A leading Kent marketing agency has created a dramatic new website to support the launch of a £6 million fund-raising appeal for Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre development – and has become one of the campaign’s first corporate partners.
Sagittarius Marketing is confident that the website, www.newmarlowetheatre.org.uk, will inspire both Kent-based residents and other theatre-lovers to get involved in what is to be one of the county’s biggest ever performing arts projects.
Sagittarius’ Director of Digital, Nick Towers, said: “The New Marlowe Theatre development is bold, modern and fresh so we wanted to create a website that reflected this and would capture all the excitement and emotion of the project.
“We decided to take visitors on an interactive, documentary-style journey through the project’s progress, from start to finish and beyond.
“As well as being the primary source of information about the project, its progress and the fund-raising campaign, the website includes a 3D interactive tour of the new-look theatre; an animated film clip showing the modern new building rising from the Marlowe’s foundations; and video clips of stars such as Orlando Bloom talking about their passion for the project and why they are supporting it.”
The website also shows visitors how they can play their part, with tips on organising fund-raising events and information on how to donate, and offers the chance to enter competitions and sign up for regular newsletters to follow the development’s progress.
A blog spot will feature the thoughts of those involved in the project, including developers, Canterbury City Council and Marlowe Theatre management, and theatre-lovers will be able to book tickets and keep in touch through an events calendar with forthcoming Marlowe productions, which are to be staged at alternative venues across the county while the old building is closed.
The website also takes a nostalgic look back at some of the Marlowe Theatre’s greatest performances and gives visitors the chance to share their own memories of the venue.
Celia Glynn-Williams, Assistant Head of Culture and Communications at Canterbury City Council, said: “We set Sagittarius Marketing a challenging task as the site needed to bring together the three different but vital strands of this great project – the fund-raising appeal designed to encourage people to support the new theatre; the Marlowe Theatre and the productions it will be staging while the theatre is closed; and the information about the building work as it progresses.
“We hope it will encourage individuals, businesses and schools to stay in touch, get involved and donate money so that, together, we can make this fantastic vision a reality.”
Celia added: “We wanted the website to have a real wow factor, reflecting the clean, modern design of the new building itself. It needed to be friendly and easy to navigate, provide a comprehensive overview of the development and show all the wonderful benefits and opportunities the new theatre will offer.
“We commissioned Sagittarius Marketing because they have an excellent reputation for producing entertaining, captivating and compelling website experiences and they’ve done a fantastic job. The New Marlowe Theatre website is engaging and informative and promotes a real sense of pride in what is a very innovative project.”
To find out more about this project, then read the New Marlowe Theatre Case Study. To find out more about the Sagittarius Digital Content Management and Website platform that this site is built on visit our Content Management System section