Challenge
The American Craft Council, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting contemporary American craft, needed to revitalize the largest juried craft show in the West in the face of declining ticket sales. As part of a re-energized marketing effort, the Council chose LCI to execute a public relations campaign for the re-crafted American Craft Show in San Francisco. LCI was challenged to:

• Increase paid attendance at the San Francisco show
• Engage new audiences, including a younger demographic, with the show and craft
• Generate positive media and consumer awareness for the enhanced show experience in advance of and throughout the show
• Build brand recognition for the American Craft Council and the show

Strategy
LCI leveraged Andrew Wagner, the new editor-in-chief of the Council’s AMERICAN CRAFT magazine, as a newsworthy expert to engage influential media. As the former executive editor of Dwell magazine now leading the redesign of AMERICAN CRAFT, Wagner was well poised to offer media innovative perspective on trends in craft and design. LCI pitched and secured a desk-side briefing for Wagner with the San Francisco Chronicle to encourage advance feature coverage. The agency also recommended that Wagner and the Council host a panel discussion with area design experts on “The Convergence of Craft and Design” to position the organization as a thought-leader in the craft field and provide an additional “hook” for media and new audiences.

LCI creatively leveraged new components of the 2007 show to deliver fresh story angles to media and position the show as truly “re-crafted.” The PR team also tapped the growing interest in eco-friendly products and sustainable practices to successfully pitch “green” artists and their work to media. To promote the show as a “destination” event for craft enthusiasts living outside San Francisco, LCI highlighted exceptional artists in outlying target markets to secure local artist features in publications throughout the greater Bay Area.

In addition to a proactive media relations campaign, LCI conducted outreach to local visual arts organizations to secure opportunities to promote the American Craft Show in San Francisco to relevant new and younger audiences. The agency recommended a partnership with The Crucible, an Oakland-based school of industrial and fire arts, to bring live metal working and glass flame working demonstrations to the show to drive street traffic to the show, as well as enhance media attention.

Results
The LCI public relations campaign contributed to a 12% increase in paid attendance at the American Craft Show in San Francisco.

LCI engaged a half dozen key arts organizations for promotional partnerships. The desk-side briefing for Andrew Wagner yielded a San Francisco Chronicle Home & Garden section cover story. The show garnered national coverage in Wall Street Journal and Country Home magazine. LCI secured home or living section cover stories in nine target Bay Area publications: San Jose Mercury News, Marin Independent Journal, six ANG Newspapers and Contra Costa Times. San Francisco Magazine, Diablo, SF Weekly, San Francisco Examiner and in-flight Spirit and United Airways magazines highlighted the show as a destination event. KGO-TV (ABC) aired two live segments on the show on its “View from the Bay” program.