Taking a holistic approach to revitalise a festival.

JW3’s 2018 UK Jewish Comedy Festival had fallen short, with low attendance and several cancelled events. When I was tasked with marketing the 2019 festival, it was clear that promotion alone would not be enough.

I ensured marketing shaped the festival from the outset - getting involved in the final line-up, cutting weaker events, strengthening others, and expanding the programme to reach wider audiences, including family events and a new cinema strand.

The campaign itself drew on Shylock’s line, “If you tell us a joke, do we not laugh?”, using ten different Jewish jokes across posters, print, cinema ads, and in-building promotions to create visibility and momentum.

By the end of the week, the festival was widely seen as a success: JW3’s 270-seat hall was consistently full, the programme attracted broader audiences, and it secured coverage including a feature on the BBC’s Stories of Us.