National Theatre Festival Brunei 2023
2023
One Festival Ticket For All
The National Theatre Festival Brunei (NTFB) was running for its third year in a row, aiming to raise awareness of the theatre industry by bringing together nine local performing groups for four days to showcase original performances and pieces to the general public. This year, Festival Tickets were an entry pass to watch all eight original performances, with the hopes that theatre would become more accessible and that festival-goers would be more curious to explore the different forms of performance art that were on display.
AICREATIVV was tasked with designing the visual brand that would serve as a framework for NTFB’s digital and print collaterals, and with promoting the event to the masses. Having had their first experience organising a theatre festival in 2022, the team began this mission well-equipped with the knowledge and understanding of the processes, the goals, and the possible challenges up ahead.
The dedication and collaborative efforts of the Design and Marketing Team for NTFB 2023 were a major contributing factor to the festival’s success.
A Pop of Colour
A new cycle of NTFB meant a new look for the brand, and the designers this year, Iman Shamsuddin and Halim Ashari, were given creative freedom to decide the direction they were going to take.
The final design style took inspiration from pop art, whose striking and captivating aesthetic blended seamlessly with NTFB’s existing brand identity and visual elements, as both evoke the same feelings of liveliness and action. The colour palette incorporated vibrant shades of purple, red, yellow, and green, with designs often using contrasting colours for the extra pop. The result is a reenergised visual brand distinct from its previous counterpart, while staying true to the NTFB brand as a whole.
A Peek Behind the Curtains
The social media marketing strategy for the third rendition was guided by insights gained from last year and current trends in the online landscape. With the rise in popularity of video-form content across major social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, we concentrated our efforts on creating short-form videos and illustrated designs across the promotional period. While static posts and physical collaterals were designed to cement the visual brand, videos helped to create a deeper and more authentic connection with the target audience.
Teaser videos of NTFB’s upcoming performances were created to draw in those who were already enthusiastic about ongoing events within the theatre industry, and behind-the-scenes footage of festival preparations and performance rehearsals helped to intrigue those who have one foot in and the other foot out of the theatre industry door. Moreover, to target those who are unaware of the emerging theatre industry in Brunei, we collaborated with Baiduri Bank and Mix Media to display a promotional video on large digital banners at the Baiduri Bank Headquarters, the Brunei International Airport, and on mixels in 20 different locations across Brunei, all high-traffic locations to reach as many eyes as possible.
A Platform for Collaboration
Last year’s collaboration with Pullman Miri Waterfront also lead to cross-promotion as a viable marketing strategy. By touching on customer bases of other well-established industries, we could raise awareness of not only the festival, but also the businesses involved in the collaboration, by promoting these companies to a new set of demographics.
This year, we expanded on the idea and approached local businesses as well as businesses across the border to strike a win-win situation that everyone can benefit from. Giveaways by Mercure Miri City Centre and Boeffi were held, and theatre-themed foods and beverages were created by local businesses Three Light Coffee and Heqtor’s, exclusive to the NTFB promotional period. In return, these company names were mentioned repeatedly, through regular social media posts, in press releases, and during acknowledgements of our sponsors and marketing partners at the festival.
The dedication and collaborative efforts of the Design and Marketing Team for NTFB 2023 were a major contributing factor to the festival’s success. The visual brand developed by the designers reflected the high energy and joyous emotions of a festival born out of Brunei’s dramatic theatre industry. Our marketing strategists devised a marketing approach that placed the target audience in the centre. And the content created by our videographers, designers, and copywriters provided a deeper and more organic perspective, building curiosity and intrigue for the theatre industry, and increasing hype and excitement for the festival at the same time. This combination of an eye-catching design and customer-centric content brought together over 400 festival-goers to the venue in the span of four days, to witness the rising talent and creativity that Brunei has to offer.
Roles
Design & Marketing Team Lead - Amal Osmera
Designers - Iman Shamsuddin and Halim Ashari
Videographers - Aaqilull Qhaeer, Asyraf Saharuddin, and Dyllon Chua
Copywriters - Najihah Osmera and Batrisyia Ali
Marketing Strategists - Elroy Ramantan and Mahmud Aziizi
