Fringe Marketing 101: Digital Edition

Hey Everyone! 

So we’ve been getting questions on how to start one’s digital marketing journey while here at Fringe— no worries! I’m happy to review some starter pointers that can be super helpful when marketing your show. After all many of us are creating and producing our show so I totally get how daunting marketing can feel. This blog post will give you a couple of ideas on how to market your show in the digital landscape— Let’s start!

Actually! Before we dive in, we have to talk about rights, licensing, and branding.

We live in a world of AI, which means that now, more than ever, it is quick and easy for lawyers to search images, show titles, and show content for potential infringements. You can be held liable years after your show has ended because items on the internet live forever.

You must own, have permission to use (copyright-free counts here) or have a license for every element of your show (music, sound, script, visuals, promotional materials/printed and digital images, etc.).

An additional reminder: We strongly encourage placing the Fringe logo on your digital materials to indicate your show is a part of the larger festival. All those branding images can be found here: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/branding

Okay, now, back to digital marketing…

Tapping into your Community

Okay, so this one may sound a bit obvious at first, and that’s okay! Many of us have social media accounts and use it to stay in touch with friends and family. Bringing a show to Fringe is no small feat, and letting your circles know what you’re up to is the first step! Now I understand that it can sometimes feel like you’re shouting from the rooftops of Mt. Digital, wondering if anyone is listening— people are! Honestly, when I would be producing a show it even took me a while to make sure that everyone knew what I was up to (in fact, sometimes I still don’t manage to tell everyone— big mistake!).

I understand that there are some nerves you might get even when telling your friends, but you’ll have to know that you’re community wants to support you! Even those closest to you appreciate a reminder about what you’ve got going on— feel free to tell ’em!

Using the Fringe Site’s Ad Impressions

Our site is a crazy wonderful work-in-progress that has continued to change and morph based on the needs of our artists. Honestly, it’s an amazing piece of tech that was created alongside the origins of the Hollywood Fringe Festival back in 2010 (actually, work on the site began in 2008 if I’m not mistaken— thanks Ben!). 

The Hollywood Fringe site is a unique platform because it hosts our artists’ project pages, allowing for the editing and curation of these pages, while also hosting our ticketing sales. This means the site gets a lot of traffic from both artists and audiences. In 2024 alone, the site saw 1,385,912 visits— that’s like if the whole population of San Diego visited the site!

Now, what is an Ad impression? An Ad Impression is the singular time your image, followed by a short description of your choosing, pops up on the site ad is seen by a user. This is why when you check out the Hollywood Fringe Market located at https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/market you’ll see Impressions sold in packs of 4,500 all the way to 45,000.

Tip: Be aware of when you buying your Ad and the duration your Ad may be shown for. For example, 4,500 Ad Impressions purchased and activated right now may last a week as fewer users are on the site, but buy and activate that same group of 4,500 Ad Impressions in mid-May when artists and audiences are on the site and you may see that those Ad Impressions last a couple of days due to high user volume. 

Discounts to Volunteers and Commissioner Club Members

Get a head start on packing your audiences and promoting your show by providing discounted tickets for Hollywood Fringe club members and volunteers – after all these are the people that make this festival possible! One way you can help us say ‘Thank You’ is by offering them a free or discounted ticket to your show through our Google form.

STEP ONE: Create a discount code on your project page, use HFFThanks. Our suggested discount is $5 off (or more).

STEP TWO: Fill out the Google form so we can add your show to the list!

Tapping into the Fringe Community

We’ve got the Official Hollywood Fringe Facebook Group! Connect with your fellow artists there!

There’s also a couple of unofficial Hollywood Fringe Groups run by past and current theatre artists called Hollywood Fringe Festival 2025 & Fringers Alliance.

Outside of Fringe, other Facebook groups that talk about Socal & LA Theatre at large are Los Angeles Theatre Artists and So Cal Theatre News.

Finally, Discounts! 

Make sure to check out our participant packet (found at https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/participants) that also has some wonderful discounts from local businesses and artists on such services like media packages and graphic designers.

And that’s what I have for ya right now on marketing your show digitally! Now go out there and shout from the top of the mountains that you’ve got a great show coming this June!