor 2:
bringing arts experiences to all
Our stages welcome a rich variety of music, dance, theater, interdisciplinary arts, and speakers. You’ll be transported by must-see, renowned performers and emerging talent. In both grand and intimate venues, you’ll enjoy classics and world premieres—and explore both timeless themes and the pressing questions of today. Our productions reflect the full spectrum of human experiences, igniting joy and awe and opening up new ways of seeing the world.
Floor 3:
university and community
Driven by the innovative, intellectual spirit of a leading public research university, we bring together the highest caliber of artistry with boundary-pushing ideas. And both onstage and off, we provide meaningful learning opportunities for the whole Bay Area community.
Floor 4:
round-up
Join us for performances as wide-ranging as your curiosity—and be moved, thrilled, and inspired.
High-level message
We developed an “elevator message” with a lead paragraph that stands on its own—or can be paired with additional context about performances and community if one stays on the elevator longer.
Cal Performances' symbol represents the dynamic interaction between artist and audience—and between live performance and the lived audience experience. It is also an abstract "CP" monogram. This interplay is brought forward both by the logo's asymmetry and the variable approach to color. We have developed an animated version for digital applications.
Cal Performances' distinctive wordmark reflects the dynamism, energy, fun—and fearlessness—of their live performances. The four variants both express the range of Cal Performance's programming and meet the operational exigencies of different formats.
Bringing a signature initiative forward
We developed a distinctive wordmark variant for Cal Performances’ Illuminations offerings that ties the program closely to the Cal Performances brand while providing a clear label. The configuration builds awareness and visibility of these distinctive offerings—performances, lectures, and conversations—and ensures Cal Performances gets credit for these important programs.
Typography
Cal Performances’ typography offers visual and functional flexibility—and a welcoming yet serious personality.
Owning their spaces
Because Cal Performances presents in different venues on campus, each of which has its own (often competing) identity, we developed badges to help the organization “own” the spaces they present in and increase understanding of what is a Cal Performances offering—and what is not.
Rich Magenta and a custom Rich Black form the backbone of Cal Performances' arresting palette.
It's not easy to put into words what happens on stage, but Sametz has given us perfect language to communicate the Cal Performances experience. Our new tagline and positioning embody who we are, and our messaging framework has made shaping every communication easier and more effective."
Krista Thomas
Director of Communications
A series of posters demonstrates how the system can be tuned differently to best showcase different artists and opportunities.
Digital ads project the brand and do their tactical jobs even in these small, limited contexts.
Large-scale formats provide opportunities for dramatic imagery and a variety of approaches to content.
Evergreen lightpole banners increase brand awareness across the campus. Balcony banners for Zellerbach Hall emphasize Cal Performances' liveliness and draw attention to its ownership of the space.
A focus on evocative imagery combined with eye-catching compositions enlivens season brochures, and provides a variety of options that enable Cal Performances' staff to create materials that look fresh on one's kitchen table (or phone) and always build equity across years. Seasonal marketing materials bring forward the elements of the brand while also making show-specific information easy to scan and find.
In collaboration with Cal Performances' web team, we integrated the new brand across their site: signature design elements and core messaging.
Brand rollouts inevitably come with their share of stress, but we headed into ours with great confidence. Our brand truly is Cal Performances.
We now have a versatile visual system we can use creatively year after year to develop communications that capture attention and engage and intrigue our audiences—which means our brand is now the perfect gateway to our productions."
Ron Foster-Smith
Director of Marketing
Emails and social media posts are now instantly recognizable, introducing and reinforcing the brand to even the most casual observers.
A comprehensive brand book provides all who commission, evaluate, or create communications with the thinking and tools to develop materials that both deliver results and build the brand meaning and stature of Cal Performances.
