Strategic brand partnership raises Razzamataz franchise profile nationally

A UK based theatre school franchise has boosted their standing with a partnership with iconic film company Warner Bros.to help promote a major film.

Dragons’ Den backed theatre school franchise Razzamataz was approached by Warner Bros. during the summer of 2017. The first promotional activity took place during the summer schools of the whole of the Razzamataz network to celebrate the cinema release of the film Teen Titans GO! To the Movies! This included some excellent promotional material that featured Razzamataz students among official Teen Titans logos, characters and artwork.

This was shared across all of the Razzamataz social media pages nationwide. “This was such a successful partnership that Warner Bros. got in touch about working with them again in the Autumn to celebrate the home entertainment release on DVD and Blu Ray of the film,” says MD and Founder of Razzamataz Denise Hutton-Gosney, who secured the partnership. “We had a series of approved Facebook posts that went out on every Razzamataz Facebook page over a couple of weeks and we created a huge buzz across schools and Social Media with a competition where Principals posted pictures of their students doing their best Teen Titans poses. Head Office selected ten winners who won a copy of the DVD, provided by Warner Bros.”

As a business, Razzamataz secures prestigious partnerships as part of their own growth plans as Denise explains. “In the past we have worked with Universal Pictures (UK) to help promote a number of Barbie films, which created significant media exposure for Razzamataz with our branding featuring on the DVDs as well as numerous press articles. We feel that this is ‘money can’t buy’ exposure for us as a national business and especially for our individual schools who can align themselves with these household names.”

Big name partnerships are set to continue into 2019 with further talks about promoting more new films and giving more Razzamataz students the opportunity to be involved.

“Partnerships and promoting the Razzamataz brand are very important to our business in terms of marketing,” adds Denise. “These certainly help us to create a network turnover of circa £2 million and give our franchisees the additional exposure to allow them to turn over a quarter of a million pounds annually from a Saturday term time only school.”

Big brand partnerships run throughout the schools, giving both Principals and their students incredible opportunities. “One of the major benefits of being part of a franchise is the collective power of the network and the opportunities that present themselves,” explains Denise. “We have secured fantastic performing opportunities at the Indigo at the 02, Her Majesty’s Theatre in the West End and Disneyland Paris. We also work with industry professionals such as street dance crew Diversity and West End star Kerry Ellis to offer masterclasses and workshops. These opportunities enable our individual schools across the UK to really stand out from the local competition.”

Razzamataz are getting set to celebrate their 20-year-anniversary in 2020 and will be looking back on all the opportunities that have been created. There are lots of business prospects for a range of people looking to get into franchising and who have the enthusiasm and passion to run their own business with an established franchisor behind them. For those that have the passion, but who do not have the full experience or background to launch the full Razzamataz Theatre School, Razzamataz Early Years Franchise has been created to cater to the demand for people wanting to work in the children’s performing arts industry. “This makes the franchise much more accessible to a wide range of people who can combine it with another part-time job or looking after children, helping to support more woman and people into franchising.”