As we wrap the final week of Jack Off Broadway (which is sold out for the rest of the run, but will return to NYC for 3 nights in June), I wanted to highlight some of the success we had with marketing the show.
In terms of traditional publicity, Zach bartended on Watch What Happens Live (where Andy Cohen called him the wrong name), and the show was reviewed early on by the New York Times, where it was selected as a Critic’s Pick. Zach was also reviewed less favorably in Algemeiner, interviewed by Hey Alma, and profiled in Forward.
Jack, meanwhile, was interviewed on Subway Takes and Subway Oracle, two incredibly popular New York City based digital shows.
We experimented with paid spend as well, especially to increase awareness early on.
But two massive drivers of ticket sales were organic social posts and word-of-mouth.
Dylan Woodley (Adult Swim, Forbes’ 30 Under 30) created a series of brand-aligned trailers and review responses, as well as some fun edits of Jack in Manhattan.
Another fun highlight was when comedians Kylie Brakeman and Jeremy Elder interrupted the show, parodying the protests at An Enemy of the People.
In addition to the recent Subway Takes and Subway Oracle interviews, we’ve had three organic videos blow up on Zach’s TikTok in the last week of the run:
At the time of writing this article, these three videos have 415.3K, 2M, and 1M views, respectively. Here are all three clips, for reference:
TWO PEOPLE WALK OUT:
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EARTH QUAKE DURING SHOW:
BAHA MEN JOKE:
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Which of these three videos would you consider as having performed the best?
Most people would probably default to the “EARTH QUAKE DURING SHOW” clip, because it had double the views of the next most viral choice.
But let’s take a look at a few advanced metrics:
Do you still have the same answer?
These three clips are a perfect example of why in December, I wrote that your goal should not be to increase the total number of views on your videos.
Overwhelmingly, the “EARTH QUAKE” clip had lower engagement percentages across the board. The wider reach can be largely attributed to the clickbait text hook, and the incorporation of trending hashtags like #earthquake and #nycearthquake.
Conversely, despite having 1/5th of the total reach as the Earth Quake video, the Baha Men Joke still managed to bring in 200 more followers to the account.
Not to mention the Comment PCT is one of the highest I’ve ever seen on a TikTok.
The reason?
It’s also worth noting that we’ve already posted two different takes of the Baha Men joke in July and September of 2023, both of which went viral in their own right.
Here’s a look at how all three versions of the joke stack up against each other:
What jumps out?
For me, it’s that the most recently posted version brought in nearly the same amount of new followers as the original July post, when you adjust for view count.
Another surprising insight: Zach’s followers were happy to see a clip that made them laugh already, especially because we’ve posted so many different bits and jokes since. I’m not saying you should post the same clip over and over again, but it’s important to remember that for every million TikTok users who watched your most viral video, there’s still a billion users who didn’t.
Another element to consider that I think is grossly overvalued by most comedians:
Captions.
Of the three Baha Men clips, only the first one used in-video captions, with a text hook of, “THE BEST JOKE YOU’LL HEAR THIS YEAR (about the Baha Men)”.
The second iteration (which had the highest Like PCT) had no text on the screen at all, and the third version only had a text hook, “DO YOU KNOW THE BAHA MEN”.
Additionally, none of the three viral videos from last week used in-video captions.
But more on this next time.
(heh heh, moron)
(heh heh, next time)
Upcoming Stamptown shows:
AUSTIN: April 17-20 (Moontower Comedy Festival)
LOS ANGELES: May 9-11 (Netflix is a Joke)
NEW YORK: May 13-14 (The Bell House)
LONDON: July 15-20 (Soho Theatre)
David Zucker is a digital marketing consultant based in New York City. A former analyst at TikTok, his unique, data-driven approach has catapulted the growth of his clients’ audiences all over the world. To schedule a consult, click here.