PR & Marketing · Southwark Playhouse & Leicester Square Theatre, London · 2025 · UK Tour, 2026
Wilko Johnson was a cult figure — beloved by those who knew him, but not a household name outside certain circles. A play celebrating his life and music needed to find an audience of older, working-class music fans who don't necessarily follow theatre, and who would smell inauthenticity a mile off. Standard arts marketing wasn't going to cut it.
We built the campaign around the communities that already existed rather than trying to create new ones. The goal was to make fans feel the show belonged to them — reaching people through the places and networks they already inhabited. The press campaign ran in parallel, targeting national media with enough range to bring in theatregoers who'd never heard of Wilko but would respond to a good story.
— Secured national coverage including the Guardian, The Times, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and Planet Rock Radio, and broadcast interviews on BBC Radio 2, Radio 4, Radio 5 Live, Times Radio and BBC Radio London
— Created nostalgia-driven content including licensed music videos and archival material from the late 60s music scene
— Distributed materials through Facebook communities, record shops and clothing outlets the audience actually used
— Staged an invite-only gig at the Water Rats and brought in guest appearances from relevant cult music acts
— Named a C2C train after Wilko Johnson — a stunt that alone generated coverage reaching nearly 900 million people via BBC Online and MSN
— Built partnerships with brands that meant something to a 60+ working-class male audience
101 pieces of coverage, combined audience over 1.1 billion. The Southwark Playhouse run sold out and extended before transferring to Leicester Square Theatre. The show is now on a UK tour in 2026.
“Mobius brought something different to Wilko. The creative stunts cut through in a way that felt authentic to the show, the press coverage was outstanding, and the marketing campaign found our audience and brought them through the door. They treated the story with real intelligence and heart.”
Jonathan Maitland, Writer, Wilko: Love and Death and Rock'n'Roll
To discuss your project, get in touch at team@mobiusindustries.com.