Record-Breaking Crowds for Immersive Art

After pandemic closures and changes in leadership, I joined Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as Director of Marketing and Communications during a pivotal time—helping the organization bring crowds back to downtown San Francisco to celebrate culture and creativity.

Nick Dong: 11 to 88 was the first exhibition that I shaped from the outset. For this immersive solo show by a Taiwanese-American technologist, my marketing campaigns help make this the institution’s most well-attended show in nearly a decade (at a fraction of prior advertising budgets).

Collaborations with social media influencers helped reach a younger demographic that had heard of YBCA, but never visited.

Persistent resharing of user-generated content sustained buzz and drove additional attendance via word-of-mouth. Tactical listings on syndicated ‘local event’ websites and ‘free things to do’ was a cheap and efficient way to broaden name recognition among tourists.

The result was YBCA’s best-attended show in almost a decade: averaging 3x the weekly attendance of recent shows, at less than 10% of prior advertising budgets.

The exhibition’s success was a case study in clarity and consistency in creative—as well as tactical resourcefulness.

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CREDITS

Strategy, copywriting, and creative direction: Chris Royalty.
Design: MacFadden & Thorpe, Halina Mader.
Photography and Videography: Corey Marsau.
Social & content: Brooke Vlasich.
Email & web: Amelia Maffin