Company: Have PR, Copenhagen, Denmark
Company Description: Since 1983 Have PR & Communication has managed PR, communication and counselling for the cultural and entertainment industry. Have PR is one of the leading bureaus of its kind in Scandinavia. The company is also a successful partner in the development of long-term strategies and visions for arts institutions, politicians and corporations with vested interests in the arts world.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Communications Executive

Nomination Title: Thor - The Royal Theater of Denmark with Have PR

   1. Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

          Every third year the Royal Theatre of Denmark stages an outdoor production in
          the national park, Dyrehaven 20 km North of Copenhagen. In June 2006 the
          Theatre produced a spectacular, mythical adventure, Thor. The production’s
          first night was Friday 2 June 2006 with a month-long run and 90.000 seats on
          sale. Have PR succeeded in creating the hype to make the production a sell-out
          hit, in spite of the production being a world premiere with a new script and
          working with a very limited budget. The key was PR.

          Thor was launched as an epic fantasy story – Denmark’s own equivalent to The
          Lord of The Rings, only produced as theatre, with exceptional production
          values, the finest creative powers backstage, and a strong cast of stars and
          character actors, all united in bring to life a new piece of Danish writing
          based on Norse mythology.

          We developed a large number of media stories and ‘sold’ these with as many
          different angles to as many media as possible.

          The outstanding cast list was announced at a spectacular press conference in
          Dyrehaven on 1 February 2006. The woods were covered in snow, a perfect
          setting for the mounted Valhalla warriors we had invited to help create an
          idea of the Norse universe.

          Another press conference was held in May when the sets were ready. The lead
          players took part in this, giving the press photographers the chance to shoot
          the actors in their true element, on stage in the woods. We also organised a
          full costume press shoot with 3-4 scenes staged and performed for members of
          the press, shortly before the premiere. To ensure maximum coverage of the
          premiere itself, a large number of VIP celebrities were invited to attend the
          opening night performance.

          On the marketing side, our primary media platform was printed advertising in
          the biggest dailies. We created a poster and postcards to promote the outdoor
          event and the atmosphere of living with the Norse gods. We also entered into
          several media and ticket partnerships with various printed and electronic
          media.

          Corporate presales came to approx. 14.000 tickets and on the day the box
          office opened the Theatre sold and/or booked 7.557 tickets – that is close to
          50% more than the Theatre’s previous record; 5.000 tickets on the same day for
          Ivanhoe in 2003. In the end Ivanhoe sales totalled 80.000 tickets and the run
          was sold out before opening night.

          Four months before the premiere of Thor the production had all the trimmings
          of a success. 28.800 tickets were sold/booked in the first four days of sales
          and in the end almost 90.000 people attended the run giving the production an
          impressive 93 % capacity, making this production the biggest seller in the
          Theatre’s history, a greater hit even than Ivanhoe.

          The general public has taken the Royal Theatre’s outdoor productions to heart,
          and Thor became both an artistic and a box office success. The Royal Theatre
          plans to stage another epic production in Ulvedalene in 2009.

   2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

          http://www.elverhoj.dk/Pressemeddel.%20Thor.pdf
          http://www.kglteater.dk/thor.aspx
          http://www.kglteater.dk/site/OplevTeateret/Galleri/Skuespil/2005/Thor.aspx
          http://partner.jubii.dk/www.teatertv.dk/kgl_teater/thor/thor.asp
          http://www.nordic.dk/_en-GB-I/content/modules/nyheder/generator;1568
          http://www.aok.dk/profile/29682
          http://www.have.dk

   3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:

          Have PR & Communication is founded by Christian Have in 1983. Over the years,
          Christian Have has handled a huge number of PR and communication projects,
          both in Denmark and abroad. In 2003 he received the Theatre 1 Award for his
          innovative approach to, and involvement in Danish theatre. He published his
          first book, 'Synlighed er eksistens' (Visibility Equals Existence) in 2004.
          Recently Have PR & Communication has won the prestigious “European SABRE
          Awards 2005” in the category “Entertainment and Culture” for the work with the
          Hans Christian Andersen celebration.