George Eastman House
01 Challenge
How can a non-profit organization effectively promote a major fundraising event, which needs a dedicated, highly professional marketing campaign that might cost more to produce than the event could bring in?
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography & Film is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the oldest film archives, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and presenting the history of photography and film. It also houses the first school of motion picture film preservation in the United States, and the Mellon Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conservation. It is supported by donations, memberships, volunteers, and the Eastman Young Professionals (EYP), a network of individuals between 23 and 45 who act as advocates and ambassadors.
The Eastman Young Professionals are charged with organizing the annual Academy Awards party, the museum’s biggest annual fundraiser. The party is open to the greater Rochester community, but is now particularly popular with EYP members.
No organization could afford the expense of developing an entirely new, single-event marketing campaign every year. The foundational design approach needed to be timeless and enduring, yet allow annual updating and freshening of the components, particularly the event website.
02 Solution
“Dumbwaiter Design came forward,” said Eliza Kozlowski, Director of Communications & Visitor Services, “to suggest a separate appeal to the younger audience.”
Dumbwaiter Design developed an entire marketing campaign, including an enduring brand identity for the Academy Awards Party, with viral marketing components, to spread the word, postcards, posters, newspaper and magazine ads, program, and even tickets. We capped all of that off with an interactive website and online promotion, to publicize the event, sell tickets, and even sign up new members.
The new website had to evoke the glitz and glamour of the Academy Awards without directly mentioning the Oscars, since the party was not officially sanctioned. We wanted it to engage visitors with animation, slick transitions, and a lot of interactivity. Photos of past events would show people having fun, and even reassure those without formal wear that it is not required.
We began by rewriting a lot of the content on the previous site, and renaming the sections to be more evocative and appealing. We fleshed out the information, and designed layouts in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
We chose to build the entire site in the Adobe Flash, allowing us to build in extensive animation and interactivity. Each section has individuality, yet still maintains the overarching style of the site. We used PHP and MySQL to build the ticket ordering and “guess the winner” front-ends, interfacing with the George Eastman House business systems. A large display in the header counts down the days to the event, adding to the sense of excitement and urgency.
03 Result
The Eastman Young Professionals Academy Award Party committee considers the website and other promotional elements to be a great success. More young people than ever are attending the party and joining the EYP.
In 2008, the Academy Awards Party Website received an ADDY Award from the Rochester Advertising Federation, with Judges’ Special Recognition for Animation and Design.
The Academy Awards Party website is built to last. Each year, Dumbwaiter Design will add a few features and enhancements, to keep it fresh and exciting. The upfront marketing investment will be amortized over five years or more.
“It is fabulous to work with Dumbwaiter Design,” Eliza Kozlowski said. “They have a great team that has shown tremendous commitment over the first two years.”
