DECEMBER 2, 2014 TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT BRITTANY FREEMAN JOURNALISM 3440
Table of Contents v Communication Audit........................................ 2 v Factory Party News Release................................... 4 v Tourism News Release........................................ 6 v Yellow Party Event Plan & Mood Board.......................... 8 1
Brittany Freeman Communication Audit 1. The Toledo Museum of Art has a clearly defined mission statement- Through our collection and programs, we strive to integrate art into the lives of people. 2. My client serves anyone in the community who is interested in art and art education. They serve a younger audience with baby, toddler, and school tours, and have a Family Center which offers free art-based activities. They also help disadvantaged youth through their ArtReach program, which offers scholarships. They offer a variety of classes and tours that are open to anyone in the community. The audience also changes based on the different exhibitions that are featured in the museum. For example, when The Art of Video Games, was featured, the museum targeted men of all ages, but when The Art of the Louvre s Tuileries Garden, was on exhibition, they targeted female gardeners. 3. My client seems to use press releases and media kits the most often. These are available in the press room on their website. I believe they use press releases so often because the Museum has many events and exhibitions that they need to alert the media about, and a press release is a dependable and simple way to do that. Media kits for the Museum contain artist bios, images and/or video pertaining to a special exhibition or event. This is a great way for the Museum to inform the media of all aspects of an exhibition in a way a press release could not achieve. Because the Museum constantly has so much going on, they need a media format that can be easily adapted and sent out, and the media kit and press release accomplish this. 4. The Toledo Museum of Art was founded on April 18, 1901 by the owner of the Libbey Glass Company, Edward Drummond Libbey. He and the six co-founders had a shared vision of creating an institution that would provide the community with art and art education. Brian P. Kennedy, who came all the way from Dublin, Ireland, is the Museum President, Director and CEO of the Museum. Kennedy leads an executive team that consists of 14 other positions who oversee each sector of the museum. There is also a general board of directors and officers. 5. Terry Sharp, Public Relations Manager writes the press releases and media kits, and Stephanie Elton handles social media updates. My contact, Alia Orra, writes copy for the Museum magazine, Art Matters. Kelly Garrow is the Director of Communications and is responsible for strategic and digital communications as well as issues management. The approval process varies depending on the piece, but it will be sent to museum service editors and proofreaders, and anyone relevant to the piece who can fact check it. Therefore a piece might have 3 or more people who review it. 2
6. My client s communication plan is to promote and attendance and awareness of art and the Museum, which is done slightly differently depending on the exhibition or event that is being promoted. 7. The Museum conducted research about their audiences through a focus group, but my contact Alia said that the audience is mainly found on an exhibition by exhibition basis and focuses on whoever is a natural target, as shown in the examples in question 2. Alia was unaware of the results of the focus group. 8. On top of promoting art and art education, The Toledo Museum of Art has a huge emphasis on teaching visual literacy to the community. They define visual literacy as the ability to construct meaning from everything we see, and that it must be taught because 90% of information is received by our eyes. The key message they are trying to communicate is that art enhances our lives by helping us understand life through images. 9. The Museum follows up on communications sent out depending on the piece. For example, if a pitch is sent out to a publication, the Public Relations Manager will contact the writer to see if they like the piece. However, not all communication sent out has a follow up. 10. The Museum wants to improve their social media as well as website content. The Museum likes their use of other communications such as press releases and media kits. 11. My overall impression of my client s communication is that it is very organized and their goals, objectives, and mission are all very clearly stated. However in a few sections about the museum, information is only current until 2012. This could be improved. All press is very competently and interestingly written in my opinion. 12. The client was basically willing to let me assist them in any way that I wanted to. The only thing they requested was that I write website content. I feel that the Toledo Museum of Art needs help with social media the most. 13. TMA has almost 60,000 likes on Facebook which is great, but has less than half that number of visits. This means they need to be engaging their audience more by posting more interactive statuses and pictures. On Twitter, they have 27.5k followers, but they rarely engage with them through favorites, retweets or replies. On both media platforms, they have the followers and likes that they need, but they also need to develop a strategy that will engage those followers more effectively. TMA also has an Instagram account, but only has 1,520 followers. This is a platform that could be utilized much more. Their current strategy is to inform, but I think they should also focus on entertaining their audiences with educational art related posts. 3
NEWS RELEASE Contacts: Teri Sharp, Public Relations Manager 419-254-5082 tsharp@toledomuseum.org Circle 2445 To Host Factory Party TOLEDO, OHIO Circle 2445 will host a vibrant evening inspired by Andy Warhol s legendary party spot and studio, The Factory, on October 18. The festivities take place from 7 10 p.m. at the Glass Pavilion. Cocktails, hors d oeuvres, and live music inspired by the era will all be part of the 60s effect, and avant-garde performers will be entertaining guests throughout the night. The Glass Pavilion Hot Shop will be transformed into a swanky lounge where partygoers can enjoy their drinks as they watch glass art being created. The dress code is mod in the spirit of Warhol-era superstars such as Edie Sedgwick, Ultra Violet, and Nico. Warhol, famous for his ability to turn everyday objects into colorful works of art, was also known for hosting lively parties in his studio. Celebrities, socialites, artists and anyone who was close to Warhol came to serve as an inspiration for his creativity and took part in his avant-garde gatherings. The Factory Party will be reminiscent of those dynamic times in his salon. Circle 2445, whose name comes from the Museum s address, 2445 Monroe Street, is a group of professionals whose goal is to engage patrons ages 24 to 45 and promote involvement with the Museum through the development of fun and interesting 4
programs. The Glass Pavilion houses our world class glass collection, so it s a really unique space to have this event, said Jackie Tussing, Museum development director and liaison for Circle 2445. The avant-garde performances and glass blowing demos will be a really interesting component that people haven t seen before. Tickets will be $25 in advance and $35 at the door for Circle 2445 members and $35 in advance and $45 at the door for nonmembers. Tickets can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/11ci6uk The first 50 guests will receive an exclusive martini glass to take home. Non-members can receive a free ticket by joining Circle 2445 by October 16 at noon. Join by emailing Jackie Tussing at jtussing@toledomuseum.org or visiting http://bit.ly/1gjeuqg. The Factory Party is sponsored in part by The Andersons and HCR ManorCare. NOTE: For more information or images, contact Public Relations Manager Teri Sharp at 419-254-5082 or tsharp@toledomuseum.org, or Marketing Communications Coordinator Alia Orra at 419-255-8000 ext. 7542 or aorra@toledomuseum.org. ### The Toledo Museum of Art is a nonprofit arts institution funded through individual donations, foundation grants, corporate sponsorships and investments. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund programs at the Toledo Museum of Art through a sustainability grant program that encourages economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Glass Pavilion and Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion are registered service marks. Admission to the Museum is free. The Museum is open Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m.; closed Monday and major holidays. Thursday evening hours are sponsored by Huntington Wealth Advisors. Friday evening hours are made possible by Fifth Third Bank. 5
NEWS RELEASE Contacts: Teri Sharp, Public Relations Manager 419-254-5082 tsharp@toledomuseums.org The Glass City Will Blow You Away TOLEDO, OHIO- 2015 will be Toledo s 65 th year reigning as The Glass City. When Edward Drummond Libbey s small glass company merged with the Edwards Ford Plate Glass Company in 1930, Toledo became the glass-making capital of the country. The city s long history of innovation in the glass industry is what awarded it the moniker, but Toledo s link with glass isn t confined to the past. The city holds more than just business opportunities for those interested in glass that keep its title relevant. Toledo has many top class attractions that are internationally and nationally ranked. The Toledo Museum of Art is one of these, and for good reason- it houses over 30,000 items which visitors can enjoy, free of charge, 309 days out of the year. Among the Museum s many unique features is its world famous glass collection. Housed in the exquisite Glass Pavilion, a work of art in itself, the collection displays works from ancient to contemporary times. Visitors can even have a hands on experience with a studio sessions or watch a glass blowing demonstration. Next, visitors can take a walk down to Gathered Art Gallery and Studios in Toledo s historic warehouse district. A short distance from the Museum, Gathered features a gallery and its own working hot shop and lampworking studio. Displaying local homemade glass as well as works from national artists, Gathered gives visitors a variety of glass art to revel in. 6
After getting inspired by glass collections and demonstrations, visitors can bring a touch of the Glass City home with them. Unique glassware and home décor at inexpensive prices can be found at the Libbey Glass Outlet, the largest selection of glass in Northwest Ohio. When eating in the Glass City, Tony Packo s is a must. Made famous when mentioned in the hit show M*A*S*H, Packo s is unique to the Toledo area and offers menu items such as the Hungarian Dog and Pickles and Peppers. Another great eatery in Toledo is The Glass City Café. Located in downtown Toledo, this fun local diner offers tasty comfort food and live music. Cathy Miller, director of tourism at Destination Toledo, believes that Toledo is a great place to visit for more reasons than just its history with glass. The Glass City is a great place because we have top class attractions, but we re also affordable, she said. And it s also easy to get around, you can get basically anywhere in 20 minutes. When coming to Toledo to look for an experience that lives up to its name, visitors will not be disappointed. 7
YELLOW PARTY The Yellow Party will be a celebration of paper artist Werner Pfeiffer, whose art will be on exhibition at the Museum from Feb 6- May 3, 2015. The Yellow Party is inspired by Werner s Banana Drawings. The party will feature Werner s fascinating book art as well as puzzle reproductions of his prints so that guests can have a hands on experience as they explore his unique art. DÉCOR & ACTIVITIES Large reproductions of Pfeiffer s moveable book art pieces such as ZigZag and Abracadabra on small tables around Glass Pavilion Reproductions of Werner s prints made into puzzles for guests to solve also placed on tables Centerpiece for guest tables: Print of Werner s work or bouquet of colorful painted bananas Cash bar with variety of drinks including banana wine DESSERT SUGGESTIONS Bananas dipped in chocolate or yogurt with colorful sprinkles Banana Brule DRESS CODE Creative Cocktail- bright colors and inventive patterns welcome. TARGET AUDIENCES Toledo Museum of Art members Community members Conduct research to find audiences interested in Werner s Pfeiffer s Art MARKETING Promote on Museum social media and website Feature in Toledo membership e-newsletter Promote in the Toledo City Paper and Toledo Blade *The following page is a mood board for the party, created to gain inspiration for what the party will be like. 8
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