Marketing and Strategic Consulting Firm Groner Group Becomes MICHELE GRONER x BRAND NEXUS

The Groner Group, a marketing and strategy consultancy, announced today that it is changing its name to “MICHELE GRONER x BRAND NEXUS”. The name change reflects the company’s development in recent years, both in terms of the customers it serves and the changing needs of the existing customer base. Along with this name change, a new website and logo were unveiled at brand-nexus.com.

The website has recommendations from several previous clients, including industry heavyweights like Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, who says: “Michele Groner is the smartest “secret weapon” anyone can find trying to market or position a product, event, room or show. Since I’ve known her for about 20 years, I can’t imagine doing anything that I don’t get her POV on. Growing up INSIDE the Theater, Michele has worked closely with some of the greatest creative minds on and off the stage. She is at the top of my list when friends or colleagues ask for advice. Michele brings every meeting to life with limitless creativity and fearless passion. In a world where opinions are simple and wisdom is rare, Michele is a sensational collaborator and a much-needed partner. “

With over 25 years of experience working with the biggest names in Broadway, publishing and media, Michele now works with a wider variety of industries and brands to get her message to market. Most recently, Michele helped cement and launch Hachette’s bestselling books, created marketing plans for historical museums, and was part of the relaunch committee that brought Broadway back from its unprecedented closure.

As Director of Strategy and Media at Disney Theatrical Productions for over a decade, with the introduction of classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Mary Poppins, Michele brings extensive experience in strategic positioning, creative development, media insights, data and research analysis with and the social landscape, competitive market analysis, bonus season planning, ticketing / sales, press strategy and more.

Prior to the big announcement, Michele reached out to BroadwayWorld to discuss the rebranding, her thoughts on the future of the industry, and more!

Congratulations on this big news! Besides the name, what is the biggest change that the Groner Group has undergone in this development to Michele Groner x Brand Nexus?

Thank you very much! When I started the business, I focused almost entirely on live entertainment marketing and advertising. Over time, not only have I expanded my client base beyond the theater to include publishers, museums, and other small businesses, but I’ve really expanded my presence to be all-encompassing in researching a brand’s needs.

Is the brand correctly occupied? Do you have a real understanding of your audience? Do you connect the dots between marketing, sales, press, social media and more? Are your sales plans and executions working well?

I have a deep background in research / data and global thinking on a big scale so I really focused on making sure the client works holistically from a 30,000 foot perspective. Of course, I never get tired of being in the weeds with everyday things when it is necessary at the moment – especially for theater clients!

What would you like to offer your customers that they can’t get anywhere else?

Great question. There are a lot of talented people in marketing – especially in the theater world, so let me address that in two parts.

I have a lot of clients who are initially skeptical about putting someone else at the table – especially if they already have an advertising agency (sometimes two!), Press office, GM office, social media mastermind, agents, etc. ., and more. I say to these people: “The more you need me!” During the development and launch of your product, there are hundreds of moving parts that need to be aligned in order to get your message across to get your message across. If one part is missing, your start is not moving in the right direction. I help clients find a clear vision, the right audience and positioning, and a coherent strategy and execution plan. I help sing all the voices sitting at the table in harmony.

Second, thanks to my many years of experience at Disney and Stage Entertainment, I have worked on productions in New York, on trips through North America, in London and in all major European markets, and offer my clients a truly global perspective. I’ve also worked on some of the longest running shows of all time and shows that were closed early. It takes very different skills to understand a long-term strategy – what it looks like from day one to getting into year 10 – than working on a limited engagement or a show with a shorter shelf life. Either way, hiring me means that you have someone who has the skills to handle any curve balls thrown in your way, with one eye on what’s happening in the moment and a little bit of that with the other eye Down the street.

Broadway is going through an unprecedented time. How do you think the media and marketing strategy will change over the next year?

It’s true. 18 months ago it was inconceivable that we would be closed for that long and the impact of this closure on marketing is HUGE. Never in Broadway history has EVERY SINGLE SHOW started with a ZERO dollar advance in the bank and then sold to a potentially much more limited group of people than it did before the shutdown. To put this in perspective, let’s do a little math “behind the envelope”:

The total population of the triangle is 23,700,000 (Google)

The number of tri-state approvals in 2019 was 5,200,000 (league)

· Assume that 35 theaters come back online at the same time – with an average of 1200 seats (remember – I said “behind the envelope!”), That’s 9,600 tickets per theater per week, or 336,000 total tickets per week.

· BUT let’s assume that the cinemas have an average occupancy rate of 85% (which I think is generous at the beginning), i.e. 285,600 tickets per week.

· Divide those 5.2 million visitors by this 285,000 number and you have about EIGHTEEN WEEKS of audience in the border triangle.

And what about the local tourists? The foreign tourists? People who watch more than one show? The over 55-year-olds who make up a HUGE part of the theater goers?

Not to mention the great social and political changes we are seeing in art in this country! What about the new and really exciting programming that hopefully comes out as a result of a much-needed change? How will the audience change?

And how has media consumption changed after sticking to our devices for a year and a half? [Personally, I believe this sped up the curve of older audiences moving away from traditional media and adapting to a more digital realm by HUGE leaps and bounds!]

There are SO MANY moving parts right now. That all sounds very daunting, I know. BUT the most exciting part is that I believe we have the tools to find people where they are and these people have a huge appetite for the experience that ONLY live theater can give them. It’s really about ensuring that we as marketers and strategists keep track of these huge pools of data and don’t lose sight of the big picture as we drill down into the details. It’s a huge challenge and I’m happy to be a part of it!

What are you most looking forward to in the future of Michele Groner x Brand Nexus?

I honestly love what I do and I look forward to bringing that passion into new shows, new products in new categories, and new customers! I am so incredibly grateful that I have had my career so far with wonderful mentors, customers and partners. Expanding my work into new horizons is the most exciting chapter so far.

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