Tattoos was an exhibition exploring the 5,000-year history of the art form of tattooing. This was the opportune time to connect the Museum to new, younger audiences. As the marketing lead, I took on the challenge to showcase that this wasn’t your parents’ ROM. With a modest budget, and working collaboratively with an external agency, I embarked on creating a compelling campaign focused on developing impactful media partnerships to extend the value of the campaign and connect with the millennial audience.
The campaign for Tattoos featured print, our-of-home, radio, digital, and paid social, featuring both hero campaign creative, and artwork from Canadian tattoo artists. I built a unique partnership with Toronto radio station Indie88 and Seven Crowns Tattoo Shop, creating a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lucky contest winner to receive a custom ROM-inspired tattoo. The contest winner and tattoo artist took a behind the scenes tour through the ROM’s vaults, met experts, and got up close and personal with some of the rarest objects in the ROM’s collection. The final piece was inspired by a panda pelt, asteroids, and what one ROM expert described as “cosmic dust bunnies”.
The campaign was an overwhelming success with the exhibition exceeding attendance targets by 37.3% and bringing an incredible influx of millennial visitors through the exhibition run and beyond.