Challenge
The American Craft Council, a national nonprofit 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 and concern over the vitality of craft. LCI was challenged to:
- Increase paid attendance at the San Francisco show
- Engage new audiences, including a younger demographic and DIY community
- Build brand recognition
Strategy
LCI’s strategy was to build on a foundation of traditional media outreach with social media channels to engage younger and uninitiated audiences. The LCI team recommended that the Council host a special ‘5 after 5’ Friday night event that offered a chance to shop the show, sample wine and meet artists for only $5 after 5 p.m. ACC also hosted an event for the screening of the documentary “Hand Made Nation.” LCI leveraged the Council’s Twitter and Facebook accounts to regularly update show news, and communicate about trends in craft.
PR Campaign Results
The LCI public relations campaign contributed to a more than 15% increase in paid attendance at the American Craft Show in San Francisco. This success built on a previous year increase in attendance that had been the first increase in paid attendance at the American Craft Show in San Francisco in the previous two years. LCI secured online coverage on SFist, SFStation, Daily Candy Kids, Handful of Salt, Apparently Speaking, Examiner.com, and 7×7 Magazine’s Domain design blog. LCI secured dozens of tweets about the show by influencers and bloggers, as well as by mainstream journalists. Traditional print coverage included a full page on the front page of San Francisco Chronicle Datebook section, theSan Francisco Examiner, The Marin Independent Journal, Oakland Tribune, San Jose Mercury News,Contra Costa Times, San Mateo County Times, Santa Cruz Sentinel, California Home+Design and California Homes, among others.