World Concerts produces high-quality theatrical concerts, ranging from *The Music of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit in Concert to TOP2000 Live Symphonic, Adele Project and Chanson. The productions are staged at leading venues throughout the Netherlands, including Martiniplaza in Groningen. Since October 2024, World Concerts and Mediahuis have been collaborating once again to promote performances in the northern Netherlands. Through campaigns centered on concerts in late 2024 and 2025, Mediahuis brought the lineup to the public’s attention extensively and repeatedly.
Challenge
After a period of fewer productions in the North, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, World Concerts wanted to reestablish its visibility and activity in the region. The main goal was conversion: to sell as many tickets as possible and work together toward sold-out concerts. At the same time, the campaign needed to increase awareness of World Concerts and its various productions. The challenge was therefore twofold: to quickly build reach and to direct interested music lovers to the ticket shop.
Approach
Mediahuis developed a media mix that leverages its entire portfolio. Through Dagblad van het Noorden, Leeuwarder Courant, De Telegraaf and Sikkom, the campaign reached a large audience in the northern region with an interest in music, culture, and theater concerts. Online, the Native Ad+250 ran on the Mediahuis network. The new Highlight Ad was deployed in the apps of the northern daily newspapers, while a pilot on digital radio stations also promoted the concerts.
Print media also played a significant role. Advertisements appeared in weekly and daily newspapers, and in November, an eye-catching 12-page supplement was included with Dagblad van het Noorden and Leeuwarder Courant. In it, several performances were given extra space for stories, images, and practical information. In this way, the target audience encountered World Concerts at different times and in different formats, ranging from quick digital visibility to in-depth coverage in print. In doing so, World Concerts gave Mediahuis the opportunity to test new products alongside familiar ones.
Results
The new ad products generated above-average engagement. The Highlight Ad for Chanson ran for 48 hours in the apps of the northern daily newspapers and generated 77,600 impressions and 1,907 clicks to the ticket shop. The CTR came in at 2.46% - more than eight times higher than the average 0.30% for a well-performing display format.
The Native Ad+250 also performed strongly. This format was used for all concerts and consistently achieved a CTR above 0.35%. Compared to the 0.13 to 0.16% CTR of a standard Medium Rectangle, that’s at least 119% higher. This collaboration demonstrates how a broad media mix, supplemented with new ad products, can boost both visibility and targeted traffic to the ticket shop.
