Helping the museum establish a meaningful brand proposition, clear point of difference and contemporary graphic identity in order increase its reputation as the leading arts institution in the Sacramento Valley.
The Challenge: The Crocker Art Museum was entering the final stages of the most monumental endeavor in its 125-year history: An expansion project to not only triple the size of its facility but also span all facets of the organization, from collection and endowment growth to enriching every aspect of the visitor experience. With a $110 million campaign closing, the Crocker tapped METStrategies (and its partner Trialogue Studio) to help the museum establish a meaningful brand proposition, clear point of difference, and contemporary graphic identity in order increase its reputation as the leading arts institution in the Sacramento Valley, gain the notoriety it deserves and attract new audience segments as it should.
The Solution: Our broad scope took us right from organizational alignment and visioning work with board and staff through brand positioning, identity, marketing communications, advertising, and web re-skin. To convey the museum’s personality, defined as “Dynamic”, “Unexpected”, “Inviting” and “Engaging”, ad concepts were built around surprising and fun juxtapositions of language with “split-screen” imagery pairing art works from the collections with action photos of people enjoying the Crocker’s offerings.
The outcome? The new Crocker welcomed some 18,000 residents and tourists in its opening day alone! Its membership is booming, its classes are full and its restaurant is the hottest spot in town! This 125-year old institution is young again.