The Los Angeles Philharmonic is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and forward-thinking orchestras in America. The 2008-09 season marked the end of world-renowned music director and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen’s tenure. 

His successor, Venezuelan-born Gustavo Dudamel, was recently named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World for 2009.” With the arrival of the new music director, the LA Philharmonic was challenged with planning and marketing the change in its leadership to Los Angeles and its core clientele. 

The target audience for the advertising campaign was college-educated, affluent Angelenos who enjoy classical music. Given Gustavo Dudamel’s Latino heritage, the LA Phil also felt a need to connect with LA’s Hispanic population. Primary geographic targets included West LA, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Century City, Miracle Mile, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Culver City, South Bay, Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Glendale and others.

Out of home advertising was recommended as a cost-effective way to quickly build brand awareness in areas where classical music aficionados live and work. 

Digital billboards were used to display four colorful and creative ads that exemplified the new energy and future of the LA Philharmonic. All five digital locations are in high-traffic high-income neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The four creative executions rotated throughout the day. Static billboards were placed in affluent high traffic locations throughout Los Angeles where each displayed one of the four creative executions. 

Upscale transit shelters were bought to saturate areas of LA where limited out of home is present, such as Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Westwood, Century City, West Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Universal City, Pasadena and Glendale. 

Bus fullbacks, much like the billboards, were used as a large format canvas where two colorful Gustavo Dudamel creative executions were displayed. These fullbacks came out of bus garages that penetrate affluent neighborhoods like Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Westwood, Pacific Palisades, West Hollywood and Sherman Oaks where traditional out of home is limited. 

Bus tails served as the high reach/high frequency format which supplemented the large format bus fullbacks. 

“The 2009-10 LA Phil season was by far the biggest marketing initiative the LA Phil has undertaken since the opening of Walt Disney Concert Hall. The success of our outdoor campaign was instrumental in producing the incredibly positive responses we received for our new music director Gustavo Dudamel, who instantly became a part of the fabric of Los Angeles. Our partnership with [the outdoor media company] helped make 2009-10 a year to remember.”

- Lisa Burlingham, Director of Advertising Communications, LA Philharmonic