celebrating skateboarding in central new york.
In collaboration with Supreme and famed skateboard photographer/central New York native William Strobeck, the Everson Museum of Art needed the right marketing for their exhibit about the impact and history of skateboarding in the region. Welcome to Dead End.
*made for educational purposes with client input
Given this assignment, my team and I started by researching industry trends in three key categories, leading us to create our dual buyer personas. Armed with this information, we created digital marketing goals, tactics, and campaign rollouts to support our four creative marketing ideas.
Everson museum
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Everson museum *
the everson dead end competition.
GOAL: Convert online engagers into in-person customers.
WHY: Engaging the skateboarding community through authentic online content will boost the Everson’s social media activity and attract new consumers who want to engage with the brand in person. This initiative will foster a deeper connection with our specific target audiences, while promoting the exhibit in an interactive way.
What is this?
The Everson Dead End competition is a social media competition that incentivizes people to submit an online video inspired by the art of skate culture. Participants will post their 60-second video submission on Instagram, using the hashtag #EversonDeadEnd, as well as send it on a form link on the Everson’s Instagram bio.
The winner will be announced on the Everson’s socials, as well as on William Strobeck and Supreme’s socials. The winner also gets an alll expenses paid for visit (with a plus one) to the opening benefit of the exhibit, giving them a chance to meet William Strobeck.
EFFECT: Using William Strobeck as a promotional source leverages his credibility and strong connection to the skateboarding community, attracting a niche yet highly engaged audience that aligns with the exhibition's focus. The hashtag #EversonDeadEnd creates a centralized hub for user-generated content, amplifying visibility and encouraging community participation while driving organic engagement.
email…
GOAL: Establish strong loyalty with new and existing museum visitors.
WHY: Email marketing remains an essential tool for driving loyalty and engaging with current and future consumers, with click through rates, open rates, and click to open rates all rising since 2023.
HOW: The Everson can utilize email rewards to retain loyalty and encourage visitation. Emails should include special content, early class sign ups, or other unique digital rewards to promote loyalty and subscriber retention. The Everson should focus on targeting current newsletter subscribers and encourage them to attend the Dead End exhibit. However, they should also encourage first time visitors to sign up and convert them into second time visitors.
…AND SEARCH
GOAL: Increase awareness for the Everson and the “Dead End” exhibit.
WHY: According to 2024 survey data, nearly 66% of the Everson’s combined target audiences discover brands through search. One of their target audiences is also 5.3% more likely than the average consumer to use search as a platform for brand discovery.
HOW: Increasing the Everson’s position on the SERP through SEO or SEM strategies, depending on how their budget gets broken down.
the everson’s socials.
GOAL: Increase awareness for the Everson and the “Dead End” exhibit.
WHY: Social content brings awareness to the “Dead End” exhibit before it even opens. Additionally, a combined 78% of the Everson’s target audiences respond positively to ads seen on social media, as well as to updates on a brand’s own social media pages.
What is this?
There are two ways the Everson can maximize their social media use to promote the “Dead End” exhibit.
FIRST: Teaser content before the exhibit opens. Posting content pre-launch provides background and builds hype for the event.
SECOND: “Before the Breakthrough” video series featuring William Strobeck. This series is meant to introduce the audience to William, connecting a face to the exhibit and encouraging them to get more invested. The series can also be shortened for TikTok, repurposed into an Everson blog post, and even featured in the exhibit. Posting behind the scenes content keeps the Everson’s community engaged with their content, and attracts new consumers who are interested in the topic.
Guerilla marketing
GOAL: Increase awareness for the Everson “Dead End” exhibit.
WHY: With skateboarding and street art being essential components of urban culture, combining the two in an authentic and hard to miss way encourages earned interaction and generates awareness and interest of the exhibit.
HOW: Stickers are a key part of Supreme’s brand identity and are popular among skateboarders, who use them to decorate their decks. Creating Everson and Supreme branded stickers to put around Syracuse (and other major East Coast skateboarding hubs like New York City and Boston) will generate attention for the exhibit and create excitement. Utilizing street art will also grab attention, attracting new consumers and creating conversation.
The stickers can also be turned into digital content to be shared on the Everson’s socials which will generate even more engagement across markets.
MeaSuring success
The success of the Everson’s marketing campaign can be measured using KPIs in three categories that align with the initial marketing objectives from the client.
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KPI 1: Aim for a combined 400 likes, comments, and shares on competition-related posts
KPI 2: Increase the engagement rate by 1.5% during the competition promotion.
KPI 3: Achieve 20 video submissions using the competition hashtag.
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KPI 1: Aim to boost email open rates from 52% to 60%.
KP! 2: Increase email click-through rates from 8.7% to 10%.
KPI 3: Achieve a 3.4% growth rate by gaining 500 new email subscribers.
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KPI 1: Monitor 100 QR scans, 200 UTM visits from sticker campaign.
KPI 2: Track ad clicks, impressions; aim for 0.8% CTR minimum.
KPI 3: Get a 10% landing page conversion rate from search strategies.