The Crash of the Elysium (stage play)/Promotion

For the promotion of The Crash of the Elysium, the BBC and Punchdrunk used viral marketing and in-print advertising, which included tie-in websites, promotional videos, and advertisments in publications such as Doctor Who Adventures. The event, for 2012, also utilsed the social media platforms Twitter and Facebook.

2011 event
The Crash of the Elysium was announced on 17 March 2011 as part of the Manchester International Festival, but with the DWU elements left secret. This pretence was kept secret until later BBC announcements on 7 June; even its advertisement in Doctor Who Adventures showed no indication of its relevance to Doctor Who. Even after the official announcement of the DWU elements, the beginning of the immersive experience was still styled to look like a genuine historical exhibit about the fictional ship.

On 27 April 2011, two mock blogs were launched, and were linked to on the immersive experience's website. These were one of the only ways to consume details of the plot without actually attending the experience.

On 13 May 2011, the BBC released a short teaser mini-episode, Analysis Lessons. This video was accessible on the Doctor Who website through a series of clues left in the "Fourth Dimension" articles. However, this video's link to the immersive experience was kept deliberately vague, with it only being apparent when it was linked to on the official website for the experience.

2012 event
Promotion for the 2012 iteration of the event started on 26 November 2011, when the official Facebook account, @2012Crash, put out a post that hinted at future developments.

To gain a new audience, different marketing tools were employed. Building off of what was learnt by the crew the previous year, advertisements on buses were utilised, and even the Doctor's TARDIS was physically taken to various locations — Liverpool Street station,, and — which "drove local media interest". Postiive press coverage bolstered the visibility of the experience, and with social media accounts to promote it as well, new audiences were found. However, all was not perfect, as the target audience — children on school trips — weren't as available to attend as many school trips had already been chosen by their schools. While showings for older audiences were more successful, Greg Cooper, the Cultural Development Manager at, stated that reaching the show's high estimate for ticket sales was difficult; in all, 8,856 tickets were sold. According to, the experience did help new audiences get involved with participating in the arts and helped establish Ipswich as a "cultural destination" for tourism and opportunities.

On 20 May 2012, the Facebook account suggested reading this very Wiki's page on Weeping Angels to "swot up" before attending the event.