Audience engagement is changing. The time when you promote a show with a trailer and a poster is over. New generations only engage when they can interact, not just consume. They don’t want to wait until the doors open; they want to participate ahead of time. For Sleepy Hollow, we therefore developed not a campaign, but a digital prologue: a fully digital environment where visitors could enter the world before the premiere and engage in AI-driven conversations with the characters.
The Approach
In collaboration with SPOT Groningen, ECHO – European Concert Hall Organisation and Komodal, we built a digital environment with three functions:
AI characters that respond to tone, choice, and curiosity
Free exploration of the scenery as a virtual set
Story onboarding before ticket sales instead of after
What This Delivers
AI is not just technology, it is an audience layer: a new zone is being created between marketing and dramaturgy > interaction before commitment.
The digital prologue did not serve as promotion, but as a warm-up: visitors did not come in blank, but already engaged.
The organizations that embrace this now will define the standard: the question will not be if you will use this, but when.
Conclusion
The next generation of audiences is not waiting for a traditional performance. They want access to new worlds and to feel a part of them. AI makes that possible. Not as an extra, but as a strategic tool for engagement, retention, and brand value.