Using InsideGuide For More Than Digital Program Books - Part Two: Season Brochures With Young People's Theatre

In part one of this series, we learned how Livermore Valley Arts uses InsideGuide for their quarterly newsletter.

For part two, we talked with Liana Sanders, Director of Marketing for Young People’s Theatre. In September 2022, Young People’s Theatre (YPT) used InsideGuide to create and deliver their 2022-23 season brochure.

Prior to this fall, how did you create and deliver your season brochure?

Prior to using Instant Encore, YPT had historically created a print version of our season brochure (using copy generated in-house, and the services of a graphic design agency) that was mailed to our patrons. Now, in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, YPT has implemented a number of initiatives including moving our house programs and season brochure online.

What inspired you to use InsideGuide to create your 2022-23 season brochure?

After being introduced to InsideGuide and seeing all the ways it would benefit us in turning our house programs digital, we realized it could also be adapted to present our season brochure. The same building blocks and design elements that were needed for house programs could also be used for our season brochure. 

How did the season brochure change when you created it in InsideGuide? 

Using InsideGuide meant that we could generate a lot more interaction for our patrons. Static images could now become animated gifs and everything had the potential to be a live link. We could direct people to various pages on our website or social media platforms for more information, and we didn’t need to worry about word limits or spacing issues because of this new medium - it was already mobile-friendly. It also allowed us to incorporate videos within the brochure, for the first time. The fact that we can update the brochure in real time (if content needs to be changed or added) is a nice bonus. It’s now a living “document” in a way.

How have patrons responded to the digital season brochure?

Our analytics numbers are still coming in, but we can see that patrons are spending quite a bit of time perusing our season brochure and exploring the various embedded links. Patrons have been sent a link to the season brochure and have access to a QR code when they visit the theatre.

Do you plan to continue using InsideGuide for your season brochures? If so, are there any changes you’re likely to make for the next one?

Our plan is to continue using InsideGuide for all of our house programs throughout the 2022.23 season. When we approach our next season brochure, there may be some tweaks that we’ll want to make to ensure this digital format is as accessible as possible in terms of its layout, font size, visual attributes etc.

What advice do you have for others considering using InsideGuide for their season brochures?

We’d recommend spending a good amount of time getting to know the software in advance and taking an in-depth look at the program example provided. (It can be copied and then edited to suit your preferences.) If you have a smaller brochure/event/program to practice with, it will allow you to discover in advance all of the possibilities and parameters for your season brochure.

Want to learn what your digital program books could do?

Let’s talk! We would love to discuss what InsideGuide can do for you.

To schedule an InsideGuide demo, click here.

Have a question? Contact David.