Architecting A Video Strategy At The Sydney Opera House

More than an international landmark, the Sydney Opera House is one of the world’s busiest performing arts centers and Australia’s premier tourist destination. With more than eight million visitors and over 2,000 performances each year, it’s a building that, according to architect Frank Gehry, “changed the image of an entire country.”

But even with a growing network of global fans, the Sydney Opera House was operating with legacy systems. And this meant its digital marketing was unable to live up to the promise of this great building.

In 2015, the Opera House embarked on a major digital transformation project. A newly redesigned website and publishing workflow laid the groundwork for the organization to take its content and marketing strategies to the next level, with video at the forefront. This significant shift set the digital stage for the Opera House to more fully integrate with Brightcove and reinvent its video strategy and user experience.

Dynamic Duos in the Arts

Video marketing and the arts are a powerful combination that many organizations are only just beginning to explore.

Prior to its site relaunch and digital footprint rebuild in 2015, the Opera House’s 10-year old website was slow, outdated and didn’t play well with video and other content initiatives. Through its transformation process and a partnership with Brightcove, the Opera House can now publish video more easily and feature it more prominently as part of its revamped digital marketing strategy.

With over 40 shows, gigs, concerts, talks, and tours each week as well as a range of food and beverage experiences available, the possibilities for marketing are vast. The Opera House is using Brightcove and all its components to streamline video workflow processes, add substantial upgrades to the look and feel of its content, and take engagement to a new level. Now it can do more with video to reach a global audience and cross cultural and language barriers.

• Hero videos. The hero video is a show piece for the Opera House’s current theme, and serves as a visual montage that attracts and drives exploration of its website. The dynamic background enables a richer experience for visual queues, ultimately encouraging increased engagement and discovery.
• Event promotions. Video acts as the engagement medium for the Opera House, leading with teasers and clips to promote regular local acts and feature special events. The team at the Opera House can then utilize Brightcove’s analytics to better understand the reach and effectiveness of the videos.
• Workflow improvements. The Opera House’s new Adobe Content Management System is fully integrated with Brightcove using the Adobe Experience Manager Connector. This deeper integration has improved the management of its large video library, greatly simplified their workflow, and accelerated video publishing.

Architecting the Opera House’s Digital Future

Now that the Opera House’s digital transformation is in full swing, the organization is setting its sights on the future. With a calendar packed with events and experiences, the Opera House has endless sources of inspiration for video to develop a strong voice that tells compelling stories straight from the famous Aussie landmark.

The team at the Opera House is actively expanding its video marketing strategy to provide a more engaging customer experience and boost both digital and foot traffic. Brightcove will continue to work with the Opera House as it explores new ways to deliver a dynamic digital experience and engage with its millions of fans and visitors on the global stage.